Need a New Spotting Scope

[SDJim]

Last weekend my Konus spotting scope took a dive and snapped the rotating collar off where it attaches to the stand.

I called the distributor and no great surprise, no factory repairs at all.

I was planning on upgrading to a Kowa later this year, but now it's going to have to be sooner than later.

I was looking at the 821M with the LER eyepiece, but a good friend of mine suggested I look at the 661. His reasoning is that it's somewhat smaller and lighter and he's never had any problems shooting in lower light conditions (early morning and later afternoon.)

Has anyone here looked through / used both, and if so is there any advantage to the 821 over the 661?

[LibertyOptics]

The Kowa will be a huge upgrade over the Konus. The advantage of the 821 is the larger objective, which translates to a larger exit pupil and a brighter sight picture at any given power, versus the 661. The 821 with 27x LER eyepiece has been the most common Kowa setup found at most long range matches, and has set the standard. The 821 was Kowa's flagship model, now supplanted by the 880 series.

If size/weight is not a concern, go with the 821. He's right, the 661 is no handicap (optics are of the same quality) but the 821 will outperform it through the entire mag range.

Best of all, since this is the last year of 821 production, they are discounted, with the cost of an 821 less than $150 more for the same setup in the 661. IMO, that makes it game, set, match.

Scott