Spotting Scope

[tai]

I am buying an spotting scope, and not sure which on to get, I like to use it for check on target out to 100 to 200 Yard. Thank you

[Dirte]

Start by reading this if you're not familiar with the terminology and specifications of spotting scopes.

http://www.opticsplanet.com/howto/how-to-select-a-spotting-scope.html?section=11

There also are already a lot of threads on this topic in this forum:
Search results for "Spotting Scopes"
-including one started by me after my own failure to

I'm personally trying to decide between these two at the moment:

http://www.opticsplanet.com/alpen-20-60x80mm-waterproof-angled-spotting-scope-tripod-case-788kit.html

http://www.opticsplanet.com/konus-konuspot-80-80mm-3-1-spotting-scope.html

[NordicDave]

There are 4-5 spotting scopes worth a darn, and they are expensive. There are another 3-4 others in the mid-range that are passable for paper target work, thens theres 200 feet of useless crap to the bottom.

Generally everyone love the one they can afford and justify what they bought. The advice above to read reviews, especially from the birding community is a good idea. There are tons more fact based analysis from the birding community for spotting scopes than shooting community.

[NordicDave]

Here's an example; Bird Watcher's Digest http://www.birdwatchersdigest.net

High-end review:

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.net/pdfs/HIGH_END_SCOPES_REVIEW/index.html

Midrange review:

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.net/pdfs/MIDPRICE_SCOPES/index.html

[Black Majik]

Best thing to do is to look through as many spotting scopes as you can. Make sure to look through them outdoors and look at objects far away. Try to read signs and look at anything detailed. This will be similar to how well that scope can resolve images such as bullet holes in your paper target.

Pick a budget of how much you are wanting to spend with it in mind that good glass does not come cheap. With lower cost spotting scopes you will have an unclear image, heavy chromatic aberration, spherical aberrations, eye ball to glass eye relief, narrow FOV, and may give you a headache from prolong viewing.

Try to stop by a birding shop if you have one in your area. If you're in Orange County I can recommend a few. They'll let you take it outside on a steady tripod and you can A-B scopes. Of course, you will want to note that in bright day light, even crappy scopes can look moderately decent. It's when there is minimal light out such as dawn or dusk is when you will notice the biggest difference.

A good spotting scope is a very useful tool to have at the range. Image quality makes a huge difference as you increase your distance, so you will want good glass to make it worth it.

Hell, sometimes I use my spotting scope to view Jupiter and Saturn.