Best/biggest spotting scope recommendations

[drkphibr]

Looking for a spotting scope that doesn't have a target at 100 yrds looking like something so tiny you can barely see it or make out any of your shots. 20x60x50mm has the target barely visible at 60x magnification and what you can see is so small you can barely make it out. Any recommendations where the visible target won't be so small?

[jarhead714]

Unertl Team Scope? About 4 thousand bucks and weighs as much as a small person.

[anthem]

Celestron ultima 100.

[Merc1138]

The problem is your objective lens size.

That's 20-60x50mm btw.

50mm objective lens divided by 60x magnification = .83mm

50mm objective lens divided by 20x magnification = 2.5mm

At 60x magnification the exit pupil of your scope is so tiny it's barely usable, providing you with an image so small you can barely see it, and I'll bet that if your head is slightly out of position, you won't be able to see anything at all.

If you had a 20-60x100mm scope, the exit pupil at 60x would be 1.67mm. Still pretty small, but actually usable. If you want such a high magnification, you need a bigger objective lens.

The reality is, that you don't need such a crazy high magnification, and unless you're willing to carry around a massive scope, you'll never get it. Even with a 300mm objective, you're still only going to have a 5mm exit pupil at 60x. A lower magnification giving you a larger exit pupil combined with a larger objective will give you better results. If you want amazing results, be prepared to shell out serious cash for superior glass to go with that.

25x100mm would give you a much better image than you're getting, but even a 20-60x100 would be far superior at 60x. You might as well toss the 20-60x50 in the trash(I'm not even sure who would make such a thing and call that a spotting scope).

[HK Dave]

Best bang for your buck scope is supposedly the Vortex Razor Spotting scope line. It's supposed to be the best you can get under $2K before you have to increase to $3-4K to get better results.

If that's out of your range, the Viper HD series is supposed to be excellent for the money... however i found that Bushnell Elite 20-60x80mm is just as good and can be had for around $500 i believe.

I'm hoping to pick up a Razor soon... i truly hope it's everything people say it is.

[23's Dad]

Budget aside?

I think the Kowa TSN 883 would be my pick.

[smoothy8500]

Looking for a spotting scope that doesn't have a target at 100 yrds looking like something so tiny you can barely see it or make out any of your shots. 20x60x50mm has the target barely visible at 60x magnification and what you can see is so small you can barely make it out. Any recommendations where the visible target won't be so small?

What scope are you using? I have a Konus 20x60 that works great at the range (200yds). Even my first spotter, a nineteen eighties Bushnell Sentry 36x zoom with a 50mm lense was decent. If you have a Barfska, NC Star, or Big 5 special then that's the problem. Konus 20x60x80mm can be had for around $200. Used Bushnell spotters can be found on E-bay for a good price. Beyond 200yds the atmosphere such as haze or mirage affects seeing bulletholes on your target.

Kowa TSN series are great. 60mm, 70mm, or 80mm bodies plus eyepiece (either 25x LER or 20x60 zoom) are the most popular at the NRA and F-class matches. The bigger objectives make a difference on light gathering at dawn or dusk. My current scope is a Kowa TSN 663 with the 25x LER (long eye relief) eyepiece. The LER lets me look thru the scope with my safety glasses on while shooting slow fire prone.

[ExtremeX]

Best bang for your buck scope is supposedly the Vortex Razor Spotting scope line. It's supposed to be the best you can get under $2K before you have to increase to $3-4K to get better results.

If that's out of your range, the Viper HD series is supposed to be excellent for the money... however i found that Bushnell Elite 20-60x80mm is just as good and can be had for around $500 i believe.

I'm hoping to pick up a Razor soon... i truly hope it's everything people say it is.

+1 on the Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85

After trying one out its been on my short list. The image quality is fantastic.

[6mmintl]

[QUOTE=smoothy8500;13934074]What scope are you using? I have a Konus 20x60 that works great at the range (200yds). Even my first spotter, a nineteen eighties Bushnell Sentry 36x zoom with a 50mm lense was decent. If you have a Barfska, NC Star, or Big 5 special then that's the problem. Konus 20x60x80mm can be had for around $200. Used Bushnell spotters can be found on E-bay for a good price. Beyond 200yds the atmosphere such as haze or mirage affects seeing bulletholes on your target.

Kowa TSN series are great. 60mm, 70mm, or 80mm bodies plus eyepiece (either 25x LER or 20x60 zoom) are the most popular at the NRA and F-class matches.

2nd on the Konus 80mm, about 905 of a Kowa when set on 20x for 1/5th the price. But I own two Kowa's.

[sunborder]

Can you see .22 holes at 100 or, better yet, 200 yards on a Konus 80mm?

Ultimately, it would be nice to see .22 holes at 300 yards, but that sounds like it would require much better glass.

[smoothy8500]

With my Konus I could see .22 holes in the black at 100yds, no problem. 30 cal in the black at 200yds were mostly visible. Mirage usually caused issues. 300yds using a "shoot n see" target worked OK. At 600yds I had no problem reading the spotter discs. If you are shooting a light colored target at you will definitely see the holes at 300yds. As 6mmintl said above, the Konus is 90% of a Kowa. Only reason I got the Kowa was someone offered me one at a great price.