Rifle Scope or Spotting Scope

[midlife]

I have two .22s. See below. I really like the tech sites on the Marlin, and open sites on the Henry. But I want a spotting scope to use at the range.

Should I get one? Or just a decent rifle scope to put on a sandbag for now that I can eventually use on the 22s, or a later bolt action if I get one?

If a rifle scope is the answer, I'd like a decent one.

Any suggestions?

[scamp62]

Spotting Scope

[midlife]

Why?

[M1NM]

A spotting scope has more power than a rifle scope - letting you see those .22 holes at 100 yards. If $ is a problem Harbor Freight has a cheap spotting scope. I'm sure it's not the best but at $50 it might be adequate.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-60-x-60mm-spotting-scope-with-tripod-94555.html

[midlife]

I can afford a decent one. Any suggestions?

[bombadillo]

Konuspot 80 or Vortex Nomad. Both can be had for $150 or so. If you want both a rifle scope and a spotting scope, cameralandny.com had a great deal on any Vortex Crossfire II scope, and you add on a Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 angled spotting scope for only $150. Great deal considering they are around $280-300 typically, and $339 for full blown retail. Out the door shipped, under 300 bucks for a great optics setup for the 100-200 yard range and for .22's.




Here's my nephew looking through the 6-18x44ao with the Vortex Nomad angled next to him. Hope this helps.

[DaleAGribble]

I have the konuspot 100. I really like it, but it is big and heavy. The picture is brighter on the 100 over the 80 and makes it easier to see. You will want a good tripod to go with the the spotting scope also. I use a slik tripod for mine. I also adapted an old IPhone to the set up to take pictures and video.

The set up

The moon using the iPhone

[bombadillo]

Man, I like that scope, but its FREAKIN HUGE! Thats the only down side of the big ones are watching guys go prone and have issues with high power matches and other things.

[Cruznegao]

This is one of the reasons why I love calguns...
I just look at so many threads that I have no interest on and keep finding a lot of cool stuff.
Like this picture of the moon. How cool is that?! Who would thought that it was taken whit an iPhone

[whipkiller]

A spotting scope has more power than a rifle scope - letting you see those .22 holes at 100 yards. If $ is a problem Harbor Freight has a cheap spotting scope. I'm sure it's not the best but at $50 it might be adequate.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-60-x...pod-94555.html

Don't think I'd bother with the Harbor Freight http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=824044

Harbor Freight is great for certain things, but it doesn't sound like optics is among them.

[bombadillo]

Don't waste your time trying out the NCstar, Barska, Yukon, Harbor Freight, UTG, Leapers or any of the other garbage optics. I started out with a Barska and I literally couldn't resolve a .223 hole at 100 yards on a non shoot-n-see target. It was so bad I just sold it. I went to a Redfield Rampage 20-60x60 and it was a big step up, but still wasn't all that great. I switched that awhile back to a Vortex Nomad, and I trust it out to about 350 yards or so, maybe 400. I can easily spot .22 holes on paper at 200 yards with this one and that is all I really need it for. It works really well for what I need, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. If I were to get a good one, I would probably look to a Kowa angled scope, a Vortex Viper HD, or Pentax PF-80ed or similar. There are a lot out there but they range from hundreds to thousands for anything worthwhile.

[DaleAGribble]

Don't waste your time trying out the NCstar, Barska, Yukon, Harbor Freight, UTG, Leapers or any of the other garbage optics. I started out with a Barska and I literally couldn't resolve a .223 hole at 100 yards on a non shoot-n-see target. It was so bad I just sold it. I went to a Redfield Rampage 20-60x60 and it was a big step up, but still wasn't all that great. I switched that awhile back to a Vortex Nomad, and I trust it out to about 350 yards or so, maybe 400. I can easily spot .22 holes on paper at 200 yards with this one and that is all I really need it for. It works really well for what I need, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. If I were to get a good one, I would probably look to a Kowa angled scope, a Vortex Viper HD, or Pentax PF-80ed or similar. There are a lot out there but they range from hundreds to thousands for anything worthwhile.

This
Don't waste your money on cheap spotting scopes.

[bombadillo]

One more thing for ya. I have currently a Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 angled eyepiece scope, and a Pentax PF-80ED straight eyepiece. Its kind of an unfair comparison because the Pentax is about a $1300.00 scope, and the Vortex is a $330 scope. For reference, this is a tabletop comparison from your average joe, not some fancy setup in a controlled environment. Looking through these scopes, there is a LOT of mirage today, very humid here at 0 feet above sea level, and its a very sunny day in Humboldt. The trees were lasered with a Leica LRF1200 at just shy of 250 yards. Both scopes were on 40x power so I could get the Samsung Galaxy SIII to work with the scope. Again, its a VERY low tech comparison but it will give you an idea.


I'll start off with the $300 Vortex Nomad scope.





Now with the Pentax at about 4 times the price:




I notice some details from the Pentax that I just couldn't resolve on the Vortex, but at 300 yards, I can pretty comfortably pick out .30 cal holes on a shoot-n-see or on my white butcher paper targets with black spots for targets.

You can be the judge, but with 2 decent scopes, there are dramatic differences. I literally wouldn't be able to get half of the picture either of those two scopes took at 250 yards with a Barska. It was just like it was always fuzzy on days like today hence me getting rid of it. Don't waste the $100 on a cheap scope because you'll likely be able to better resolve an image with a riflescope a lot better even with lower power. I used to spot my shots with a Truglo 6-24x44 at 200 yards a LOT better than a 60x barska, and the truglo cost me a whole 79.99 compared to the $100 spotting scope I couldn't even make out the targets with.


PLEASE DON'T BUY A HARBOR FREIGHT, BARSKA, OR NCSTAR SPOTTER. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!

[DaleAGribble]

Don't waste your time trying out the NCstar, Barska, Yukon, Harbor Freight, UTG, Leapers or any of the other garbage optics. I started out with a Barska and I literally couldn't resolve a .223 hole at 100 yards on a non shoot-n-see target. It was so bad I just sold it. I went to a Redfield Rampage 20-60x60 and it was a big step up, but still wasn't all that great. I switched that awhile back to a Vortex Nomad, and I trust it out to about 350 yards or so, maybe 400. I can easily spot .22 holes on paper at 200 yards with this one and that is all I really need it for. It works really well for what I need, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. If I were to get a good one, I would probably look to a Kowa angled scope, a Vortex Viper HD, or Pentax PF-80ed or similar. There are a lot out there but they range from hundreds to thousands for anything worthwhile.

This
Don't waste your money on cheap spotting scopes.

[DaleAGribble]

More pics from my konuspot but with a better camera.


Flag about 840 yards away from what I can remember at 20x power


60x power


The camera was so far off the back of the spotting scope just the shutter releasing with a remote would make the camera shake. I think the picture would be less blurry if I had it set up more solid.