Entry level spotting scope

[blackeagle603]

Looking around for a budget spotting scope. Mostly for range use out to 300yds.

Any particularly appealing values out there? Cautions?

This one from Konus caught my eye. link

[randy]

I bought a Konus from JarHeadTop a few years ago under his "rent a scope" program. (it was just under $200 then, $255.00 including shipping now).

I think it is the same scope that's listed for $219.00 on the side bar of the link you posted (Konuspot 20-60x80mm).

Good service from Jim, and I have been happy with the scope. More than meets my needs given my limited match shooting, I have used it out to 600 yards during match shoots, and works great for casual range use as well.

At the time, I wasn't able to find anything of comparable quality in the price range. I don't know how it will compare to the one you were looking at.

[Darrell]

Konus has a decent reputation for budget optics, made in Italy IIRC. On the other hand, with optics as with so much in life, you get what you pay for. A 70mm objective at 90x max power will have a tiny exit pupil; heck, at 30x min power it's still got a tiny exit pupil. Chris wrote quite a dissertation on optics performance in the thread about Carl Zeiss riflescopes, here:

http://theguncounter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7942

I won't belabor the point by repeating it all; besides, I haven't had my coffee yet. Exit pupil is the diameter of the cone of light leaving the eyepiece and entering your eye. Divide the objective diameter by the power to find it. The exit pupil should be around 7mm at lowest power, and around 2mm at highest power. In your case, at 90x the 70mm objective yields an exit pupil of 0.77mm; at 30x it's 2.33mm, which is barely acceptable. Your eye's pupil dilates from a range of 7 to 2mm; older eyes may dilate only to 5 or 6mm. You want the optics to go along with what your eyes are doing, to say it simply.

In the end, you should go to a sporting goods store or such and cop a look through several scopes, and go from there. Also, figure on spending closer to the high end of your budget, and perhaps more. You might give a look over at Orion Telescopes:

http://www.telescope.com/control/search ... g%20Scopes

Orion has a great reputation for customer service.

[308Mike]

I have two spotting scopes, one is a Barska similar to this one on sale at Big 5 on Fletcher Parkway -



but mine has an angled eyepiece, so I use it much more than the other one without one. We also use this one for stargazing.

I suppose if I did a lot of shooting from a bench, I'd probably use the straight eye piece one more often.

You'll also want to pick up a better tripod than the cheap ones they usually come with.

[randy]

I find the angled eye piece much more usable than a straight through, even when shooting from the bench. Easier to keep shooting position and just lean over a bit to look through the scope.

I would not even think of using a straight through eye piece for match shooting.

[rightisright]

I think it is the same scope that's listed for $219.00 on the side bar of the link you posted (Konuspot 20-60x80mm).

That one has served my modest needs rather well over the past few years.

[workinwifdakids]

Got that Barska; $99. I like it. Straight eye piece, but other than that, whaddya want for a bill?

[308Mike]

Got that Barska; $99. I like it. Straight eye piece, but other than that, whaddya want for a bill?

I really liked the one I had - had to get a MUCH better tripod - until I picked up my angled eye-piece scope.

Both have their places, but I've discovered the angled eyepiece is more comfortable to use in most situations. Even if I was bench-resting, I could flip the scope sideways and make it so the eyepiece was pointing towards me instead of up. Hence, I don't use my straight eyepiece scope much anymore, but it REALLY comes in handy for spotters, observers, and window-watchers.

[Jeffro]

I find the angled eye piece much more usable than a straight through, even when shooting from the bench. Easier to keep shooting position and just lean over a bit to look through the scope.

I would not even think of using a straight through eye piece for match shooting.

+1 - mine is a straight eye piece and I've wanted an angled one ever since I started using what I have.

[308Mike]

As I said, I almost never use my straight eyepiece scope, but it's handy for when my brother's kids come over and want to look at stuff across the valley.