Help me decide - spotting scope

[sniperjhk]

Do you have any experiece with these two?
Vortex Viper HD 20-60x85 or
Sightron SIIBL 20-60x85 HD

It is for my 308. Can I see the hole in the target on 300 - 400 - 500 - 600???

Thank you for all information..

[fgw_in_fla]

I just got one of these and like it.
Works quite well at ranges up to 400 - 500yds with .30 cal holes.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2856145774/redfield-rampage-spotting-scope-20-60x-armored-with-case-neck-strap-and-tripod-black

Got it on sale at Bass Pro and I had a bunch of points so I walked out the door with it for $220. I got the 80mm objective.

The scopes you mention are a bit pricey which is why I went with the Redfield scope.

[Dennis]

The best I have put my eyes on was a Swarovski .

I could see the hole as they hit the target at 600 yards. I have not used another scope capable of this. I am saving for one now. Or I will sell one of my rifles just to get one.

Dennis

[yobuck]

On a good day, meaning good clear air, many optics will appear to be good.
On a bad day with poor air quality, none will be good, but the better optics will be slightly better than the cheaper ones.
Bottom line is none will improve the quality of the air your looking thru. So dont be expecting to see bullet holes at 600 everyday,
even with top of the line optics like Swarovski.

[Iowa Fox]

The best I have put my eyes on was a Swarovski .

I could see the hole as they hit the target at 600 yards. I have not used another scope capable of this. I am saving for one now. Or I will sell one of my rifles just to get one.

Dennis



At the matches and shoots I've had a chance to watch thru just about all spotting scopes. No doubt about it, the Swarovski is the best my eyes have looked thru.

Of the two you mention I would pick the Vortex if I was reaching into my pocket making a purchase.

[Dennis]

At the matches and shoots I've had a chance to watch thru just about all spotting scopes. No doubt about it, the Swarovski is the best my eyes have looked thru.

Of the two you mention I would pick the Vortex if I was reaching into my pocket making a purchase.

I was at Cabela's looking at the Vortex's today. For the price, their hard to beat, especially when you mainly use them for scoring!

[LoneWolf]

The beauty of the Vortex is it's a lifetime investment! If something ever happens to it the will always take care of you no questions asked. I love the glass in my Gen 2 Razor. It stays clear up to its MAX at 27x.

The spotting scope is no slouch either!

[Rob01]

The Vortex Viper HD for sure. It's a very good scope for the money and as mentioned Vortex is an excellent company and will take care of any issues including if you mess up and damage it. I have a Razor 20-60x85 spotter and really like it. I have looked through the Viper HD next to the Razor and it is very good in comparison.

[yobuck]

If you were to put all of the higher priced scopes side by side on the same day all aimed at the same objects, youd be hard pressed to pick
one. One might appear slightly different than the others but they would all look good and all would show the objects about the same.

Now what many people fail to realize is that 50/60 years ago lots of good shooters were shooting 10x prone possibles with guns like 52 Winchesters.
And frankly a good shooter could still do that with those guns. And beyond that they were looking at 22 bullet holes on targets out to a couple
hundred yards in the black part of the target. I can personaly vouch for that because i was doing it back then. (Although i couldnt shoot 10x possibles)
Some of us also used those scopes for hunting. After locating deer on the distant sidehills with hand held glasses, we would use the spotter to check for horns.
Same way the vast majority of long range hunters are doing it today. I currently have quite a few pairs of binnoculars, including large, very large and small.
Also 4 or 5 sets of twin spotters in machined brackets. Included are a set of modern 77mm Kowas, a set of 60s era Bausch&Lomb balscopes, along with a couple sets of various size 70s era Bushnells.
A few of my friends have 80mm Swarovskis in brackets and a few have 82mm Kowas. You would be looking at spending about $6000 today to put two 80mm Swarovskis in a good bracket.
But i know at least 5 guys who have them. Now ask me if in spite of what we have today, if we find and kill more deer than we did 20/30 years ago when we didnt have these really great optics.
We dont need a 1000/2000 dollar scope to take to the range to see bullet holes. But if thats what you want, and you can afford it then why not.

[Txhillbilly]

You might want to look at the Zen-Ray spotting scopes. They will give Swarovski a run for the money.

[Petre]

This is what I went with

http://www.bestspottingscopereviews.com/images/Vanguard/Vanguard-Endeavor-HD-82A-Spotting-Scope2-Large.jpg

http://www.bestspottingscopereviews.com/VanguardEndeavorHD82ASpottingScope-12.htm

Competes with the big boys and has all their features for a 1/3 of the price IMO and by doing first hand comparisons

Great glass, removable eye piece for camera mounting, big 82mm objective and all ED glass. Magnesium body, fast and fine focus, built in sunshade, covers and soft carrying bag all included.

[flyer]

I'm cheap and I use an Orion 90mm Maksutov Cassegrain telescope with a 500mm focal length.

It has more aperture than an 82mm scope and that translates in to resolution.

Also the Mak design is less prone to chromatic aberration so it doesn't need fancy glass which means they are cheap. They also seem to be discontinued so when you find one used they are really cheap because its more of a spotter than a telescope and most people bought them as a telescope.

Any way, I bought two used for about $150 total and I have about $100 more in used heavy duty Bogen by Manfrotto tripods and fine adjust movements. The tripods are super stable which is great because a shaky scope is almost worse than a scope with poor glass.

[Robinhood]

The Swaros are nice but you can find a KOWA used for a fair price. Kowa makes some decent optics.