Which spotting scope for 100-200yd target shooting?

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Hi fellas,
I'm not sure which section to ask this question, but I thought I'd try here first. My shooting range only allows paper targets and the 100-200yd range is all hill and valley. It's getting harder and harder for me to walk back and forth checking my targets without sliding/falling down one of the hills. With budget in mind, which optic size scope and maybe which brand would work for me? I'm not a competitor except against myself! I'd be happy with a used one as long as it works. I know squat about optics.

Any assistance would be appreciated and if this is in the wrong place, please forgive me.

Thank you!!!
Dave in PA
 
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You can spend hundreds to thousands for a spotting scope. I bought this one, which works just fine for 100-200 yard shooting. Good scope for what you pay IMO. The tripod is kind of cheap, but you can get a much better one for about $25.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DRG17SR?tag=reviewmeta0b-20&pldnSite=1[/ame]
This one is currently out of stock, but the one below is essentially the same scope for the same price.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020449785?pid=748850
 
A friend of mine is a big Athlon fan and the spotting scope above looks like a lot of scope for the money.

I am a Vortex fan for many reasons but a big one is because of the lifetime warranty, but looking at Midway, the cheapest Vortex is $400. My shooting buddy and I split the cost on this one, Vortex Optics Viper HD Spotting Scope 20-60x 85mm Angled Body. At our local range we can shoot to 565 yds and it is easy to see hits and misses with the clarity of it.

My experience with cheap spotting scopes is that they work great until they don't. They tend to be fragile. If I were trying to stay on a cheaper budget, I would look for an older, nice spotting scope, maybe a Bausch & Lomb or similar, rather than buying a new, super cheap scope.

Tim
 
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I have the angled version of the Leupold SX-2 HD 20-60x80 spotting scope. Great optics, smooth focusing, durable, and priced around $429.

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It’s priced about the same as the similar sized Vortex Diamond Back, but it has much better focusing and optics and is on par with the Vortex Viper series scope in the similar 20-60x85mm format. I don’t recommend the Vortex Diamond Back series to anyone.


——

A really good tripod and a smooth tripod head is vital to making a good performing spotting scope truly usable. Don’t skimp on quality and get one rated for at least 2-3 times over the actual weight of your scope.
 
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I rarely have the opportunity to shoot over 200 yards at a range, and almost all of that is in broad daylight. I've had a Tasco variable for over 20 years. If on a bench, I have a simple 6" 3 leg tripod. If sitting in a chair, spotting for someone else, I just use a basic camera tripod.
Now if you want a spotting scope for spotting game at hundreds of yards out west, that warrants hundreds or thousands of dollars. Simple close range target work out to 200 for sighting, $100 spotting scopes will do it all day long.
And I'm not a cheap scope guy. My hunting and target guns have a minimum of Leupold VX2. Most have VX3 or 4's. There's a big difference between squeezing the last few minutes out of an end of season twilight hunt and sighting in on a bright Saturday.
 
And I'm not a cheap scope guy. My hunting and target guns have a minimum of Leupold VX2. Most have VX3 or 4's. There's a big difference between squeezing the last few minutes out of an end of season twilight hunt and sighting in on a bright Saturday.

Thats why I am a Leupold guy and are on all of my guns. They really perform well with low light conditions.

I need a spotting scope myself,wonder if Leopold spotting scopes are great in low light also.
 
I have found that my best bang for my buck is used quality optics from a manufacturer with a lifetime warranty. I am on several firearm forums, and check the classified frequently. I know a deal, and I know a steal. Always have been happy. And some red dot manufacturers offer lifetime warranties as well. Most don't.
 
I am a CRO at my local club and Vortex spotting scopes dominate.

Leupold makes a great scope for the money as well.

A scope that I think very highly of and has not been mentioned is the Konus line of spotting scopes. They make a 20-60x80 angled eyepiece scope that is surprisingly good.

Are looking to see .22 caliber holes at 100-200 yards? Many will do that on the 100 yard range, few will do that at 200 yards and they will cost in the thousands of dollars range.

Much of it will depend on how much you want to invest.

Randy
 
I bought a Bushnell 20-60 but returned it as the glass was spotty.
So I bought a Weaver T36 which sits on a tripod as well as the No.1V 223 Rem and one of the 6920s.
Okay for .224s to see at 100yds but have not tried it at 200yds.

Great for indoor smallbore as it works at 50'.

Will take it to a park and have the Mrs hold a target with various bullet holes at 150 and 200 when time permits.
 

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I am a CRO at my local club and Vortex spotting scopes dominate.

Leupold makes a great scope for the money as well.

A scope that I think very highly of and has not been mentioned is the Konus line of spotting scopes. They make a 20-60x80 angled eyepiece scope that is surprisingly good.

Are looking to see .22 caliber holes at 100-200 yards? Many will do that on the 100 yard range, few will do that at 200 yards and they will cost in the thousands of dollars range.

Much of it will depend on how much you want to invest.

Randy

I've heard good things multiple times about Konus scopes.
 
200 yards isn't really that far and a good quality high magnification rifle scope is often enough to see bullet holes. If you're shooting a small bore rifle and it's overcast, you'll want a quality spotting scope.

You can find good deals on used ones, but it really helps to know the market. I've owned a Leupold 12-40x60, a 24X Unertl, a variable Bausch & Lomb, an older Bushnell Trophy and a collapsible Swarovski 30X.

I sold off the Leupold and Unertl after I picked up a used Kowa TSN-821 with a 20-60X eyepiece. The optics are superb and I can easily spot .22 caliber holes at 200 meters. It's too big for field use, which is why I kept the Swarovski. The Unertl probably had the next best optics, but the collector value was pretty high and the Kowa is a lot nicer.

If you belong to a club, see what other shooters are using and ask if you can view targets with their scopes. Most shooters are very accommodating and you'll quickly notice the difference.

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The Unertl:

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This is an old photo showing the Leupold and the Swarovski.

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I have the Athlon Talos 20-60x80 and have had it a couple of years. No issues and it does the job adequately. It’s not a Zeiss by any means but it works and has held up. Like many cheaper optics there are some chromatic aberrations resulting in a little purple fringing around high contrast details. High refractive index glass in more expensive scopes corrects that problem.

I was a professional photographer for 55 years and have several really good tripods. The first thing I did when I received my scope was toss the terrible tripod and mount it in a good one. With a cheap tripod you’re likely to dump your scope on the ground and you’ll be fighting it constantly.

For longer distance 22 cal or any cal for that matter I use splatter targets and have no problem seeing the holes.
 
I am a CRO at my local club and Vortex spotting scopes dominate.

Leupold makes a great scope for the money as well.

A scope that I think very highly of and has not been mentioned is the Konus line of spotting scopes. They make a 20-60x80 angled eyepiece scope that is surprisingly good.

Are looking to see .22 caliber holes at 100-200 yards? Many will do that on the 100 yard range, few will do that at 200 yards and they will cost in the thousands of dollars range.



Much of it will depend on how much you want to invest.

Randy

Excellent summary!!! In addition, to the size of the hole you need to consider the target color - IMO.
A black background & a small hole is tough at 200 yds even with some of the higher end scopes.
I've been a range safety officer at our club for 20 years and investing in a
better scope is a good idea if you shoot a lot.
 
Thanks millions, fellas!!! I sincerely appreciate the comments and assistance. I usually shoot 100yds. with a caliber as small as a .22 or .223. After reading all the posts, I think I should look for a decent used scope with a fair price. I usually shoot pistols at 20yds, only my rifles on occasion at the 100yd., and I don't hunt. So, that's why I don't know that much about optics. I used to just climb the hills and valleys numerous times at the 100yd., but with failing eyes and not-so-steady legs now, one trip to hang the target and a second to collect it is hazardous enough. :( I'll look around for some of the brands you all suggested to see if I can find a used one I want to afford.
Dave
 
I recently purchased an Athlon Ares spotting scope, and I've been very pleased with the quality of the glass. It's on the more expensive end of 'bargain' stuff, but nowhere near 'high end' optics. They have a slightly less expensive Argos line that's under $300 for a 20-60x85.

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As noted above, a good tripod is essential, and I like a 45 deg eyepiece for bench work.
 
Thats why I am a Leupold guy and are on all of my guns. They really perform well with low light conditions.

I need a spotting scope myself,wonder if Leopold spotting scopes are great in low light also.

I have the Leupold SX-2 HD as mentioned above.

Low light performance depends on a few things.

1) Objective lens diameter.

Objective lens diameter along with lens quality is what determines resolution of the scope and diameter along with light gathering ability. An 80mm scope has 5,027 sq mm of surface area, while a 60mm scope has just 2,827 sq mm. That extra 20mm of objective lens diameter almost doubles the surface area and the amount of light it can gather.

2) Lens coatings.

Lens coatings make a huge difference. There may be 6-7 lenses in the average spotting scope and each uncoated lens surface can reflect about 10% of the light passing through it. In other words, you might only get around 25% of the original light passing through a “coated” lens scope.

“Fully coated” is better as it means each lens surface is coated. However, a single coating will only be optimized for a single wavelength of light.

What you want are “fully multicoated” lenses.

Even then the quality of the coatings will vary. For sample Leupold has the “advanced optical system” in tje SX-2 while the SX-4 has the “elite optical system”. (They also have a “professional grade optical system”.) Most of the difference with the SX-4 is the ED (extremely low dispersion) glass that reduces chromatic aberration***, but some of it might be a minor improvement in the lens coatings.

I’ve tried to find the light transmission numbers for the various systems and can’t. But even several years ago, Leupold’s standard lens coatings were 98.5 efficient. 1.5% loss through each of 10 lens surfaces is still going to give about 87% light through put. If you bump that up to 99.5% efficiency then the throughput rises to 95% with 10 lens surfaces. Is 8% more light worth the extra gouge? That’s for you to decide. On a small 60mm scope that is already low light challenged, it might be. But their lack of published numbers reflects the fact that their “advanced” coatings are probably very efficient already and the juice might not be worth the squeeze for anything higher performing.

3) Exit pupil.

Exit pupil is a function of objective lens diameter and magnification.

Let’s say you are looking at three scopes:

10-40x40mm
20-60x60mm
20-60x80mm

At 20x the 40mm scope will have an exit pupil of 2mm. (40/20=2). That will work fine on a bright sunny day, where your pupil diameter is only 2mm or so. But in low light where your pupil may be 4mm in diameter that small exit pupil will only partially illuminate the fovea (the part that sees fine detail) in your retina. The result will be an image that appears dark and grainy.

The 60mm scope will have a 3mm exit pupil at 20x, and the 80mm scope will have a 4 mm exit pupil.

In low light, with the 80mm scope, with your pupil at 4mm you’ll still be using all of your available retina and will get an image that appears much brighter and sharper. In other words, the best lens coatings in the world won’t do much for you of the objective lens and magnification are creating an exit pupil that is too small to fully illuminate your eye under those low light conditions.


*** I mentioned chromatic aberration above and what that means in a spotting scope will be some purple fringing around very bright objects. For example I might be looking at a bright white water tower a mile away and see a faint purple halo around the edges, but usually only at higher magnifications above 40x on my 20-60x80mm scope. Chromatic abberation won’t bother most users and they will only notice it on objects like that.

Theoretically the images won’t be as sharp as the different wavelengths of red, blue and green light will come to focus at three slightly different focal lengths, so focus is always a compromise. But in a 40 to 80mm spotting scope it will not be the limiting factor. In my 6” refractor out in the back yard, it’s a bigger deal.

———

The larger objective lens also means that you can use more of the maximum magnification in the available light. Buy the 10-20x40mm scope and you’ll rarely use more than 15x before the image starts to get dimmer and grainier. With the 60mm scope you’ll have 20-25x that’s actually useable on the average day. With the 80mm scope you’ll be using 30x with the same relative brightness and clarity as the 40mm guy at 15x and the 60mm guy at 23x.

In other words, the large objective is also getting you both more results on and more useable magnification in addition to better low light performance.

From that perspective, when low light performance matters, spend the money on a larger objective rather than the latest and greatest lens coatings (above a certain point).


——

I have an observatory in the back yard and I’m a bit of an optics snob, but I went with the Leupold SX-2 Alpine 20-60x80mm.

It’s been an excellent spotting scope, with great color transmission, great image sharpness, great low light performance, smooth, precise focusing and comfortable eye relief.
 
^^^^
Love the scope's choreography in the Leupold video for the scope you like. :D
Can you see .224 bullet holes at 200yds?
Gave all my binocs to the kids in Colorado so I might get one.

On the Ocean gyro stabilized are necessary and are $$$$.

Thx,
RT
 
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