Recommendation for an Inexpensive Spotting Scope

R

rraisley

Member
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
672
Reaction score
230
Location
Columbia, SC
My old eyes aren't what they used to be. I have a 40 year old Bushnell 20x50 spotting scope that served me well at 50 yards when shooting competition pistol, but I usually can't see .22 holes at 100 yards with it. I searched here, and among other posts, found someone recommending a Meade 50mm spotting scope. A few other web searches led me to the Meade 20-60x60 spotting scope, which sounded ideal, so I purchased one.

Well, while I always felt Meade made quality optics, the image at higher powers with this scope are quite poor. Probably 35-40 power is its maximum, and surprisingly, it's still difficult for me to see the .22 holes at 100 yards. I've seen people here post they see their holes at 100+ yards through 9-12 power scopes, but I don't see how. With my 14x I'll get a "shadow" around a cluster of shots, but that's about it. I guess my old eyes cause the problem.

Having pretty much wasted the money on the Meade, I'd like to consider a better spotting scope, but I can't spend THAT much. Certainly under $200.

So, what, if any, scopes would you recommend that give a clear image of .22 holes at 100 yards? If it's not much better than the Meade, there's no sense in my upgrading. But if there's a huge difference, maybe I'll actually be able to see what I'm shooting. ;)
 
Register to hide this ad
Have you tried shoot and see type targets? The work extremely well at long distance shooting. Very easy to spot where you hit your target.
 
AR-Getsome said:
Have you tried shoot and see type targets? The work extremely well at long distance shooting. Very easy to spot where you hit your target.
Click to expand...
My buddy used one on our last shooting session, but I've shied away from the due to the cost. I've got dozens (hundreds?) of pistol targets from my competition days, and tend to use those, although I did buy some new orange rifle targets. Not shoot and see, though.
 
I recently got a Barska 20 - 60 x 60mm from Cabela's; on sale for $59.99. It's certainly not the same type glass as my Nikon scope but it's pretty good for under $100.
 
TacticalTom said:
20-60 x 60mm Spotting Scope with Tripod

Under $55 bucks...plus if you use one of their 20% off coupons even better.
Click to expand...

Do you have one of those?

My father bought me one last Christmas. It was very cheap with his HF membership. The scope itself is ok I guess, but the tripod was a complete pile of smelly stuff. It busted the first time out, and now I'm left with a paperwieght. Maybe you had better luck.

My buddy has the Barska already mentioned. It was 10x better, but nothing special at long distances. I'm at the point where when I get a new one I'm just gonna spend the money and get a nice one.
 
I have a tripod, so don't care about that. In fact, I originally bought a Simmons 20-60x60 from Sportsman's Warehouse for about $80, but took it back, in part, because it included a cheap tripod I didn't want. I'm not sure it was any better than the Meade I ended up with. With the Meade, I had a tough time seeing hits on splatter targets. :-(

As far as long range goes, I'm only interested in 100 yards with my .22, but I'm not sure if my eyesight is limiting me. Seems like it still ought to focus clear, though, given that I have only slight astigmatism. I thought I found a Swarovski for $250 on CheaperThanDirt.com, until I realized that was for the soft CASE! :)
 
Gopher Slayer said:
Do you have one of those?

My father bought me one last Christmas. It was very cheap with his HF membership. The scope itself is ok I guess, but the tripod was a complete pile of smelly stuff. It busted the first time out, and now I'm left with a paperwieght. Maybe you had better luck.

My buddy has the Barska already mentioned. It was 10x better, but nothing special at long distances. I'm at the point where when I get a new one I'm just gonna spend the money and get a nice one.
Click to expand...

Nah...I have the barska...my friend picked up the HF one today. Said the glass wasn't half bad but the tripod was less than desired...he was $40 OTD after using the 20% off.
 
What about Nikon 16-48x65mm Straight ProStaff ($350ish) or Minox MD 50 16-30x50 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope ($250ish)? Both have quality glass (no ED elements though), waterproof, nitrogen filled etc. They are not Zeiss or Swarovski but they are very reputable companies.
These are the two I am looking at right now. I have Minox 8x42 binoculars and they are awesome.
 
I'm the person who started the thread earlier on the Meade scope. If you're unable to use the 20-60, it is very unlikely trying another scope in the same general spec range is going to help you out in any way. Dialing that thing over to 60X is going to put a lot of vignetting in to the picture, even for someone with 20/20 vision, the result will be an image nowhere near as crisp as it is at 20 to 30X.
If I were in your situation, my next step would be to try combining the shoot-n-see targets with the Meade, say at 20 to 30 power, at your 100 yard range, to see if you can see the holes then. Maybe at 40X.
Probably any kind of optics upgrade is either going to be quite expensive, or a lot more difficult to set up, or both.
 
Some years ago I picked up a "kids" telescope at a Goodwill store for 20$ works great. Not sure what the power is but the main lens is about 3" in diameter.
 
As a competive Smallbore shooter myself( rifle) I understand your quest. If I had to replace my current scope I would strongly consider the Konus with either the 60mm or 80 mm objective lens.

The downrange performance is very good and I have been able to see my bullet holes in a 100 yard smallbore target. They can be had for around $200.00
A friend of mine that shoots on the US Palma Team is the one that informed me of these and he uses them for his junior team.

The standard scope for many years on the NRA High Power Rifle line was the Kowa TSN1 with the 25x Long Eye Relief eyepiece.....you might be able to find one of those used on eBay

(The scope is the Konuspot 80...if you do an online search. They will also focus down to 10 meters for use on the air rifle/pistol range as well.......)

My current scope is an AccuSpot that I bought from Jack Foster when he still had his Accuracy International Store....great scope in ALL regards. It will read .22 holes at 100 yards.

Randy
 
Last edited:
I have a Barska 20-60x scope. It is an alright scope and I can see .22 holes at 100yds but as a previous poster stated the field of view at 50-60x is pretty severe. The glass is clear but you have to work your head a bit to get lined up. Since I do not shoot competition it works for me. I use a Cabela's trypod.
 
Forgot to ask if you wanted an angled or straight eyepiece...

Randy

BTW. there is a nice Kowa 601 spotting scope on eBay bidding is at $200 and would be an outstanding choice.
 
geoff40 said:
I'm the person who started the thread earlier on the Meade scope. If you're unable to use the 20-60, it is very unlikely trying another scope in the same general spec range is going to help you out in any way. Dialing that thing over to 60X is going to put a lot of vignetting in to the picture, even for someone with 20/20 vision, the result will be an image nowhere near as crisp as it is at 20 to 30X.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I might be expecting too much at the higher powers for a cheap scope.
If I were in your situation, my next step would be to try combining the shoot-n-see targets with the Meade, say at 20 to 30 power, at your 100 yard range, to see if you can see the holes then. Maybe at 40X.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I got to thinking about my comment that shoot-n-see targets were too expensive; I can buy a lot of targets for the price of the next level of scope!
 
Hohopelli said:
Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope.. It's not bad at 100 yards.. The Silk tripod is nice for a low end unit..
Click to expand...
Thanks. I actually bought the same Silk tripod for my daughter-in-law. As to the scope, I'm sure it's pretty good. I had always considered Meade a step up from Celestron (in astronomical telescopes, which is my previous experience with both), but the Meade I got isn't up for the job. And I don't think I need the 80mm objective; I'd rather put the money into the quality than the size.
 
Well, Fry's has two spotting scopes on sale FRYS.com - $50 for Sightmark 15-45x 60mm straight FRYS.com |  or Yukon 15-45x angled FRYS.com | .

I got Sightmark. Seems to be OK, feels little cheap but I haven't had high expectations. The exit pupil at 45x (1.35mm) is so small that it is hardly usable so I wouldn't zoom higher than 30x, but it should be OK for 100 yards.
 
My experience with the more inexpensive scopes has been poor. I bought a 20X50 and couldn't use it at 25 yards. At distance, even the better scopes will show aberrations that can ruin the ability to see .22 holes effectively. The older you are and/or poor eyesight just complicates that **** out of spotting.. My vote is 80mm at a minimum with a good tripod.. Ron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Grayfox
Scope mount torque?
Replies
4
Views
751
Grayfox
Grayfox
G
Looking for Plinker Tactical, ProMag, and other 15-22 accessories.
Replies
15
Views
2K
strobro32
strobro32
S
scope questions
Replies
8
Views
2K
shaqs77
S
strobro32
SS trip for the 15-22?
Replies
3
Views
617
strobro32
strobro32
Pubtym
111PT DNZ Scope Mount
Replies
0
Views
1K
Pubtym
Pubtym

Latest posts

Back
Top