Thoughts on Leupold compact spotters
- Thread starter tribb
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Since Kowa has come out with their new 17-40 compact spotter, you can buy the TSN 553 15-45 it is replacing for a huge discount. They also have the straight version (554).
I learned a hard lesson, have enough glass to see if your trophy buck has broken brow tines from fighting. Those large dominant bucks love to fight during the rut. Another issue is that during the rut, bucks are traveling, and you may not have the time to go back and forth between a spotting scope/binoculars and rifle acquisition. Your solution may be unconventional for the way you hunt. We hunt out of Tree Stands(lock on), climbers, or ladder stands.
Another issue is if you are hunting during the rut, learn to rattle and use a grunt call. Learning to call in Bucks is perhaps the best part of the hunt, and using a cover scent is helpful. They can pinpoint you to within 1* at 1000 yards! Having them come to your tree/ladder stand, stomp, snort, and scrape the ground is incredible to see! I have had non-shooter bucks come to my ladder stand and fight for up to 4 hours, they almost knocked over my ladder stand in Kansas. When all of this is happening, every doe in the area is there watching, so you have to act together on scent control.
When living in Az, we hunted off of mules and horses. We typically shot from ridge to ridge, which was 300-550 yards. I had a special scabbard made that was large enough to accept a Burris 6x-24x with Target knobs, knobs marked to 600 yards, then went to a Burris Black Diamond in 8x-32x in another scabbard, 7 mags. The Mule I rode would spot a buck in his bed every time. Deer never paid any attention to the mules as long as tack was not rattling nor people talking. I would turn the mule broadside to the deer, get off the mule on the offside, retrieve my rifle out of the scabbard, screw on the Harris Bi-Pod, and one shot and the deer was dead in its bed. Hunting partners did the same, and we drew straws on who was going to shoot in what order instead of competing for the shot. I never saw a Mule Deer buck in AZ with brow tines broken off from fighting, white tails in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and SC are another story.
Like most of you, I have watched the video's of guy set up on one hill shooting deer and elk from a distance, observing with a spotting scope. I have not hunted that way, and I do not know of anyone that has hunted that way.
People in different parts of the country hunt very differently. When I see a deer off at a distance, I will pull out my Rattle bag and my grunt call is hanging around my neck. Part of the extreme enjoyment is calling in those large bucks to me,and they come! Of course, not all hunting can be done this way, especially in Utah on opening day! YIKES!
Another issue is if you are hunting during the rut, learn to rattle and use a grunt call. Learning to call in Bucks is perhaps the best part of the hunt, and using a cover scent is helpful. They can pinpoint you to within 1* at 1000 yards! Having them come to your tree/ladder stand, stomp, snort, and scrape the ground is incredible to see! I have had non-shooter bucks come to my ladder stand and fight for up to 4 hours, they almost knocked over my ladder stand in Kansas. When all of this is happening, every doe in the area is there watching, so you have to act together on scent control.
When living in Az, we hunted off of mules and horses. We typically shot from ridge to ridge, which was 300-550 yards. I had a special scabbard made that was large enough to accept a Burris 6x-24x with Target knobs, knobs marked to 600 yards, then went to a Burris Black Diamond in 8x-32x in another scabbard, 7 mags. The Mule I rode would spot a buck in his bed every time. Deer never paid any attention to the mules as long as tack was not rattling nor people talking. I would turn the mule broadside to the deer, get off the mule on the offside, retrieve my rifle out of the scabbard, screw on the Harris Bi-Pod, and one shot and the deer was dead in its bed. Hunting partners did the same, and we drew straws on who was going to shoot in what order instead of competing for the shot. I never saw a Mule Deer buck in AZ with brow tines broken off from fighting, white tails in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and SC are another story.
Like most of you, I have watched the video's of guy set up on one hill shooting deer and elk from a distance, observing with a spotting scope. I have not hunted that way, and I do not know of anyone that has hunted that way.
People in different parts of the country hunt very differently. When I see a deer off at a distance, I will pull out my Rattle bag and my grunt call is hanging around my neck. Part of the extreme enjoyment is calling in those large bucks to me,and they come! Of course, not all hunting can be done this way, especially in Utah on opening day! YIKES!
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I had a Leupold and Swarovski side by side (both 20-60x80) and for me the optics were close with the slight advantage to the Swarovski. What made me keep a Swarovski was the ease at which the focus ring turned and didn't alter the sight picture. The Leopold was very stiff. I had a similar experience with the vortex scopes with the large single focus rings. The scopes that have the dual focus knobs is a nice feature to consider and the lows uses that system. The glass is great too.
fmajor
Well-Known Member
There have been some great comments here and it really is a tough choice.
I have a Razor 11-33x 50mm scope I got at a close-out price (around $600 iirc) that is absolutely amazing and a Leupold SX4 Pro 20-60x 85mm spotter that is very, very good.
While the Leupold provides better resolution at greater distances I really cannot specify at what distance the trade-off between the two is most apparent. That said, the weight difference is immediate!!!
Maybe a 20-60x with a reasonable weight and optical quality is out there, but it will not be inexpensive - that much is certain.
Ultimately, how much resolution do you really, truly need? The economic maxim of diminishing returns is very applicable here. If you effortlessly have the budget for the absolute best, then sure, enjoy those last few, expensive percentage points of improvement. Personally, I find the greatest joy in the balance of exceptional performance at what is reasonably priced (to me sub $2,000).
I know full well that whatever goes to the field with me is going to get scratched, scuffed, dirty, wet, and possibly (likely?) dropped. It's just gonna happen. So when that happens, I can stomach the potential $1,500 loss/impairment and replace it effortlessly. That's about the limit to my tolerance for loss. I am fiscally very conservative and think about what could be done with $2,000 and more to replace something I've broken. Additionally, the performance gain from the $800-$1,500 range to the next tier is insufficient for me - maybe not for anyone else, but for me.
I have a Razor 11-33x 50mm scope I got at a close-out price (around $600 iirc) that is absolutely amazing and a Leupold SX4 Pro 20-60x 85mm spotter that is very, very good.
While the Leupold provides better resolution at greater distances I really cannot specify at what distance the trade-off between the two is most apparent. That said, the weight difference is immediate!!!
Maybe a 20-60x with a reasonable weight and optical quality is out there, but it will not be inexpensive - that much is certain.
Ultimately, how much resolution do you really, truly need? The economic maxim of diminishing returns is very applicable here. If you effortlessly have the budget for the absolute best, then sure, enjoy those last few, expensive percentage points of improvement. Personally, I find the greatest joy in the balance of exceptional performance at what is reasonably priced (to me sub $2,000).
I know full well that whatever goes to the field with me is going to get scratched, scuffed, dirty, wet, and possibly (likely?) dropped. It's just gonna happen. So when that happens, I can stomach the potential $1,500 loss/impairment and replace it effortlessly. That's about the limit to my tolerance for loss. I am fiscally very conservative and think about what could be done with $2,000 and more to replace something I've broken. Additionally, the performance gain from the $800-$1,500 range to the next tier is insufficient for me - maybe not for anyone else, but for me.
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Swarovski is the only way to go. Save up and you won't be disappointed. Sometimes you can find demos or trade ins and save a little bit. I went to an SCI convention a few years ago and was able to compare all the top brands side by side. Swarovski was by far the best. I remember looking across a huge exhibit hall and could see who had shaved that morning with the swarv!!!
Thanks
