A small spotting scope

[wildcat westerner]

Hello,
At the ridiculous age of 76, after recovering from both Cancer, a Heart attack, with disabilities to my ankle, I have drawn a Barbary sheep hunt around the Mescalero Apache reservation. Since I am retired I shall be on this hunt till succesfull or for the three week period. This 6.5 Sherman rifle I am working with will be ideal in terms of flat trajectory and high resistance to the winds effects.
I see my problems as conditioning and also obtaining a quite small spotting scope of good quality. I already have binocular/rangefinders and simply want greater magnification because I have been told to expect to walk between 5 and 14 miles a day.
I know good "glass" can cost a fortune, if anyone is aware of a good answer to the challenge of size, magnification, and focus and also cost, please feel free to inform me. I have been spoiled by good glass and my spotting scope is battleship binoculars style with a Bogen tripod, so obviously it's not going very far from the pickup!

Thanks, in advance,

Wildcat westerner

 

[willtim]

I have a Leupold GR 15-30 I like a lot. Small and light.

 

[bigngreen]

I've been absalutely happy with my little 11-33x50 vortex, I've found more sheep with it than with our bigger scopes!!

 

[Matt Williams]

Another vote for the Vortex 11-33X50. I picked up one of the Razor HD models before they switched to the new style. I love it. Lightweight, crystal clear, didn't break the bank, and a lifetime warranty to boot.

 

[fabricator21]

I also use the vortex 11-33. I do occasionally want more magnification, but for the size and quality of glass i find it to be just about perfect

 

[wildcat westerner]

Thanks for your insights. I received other views via th phone, three were "all in" on the Vortex 11x 33!

Thanks to you all,

WW

 

[bsfl]

There is a Kowa prominar ts 554 for sale on the hide.

 

[CUTTER1]

Thumbs up fo a Vortex 11x33HD for a backpack scope. Had a leupold 12x40HD and prefer the Vortex. Love my Nightforce TS82 best scope I've ever owned! Also have a Swavorski HD I won at a sportsman show 2 yr ago & an 80mm Swavorski I bought in Europe 20 yrs ago and my
77mm Leica that rarely leaves my hunting truck.
I use them all in various places but the Vortex goes in the saddlebags or backpack. Not same level of glass as the others but very suitable for a pack hunt and so far the best scope I've found for that purpose.

 

[Recon$$]

I use a vortex 11 x 33 razor as well.

 

[Don A Parsons]

I have a 1/2 lb Nikon auto focus camera with 1 to 55 power at $550 Cnd funds or $375 Usd... Super clear and it has low light vision along with endless low light options ...

Adjust the timing to take photos in pitch dark night as the picture looks like it was taken in the day time...

Video or still shot,,, auto steady shot,,, and lots of options for recharging if needed... My back up booster pack weighs 4 oz and allows for 4 full charged of the camera...

All win win in my books

PS: did I mention that they come with dusk vision in record mode

 

[wildcat westerner]

Great, in a single day I have gone from complete ignorance of a very specific niche type optic to knowing the best ( by consensus) unit available on the market at a price, that by comparison to most optics in this category is reasonable for this quality and especially SIZE!
Thanks a lot,
WW

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I suggest either one of the small Kowa's or the small Athlon Cronus

 

[JAYgs8163]

I did numerous research on small spotting scopes. Reading hunting forums, birding forums, digiscoping articles, etc... and testing over 10 scopes. I wanted a high quality compact optic that wouldn't break the bank. I was willing to spend up to $1200. I ended up purchasing a Pentax PF65ED compact body with 2 separate eyepieces. The total purchase ended up costing me just under $750. I have a zoom eyepiece and a fixed power eye piece as well. When hunting I primarily us the zoom eyepiece. Fixed power eyepieces will always offer better clarity than a zoom eyepiece. The scope comes with a very nice case that can stay on while using it which I find very convenient. The eye piece I settled on is the Vixen NLV Zoom. A huge factor in a scope is the quality of the eye piece. The scope has a built in retractable sun shade as well. It's one of the best purchases in optics I've made. I also use Swarovski 15x56 binos along with Outdoorsmans tall tripod. I'm a avid Coues deer hunter and quality optics are extremely important to me. This is not a Swarovski quality scope but it's very close for much less.

 

[JAYgs8163]

I suggest either one of the small Kowa's or the small Athlon Cronus

I bought my Pentax from Doug!