Is a cheap spotting scope worth the price?

[Schnyd112]

i left my scope at the range and somebody picked it up. Was a mid 90's leupold gold ring. Now I need a new scope but I wont have $1500 to drop on anything nice until next year. Is the vortex diamondback or bushnell tactical scope worth the $4-500 they cost or do I forgo my spotting scope for deer and elk and wait until I can get a nice one?

Deer season is active now. I have a Nevada bull elk tag that opens in November. My dad, and hunting partner, has a nice swaro scope that we pack no matter what. I am going to feel worthless without my own scope but I don't want to waste money when we have an ample glass.

I do a lot of shooting and need my own scope but saturday is my last competition of the year so I won't miss it horribly until March.

 

[NoFences]

Wait and get a nice one. Nothing worse than cheap glass. I've made that mistake more times than I care to admit.

 

[Bravo 4]

If you do get a cheap one do yourself a favor and don't look through the Swarovski!
Your cheap one is likely to be left "on the range" again.
When observing as a team I would prefer one use binos for scanning and one use spotter for looking into shadows and such.

 

[Schnyd112]

If you do get a cheap one do yourself a favor and don't look through the Swarovski!
Your cheap one is likely to be left "on the range" again.
When observing as a team I would prefer one use binos for scanning and one use spotter for looking into shadows and such.

That has always been our approach. We carry a heavy tripod for the scope, the guy that has the gun carries the scope, the other hauls the tripod. We just had really good luck on our last deer hunt with both of us looking through scopes.

The Swarovski is amazing. It saves so much walking being able to see everything from a long ways away. There is a reason we carry the extra 12 lbs between scope and tripod to the tip tops.

 

[Bravo 4]

When's your hunt?

 

[Schnyd112]

Deer opened October 6. My elk tag runs November 6-22.

 

[Bravo 4]

If you need one to get you through the season shoot me a PM.

 

[FURMAN]

I cheap spotter is better than nothing but with spotters and binoculars good glass is always better.

 

[HARPERC]

I'd upgrade binoculars until I got top end then save for a quality spotter.

 

[Bravo 4]

I agree, I have a decent pair of binos and a good spotter. Kinda wish I'd gone the other way. I don't look for trophy elk, I'm just looking for elk.
A elk, any elk.

 

[HARPERC]

I have the Swaro, but it's too heavy for hunting unless you hunt as a shooter/spotter team, and substitute it for a rifle. A least for my tired old behind. Just another fly in the ointment.

 

[Schnyd112]

What do you think of the zeis conquest hd line? Those are on my radar for bino's and I could probably swing that before elk starts.

 

[Schnyd112]

I have the Swaro, but it's too heavy for hunting unless you hunt as a shooter/spotter team, and substitute it for a rifle. A least for my tired old behind. Just another fly in the ointment.

That is how we usually do it. All tags here are lottery draw so it's one rifle for the most part. The tripod we pack is heavy but worth every ounce when you are judging bucks from over a mile away. Guy with the rifle carries the scope, the one without carries the tripod.

 

[aebhunter]

I guess I'll dissent from the ranks a little, I think the gap has closed considerably between the upper echelon glass and the "cheaper" mid range models. I owned a Zeiss Diascope 20-60 that I paid a hefty sum for, even 10 years ago. Looked through my fair share of Swaros as well. Are they better than the Vortex/Athlon mid range models? Abolutely! Are they 1500-2k better, I suppose that is completely up to the end user. I have my eye on the Athlon Ares spotter, seems to get good review and I like the usable range. Even with my Zeiss I rarely was on 60x. I might take the plunge and see if I can get by.