So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

I skipped the meeting, but the Memos showed that Jim Stewart
wrote on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:38 -0800 in
rec.crafts.metalworking :
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

For casual shooting, "whatever works". I picked up a generic
scope for $75, variable power. Works for me.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?
--
pyotr filipivich
We will drink no whiskey before its nine.
It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!

Jim Stewart wrote:
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

I use a pair of 20X binoculars.
Barska, $20 on sale.

I have a cheap tasco spotting scope. It's junk.

Jim Stewart wrote:

So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.


Get one with an angled eye piece. You do not want a scope that has an inline one. Trust
me.

After that, you need sharp optics and a good support (stand)

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

On 2009-01-13, Jim Stewart wrote:
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

Can you see bullet holes through your rifle scope?

Have you tried those targets that have special coating to better show
where bullets impacted?

I cannot say anything meaningful about spotting scopes, but will be
reading this thread with interest.

i

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

--
Due to extreme spam originating from Google Groups, and their inattention
to spammers, I and many others block all articles originating
from Google Groups. If you want your postings to be seen by
more readers you will need to find a different means of
posting on Usenet.
http://improve-usenet.org/

Darned near anything will work for 30 cal at 100 yds. Even a decent 9x
riflescope can
see the holes. When you go to 22 cal, or start stretching out to 200 and
300 yds the
cheap ones fall off pretty fast. I've got a cheap Simmons variable that
works just dandy
at 100. Might have paid $40 for it with junky tripod and case.

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

Your range doesn't rent them? Depending on how often you go to the range,
consider that. The place I used to shoot would rent them out by the hour for
three or four dollars an hour.

Tom Dacon

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:38 -0800, the infamous Jim Stewart
scrawled the following:

So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

I'm cheap and bought the $30 spruce-wood Belarussian scope from HF. It
doesn't have an angled eyepiece so it's a PITA to use, but it works.
HF no longer sells them.


Any recommendations?

Yeah, just one:
don't go to the range on Sunday afternoon with 500 other people.

--
A great preservative against angry and mutinous thoughts, and all
impatience and quarreling, is to have some great business and
interest in your mind, which, like a sponge shall suck up your
attention and keep you from brooding over what displeases you.
-- Joseph Rickaby

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

Look at scopes. Physically go to the dealers, then select what you want.
Now shop price. Ebay, pawn shops, local newspapers that advertise goods for
sale, like Quick Quarter, or whatever it's called where you are. We have a
local AM radio show called Tradio. You get to put pretty much whatever you
want on there, but not commercials. I called in today for telephone poles,
and within one minute a guy called me with three of them begging me to come
drag them off. I will go Saturday with chain saw and trailer.

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:38 -0800, Jim Stewart
wrote:

So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

I have a Burris Landmark 15-45x60 that I'm very happy with, cost under
$200. I think it's a lot of scope for the money. I actually got it
for spying on bass fishermen from my deck at the lake, (what are they
throwing today?) but then got back into riflery and find it quite
satisfactory at the range. There's also a 20-60X80 Burris Landmark. I
chose the 15-45 because it's considerably smaller and lighter with
ample power for my uses. Burris also makes a fixed power 20X50 which
would probably be quite sufficient for 30 cal at 100 yd. About $85.

None of these have an angled eyepiece. I might prefer an angled
eyepiece, but I don't find not having one to be a problem.

Some of the no-name stuff is utter crap. I compared Burris with
Bushnell, found Burris to be markedly superior. I also compared it to
Nikon. The Nikon was a little better, but not enough better to pay
twice the price.

Things to look for: sharpness of course, brightness of course, also
an acceptably large exit pupil so it isn't critically fussy about
where your eyeball is. Some scopes are difficult to use because your
eye has to be in exactly the right place or you don't see anything at
all.

I got a Kowa angle eyepiece model (TS-7) about 20 years ago for about $200.
Excellent quality. Quite a bit at the time but a bargain compared to today's
prices.
The smartest thing I did was get a "long eye relief" eyepiece. Wearing
glasses makes seeing through a regular eyepiece a pain. You get a full clear
view with the LER.

Bob

"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
So I went to the range on Sunday to sight in my
new rifle. I found that without a spotting scope,
I would have to wait 30-40 minutes to go downrange
and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.

It looks like there's three choices. A no-name
$60-$100 scope, a Bushnell Spacemaster for $300,
or a name brand Nikon/Pentax/Leopold for $400.

The scope will be used for casual shooting at 100
yards, 30 caliber bullets.

I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

Larry Jaques wrote:

Any recommendations?

Yeah, just one:
don't go to the range on Sunday
afternoon with 500 other people.
^^^^^^^^^^^^

You misspelt "AR15 posers", otherwise
you're right.

Jim Stewart wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

Any recommendations?

Yeah, just one: don't go to the range on Sunday afternoon with 500
other people.
^^^^^^^^^^^^

You misspelt "AR15 posers", otherwise
you're right.

Sorry, my clever carrots didn't work.
I think you know what I meant.

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:56:14 -0800, the infamous Jim Stewart
scrawled the following:

Jim Stewart wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

Any recommendations?

Yeah, just one: don't go to the range on Sunday afternoon with 500
other people.
^^^^^^^^^^^^

You misspelt "AR15 posers", otherwise
you're right.

vbg


Sorry, my clever carrots didn't work.
I think you know what I meant.

The carets were in their proper place when I saw them, Jim.
Agent 5 + Courier New font.

--
A great preservative against angry and mutinous thoughts, and all
impatience and quarreling, is to have some great business and
interest in your mind, which, like a sponge shall suck up your
attention and keep you from brooding over what displeases you.
-- Joseph Rickaby

Keywords:
In article , "Bob Meyer" wrote:
I got a Kowa angle eyepiece model (TS-7) about 20 years ago for about $200.
Excellent quality. Quite a bit at the time but a bargain compared to today's
prices.
The smartest thing I did was get a "long eye relief" eyepiece. Wearing
glasses makes seeing through a regular eyepiece a pain. You get a full clear
view with the LER.

Unfortunately, most cheaper scopes don't come with an LER eyepiece, so
you are best off trying a few, which means hitting the brick & mortar
stores. On the cheaper scopes, there can be significant varition from
unit to unit, so try the one you are going to buy, not just a display
model. I had to go through 5 "identical" $80 B&L plastic scopes to find
one that would focus down to 33 feet for my basement air gun range.

30 caliber at 100 yards doesn't take a super duper scope. You don't need
zoom, and in your price range, the extra money you pay for it will give
you inferior optics compared to a fixed power scope. If you only plan on
shooting in broad daylight, you probably don't need anything bigger than
a 50 mm objective. 20 power should be plenty.

I just bought a Kowa TS-501 scope for $150 on eBay. It has good optics,
and a 45 degree eyepiece. I got it for pistol shooting out to 50 yards
(mostly .22), but I suspect it would work fine for 30 caliber holes at
100 yards. They don't specifically claim it has super long eye relief,
but my wife shoots with one & she has never complained about problems
with her glasses.

Doug White

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:38 -0800, Jim Stewart
wrote:

and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.


I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

......................................

This gets asked with regularity on the shooting forums. Here are a
series of messages I saved from several years ago. They favor
Champion's Choice or Kowa scopes.

I have a BSA Cateye 15-45 X 50 with a long eye relief ocular at 45º.
It's fine on a sunny day, but late in the afternoon, particularly on a
cloudy day I have problems seeing the holes in the target at 100 yds.
It was about $80 when I got it on sale several years ago. Today, I
think I'd save up and buy one of the scopes recommended by the regular
target shooters.

Saved messages below.


At 10:12 AM 12/28/00
Chase wrote:

I'm in the market for a spotting scope and would like recommendations
for a compact. $300 or less if possible.
Any experience w/ the Cabela's scopes? Or Bushnell Spacemaster? Leads on
a good source would be helpful.

Chase
________________________

From: Troy Burns tburns@t
To:
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 10:40:11 -0600
Subject: [CB-L] Spotting scope question

Chase,

I can make a specific recommendation here. We use spotting scopes in
NRA Highpower shooting all the time.

The most highly recommended of the moderate priced scopes, and the
kind I have, is the Champion's Choice CC645 22 x 60mm spotting scope.
It has a 60 mm objective, a standard 22x eyepiece, and excellent
optics. The eyepiece mounts at a 45° angle, which is desirable for
most shooting.

I have looked through a lot of spotting scopes, and I would not even
consider buying any other scope that costs less than about $600
including eyepiece.

If greater magnification is desired (not usually needed for shooting
sports) up to 50X eyepieces are available for $50 each. A clamp to
adapt the scope to a tripod mount is $16.00 and a padded water
resistant cover, which can be left on the scope when it is in use,
costs $25.

You will find that most scopes in the higher price ranges are priced
without the eyepiece, which can cost more than the entire Champion's
Choice scope.

Available from Champion's Choice, Inc., 201 International Blvd.,
LaVergne, TN 37086, phone 800 345 7179.

PS: If I absolutely had to have a more compact scope, I would buy the
50mm Kowa from the same company for $150-$220.


tb
_________________

From: jimpa jimpa@
To:
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 12:28:11 -0800
Subject: [CB-L] Spotting scope question

Look for someone with a used 77mm Kowa who upgraded to the new 82mm
scope and buy their old scope from them, Great spotting scope.

_____________________

From: Dale LeDoux dledoux2t
To:
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 17:48:35 -0600
Subject: [CB-L] Spotting scope question

Chase--
One that I find highly recommended is the Champion's Choice 22x60mm,
with the 45 degree eyepiece, sold by (oddly enough) Champion's Choice,
Inc.

their info:
Champion's Choice, Inc.
201 International Blvd.
Lavergne, TN 37086
PH: 615-793-4066/800-345-7179

CC caters to the competitive shooting community, and their scope is a
great value. A lot of them are used out there.

Dale
______________________

From: Herm hermperez
To:
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 21:32:51 -0500
Subject: [CB-L] Spotting scope question

would recommend a small, compact astronomical telescope, top notch
quality and will easily handle 80x if so desired...its much cheaper
than the typical spotter and uses standard 1.25" eyepieces for your
choice of magnification...the typical one is an 80mm diameter lens
with a focal length of 400mm, includes a 45degree viewing adapter and
a couple of eyepieces giving 40x and 16x, if you desire you can get a
zoom eyepiece but they usually have lower optical quality than
fixed-magnification eyepieces.
Here is a reputable dealer:

http://www.telescope.com/cgi-bin/Ori...duct/View/A021

and the best part, its only $175 and will give a $1000 spotting scope
a run for its money. I own one and its razor sharp, I have used it up
to 120x on a heavy duty photo tripod.

Herm
Astropics http://home.att.net/~hermperez

__________________


__________________________________

From: MAC4HT
To: lamparte
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 07:24:25 EST
Subject: Spotting Scope

HI guy,
Saw your CBL question about scopes. Think I know where you can get a
good one with early stand and extensions. Guy just had one on Ebay
that did not sell. He had a starting bid of 200.00 and no one bid. It
is a Bausch & Lomb Balscope Sr. 20X60 that seems to be in beautiful
condition. The other guys talk about the Kowa, I had a chance to
place a brand new Kowa next to a B&L Balscope Sr. last summer and look
at 30 cal. bullet holes at 600 yards on white paper. Both scopes were
equal in bringing out the shot holes. The Kowa we agreed was about 5%
brighter (it has a 77MM objective so obviously) but as far as seeing
the holes, no better. I have three Balscope Sr., two Bushnell 45s
(also excellent) and a earlier B&L from the 40s. They made the Sr.
from 50s to 80s and were the top all US made scope in Rochester,
NY. Don't know anything about the one they are telling you about. I
have been shooting competition since l956 and went to Camp Perry in 57
first time. I have been on four US international rifle teams, owned
about 12 spotting scopes, six now and you won't go wrong. I have a
600 yard range at my shop so I look at long distance all the time.
Write the guy, get him to send you pictures you can download. Do not
think you will be sorry.
clueski@

Mark
South Carolina 803-649-6xxx
_______________________________

GeoLane at PTD dot NET wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:38 -0800, Jim Stewart
wrote:

and look at my target. So I have to buy a scope.


I don't want to spend more than $400 and I'd like
to get off considerably cheaper if possible.

Any recommendations?

There is a store called Sportsman Warehouse. They will send you a catalog.
There is one in my town. They had some great ones the other day for less
than $100 WITH a tripod. For what you want, they should be fine. If they
don't have one on sale in the catalog, call the St. George, Utah, store, and
maybe they have a store special, and can have it to you by Priority Mail in
a few days.

Last two evenings, a common road that we travel on, we saw some deer. First
herd was 52, the next 36. Several bucks of nice size in the first group.
Think we will pop over and get one, and the attachment that goes on the
window. Last evening, fewer, but we waited, and right at sunset, they came
trailing down the mountain, pretty as could be. Mule deer.

Steve