Best backcountry spotting scope

[torrey.harris.5]

Geared toward elk and mule deer and a little turkey hunting .

All opinions and info and 2 cents

GO!!!


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[CorbLand]

Hard to argue with the big three, Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski, when it comes to glass quality and quality built products. Really optics is a very price pointed product. $3000 across the board regardless of brand are going to be great and this is where personal preference is going to come into play. What looks good and is functional to me, may not be as functional to you nor be the best image. Looking through them and picking the one that looks the best to you and fits your needs is going to be the best spotting scope for you.

Now for what I like. When it comes to a back country scope I want light weight, durable and reliable.

For the weight factor it is hard to beat 65mm scopes. Most are roughly a pound and half lighter than 80mm, which in a backpack is a lot of weight reduction. You do lose the light gathering capabilities of an 80mm but saving the weight to me is a justifiable loss of light.

Durability. I have really only dealt with Swarovski, Leupold and Vortex spotting scopes in the field. Swarovski most certainly takes the cake when it comes to durability, you can really give them a beating and they take it like a champ. Vortex and Leupolds seem similar in the durability category. Generally not super durable when I comes to giving them a really good beating but they will hold up to most general use.I have never dealt with Goldrings but most speak very highly of them.

Reliability. This kind of falls back to durability and like durability Swarovski wins again. You can pull it off your horse, behind the seat of your pickup or out of your pack it is going to do its job. Vortex seem to have a significantly more amount of problems than other scopes I have dealt with. Parts really like to rattle lose, especially the screws on the old Razors eyepiece.

I personally run a Vortex Razor 65mm. It fit my price range at the time and has worked well for me. I hope to upgrade to a Swarovski 65mm in the near future.

 

[6mm Remington]

Leupold 15-30x50mm Gold Ring Compact spotting scope. Rugged, clear, compact, light weight.

Leupold Optics GR 15-30x50mm Compact - | Leupold Optics

 

[tipsntails7]

All opinions and info and 2 cents

GO!!!


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It depends on what your looking for? Best optical quality? Lightest weight? The best mix of both is the older Leica 62mm that's thing is stupid light and amazing to look through.


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[huntinrod]

Nikon 50 ed....

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[SHTF]

Simmons 20x60 Rocks!!!!















Just kidding. Couldn't resist

 

[Kay9Cop]

Nikon 50 ed....

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This!

 

[bbrown]

Swaro 65mm is the best balance of size and weight for the performance.

 

[Blockcaver]

I've got a Swaro HD 20-60 x 65mm angled magnesium scope.....really love it for sheep hunting and put up with the size and weight for the performance.

Also have a Nikon ED50 with zoom 13-30X eyepiece as well as the 27X wide-angle (I like the zoom better, but the fixed is clearer). It is great for size and weight, cutting off nearly 1/2 versus the Swaro, (gives up magnification and a bit of clarity) it is excellent for alpine deer and bear hunting.

Finally I have a Leupold Goldring fixed 20 power x 50mm non-armored that I bought new the year they came out in 1987. It is decent optically and weighs 18 ounces. I don't use it much, but take like it for alpine mule deer, bears etc. It isn't as versatile as the Nikon ED50 but is fairly comparable optically at 20X. Sure is a handy little scope in the daypack though, and I have one of the little Leupold tripods that two legs unscrew and store in the third leg....cool little unit but too low unless you have a rock to set up on.

 

[torrey.harris.5]

Bump


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[ACC]

Another vote for the ED 50, the only issue with it is it's light gathering ability at dusk the 65mm's have it beat in that respect but I think the ED 50's pack weight more than makes up for it.

 

[freediver111]

Just picked up a used Leica APO 62mm. Loving it. It's light and awesome glass. Sold my Pentax 65mm EDII to get it, and before that I had the 50mm Leupold Gold Ring. The Pentax is darn good for $500 used, but the 62mm Leica is tough to beat, especially since they go for much more reasonable prices compared to a used 65mm Swaro.

 

[duchntr]

Kowa 663 or 664 might be worth looking at for a solid mid priced option. Ive been happy with mine.

 

[lundellhunting7]

I have used an ed 50 and a razor 50 and have loved them both.... my brother just bought the new cabelas Krotos 60mm spotter which gives you up to 45x and it is almost the same size and weight as the Nikon and vortex with just as good glass. I will be getting one as soon as I sell my Nikon

 

[torrey.harris.5]

Just picked up a used Leica APO 62mm. Loving it. It's light and awesome glass. Sold my Pentax 65mm EDII to get it, and before that I had the 50mm Leupold Gold Ring. The Pentax is darn good for $500 used, but the 62mm Leica is tough to beat, especially since they go for much more reasonable prices compared to a used 65mm Swaro.

Where did u get the used 62mm Leica??


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[freediver111]

Where did u get the used 62mm Leica??


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On the Rokslide classifieds.


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[wind gypsy]

I'm far from experienced in this but did an ass load of research on this recently (and got beat out on the 62 apo leica).. for the big boys I just picked up a meopta s2 82 30-60wa through sport optics, they are on sale for around $1870 shipped. Tough to beat that performance for the $. For a lighter pack scope the Opticron mm3 ED 50 and 60mm have my attention. The 60 is 12 ounces lighter than a 65 ats swaro and 1/3 of the cost and the 50 is 10 ounces lighter yet.

 

[torrey.harris.5]

Ttt


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[VANDAL]

I have a Nikon ED 50mm to sale if someone is interested. I have both the MCI or MCII eyepiece for it. The MCII makes a huge improvement in clarity and added zoom.


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[Jimbob]

...For a lighter pack scope the Opticron mm3 ED 50 and 60mm have my attention. The 60 is 12 ounces lighter than a 65 ats swaro and 1/3 of the cost and the 50 is 10 ounces lighter yet.

Wow those look sweet. I am researching for a future scope purchase and I am really liking that MM3 60 mm.