Big spotter question.

NDHUNTER24 said:
Its a little off topic question but i've seen some nice spotting scopes in the classifieds from time to time and am curious what everyones thoughts are about buying optics from the classifieds? I would hate to get a lemon. I don't want to make any irrational decisions on a spotter, so i plan to wait for a few months and possibly sell a Nightforce NXS in the mean time to help out. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
What part of ND are you in?
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
Its a little off topic question but i've seen some nice spotting scopes in the classifieds from time to time and am curious what everyones thoughts are about buying optics from the classifieds? I would hate to get a lemon. I don't want to make any irrational decisions on a spotter, so i plan to wait for a few months and possibly sell a Nightforce NXS in the mean time to help out. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Classifieds are a great resource, due diligence is your best friend.
 
I have the same brand/model of spotter in two sizes. In my case, it's the Vortex Razor HD Gen2. Generally, along with more power, you'll also have larger lens. I find the 85 quite a bit better than the 65 in lower light.

My guess is the effect is similar on other brands.
 
Kowa

I'm a big fan of Kowa's top tier optics. Two of my buddies are Swaro guys. Whenever we're out scouting and glassing, they usually ask if we can switch up spotters for awhile. Funny, I've never asked the same question. Just an anecdotal observation, no science involved.

Swaro has the name, but Kowa has the edge.
 
@eaglemountainman what size kowa do you have? The hardest part now seems like 88 vs 99 at this point. How are the eye cups for the spotter? The ones I have for my tsn-554 come off all the time in my pack.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
This is based upon my personal experience. Other folks' mileage can vary...

I have the 554 and I love it for its intended use. For reference I also have the STX 65/95. I was able to spend some time with a friend's 88 this year in Mexico and it did not disappoint. If I could go back in time, I would just buy the 55 (fluorite) and the 99 and been good to go. No compelling reason to go with the ATX/STX unless you will be doing BTX; heavy SOBs. I was able to compare my 554 with a STS 65 on Kodiak a few years ago; the 554 was competitive with the STS 65; I'd not even consider a ATS/STS.

If you are happy with your 554, then pick up the Kowa 88 or potentially even the 99. If you are open to "like new", you can save about $800 on the 99. Below is an image showing size comparison from a 2021 RS review on the 99.

1742395634810.png
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
Its a little off topic question but i've seen some nice spotting scopes in the classifieds from time to time and am curious what everyones thoughts are about buying optics from the classifieds? I would hate to get a lemon. I don't want to make any irrational decisions on a spotter, so i plan to wait for a few months and possibly sell a Nightforce NXS in the mean time to help out. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
I've purchased 3 or 4 from the classifieds here so far. No issues. Some of the spotting scope companies offer warranties which can help ease your purchase concerns.
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
@eaglemountainman what size kowa do you have? The hardest part now seems like 88 vs 99 at this point. How are the eye cups for the spotter? The ones I have for my tsn-554 come off all the time in my pack.



Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I have a 554, an 884 and I just purchased a 66s body to share the eyepiece with the 884. All 3 have spectacular image, contrast and color.
I carry the 554 ALWAYS because of its size and weight. The only knock on this scope is its small FOV, which is not an issue for me, since I only pull it from my pack when I want a better view of something that I've already scanned with my binos. I haven't had any eye cup issues in the 5-6 years that I've owned it. You might want to inquire to Kowa about a warranty service issue....

The 884 is an incredible optic. I mostly use it while scouting from the truck for antelope and mule deer. Because of its weight, it only gets carried in the field all day if there's some young blood along for the grunt...like one of my nephews or buddy's son.

I just recently purchased the 66s and I'm still doing an evaluation. I'm hoping it will fill the sweet spot of weight vs performance between the 554 and 884. So far, it's looking pretty good.
 
@eaglemountainman Would you consider carrying the 66 everyday in place of the 554? After doing some looking and reading of reviews the 66 seems to hold up fairly well to the 88 in the fading light. My biggest issue after digging into a bigger spotter is that I'm questioning if i would use it that much since it is that big. It seems like everywhere i read most people just used it to scout and not hunt. I don't get to scout much like some other guys.
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
@eaglemountainman Would you consider carrying the 66 everyday in place of the 554? After doing some looking and reading of reviews the 66 seems to hold up fairly well to the 88 in the fading light. My biggest issue after digging into a bigger spotter is that I'm questioning if i would use it that much since it is that big. It seems like everywhere i read most people just used it to scout and not hunt. I don't get to scout much like some other guys.
Click to expand...
I've carried my 88 in my pack for thousands of miles. Some hunts just warrant big glass so you deal with weight.
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
Well after telling myself to wait to june, Kowa spotters went on sale and my will gave in. I ended up order a Kowa 88S spotter.
Click to expand...
I think you will like the big spotter. As far as big spotters go I carry my 82mm everywhere and my big binos and normally a small pair of binos too. A lot of time hunting is spent glassing mid day and I hate not having the big spotter or binos.

I had an ATC for two years and every time I took it hunting I wished I had my Meopta S2. I’ve carried both to compare and the ATC never left the pack after the first day. To me a big spotter is worth its weight, even elk hunting last fall we found a big herd that way just a little too far to tell if there was a shooter bull with the ATC. I didn’t have my big spotter so we possible missed out on a giant.
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
Well after telling myself to wait to june, Kowa spotters went on sale and my will gave in. I ended up order a Kowa 88S spotter.
Click to expand...
You're not going to regret that decision one bit. I've owned both 80 STS and Kowa 884. The image on the kowa is better, but the dual focus wheels just make it so much better for getting the best image possible and is super nice for getting clarity when digiscoping. Good choice.
 
NDHUNTER24 said:
I'm looking at getting a new "bigger" spotter. I currently have 12X42 nl pures and a kowa TSN-554. My question is how much better is the kowa Tsn-88s vs the swaro sts 80hd spotter. I do like kowa glass but the store around me "scheels" carries swarovski and I have gift cards saved up.
Click to expand...
I actually preferred the 12x50 binoculars over the small and medium sized spotting scopes.

The big eyes are really nice but always kind of a pain to haul around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
  • Locked
WTS/WTT Kowa TSN-553 for Kowa TSN-554
Replies
5
Views
256
nantzh
N
E
Kowa Spotter Upgrade?
Replies
7
Views
457
gr8fuldoug
gr8fuldoug
W
WTS Kowa TSN-554 Small Spotter
Replies
2
Views
572
WyomingPicker
W
WyoWild
  • Locked
Sold Kowa TSN- 553 Compact Spotter - $950 Shipped
Replies
3
Views
477
WyoWild
WyoWild
H
WTS/WTT My Kowa TSN 88 for your 12x42 NL Pure
Replies
3
Views
564
Hunt30
H

Latest posts

Featured Video

Stats

Threads
366,059
Messages
3,876,675
Members
82,956
Latest member
Domann33

Latest Articles

Back
Top