DIY Dual Spotting scope and Bino Setup.

[SHTF]

Dont know how much interest would be for this but thought Id share. Been looking to run my spotter and Binos all on one setup for minute. Found out Outdoorsman quit selling theirs but even so 340$ for that thing is obscene. So I made my own setup using their little discontinued design.

Piece of Angle iron from home depot some bolts and nuts and a few Arca swiss Heads and a Gitzo head and Boom. Works like a champ and isnt even very heavy.

Also very adjustable. The Spotter is on a fixed Arca Swiss Mount. So that stays stagnent with the head. The Binos are on a Gitzo ballhead so I can adjust that to line up where the spotter is looking. Once its zeroed in I just use the Fluid head to move the entire setup and the Binos and Spotter always look and see the same thing.

The Angle metal will get a paint job later but this was seriously easy to throw together.

 

[TheM1DoesMyTalking]

I always enjoy seeing DIY projects like this. What was the inspiration for it? Consolidating from two tripods down to one? Switching between glass for different fields of view without losing track of an animal?

 

[SHTF]

I always enjoy seeing DIY projects like this. What was the inspiration for it? Consolidating from two tripods down to one? Switching between glass for different fields of view without losing track of an animal?

Inspiration was I wanted to try it out and see if it works for me. I dont have to hotswap spotter and Binos. You said the other which was the not loosing track of animal.

 

[huntsman22]

where is the rangefinder accessory mount?.......

 

[SHTF]

where is the rangefinder accessory mount?.......

Not there as I dont rifle hunt. Just Archery. So no need for Rangefinder mount =)

 

[hereinaz]

That's slick. Having them aligned does make it fun. I don't have a spotter currently, but when I did, it was always nice to be able to glass and then look with the spotter at specific things.

I found myself looking through my spotter a whole lot more when it was easily available like that. Lots of times, it might not come out of the pack if I had to swap it out.

 

[ropeup79]

Won’t you have to adjust them as the viewing distance changes? Like how a double barreled rifle only groups at a set distance and opens up as the distance increases?

 

[4090Sharps]

Won’t you have to adjust them as the viewing distance changes? Like how a double barreled rifle only groups at a set distance and opens up as the distance increases?

FWIW, a properly regulated double rifle shoots the same distance, side by side (or over under depending on model) at all distances, as the bores shoot parallel under the recoil (If you ever want to get into some fun reloading and experimenting, working up a load that shoots the same as the original regulating load can be a lot of fun).

Similarly, the binoculars and scope should be parallel and aligned to infinity.

 

[ropeup79]

But if they are truly parallel they will never cross paths, or am I missing something. Not trying to be argumentative but it’s not clicking in my head. I like the idea though.

 

[4090Sharps]

But if they are truly parallel they will never cross paths, or am I missing something. Not trying to be argumentative but it’s not clicking in my head. I like the idea though.

If the center of the FOV for the scope and binoculars is 12" apart at the eye, the center will still be 12" apart at 2000 yards, because the line are parallel. The FOV may be wider for the binoculars at a given distance, so you center the target of interest in the binoculars, and the target will be within 12" of FOV center in the scope.

 

[SHTF]

FWIW, a properly regulated double rifle shoots the same distance, side by side (or over under depending on model) at all distances, as the bores shoot parallel under the recoil (If you ever want to get into some fun reloading and experimenting, working up a load that shoots the same as the original regulating load can be a lot of fun).

Similarly, the binoculars and scope should be parallel and aligned to infinity.

4090 summed this up nicely. Not to mention you have an insane field of view with the Binoculars being 10x32 Where as the Spotter can zoom in to 15 and 45x so if you see something with Binos and have things lined up right you should be able to see it with spotter just much closer. You are correct in that you will probably have to refocus it depending on the range your target is. That is a given.

 

[SHTF]

I can make these for anyone that is interested. Very easy to put together. Id have to source a arca swiss plate and 2 clamps along with a ballhead for the Binos on Amazon but they are relatively inexpensive. I have this one in the photos setup with the understanding you can spin your spotter on its mount. If your spotter doesnt have that ability then Id have to design it a bit differently for you. Either way its an easy DIY project for me since I can cut steel and have drill press. I use Rust resistant Zinc coated parts as well so you dont have to worry about it rusting in the field. Holler at me!

 

[SHTF]

Im going to Mach one up without my parts I had laying around and see what that looks like. Im guessing I could make this for under 150$ including my labor.

 

[ropeup79]

Makes sense now

 

[backcountrybutcher]

could swap for wingnuts to hand tighten in field and angle grind off all the metal you aren't currently using on the mount. Slick set-up! well done to DIY.

 

[SHTF]

could swap for wingnuts to hand tighten in field and angle grind off all the metal you aren't currently using on the mount. Slick set-up! well done to DIY.

You read my mind but I also have to keep in mind that some spotters will need more meat to attach just to consider other spotters will need to mount farther back or more forward. but yeah your 100% I want to make it as lean as possible to save as much weight as possible.

Thought about doing this with Aluminum but I dont have a CNC to cut out slots for the Aluminum and the Zinc plated seems much stiffer so no vibrations when you touch one or the other. Its still relatively light at right around 16 ounces.

 

[SHTF]

Well here is the finished Fabrication on the part. I cutoff all the metal I could to save weight but also keeping some incase I ever get a different spotter that needs a different setup that way I can mount it further down the rail if I need too. Also wire wheeled it for a rough texture and gave it a good coat of non gloss high strength spray paint. Weighs just over 4 ounces bracket alone. Once its cured I will throw the glassing parts all back on it and call it a success. Total Weight with all the parts on the food scale shows 16ounces total. not to bad.

 

[SHTF]

Finished Product

 

[JohnB]

That's something I will never have a use for but I applaud your DIY efforts. It looks good!

 

[SHTF]

With my Optics.