Effective Glassing Range at 30x Magnification

[BigredRusch]

Hey guys, I am looking at the Kowa TSN 664m with the 30x eye piece to accompany my 8x32 chest binos. I have eye relief issues and this is one of the only mid sized spotter setups that checks the size, weight, quality, eye relief boxes.

What is the effective glassing range with the 30x WA eye piece? What range could you judge a mule deer rack frame at with this scope? Not trying to count rings or points but I don’t want to hike a long way for a young buck.

Thanks in advance.


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[Blockcaver]

Lots of variables….lighting intensity, looking into sun or sun at back, background, heat waves, shadows, wind hitting tripod, quality of tripod, your vision etc.

I’d budget for a good digiscope setup for your phone too. Will enhance magnification and allow you optimized viewing of what you are looking at.

All that said, you can see bucks in velvet in the open and get a good idea of what they are quite a ways away. A mile isn’t unreasonable in my estimation. You can spot them a lot further away.

 

[outdoor_matt]

If the animal is lit up, a long way away.
I've found bighorn sheep over 5 miles away when glassing with this exact setup. Could judge a mule deer decently well at a mile I think.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Devil is in the far too often omitted details.

My STX 95 has been insufficient more than once under 1000 yards. But the RS crowd will tell you it’s good to at least 238K miles because you can see craters really well on the moon with it.

Easier to find game in the wide open than to find what does not want to be seen. That’s the difference between scanning and glassing.

 

[BigredRusch]

Thanks for the responses. I want to be someone who sites and picks terrain apart all day but I’m a long ways from that, or maybe I just haven’t had the right equipment in the right place at the right time yet.

I assumed I could use the 30x in the summer to scout long range deer, red on green, big frame little frame, buck or doe. Then in the season, use the 30x in closure range to find the summer deer.

I have a decent tripod (Sirui st124) and pretty terrible eyes. Deep eye sockets and glasses. I need 19-20mm of eye relief minimum to get a full picture.


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[Blockcaver]

Thanks for the responses. I want to be someone who sites and picks terrain apart all day but I’m a long ways from that, or maybe I just haven’t had the right equipment in the right place at the right time yet.

I assumed I could use the 30x in the summer to scout long range deer, red on green, big frame little frame, buck or doe. Then in the season, use the 30x in closure range to find the summer deer.

I have a decent tripod (Sirui st124) and pretty terrible eyes. Deep eye sockets and glasses. I need 19-20mm of eye relief minimum to get a full picture.


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The Leupold 12-40x60HD Gold Ring is a very comfortable spotter for someone wanting great eye relief. I owned one for several years and used it quite successfully, mainly for mule deer in CO. Also had the previous non-HD version of the same scope but it was lacking above 30X and I wouldn't recommend it.

The Leupold recommended is compact for size, reasonably light and useable up to the full 40x. Optics are very decent but not top shelf. Field of view is a bit narrow. Got replaced when I moved to BC and was Stone sheep hunting every year with a Swaro ATM 20-60x65HD, plus a Phone Skope iPhone setup that worked well for all my mountain hunting out of a backpack.

Today the ATC 17-40x56 (which is wide angle) is my scope of choice.

One other comment….for me back when I wore eye glasses (pre-cataract surgery) the angled scopes with “marginally adequate” eye relief were easier to get full field of view on than the straight scope…at least for me in the Swaro lineups.

 

[sndmn11]

500-1500yds

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve used a Leupold 30x since before “Neanderthal” was pronounced correctly and Mary Lou was winning Olympic medals.

One year we stopped at a ridge and glassed from the car about noon. A buck stood up in his bed to stretch and we could barely make out his antler size outlined against the light colored dirt behind him, but we could see he was a shooter. The sun angle was as good as we could have hoped. This is easily the absolute maximum distance the scope was usable. Checking on google maps it’s easy to see where we stopped and where he was bedded, more than one mile and less than 1-1/4 miles. Call it a mile at the absolute maximum - 1760 yards. Practical range for picking out bedded bucks is usually half that or less depending on how well hidden they are. I really like how easy 30x is on the eyes compared with higher magnification with more shaking and fuzzier images. Glassing next to friends with big variables, I like to tease them when picking up an animal first, and offer to loan them a backup 30x scope.

In Wyoming the wind is usually blowing and the stability of the tripod often makes more of a difference than the name on the scope or magnification.

 

[BigredRusch]

Thanks for the information. I appreciate how stories illustrate the effectiveness of the magnification at different distances. I spotted some deer at 1.6 miles with my 10x binos on a tripod in the summer on a green hill side but needed a spotter to determine that there was two forks, one 3x3, and one mature wide buck who was very wide but couldn’t count points on him.

My short list of spotters is the following.
Leupold goldring HD 12-40x60 30mm ER
Kowa TSN 664m 30x WA 20mm ER
Pentax PF65 with 10mm eyepiece is 39x at 20mm ER
Swarovski STC 17-40x56 20mm ER
Opticron MM4 15-45x60 18-20mm ER

I would like to find a Leupold with a newer production date to make sure coatings are up to speed. I like the kowa objective size but 30x is limiting. I don’t know much about the Pentax and would likely need two eye pieces for 20x and 39x. The Swarovski is ideal but cost prohibitive right now. I don’t know much about the Opticron so it’s a dark horse.


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[nm.otter]

Kowa TSN 664m 30x WA 20mm ER
...
I like the kowa objective size but 30x is limiting.

Limiting in what way?

A wide-angle, low distortion 30x will beat almost anything operated at or near the top of its zoom range.

 

[BigredRusch]

Limiting in what way?

A wide-angle, low distortion 30x will beat almost anything operated at or near the top of its zoom range.

My thought was, limited without higher zoom. Which is kind of my goal with this thread. From the list of spotters above, which one is gonna perform better than the 664 at or above 30x magnification?


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[Fatcamp]

It all depends on conditions. I shot my biggest buck after spotting him from 1.5 miles looking generally towards the sun, bright and clear conditions. Only saw him for a few seconds but enough to know he was big.



It's an easy scope to look through and not a huge hassle to carry.

ETA: In my limited experience above 30 almost never provides a clear view due to heat waves. This may vary based on where you hunt, but holds true where I do. The Kowa is a way better scope than a fixed Leupold. I've had all versions and that's what led me to the fixed Kowa.

 

[willfrye027]

30x is not going to be very limiting. Most of the time with atmospheric conditions going from 30x-45x or whatever is making your image closer but not brining in any more details.

I’d suggest a decent digiscoping setup to pair with it. It’s easier for me to review footage and field judge.

With 30x and one eye looking at a buck from 1.5-2 miles in decent lighting condition should be able to tell what kind of frame he has..maybe not put a score on him or see kickers but it’s plenty unless you are a very discrimininating trophy hunter.

Oh and that eyepiece/scope combo are super underrated and will be an excellent combo

 

[huntsman22]

A swaro 65 with a vortex fixed 30x fixed mil reticle eyepiece is the schizzle....

 

[BigredRusch]

Thanks everyone! One of my big dislikes of most mid/low tear spotting scopes I have looked through is the finicky image and difficulty of use. Most seem like they require perfect conditions and user inputs to provide results. I am reassured that the Kowa will provide a good user experience which will equate to more time behind the glass and more enjoyment using it.

Ultimately, if I need more magnification I can nut up and use my contacts with the 20-60 eye piece. I’m still working out the details on managing contacts on a backcountry backpack hunt.


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