NEED HELP WITH A PACKABLE SPOTTER...

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a lightweight packable spotter to help me judge dear and bears in my local mountains in Socal. I'm not interested in a gigantic 85mm, or anything that says "Kowa" or "Swaro" on it (I'm not that wealthy atm) so I'm looking for a more middle of the road option, under $1,100 that is light enough but clear enough. I'm consistently finding deer between 800-1200 yds with my 10x42's but I'm having a difficult time assessing them. I dont need a crazy amount of magnification, nor do I want to fuss with the weight. Here are 4 contenders I'm looking at...

Maven S.2 (34 OZ) (found one used for $800 on ebay, worried 27x may be a bit too low)

Maven CS.1 15-45x65 (40.4 OZ, probably the heaviest i would consider) (I've read some reviews saying this is up there with Razor HD)

Razor HD 13-39x56 (28.6 OZ) (I was offered $800 by a seller on ebay, new in box)

Viper 11-33x50 (27.4) (I read that this is comparable to the old Razor, but optically I'm worried that it will look like DB'S....)

Please recommend other packable spotters....I think the first 3 above will get me in the wheelhouse.

I realize that weight shouldn't be that important compared to optical quality, I just don't want to be lugging a 4.5LB spotter around the mountains to see small california deer and bears. I'm more interested in something packable.

If anyone can weigh in I'd appreciate it. Also, if anyone has any digiscope pics of game at distance with any above mentioned spotters I'd greatly appreciate it if you could show them.

Thanks in advance

 

[HookUp]

the answer is image stabilized binoculars. I can easily score a deer from a mile with my Sig 16x50 HDX

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

the answer is image stabilized binoculars. I can easily score a deer from a mile with my Sig 16x50 HDX

Lol damn, I've been looking at those also, and just tried my buddies a couple weeks ago. Sig is absolutely crushing it with great optics. I recently upgraded my binos to the 10x42 Zulu 8 and I'm loving them. How do you feel about the narrow field of view? That is one thing that turns me off of the zulu 6

 

[Dirtydan]

I picked up a Athlon Ares G2 UHD 15-45x65 a couple years ago for basically the same purpose. For the money it works surprisingly well. I will say that I think the tripod is a bigger factor on clarity then anything. I use a cheap Vortex Summit but even when mounting my 10x50 binos on it I was surprised how well that worked.

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

I picked up a Athlon Ares G2 UHD 15-45x65 a couple years ago for basically the same purpose. For the money it works surprisingly well. I will say that I think the tripod is a bigger factor on clarity then anything. I use a cheap Vortex Summit but even when mounting my 10x50 binos on it I was surprised how well that worked.

Thank you for that. I've actually never considered the ares, I'm going to look into it. I do like Athlon, I have a argos BTR on my .270, the glass is great for the $. Thank you.

 

[Dirtydan]

Thank you for that. I've actually never considered the ares, I'm going to look into it. I do like Athlon, I have a argos BTR on my .270, the glass is great for the $. Thank you.

Backwoods Pursuit did a pretty good review on it as well as S&S Archery.

 

[180ls1]

Lol damn, I've been looking at those also, and just tried my buddies a couple weeks ago. Sig is absolutely crushing it with great optics. I recently upgraded my binos to the 10x42 Zulu 8 and I'm loving them. How do you feel about the narrow field of view? That is one thing that turns me off of the zulu 6

SoCal guy here also. I have the stabilized 10 and 20s. They still leave me wanting more power/fov/clarity sometimes.

I'd grab the Razor HD. I think there is one here in the classifieds for $700ish.

 

[Pilsner]

I've got the Maven 15-45 spotter and love it. Have used it to spot trace and impacts at a mile. They also have a decent program for veterans, LEO's, and guides IIRC. Certainly worth an email to find out if you fit in any of those categories.

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

I've got the Maven 15-45 spotter and love it. Have used it to spot trace and impacts at a mile. They also have a decent program for veterans, LEO's, and guides IIRC. Certainly worth an email to find out if you fit in any of those categories.

I wouldn't qualify for those but that's ok. Would you agree that the cs.1 rivals the Razor?

 

[Pilsner]

Absolutely.
I had the opportunity to spend time behind the Athelon version that is the same size/mag range at a shooting course we hosted on my place and while it was good, it did not compete with either a Razor or the Mavens that I have used.
My main shooting partner has the new version (HD? Gen 2?) of the Razor in 27-60x 85 and there IS a difference in image quality that I think is due to the bigger lens. The Razors in the same magnification range as my Maven are basically a wash. Our shooting range faces due West and we often shoot in the evenings after work. Hard glassing conditions to say the least and both the Maven and his Razor do quite well under those conditions.

I hope this info helps.

 

[TaperPin]

That little Nikon ed50 would also be on my list. The used Nikon Fieldscope 3 ED is about the same image quality in a larger package.

For uses very similar to what you are using it for a fixed 30x is quite usable and quick to get on target. Other than for digiscoping, magnifications below that a never get used, and looking through 45x and 30x generally allow someone to come to the same conclusion.

I’m going to stop letting people know the old as dirt Leupold fixed 30x is as clear as the Nikon Fieldscope 3. It used to be these could be picked up for $150, but they seem to be closer to $300 now.

I always enjoy my swaro friend who uses a flimsy tripod - when weather is calm he sees better than me, but when the wind is blowing my cheap spotter is more capable. I hope he never changes, it makes me grin every time.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Answer is the baby razor, it’s great for 800 ish bucks, I had it and the ATC, kept the ATC, but the baby razor was a great scope

 

[survivalistd]

I've got the Maven 15-45 spotter and love it. Have used it to spot trace and impacts at a mile. They also have a decent program for veterans, LEO's, and guides IIRC. Certainly worth an email to find out if you fit in any of those categories.

This is what I carry also. Alpha glass.

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

Absolutely.
I had the opportunity to spend time behind the Athelon version that is the same size/mag range at a shooting course we hosted on my place and while it was good, it did not compete with either a Razor or the Mavens that I have used.
My main shooting partner has the new version (HD? Gen 2?) of the Razor in 27-60x 85 and there IS a difference in image quality that I think is due to the bigger lens. The Razors in the same magnification range as my Maven are basically a wash. Our shooting range faces due West and we often shoot in the evenings after work. Hard glassing conditions to say the least and both the Maven and his Razor do quite well under those conditions.

I hope this info helps.

That is extremely helpful, thank you.

 

[elsb0048]

You might consider the leupold 12-40x60 in either the mark 4 or the GR HD.

Long Eye relief and low end power of 12 is great for a novice like me to locate the things I spotted in my binos. I picked it up because I hunt a lot of 3-point minimum spots.

Found mine for about $700 used

 

[Mw01313]

Thank you for that. I've actually never considered the ares, I'm going to look into it. I do like Athlon, I have a argos BTR on my .270, the glass is great for the $. Thank you.

I've got the Maven 15-45 spotter and love it. Have used it to spot trace and impacts at a mile. They also have a decent program for veterans, LEO's, and guides IIRC. Certainly worth an email to find out if you fit in any of those categories.

Another vote for the little maven. I have really enjoyed mine. I am a long way from being a glass snob, but it serves all my needs without a lot of extra weight.

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

Another vote for the little maven. I have really enjoyed mine. I am a long way from being a glass snob, but it serves all my needs without a lot of extra weight.

Man that little CS.1 seems to be pretty Poplar. I'll be honest, I'm apprehensive on buying a $800 spotter that's made in China, but I haven't heard one bad thing about it. I'm considering passing on the S2 and the Razor at this point. Seems like the Maven CS.1 is where its at.

 

[7mm-08]

Whatever you choose, consider buying used in the Optics Classifieds forum. That strategy has save me a pile of money over the years. Also, you can frequently buy a superior optic above your price range because you're buying used. Good luck with your decision and search.

 

[JohnB]

Find somewhere you can check out the maven if possible. I thought I was in your shoes and bought a CS.1A. After a few years of being frustrated with it compared to my buddy's V1 65mm Razor I ended up upgrading to a Swaro STM 65 and have been WAY more happy with it. I felt like the Maven crapped out above 35x vs the Swaro works well nearly all the way to 60x. Where I deer hunt is restricted to 3 point plus and the Maven let me down at distance a couple times.

 

[FRONTIERSMAN87]

Find somewhere you can check out the maven if possible. I thought I was in your shoes and bought a CS.1A. After a few years of being frustrated with it compared to my buddy's V1 65mm Razor I ended up upgrading to a Swaro STM 65 and have been WAY more happy with it. I felt like the Maven crapped out above 35x vs the Swaro works well nearly all the way to 60x. Where I deer hunt is restricted to 3 point plus and the Maven let me down at distance a couple times.

I'm sure there's no comparison, but I'm growing. I need glass i can use now, so i can eventually grow into something like a swaro. That's why I'm sticking to 1100 and under.