Talk me out of a straight spotting scope.

[Yaremkiv]

I'm pretty sure I'm going to swipe the card grab me a Kowa 66mm spotter. Only a few days ago I haven't even considered a straight profile but now I'm not so sure.

I use binos on a tripod pretty much exclusively once I'm stationary. 90% of my hunting is backpacking in. The straight profile is appealing for packing, aswell as faster target acquisition and not having to mess with the tripod too much when switching between bino and spotter BUT I also do lots of high angle glassing, both up and down and it seems that I will have to step up to a bigger, heavier tripod than the one I currently have to get the height needed for the straight spotter. Has anyone else been in my shoes and regreted going to a straight scope? Or do the benefits outweigh the downsides? Thanks

Also the straight TSN 66s is $750 cheaper than the angled. Edit: no its not.

 

[SOIHUNT]

I’ve used both and I only use straight. For me finding the animal is faster with straight..

 

[Yaremkiv]

I’ve used both and I only use straight. For me finding the animal is faster with straight..

Ok, thats another big one for the pro side of the list. Thanks.

 

[d3ntalbliss]

I use the straight also. I'd rather look straight forward than with my neck bent the whole day

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[Yaremkiv]

I use the straight also. I'd rather look straight forward than with my neck bent the whole day

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Good point. I need to find someone with a straight scope to experience these things guys are describing firsthand.

 

[westonadkins]

Straight is the way in my book. All the reasons you mentioned. Better for glassing out of a truck too if you do that.

The only time I've wanted an angled one was at the range where an angled would have made it a little easier to set up to go back and forth between that and the gun. But that minor inconvenience when I've got time is easily outweighed convenience of a straight in the field.


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[Grundy53]

I prefer straight

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[6.5x284]

As someone who has had both multiple times I’ve landed on straight and converted everything over. Spent a season with each on the same trips and liked straight way more side by side. Primarily for the speed of finding animals and having my eye in the scope. When I slide off binos and slide on the straight spotter it’s on the animal and already on my eye. Even rotated angled is not as fast no matter what anyone says. You have to move your head to the side if rotated, move your body up, or drop the center post down. If you do go angled measure how far you need to drop to be dialed and mark that on your post. Glass in the bino position and then drop to the angled spotter position before throwing the spotter on to speed it up. If you are only running a phone on three spotter angled not be as big a deal.


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[Shortschaf]

I have only owned a straight, but have used angled ones plenty. I have no real desire to get an angled one

 

[jcmcl18]

+1 straight

 

[Yaremkiv]

Well damn, I sure wasnt expecting this level of unanimity. Looks like the straight spotter is what I'm getting after all.

 

[huntnful]

Straight for sure. Good call

 

[BRTreedogs]

I'm straight
So is my spotter.

 

[Grassymike]

I have both. I really like straight with a window mount in my truck. Sheep hunting last year had my angled ,really like it for sitting at my tripod in mountains ,keeps everything lower which helps in the wind. Surprised this thread is so one sided usually this discussion is closer to 50/50.

 

[Elkangle]

Seconds matter, go straight...

 

[Brandon.miller.4]

I used straight for years. Everyone I talked to seemed to prefer angled so I also ran both for an extended period of time. I won't touch an angled scope. I also like to shoot off of tripods so I don't use a tripod with a center column. There's no way I'd hassle with an angled and readjusting the legs every time I wanted to switch from binos to spotter. I know there's plenty of guys who like their angled scopes but I also wonder if they'd convert to straight scopes if they gave it a good try.

 

[jhm2023]

For me personally, the majority of spotting scope use is for sheep and they're almost always higher than or similar elevation to me as I try to figure out if they're worth climbing on. For that purpose, I definitely prefer and angled spotter. Otherwise, a straight spotter is nice, but does require a taller tripod. As far as finding an animal quickly, my swaro has an aiming tube so it's a non-issue for me. Plus, if I'm pulling out the spotter, I'm not in a hurry anyway. Here's a pic just because it looks cool.

 

[Marble]

I agree with what everyone is saying about it being faster with the straight. But for me, my neck gets kinked when I use the straight, so I use an angled one.

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[eaglemountainman]

Another vote for straight.

Both my scopes are straight, while a couple of my buddies have angled. After switching back and forth over the years, I'm always happy to be back behind my straight scopes.

You're going to love that TSN-66S.

 

[stv117]

I find straight more comfortable when I stand or sit.