Talk me out of a straight spotting scope.

[Grassymike]

Maybe... To me this is something you need to try for yourself. I have both straight and angled, and I like both for different applications. I would be hard pressed to choose just one.

 

[Yaremkiv]

Maybe... To me this is something you need to try for yourself. I have both straight and angled, and I like both for different applications. I would be hard pressed to choose just one.

I agree completely, I wish I can spend a season with both but it seems that 85%+ of the time I'm glassing down or straight ahead, 98% of the time switching between bino and spotter and almost always shoving the scope in a pack. All those reasons plus the constant rain and snow during our fall hunting season here, as well as other points brough up by forum members, I went with a straight scope. I think I'll be satisfied but we'll see.

 

[Grassymike]

What scope did you end up with ?

 

[Yaremkiv]

What scope did you end up with ?

Ended up ordering the Kowa TSN88S. Very very excited. Coming from a Razor HD, I'm sure I will be blown away.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Surprised no one has mentioned digiscoping is easier (to me at least) on an angled. Id love to try them side by side on trip


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How so? Please explain.

I digiscope with a Kowa 554 and 884, (both straight scopes), and can't imagine it could be any easier.

 

[Shortschaf]

How so? Please explain.

I digiscope with a Kowa 554 and 884, (both straight scopes), and can't imagine it could be any easier.

Gravity helps the phone stay on angled

 

[elkmaster]

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.

spend considerable time glassing and your neck will thank you for having an angled ocular.

 

[Vaultman]

Straight spotter is tough to use with a 17" tall tripod.

 

[Shortschaf]

Straight spotter is tough to use with a 17" tall tripod.

But what if you set it on a tall rock...

 

[Yaremkiv]

spend considerable time glassing and your neck will thank you for having an angled ocular.

You know my binos arent angled and as long I set that tripod up properly, I cant remember having any significant neck pains to speak of, and I stare through those things quite a bit.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Gravity helps the phone stay on angled

I haven't had any issues with my phone becoming unpinned from my scope.

 

[JGRaider]

I haven't had any issues with my phone becoming unpinned from my scope.

Me neither. It all depends on what you're used to. I'll take straight all day long.

 

[McFarmer]

Straight for me as well. I tried both and am faster on target with the straight. One additional added benefit is that I found it easier to pack as well when going in the backcountry

 

[LostWapiti]

I have the Kowa 66a which is angled and am very happy with it. I have only ever owned angled spotters but have been thinking about getting a micro spotter like the Kowa 55 or Swaro STC and would go straight for that strictly for ease of going from binos to spotter.

On the Kowa 66a target acquisition can be tough especially because of the 25x minimum magnification. It does have the little aiming sight around the objective lense sun shade and that does help a lot. If I could snap my fingers and switch to the 66s would I? I really am not sure. I digiscope a lot and like using the angled for that and also appreciate that I can run the spotter on a shorter tripod to stay more stable and out of the wind with the angled. If you do need to look steeply down hill I actually think the angled has an advantage as you can rotate the body so the eyepiece is coming out at a slight downward and sideways angle and you wouldn’t have to torque your neck hardly at all.

Whatever you do, don’t buy it from optics planet, order from one of the small guys like S&S and I don’t think they will charge you tax either depending on where you are.

 

[TaperPin]

People have been conditioned to believe short, cheap, crappy tripods are normal and angled glass works better on those. Binoculars are straight, rifle scopes are straight, cameras are straight, our eyes are straight - the argument that an angled scope is better only holds water with stiff necked folks.

When side by side with a buddy and you’re in terrain or vegetation that’s hard to see an animal in so you’re both talking, pointing, looking through glass, clarifying, looking over the scope, back down, more finger pointing and describing, etc - repeated 20 times before lunch, I’d rather get a stick in the eye than have to do that with an angled scope, unless it had a red dot for aiming. Even a high powered straight scope is more effective with an aiming red dot in hard to describe conditions where animals don’t stand in one place long.

 

[Yaremkiv]

People have been conditioned to believe short, cheap, crappy tripods are normal and angled glass works better on.....

I agree, I spend many hours both laying behind a target rifle and sitting/standing behind binos on a tripod, never had an issue with comfort. I have, however, had issues both the speed of acquiring a target quickly with my angled spotter, the ocular lens collecting rain and snow and the issue of having to make major adjustments to the tripod when switching between the bino and spotter.

 

[Firehawk]

Straight for me as well. Tried going down the angled route, and for my style of hunting, I find the straight way easier to use. I swap between bino and spotter and it makes it way easier if the spotter is straight.

 

[Steve O]

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.View attachment 738741

Also allows you to keep the tripod lower, always and thus more stable. I prefer angled as I can’t see how speed with a spotter is a thing and I am VERY used to finding game in them.

 

[colegeiser51]

I prefer straight

 

[manitou1]

I am the outlier and prefer the angled... mainly because I am tall and I can use my angled spotter while standing up. If it was a straight spotter my tripod would be too short... and we all know what a good cf tripod costs. Few are tall enough for me anyway.

When sitting, I can also keep my tripod set lower in the WY winds which helps with stability.