I am thinking about buying a Leica Televid 62 mm or Swarovski 65 mm spotting scope. The scope is to be used for rifle range spotting out to 300 yards and hunting. I wear glasses, so eye relief is important. I found a source with several used Leupold Brown 12-40 x 60 HD spotting scopes for about $790, or about the price of a new non-HD model. Is this scope up to the quality of the premium European brands? What's with the brown color? Is this a case where the deal seems too good to be true so be careful? Thanks for your input.

The non HD versions are great scopes, so the HD could only be better. That's about what I'd expect to pay for one used (HD model).

Mind sharing the info?..

if you wear glasses this is pretty much the only scope that will work for you, at least IMO, even the high dollar german scopes will not work for me on the higher powers

I don't use my spotting scopes on the range, so I can't tell you whether the 40x will be enough magnification for you. I guess it depends on target range, caliber, target colour, mirage etc etc.

Other than that, I agree with Cummins Cowboy. The Leupold has the most relaxed eye relief of any spotting scope I have tried. That is one of the reasons I prefer my (non-HD) Leupold in the field.

- mike

That is pretty much what I found out. These used Leupold spotting scopes are at the Cabelas store in Hamburg, PA. I went there and tried the Leupold against the Leica and Swaro models. The higher priced glass are marvelously clear, but I couldn't get close enough with glasses to see the complete image. I also tried a $350 Bausch&Lomb model. The Leupold was clearer. I bought the Leupold.