I'm going to go unguided with my brother for bighorn in Montana's unlimited area. If there are any sheep hunters (of this area would be great) is a spotting scope necessary to determine if a ram is legal or will good 10x binos do the job? Say at 1-2 miles line of sight? I'm thinking a 15-30x leupold or similar size nikon as they are fairly light but adequately powerful? Would an optical doubler for my swaro's do the same job by hopping my binos up to 20x. I carry a pack for a living and don't want to add appreciable weight if i can avoid it.

I also found a Leupold 25x50mm spotter that i assume is no longer in production. this one is nib. opinions or experience with this piece of glass?

We have sold a ton of the Nikon 50ED with 13-30 and 13-40x zooms to guys looking for better quality with smaller size. A doubler on a binocular is no substitute for a quality spotter.

7mmfreak,

Don't know if you are familiar with gr8fudoug or not. I've bought six pairs of binoculars from Doug, and can say that he is the best guy I have ever dealt with, bar none. All of the binox were at my house three days after placing the orders.
In fact, I'm about ready to order a scope from him now.

Don

Doug,
Is the Nikon your recommendation then? I have been re-assigned from Ft Bragg,NC to Ft Carson, CO and will be using it in the highcountry to determine whether or not to chance long movements. I grew up hunting the Texas panhandle where 10x Swaro's were perfect but have not dealt much with spotters. I don't feel like I need anything over 30x?
Thanks,
Keith

Keith,
The Nikon 50ED is quality optics matched with only 1 pound of weight in an 8" long tube. It is perfect for your needs, IMO.

Doug,
Do you sell more angled or straight eye-pieces? Which would be easier to use from field positions? I'm thinking straight. Especially if glassing from an elevated position. Will this spotter work with a camera adapter? That is of secondary importance.

For range use we sell more straight than angled and for field use we sell more angled than straight, however, it is all personal preference.
Yes, you can use it with a digital camera and the Nikon Universal Bracket for digiscoping. I would suggest that if you were going to do that then use a fixed eyepiece rather than a zoom for the extra brightness that a fixed would offer to you

7mmFreek, I would like to offer you my advice based on 20+ years of using optics while hunting, and what I have learned about buying optics spacificly for a hunting application.

Let me begin by saying you are quite fortunate to be buying your optics now as oposed to when i started buying rifle and spotting scopes some 15 years ago. The optics feild to day is full of high quality optics a reasonable if not down rite afordable prices, so full in fact it can be some what intimidating in desiding what optics to buy for what purpose. This next point is of utmost importance. DO NOT SCIMP, DO NOT LET PRICE BE YOUR GUIDE, spend as much $$$ as you can aford, but be well informed enough to get the most optics for you $$$. Both of my hunting friends let cost dictate thier optics purchase and guess what thay CONSTANTLY barrow my spotter when ever thay can cus thier low end budget $200 spotters suck compaired to mine.

Let me also say that few knowledgeable hunters would disagree with the fact that save for your rifle or hunting boots, NO OTHER SINGLE PIECE OF HUNTING EQUIPMENT is MORE important or will have as big an impact on your hunt as your optics will. And I would rate your rifle scope 100% as important as your rifle or boots. Any one of the three fails (if your on a BP hunt out west) and your hunt is over.

When I began to hunt out west well over ten years ago and found myself in desperate need of a well made quality spotting scope (I am a 100% DIYS non-guided hunter)after looking over what was out there I quickly came to the conclusion that it would be foolish to rush this most important of purchases. I also concluded that as I knew little about any optics, I should first before buying learn as much as was possable about what makes for a quality optic, spicificly spotters and binos. Prior to buying, I had the good fortune to have looked through some low end poor quality spotters while actully hunting as well as some high end stuff and I quickly desided your money is better served being used a s toilet paper insted of being spent/waisted on cheap optics.

It became obvious to me that I must first deide what qualities I exactly needed in a spotting scope for MY TYPE OF HUNTING and other uses as well. As I was now shooting scoped firearms almost eclusively I also needed a spotter for range use as well. The qualites I needed in order of importance:

<>#1-Opticle quality. I would buy as well made a spotter opticly as I could aford with ALL repete ALL lens surfaces FULLY MULTI COATED a must as well as having phase-coated prisms with all internal surfaces blackend and naturaly be 100% water proof.
<>2-Spotter must be light weight. I needed to strike a ballance between magification, front objective size and weight.
<>#4-Durrability and surviability for a hunting application, my spotter is rubbered armored.
<>#5-Spotter must be from a well established optics maker that had a well earned reputation.

The spotter I desided on was a "Nikon Spotter XL" in 16-47x60mm. I bought this spotter over 14 years ago and are still compleatly satisfied with it. It has been on hunting trips to Alaska (spent two hunting seasons there on lone to a guide friend of mine, he was so impressed he bought one himself), New Mexico, and Wyoming and has seen countless hours used spotting while deer hunting. It is still in production to day and I can strongly recammend you give it serious consideration.That said If it had been available at the time I bought my Nikon XL, I would have bought wgat I consider the best spotter for under $500 out there for use again in a HUNTING application. The "Bushnell Elite in 20-60x70mm. This spotter is for all intants and porposes a Nikon XL except with a larger front objective and higher range of magnification. It also only costs about $40 to $50 more then the XL, but it was not in production when I bought my XL. Its only draw back is it is heavior than the XL.

Also dont get to cought up with magnification. While 60 power is great at the range IMHO you will use it little while actually spotting during the two most likely times to see animals moving, that is in the low/faiding light of dusk and the low light experienced durring the first light of morning. I would say fully 90% of my spotting is spent at 30x, but I do use the 47x alot.

If you wish to educate yourdelf on optics do a search for bird watching websites and you will learn all you need to know about what makes for a good quality binos and spotters, because that is what I did. I learned a great deel about what is and why you MUST have FULLY MULTI-COATED LENSES, BaK-4 prisms, all prisms be phase coated and so on.

Bottom line is there is no reason you can not get a vary good performing high quality spotter for between $425 to less than $500 if you FIRST know exactly what to look for coupled with knowing exactly waht you need/want in a spotter or bonoculars for that matter.

Kinda long winded but I hope this was helpfull.
Good luck, Art.

I have purchased the Nikon 50ED and can confirm that it is amazing glass. Doug is giving good advise here!

do you have the straight or angled eye-piece? what do you use your spotter for? i'm torn on the eye-piece. all the military spotters i've used are straight. no experience with angled. i'm sure they are fine when looking uphill but looking down i'm not so sure.

I've been using that very Leupold spotting scope for many years and it is light, compact and clear. Only down side is the focus ring is stiff. I've always found it easier to line up a straight tube than an angled one.

quote:

Originally posted by 7mmfreak:
do you have the straight or angled eye-piece? what do you use your spotter for? i'm torn on the eye-piece. all the military spotters i've used are straight. no experience with angled. i'm sure they are fine when looking uphill but looking down i'm not so sure.

If you are used to a straight scope, stick with it. It's all personal preference. I use a straight Leica spotter (which I also purchased from Doug @ CameralandNY) and wouldn't trade it for an angled spotter (which I have tried, but not used extensively in the field). My $0.02 worth.

Do you have a buddy with an angled spotter you could try? Might help firm up your mind. I have to agree with Sagebrush, I think the straight spotter is easier to get lined up on target, but again that's probably because I'm more used to it.

Wayne E.

Pentax 65ED w/28X EXCELLENT eyepiece (good for the stars!) gr8ful doug has 'em.

VR
Earl

I have the straight eyepiece as I have a hard time lining things up with an angled.

i use a schmidt and bender mayflower, but i'll bet nobody here has heard of it

Thanks Art..
AK