best budget spotting scope

[mtmiller]

only the best

$500 or less

help keep my lazy ass from having to do any research myself.

go!

I would counter in that you can be >95% as successful in putting animals on the ground with solid boots, solid legs, patience, and pair of $800 binos on a tripod.

Though you’re not wrong. A good spitter and good strategy will always turn up more animals. But I think you can fill the freezer every fall without one.

Amazing what nine days can do.

 

[brymoore]

I bought a slightly used Swaro ATS 65 for $1,500. It is always carried on our hunts. Excellent glass. I sold a pistol and some other items to finance it.

 

[Bambistew]

I think shrapnel posted a used lieca 77mm spotter for sale recently. It's a great scope and a great price. If I didn't need one I'd be all over it.

 

[Don Fischer]

once you get off your arse and send me my spotter we can get back to hunting!

You wouldn't want mine. Got it at Sportsmans years ago for about $90 and Winchester on it in big red letters. Only use if to look at targets at 100 yds, pretty fuzzy!

 

[fowladdict]

I would counter in that you can be >95% as successful in putting animals on the ground with solid boots, solid legs, patience, and pair of $800 binos on a tripod.

Though you’re not wrong. A good spitter and good strategy will always turn up more animals. But I think you can fill the freezer every fall without one.

This seems like you've strayed a bit from your goal of a $500 spotter. To see what @elkmagnet sees through a spotter, you likely won't see with a $500 spotter. Speaking from experience when he and I have had our spotters set up side by side glassing.

 

[TOGIE]

This seems like you've strayed a bit from your goal of a $500 spotter. To see what @elkmagnet sees through a spotter, you likely won't see with a $500 spotter. Speaking from experience when he and I have had our spotters set up side by side glassing.

well the goal of the 500 dollar spotter was never to be more successful, necessarily. it was to determine if a further away deer or elk found via binos was legal, which sure, could mean you're more successful.

i maintain that a 500 dollar spotter can still do exactly that, determine if a further away deer or elk is legal when your binos can't, and others with cheaper spotters have told me they can do that. therefore, i maintain that 500 dollar spotter can still be a worthwhile purchase.

but to your point, i have strayed from the original goal or, rather, refined it; a better use of that money is new binos. i have 10x42s already. so, with a pro deal discount i have i've used that 500 dollars to order some viper hd 12x50s

would have gone leupold or something else, but the greatest discount was on vortex.

 

[Bsquad]

A solid tripod is probably important too, may need to budget for that.

 

[TOGIE]

A solid tripod is probably important too, may need to budget for that.

i have two already

 

[Bsquad]

i have two already

I've been looking for one, what ones do you have/recommend?

 

[TOGIE]

I've been looking for one, what ones do you have/recommend?

i'm plenty happy with the vortex high country. got that one as a gift.

what i did just order was a new bino adapter, the cheap vortex one is dumb.

i just ordered this one and so far, at least in the living room, it's awesome, and way cheaper than the vortex or other name brand version:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DQ3RCFN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

this one is 14 dolalrs the vortex version of it is 99 dollars

the cheap vortext adapter is even more expensive than it

 

[Jbotto]

i'm plenty happy with the vortex high country. got that one as a gift.

what i did just order was a new bino adapter, the cheap vortex one is dumb.

i just ordered this one and so far, at least in the living room, it's awesome, and way cheaper than the vortex or other name brand version:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DQ3RCFN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

this one is 14 dolalrs the vortex version of it is 99 dollars

the cheap vortext adapter is even more expensive than it

Cheap vortex adapter sucks. 20 bucks that I regret spending.

 

[Potsie]

Cheap vortex adapter sucks. 20 bucks that I regret spending.

Same.

 

[TOGIE]

Freezin my tits off here looking at what I think are two bedded down bucks just around 1.4 miles away but you jackwads didn’t let me get the 500 dollar spotter so I’ll just let my nads turn to icicles and fall off while I wait for them to stand up and move

 

[TrumpkinTheDwarf]

I’m still thinking about spotters.

But, let’s now pose the question of is it even worth to go from lower tier binos to mid tier? Is the jump in optical quality significant enough?

Can you expect a pretty solid jump going into the 700-800 range for binos? 500? I’ve been running diamondback hd 10x42s for 6 years. Biggest complaint is how easily they fog simply from the warmth of my eyes. But I’m cheap and functional, they haven’t broken so I’ve kept using them.

This is really thinking forward to next year. Two hunts planned or, very likely planned, that will be the most glassing intensive i will have done.

That said, I still already always spend a lot of time behind my tripod/binos, no matter what.

I skipped several pages but I can definitively answer this particular question. YES. It is worth going from vortex diamondbacks to something in the 700 dollar range. Get on an LL Bean email list and pick up some Nikon Monarch HG's for $750 dollars when they give out their 25% discount coupons out. It will blow the diamondbacks out of the water.

A more in depth answer is that I hate cheap spotting scopes. I'd rather have top end 10x42 binos on a tripod, all day, every day. If I were buying optics from scratch today, I'd buy a pair of the 10x NL Pures, and then just save for a couple years to get one of the top end Kowa spotters.

 

[Irrelevant]

Freezin my tits off here looking at what I think are two bedded down bucks just around 1.4 miles away but you jackwads didn’t let me get the 500 dollar spotter so I’ll just let my nads turn to icicles and fall off while I wait for them to stand up and move

Just think, you could buy this

Vanguard Endeavor HD 82A 20–60x82 Angled Spotting Scope – ED Glass, Fully Multi-Coated Optics, BaK4 Prism, Waterproof/Fogproof, Lifetime Warranty

The angled view Endeavor HD 20-60x82 Spotting Scope combines a nitrogen-filled magnesium housing and a fully multicoated optical path.

www.vanguardworld.com

And still not be able to tell! J/K

You know you better than we know you. If you want a cheap spotter then get one.

 

[Potsie]

Freezin my tits off here looking at what I think are two bedded down bucks just around 1.4 miles away but you jackwads didn’t let me get the 500 dollar spotter so I’ll just let my nads turn to icicles and fall off while I wait for them to stand up and move

It builds character. You’re welcome.

 

[Huntkook]

Don't want to one up @Greenhorn but theses are a deal.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Just think, you could buy this

Vanguard Endeavor HD 82A 20–60x82 Angled Spotting Scope – ED Glass, Fully Multi-Coated Optics, BaK4 Prism, Waterproof/Fogproof, Lifetime Warranty

The angled view Endeavor HD 20-60x82 Spotting Scope combines a nitrogen-filled magnesium housing and a fully multicoated optical path.

www.vanguardworld.com

And still not be able to tell! J/K

You know you better than we know you. If you want a cheap spotter then get one.

Haters gunna hate….