Spotting scope magnification question

[HerkHunter]

Looking at buying my first spotting scope… specifically looking at the Vortex Viper 15-45 or 20-60 straight lens for glassing western/central Montana. Haven’t had a chance to try either out in person yet but anyone have advice on if the extra magnification is worth it? Or does it just limit field of view to where it isn’t worth it? Thanks all!

 

[antlerradar]

My spotter almost never leaves 60x, every once in a while I will turn it down to say 40x in low light. That being said, at 60x you had better have top of the line glass for all but the most ideal conditions. I rarely use my spotter for glassing, mostly for evaluating what I have spotted with binoculars.
I have never used vortex, but I am guessing they they are not Zeiss or Swarovski quality glass.
If you are going to use it for glassing you likely will not need the higher power as the field of view gets prohibitively small

 

[perma]

The high side of 60x is very hard to see. The eye relief will be bad. I have to jam my eye socket into the eyepiece to even see the animal to count points.

I have never used vortex, but I am guessing they they are not Zeiss or Swarovski quality glass.

this is true and is probably why 60x is bad. I’m looking into Zeiss spotters for my next.

 

[HerkHunter]

My spotter almost never leaves 60x, every once in a while I will turn it down to say 40x in low light. That being said, at 60x you had better have top of the line glass for all but the most ideal conditions. I rarely use my spotter for glassing, mostly for evaluating what I have spotted with binoculars. I have never used vortex, but I am guessing they they are not Zeiss or Swarovski quality glass. If you are going to use it for glassing you likely will not need the higher power as the field of view gets prohibitively small

I’m planning on using my binos to do most the glassing but like you said, use the spotter to get a closer look at things. I just don’t want to spend the money to get a higher magnification if the quality suffers because of it

 

[Trial153]

I find more use in 40-45x range then any 60x eye piece I had

 

[Rzrbck918]

In the lower end spotting scopes, I would certainly go with the lower magnification. They tend to be dark and blurry at highest settings. Mtmuley will be along in a bit to tell you he wishes he would have waited to buy something other than then Viper and I am right there with him. Im not going to say to wait until you can drop 3 grand on a spotter but I would say you should consider a better used scope even if you need to wait a couple of months. Some of the older Leupold GR scopes with the lower magnification can be picked up reasonably and they, too, are straight scopes.

 

[antlerradar]

I’m planning on using my binos to do most the glassing but like you said, use the spotter to get a closer look at things. I just don’t want to spend the money to get a higher magnification if the quality suffers because of it

Just remember when you look through the eye pieces that there is a big difference between looking across the store at Cabala's and looking across a canyon where you are dealing with humidity, heat waves,sun shine and wind rocking your tripod.

 

[rjthehunter]

60x is great for looking at heat waves when shooting long range... It's kind of like having a 5-25 rifle scope. It's overkill for hunting in a lot of scenarios IMO.

I'm actually downsizing from a 20-60 to a 15-45. Smaller, lighter, more useable in many cases.

 

[ClearCreek]

My wife had a Vortex Viper 15-45 X 65 for a while that she used to "watch" wildlife in Yellowstone. When we were looking at the same thing, a wolf den for instance, she got frustrated because she was not able to see the things that I could with my spotting scope; a Swarovski 25-50WA X 80.

The Vortex went down the road and she now has a 20-60 X 80 Swarovski which she really likes.

I know watching wildlife in Yellowstone is not hunting, but being a hunter I look for things that hunters look for, points per side, full curl, etc. and I find myself using the 30-40X magnification a lot, then turn it up for details. I have never felt "under powered" by having 50X as the highest magnification on my scope.

You will never regret getting a high quality spotting scope (or binoculars).

ClearCreek

 

[HerkHunter]

My wife had a Vortex Viper 15-45 X 65 for a while that she used to "watch" wildlife in Yellowstone. When we were looking at the same thing, a wolf den for instance, she got frustrated because she was not able to see the things that I could with my spotting scope; a Swarovski 25-50WA X 80.

The Vortex went down the road and she now has a 20-60 X 80 Swarovski which she really likes.

I know watching wildlife in Yellowstone is not hunting, but being a hunter I look for things that hunters look for, points per side, full curl, etc. and I find myself using the 30-40X magnification a lot, then turn it up for details. I have never felt "under powered" by having 50X as the highest magnification on my scope.

You will never regret getting a high quality spotting scope (or binoculars).

ClearCreek

Thanks for all the input everyone. Definitely got a lot more to consider now.

 

[perma]

My wife had a Vortex Viper 15-45 X 65 for a while that she used to "watch" wildlife in Yellowstone. When we were looking at the same thing, a wolf den for instance, she got frustrated because she was not able to see the things that I could with my spotting scope; a Swarovski 25-50WA X 80.

The Vortex went down the road and she now has a 20-60 X 80 Swarovski which she really likes.

I know watching wildlife in Yellowstone is not hunting, but being a hunter I look for things that hunters look for, points per side, full curl, etc. and I find myself using the 30-40X magnification a lot, then turn it up for details. I have never felt "under powered" by having 50X as the highest magnification on my scope.

You will never regret getting a high quality spotting scope (or binoculars).

ClearCreek

Out of curiosity, do you have a photo that you can share of the Swaro image via PhoneSkope? I'd like to upload one from my Razor so we can visually see the clarity difference.

 

[rtraverdavis]

The lower magnification Viper will also come with a smaller objective lens, which will inhibit light gathering in critical moments. If you’re set on getting that particular scope, I would get the 80mm and plan on using it at lower magnification.

I know top notch spotting scopes are insanely expensive, but speaking as someone who had a Vortex Razor, sold it and saved for a Kowa 88, saving your money to get a truly good spotter is worth it. The differences are pretty astonishing. If you need a spotter for a particular hunt this season, there are places you can rent Swaro spotters for a reasonable price, while you continue to save money to buy your own. I know it probably gets annoying hearing this but it really is worth holding out.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

For what it’s worth when I was a Survey Land our Leica’s Survey Instruments were 28x for precision work. So 45x is more than enough IMHO.