Best budget spotting scope?

With a spotter, don't forget, you'll need a decent tripod and that will cost some money too. Plus, you'll need to lug all that to the range with you. For only 50-100 yds, I'm wondering if a decent pair of binoculars will be sufficient for you. Are you shooting a handgun or rifle?

Google “best spotting scopes under $500” find one that fits then go to eBay and buy a used one.

for 50-100 yds get a cheap pair of binos from wally world.

TriggerCharlie1956 said:

With a spotter, don't forget, you'll need a decent tripod and that will cost some money too. Plus, you'll need to lug all that to the range with you. For only 50-100 yds, I'm wondering if a decent pair of binoculars will be sufficient for you. Are you shooting a handgun or rifle?

Click to expand...

My last range visit was at a range that has 15 25 and 50 yard bays in the pistol area and my buddy was trying to zero his .308 at 50y. The camera on my phone almost did the job but, a scope on a tripod would be much easier. They also have a 1000y rifle range though I personally won't be shooting at much beyond 100y and they have electronic targets that report to an Ipad or something but I doubt I'll be shooting much beyond 100y myself.

Honestly, I'm half tempted to go pick a $50 scope from harbor freight up but it comes with a short tripod and I don't know if it uses a proprietary mount or what. I Found a cheap tripod that should stand taller that gets good reviews.

Definitely not looking for anything fancy.

Do any of your local gun/sporting goods stores sell consignment items? I picked up an old Redfield spotting scope with tripod for about $50 and it is far better than new several hundred dollar scopes.

Seem to have decent reviews for the price. Wait for a free shipping code. The tan one is a little cheaper. $140

My 1st spotting scope was a 'budget' option sold by Leopold. Basically, I learned that cheap spotting scopes really aren't much better than a typical smart phone camera, and their tripods are even worse - Complete junk. I mean, a typical $200 scope's 30x image is fuzzy, 40x is blurry and 60x is a joke.

At 100yds, you'll need something much stronger than a strong bino's 10x to see a 30cal target hole. So, save yourself time & money and get a decent glass that'll do the job for ya. IMO, a Vortex Viper's good enough and a Razor would be the last spotter you'll ever need.

Cheers

kansascity45 said:

My 1st spotting scope was a 'budget' option sold by Leopold. Basically, I learned that cheap spotting scopes really aren't much better than a typical smart phone camera, and their tripods are even worse - Complete junk. I mean, a typical $200 scope's 30x image is fuzzy, 40x is blurry and 60x is a joke.

At 100yds, you'll need something much stronger than a strong bino's 10x to see a 30cal target hole. So, save yourself time & money and get a decent glass that'll do the job for ya. IMO, a Vortex Viper's good enough and a Razor would be the last spotter you'll ever need.

Cheers

Click to expand...

A smartphone camera did a decent enough job. I could just put that on a tripod I guess.

A $700-$1200 spotting scope is out of the question.

Just go on Optics Planet and find one of the higher rated cheap ones like the
Barska Blackhawk. It even comes with a tripod. If it's just for the range, it's all you need.

A good smart phone is not a bad idea as there is no money out of pocket for many folks. A lousy spotting scope is a good way to waste money. My club provides decent scopes.

Ammo is so expensive that a good scope may help reduce ammo waste. I'm trying a Razor HD scope to see how I like it. It's not a necessity, but it doesn't break the bank. YMMV

Bill

Yeah, good point! Also depends on your eyes and the lighting you're working in. I shoot an indoor 100yd range 3 seasons here in Colorado. Started with a Redfield 20-60x60mm. Outdoors in good light, it's usable, but indoors or on a cloudy day, it's just not much help. Vortex Razor 27-60x85 on decent tripod (say at least Silk or better yet Manfrotto) is awesome!

Cheers

MrMcGoo said:

A lousy spotting scope is a good way to waste money. My club provides decent scopes.

Click to expand...

I dunno, my outdoor ranges provide horrible spotting scopes. I bought one for $150
that's 20X better than what they provide. Money well spent.

weatom said:

I dunno, my outdoor ranges provide horrible spotting scopes. I bought one for $150
that's 20X better than what they provide. Money well spent.

Click to expand...

Some of the free scopes are better than others. Hence a Razor is not a bad investment as I have a good tripod. I went with a 16-48x65. The longest it will have to do is 200 yrds as the 600 yrd range is rarely open.

Bill

Walmart has them for about $70 and they work perfectly fine for looking at holes in paper at 100 to 200 yds.

Join Rokslide forum… used binos/spotters all the time from people upgrading etc. easily find some good deals on what you are looking for.

weatom said:

I dunno, my outdoor ranges provide horrible spotting scopes. I bought one for $150
that's 20X better than what they provide. Money well spent.

Click to expand...

What'd you buy?

I bought a cheap spotting scope for 100-200 yards and it was a waste of money. Couldn’t see clearly at 100. So I then bought a small Vortex that will work great for what you are doing. It’s small enough to put in a range bag and I bought a cheap tripod from Amazon. The whole thing sits on the shooting bench. I’d recommend just saving up a couple hundred more and get something clear.

Isn’t there a scope on the rifle in question you’re trying to see the holes from?
I’ve always used the Shoot-n-c targets. with them and any scope 4x and higher I can easily see the holes even from .223.
Might be a cheaper alternative