I've decided I need a spotting scope for this upcoming hunting season. Will be western hunting. Lots of backpacking but some use from a truck. Budget of around $500. Can sway me a little if it gets me something significantly better.

I think due to weight and size due to backpacking the 60ish mm is about right for me but open to suggestions.

My current list of considerations are:
Leupold SX-1 Ventana 15-45x60
Vortex Diamondback 20-60x60
Cabelas krotos 15-45x65 (used)
Vortex Nomad (used)

Also straight vs angled?

Great scope for the price, weight and size given what you posted.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/bushnell-15-45x60mm-elite-spotting-scope-781548p.html

I have this scope in addition to a 65 MM swaro (older body angled). If I was planning a backcountry hunt for mule deer and just wanted to see if the stalk was worth pursuing, I wouldn't hesitate to grab the bushnell and match with a lightweight Outdoorsmans tripod with a panning head. Having said this, I used a Walmart vanguard plastic tripod for $40 bucks for many of my hunts when I lived out West.

There used to be some companies that would rent optics back in the day. May be an option You may want to pursue. Most of my hunting was with a bow and I just needed to study the stalk route and make sure big enough for a 2-3 hour stalk!

Great info. And seems to be a great option.

You described pretty much my intentions. I need to be able to tell "buck vs doe" or "decent vs raghorn" so I can know if it's worthwhile to plan a stalk. This past year was the first year I've hunted open enough country to actually use glass and found bino's only to be lacking.

I have a buddy with a swaro and while it's nice, not sure i can stomach the price for something that's going to roll around my pack and take tumbles with me. Also not sure I really need quite that level of performance. Maybe one day.

Search Caladan's posts. He and Eyeguy are who I would listen to.

I'm in the same market as you are.

I used a Vortex Diamondback 20-60x60 last year chasing elk in NM. Really was a nice little scope. Great glass for the money. Certainly not the most powerful, but was able to gauge bulls at a good distance. Light enough to pack.

Agreed...I was hoping Cladan would chime in eventually. Looking back he mentioned the Pentax PF in a post. It's out of my listed price range but was interested if that would be a significant quality upgrade to justify the price. Or if I'm in "no mans land" and should either go cheaper or save more.

Cup of Joe, good to know on the diamondback. I like their warranty and all of their products seem to be solid.

60x is great but when it is hot outside and you are viewing "a long ways", the heat waves will significantly impact your ability to dissect a 170" buck vs 185"! 30x zoom is normally "good enough" when deciding to take off for a closer look. Now- if you were talking about a trip of a lifetime for mtn goat or dall sheep, this would be a different conversation. Given the $500 price point, I think We are on the right path here. Bought my MIL some Vortex binos a 8 yrs back and she loves them for general wildlife viewing by the house. My go to hunting binos are Swaro 10x32's but again, I am Bow hunting and have a steady hand.

Most recent binos are Swaro 8x25 CL's for general travel and big identification when fly fishing. Overkill? Yea, likely! Would I have invested this much 10+ years ago when doing a lot of backpack hunts much earlier in my career? No!

Don't overthink this, spend your time getting physically ready for your hunt, scouting/ glassing (learn to pick apart an area, put animals to bed and where to sit before sunrise) and be proficient with your weapon.

stdeb11 said:

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Agreed...I was hoping Cladan would chime in eventually. Looking back he mentioned the Pentax PF in a post. It's out of my listed price range but was interested if that would be a significant quality upgrade to justify the price. Or if I'm in "no mans land" and should either go cheaper or save more.

Cup of Joe, good to know on the diamondback. I like their warranty and all of their products seem to be solid.

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Yeah, I'm in "no mans land" too! I've been cursed to use & look through some really awesome glass in the past. But I can't afford what I really want. Thats where I think the Vortex stuff could fill a hole. Affordable enough to actually purchase, and yet decent enough to be useful in the field.

Prime example- spotted a pair of bulls that were crazy far away- far enough that I couldn't find them at all in my 10x binos, even after knowing exactly where they were. A buddy had a $4,000 Ziess, and I had the Diamondback. I got to look at them through both scopes side-by-side. Could I tell that we were looking at a 375" class bull from that distance? No, absolutely not. Could I tell there were two bulls, and one was CLEARLY a shooter and substantially larger than the other? Yes, absolutely. Was that enough information for me to go clamoring a couple miles across the mountain after them- you betcha!

I found the Diamondback to be good enough for me to distinguish shooter/non-shooters, about as far as I could reasonably see. But I'm not super picky- if it looks like he is sporting a good 5x5 or better, I'm gonna go after him and see if I can get close, then make my call. I'm not hunting with the luxury or objective of killing a certain class bull over another.

I would not say that low-end zoom eyepieces are bad, but you can do a lot better for not too much more. The two setups I would recommend you investigate are:

Pentax PF65 ED II w/an XW eyepiece. The XW-14 will give you 28x, and the XW-20 will give you 20x. Remember - when it comes to lower-priced optics, optical clarity trumps magnification. I would go with the 20mm, as I prefer a wider FOV over more magnification. Also, these have lots of ER too, so very comfortable if viewing for a long period of time.

The second option is a Nikon Fieldscope ED50 with their widefield 27x eyepiece. Unbelievable optical quality in a package that you could stow in a large coat pocket.

I have had mine for a while now, so I have no idea as to current prices. Don't even know about current availability either. However, it would be worth your time to investigate. These will blow any Vortex or Leupold out of the water.

Straight or angled -- good and bad points about both, so your personal preference is the most important.

C

Are the eye pieces on the Nikon Field scope ED50's all interchangeable? Like if I bought one with the 13-30x eye piece I could swap it out to the 27X?

Like this on Nikon Fieldscope Eyepiece eye lens 27X 40X 50X Wide

New to swapping out eye pieces on optics.

And thanks for all the help everyone. Yes I'm overthinking it as I do with most things in life, luckily I'm in a career where that's the norm.

And agreed I could probably get by with something cheap as I typically do not have the luxury of being choosy when it comes to which animal to go after (on public land, they are all a trophy). I'm not counting 7/8's vs full curl on a liftime sheep hunt in BC, etc....but I also like to buy something quality if it's worth it and will last me.

Luckily I've got a whole 23 days before i need it!

stdeb11 said:

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Are the eye pieces on the Nikon Field scope ED50's all interchangeable? Like if I bought one with the 13-30x eye piece I could swap it out to the 27X?

Like this on Nikon Fieldscope Eyepiece eye lens 27X 40X 50X Wide

New to swapping out eye pieces on optics.

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Yes, the ED50's EP's are interchangeable. Just screw them on and off the body.

Caladan said:

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I would not say that low-end zoom eyepieces are bad, but you can do a lot better for not too much more. The two setups I would recommend you investigate are:

Pentax PF65 ED II w/an XW eyepiece. The XW-14 will give you 28x, and the XW-20 will give you 20x. Remember - when it comes to lower-priced optics, optical clarity trumps magnification. I would go with the 20mm, as I prefer a wider FOV over more magnification. Also, these have lots of ER too, so very comfortable if viewing for a long period of time.

The second option is a Nikon Fieldscope ED50 with their widefield 27x eyepiece. Unbelievable optical quality in a package that you could stow in a large coat pocket.

I have had mine for a while now, so I have no idea as to current prices. Don't even know about current availability either. However, it would be worth your time to investigate. These will blow any Vortex or Leupold out of the water.

Straight or angled -- good and bad points about both, so your personal preference is the most important.

C

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This is good advice right here! Thanks so much, I'll be checking theses out as well

.....between my two sons and I we have two Swaro's....one angled and one straight. IMO if you are bumping down a ranch road and see something afar....straight is the best. You can get on it much quicker. If you are holding it free handed straight is easier to keep steady and with the heavy ones that is difficult for me.

If I'm hunting in Colorado and crest something and choose to sit or lay down and scan for awhile or sit on a deck and scan for the red headed nurse in Port Aransas.....angled is really nice.

Several years ago before I had ever met Sean98 in person I sent him a Swaro for one of his first Colorado above the tree line bow hunts. I think it was the angled one but not sure. My advice was, you better really need this because it is a PITA to tout around if you don't. Upon it's return he bought a Swaro.

I never ever got that Whataburger #4 he promised.

Thanks for all the info...That Nikon ED50 is super interesting. Especially that the body only comes in weighing 16oz (eye piece looks to add another 7oz) and also only 8". That's super pack able.

Great advice on the straight vs angled. Man I wish there was a Whataburger near me...

What are you doing for a tripod? It's nice to have three:
*window mount for use from truck
*sturdy (heavy) tripod for use while standing near camp
*lightweight packable tripod. Have a way to hang a small bag to fill with sand/ rocks etc to help stabilize.

I like to spot while sitting (also nice to have a pad). As others have pointed out, straight is easier to line up, angles is what I prefer when getting ready to pick apart a mountain for a few hours.

If you want to burn about $6k, Swaro has a new setup that uses two eyepieces on a spotting scope. They also have a "doubler", I played With this setup at a store here on Houston, it is wicked (and heavy).

The Nikon ED50 can also be used as a lens if you have a Nikon camera body also.

I haven't looked into tripods yet. So I'm open to all suggestions.

In my mind something packable, lightweight, and affordable (I know those 3 don't typically go together). I don't envision myself ever needing to stand and glass. Might be nice, but I typically carry a small foam pad to sit on and do all my glassing from that. Or a small stool if I'm antelope hunting.

The truck mount may be handy, but can only think of one area I hunt currently that would make it worth the investment. I can see where a sturdy heavy one may be nice at some point.

Also, on the tripod head I just checked out the outdoorsmans since everyoen seems to recommend that...Got a little bit of sticker shock. So open to any recommendations there.

I have a medium outdoorsman tripod with a pan head. I hear you on sticker shock!

If this is out of the current budget, don't feel bad about using a cheap plastic Walmart version. Just be careful, they are prone to breaking. They also have a bit of a loose connection.! If you are going to get serious or look for hours at a time, you will eventually have a great tripod.

Good to know! I am worried about how careful I am. I take care of stuff, but tend to be hard on it. Myself and gear tend to take a few tumbles each year

In my 20min of research. It seems like something like this set up would be a bit more in my budget and something that I would be happy with for a while. Looks like total weight would be sub 2.5lbs. Edit: Looks like it'd be about 3-3.5lbs...still not terrible

Slik 624cf tripod

benro s2 head

Tripod and head look like they will work great with your new Nikon!

I posted this on the Western thread but figured I'd update here. Appreciate everyone's help. Got the Nikon ED50 in and the tripod arrived this past weekend. Went with the Schonfield tripod and fluid pan head after checking out a buddies....Total weight of tripod, head, and spotter is a whopping 4lbs flat....I like that.

At some point I'll upgrade to either the fixed 27X or the MCII 13-40X eyepiece. I've read great things about both.

Great!

How do you like it?

It's been awesome so far. Per usual your recommendation was spot on. I have only taken it out twice around the neighborhood but will hopefully get to use it some this weekend. Then in 10 days it'll really get it's true test....

I haven't looked thru just a ton of spotters, but do know it blows the doors off my buddy's Leupold Ventana optics (and size) wise. Seems like great glass. Especially for what I found it for used on Rokslide. Going to run the standard 13-30 eye piece for a bit before changing over so I can actually appreciate the difference in eye piece change.

And did I mention I really like the size and weight of it?

stdeb11 said:

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Especially for what I found it for used on Rokslide.

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I hate you. I had never heard of Rokslide until you mentioned it- and I stupidly went and googled it. Sigh... last thing I needed was another outlet for the addiction.

You're welcome . Glad to share the addiction.

I can only look at the classifieds section if there's something specific I need. I don't have the willpower to just browse thru....too much temptation.

stdeb11 said:

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You're welcome . Glad to share the addiction.

I can only look at the classifieds section if there's something specific I need. I don't have the willpower to just browse thru....too much temptation.

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I hear that!

Resurrecting this old thread. I'm looking to add the ED50 to my optics arsenal. Read great things about it on Rokslide and really like the size and weight.

stdeb11, how did this treat you last year hunting? I'm looking on ebay and can pick up the body and MC2 13-40 eyepiece for just a hair over $500.

It has been AWESOME! I've absolutely love having it. Used it on 10+ hunts and trips so far and nothing but great things to say. I used the original eyepiece for a few hunts then upgraded to the MCII 13-40 eyepiece as well and it was a great upgrade That's a great price for around $500. Think I probably spent over that by the time I pieced it together.

Portability/size/weight of the scope is the main thing I love. Fits super well I'm the pack. Clairity wise for the price and size has been super surprising. One hunt had it side by side with a buddy's Swarovski looking at some elk 2 miles away. Yes the swaro was a little better, but we both agreed for the size/wt and price the little Nikon easily held it's own. And that was with the old eyepiece, the MCII I think is better. It beat the pants off another buddy's Leupold ventana (what I was looking at) when we used them side by side shooting one day.

Awesome, thank you for the report. I think I will pull the trigger here shortly. So you'd say the MC2 eyepiece is a noticable upgrade? Only thing left to decide is straight or angled.

I do think it is. I did a compare when I first got it and thought I could notice a difference. However that extra little bit of zoom magnifiction is probably the biggest thing I noticed and like about it. I haven't wanted to switch back at least. I do still have the 13-30 eyepiece in a box I'd sell if you got just the body. Works just fine.

I've got the straight, but if you get an angled let me know as I've got a cley spy cover for an angled that I picked up cheap on rokslide without realizing it was for angled.

Think I'll go straight as well. I like the advantage of switching between binos and spotting scope without having to make many adjustments to the tripod.

mneisch said:

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I'm looking on ebay and can pick up the body and MC2 13-40 eyepiece for just a hair over $500.

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Considering you would get 90% of the performance of a 55mm Prominar for 30% of the Prominar's price (and save weight too), that is a good deal.

You might also look into the fixed EP's too. They perform better than the zoom EP's. Probably weigh less too.

C

Thanks for the feedback. Would you happen to know how the Nikon compares with the Vortex Razor 50mm? I've been struggling to find any direct comparisons, especially when you start to look at the MCII eyepiece.