Inexpensive Spotting Scope

[jhmartin]

Youth programs know that the kids can be rough on scopes.
Our pistol program turned me on to some $50 scopes that are 20x-60x and focus down to 10m.

Bought 2 for our program today to replace a few of the $100 CC scopes that have been dropped more times than can be repaired....

From what I call "The China Store" ... Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-60-x-60 ... 94555.html

[SRichieR]

We bought one and tried it and it worked well. For the money, I like them. We will buy more.

[JPK]

Yea and if you get their mailing list you can get a coupon to buy up to 4 for $39.99 each! You can also find coupons in the NRA magazines.

[JasonM]

We've had good luck with these little Celestron 52320 Landscout scopes.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B73JXKC

When I say little, I really do mean little (8.75" long) and very lightweight (14.2 ounces). From what I can tell, other than having the Celestron logo on the side they are identical to the $110 model CC1030 from Champion's Choice here that many use for junior air rifle and smallbore.

http://champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx? ... tem=CC1030

I was so impressed that I'm actually using one of these instead of my bigger scope for our current air rifle league.

[GaryN]

Jason,
How is using the Celestron at 10m?

According to the Amazon listing, it is a 25-75x zoom.
I found my old 20x scope was almost too much magnification at 10m.
The Champions Choice is a more reasonable 10-30x.

I shoot both AP and AR, so obviously the larger AP target would want a larger field of view than the smaller AR target.

[GaryN]

This appears to be the same scope the CC sells. 10-30x
http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/sp ... ting-scope
I found it for $50 at Adorama
http://www.adorama.com/CNLS50.html

[JasonM]

Jason,
How is using the Celestron at 10m?

According to the Amazon listing, it is a 25-75x zoom.
I found my old 20x scope was almost too much magnification at 10m.
The Champions Choice is a more reasonable 10-30x.

I shoot both AP and AR, so obviously the larger AP target would want a larger field of view than the smaller AR target.

The one that I linked there is a 10-30X, just like the CC scope. It works great at 10 meters. That's where I use it most. I'm not sure which one you saw that was a 25-75X.

[GaryN]

Jason,
How is using the Celestron at 10m?

According to the Amazon listing, it is a 25-75x zoom.
I found my old 20x scope was almost too much magnification at 10m.
The Champions Choice is a more reasonable 10-30x.

I shoot both AP and AR, so obviously the larger AP target would want a larger field of view than the smaller AR target.

The one that I linked there is a 10-30X, just like the CC scope. It works great at 10 meters. That's where I use it most. I'm not sure which one you saw that was a 25-75X.

Check 10-30x
Now I don't know where I read that 25-75x. Too much reading, I probably got mixed up.

[GaryN]

Jason,
Out of curiosity, how close will the Celestron focus?

[JasonM]

I think it focused down to about 15 feet at 10x magnification when I checked before. We have air rifle league tonight and I'll be using mine, so I'll try to remember to check it again.

[Chris__Colorado]

Spotting Scopes
Simplest and easiest to use, but only by one person at a time.
Virtually impossible to break as they are mechanical systems.


However,
Since a lot of people already have notebook computers or tablets, if you have a free USB port,
A USB Camera and a USB extension cable can work really well too for a comparable cost (under $50 not including the notebook or tablet).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_in_-2_p_ ... 2882914011

http://www.amazon.com/Extension-Repeate ... B002VG39BI
You are only limited by the length of the USB Extension repeater cables.

Finally,
If you want to get a bit more complicated, you can go wireless if you have an old android phone you're not using:
http://www.howtogeek.com/139373/how-to- ... ty-camera/
The advantage of a wireless system like this is that you may be able to view them on more than one laptop computer/tablet.

** Both electronic alternatives
allow the shooter and coach to see the target at the same time and
allow you to record your shooting for playback later, along with any local audio too.

I think the wired system is easiest to implement, cost effective, gives local immediate feedback, while allowing you to record the session.
If you have a free USB port on your computer/table, it's worth considering.

Chris

[JasonM]

I think it focused down to about 15 feet at 10x magnification when I checked before. We have air rifle league tonight and I'll be using mine, so I'll try to remember to check it again.

The scope focused most clearly down to just under 17 feet from the front of the scope to the wall that the test target was on tonight. This was on 10x magnification, the lowest that the eyepiece goes to.

[GaryN]

I think it focused down to about 15 feet at 10x magnification when I checked before. We have air rifle league tonight and I'll be using mine, so I'll try to remember to check it again.

The scope focused most clearly down to just under 17 feet from the front of the scope to the wall that the test target was on tonight. This was on 10x magnification, the lowest that the eyepiece goes to.

Thanks Jason
17 feet will will work for me.
My current Bushnell barely gets down to 10m.
I do short range testing when first sighting in a new gun, cuz I have no idea how far off the sights are. I had one so far off, it was hitting about a foot away from the target paper at 10m. The pellet was smashed into the cinder block wall behind the trap.

[GaryN]

Spotting Scopes
Simplest and easiest to use, but only by one person at a time.
Virtually impossible to break as they are mechanical systems.

However,
Since a lot of people already have notebook computers or tablets, if you have a free USB port,
A USB Camera and a USB extension cable can work really well too for a comparable cost (under $50 not including the notebook or tablet).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_in_-2_p_ ... 2882914011

http://www.amazon.com/Extension-Repeate ... B002VG39BI
You are only limited by the length of the USB Extension repeater cables.

** Both electronic alternatives
allow the shooter and coach to see the target at the same time and
allow you to record your shooting for playback later, along with any local audio too.

I think the wired system is easiest to implement, cost effective, gives local immediate feedback, while allowing you to record the session.
If you have a free USB port on your computer/table, it's worth considering.

Chris

Chris,

Interesting idea to make use of old computers.

My limited experience with WebCams is that they use a WIDE angle lens.

But for looking at a target I would imagine that I would want a narrow angle lens to get just the target, not the extra space around the target. I am thinking I would position the webcam about 3 or 4 feet in front of the target (off to one side) so the target image is not too distorted (as it would be if you position the webcam up close). But at 3 or 4 feet, I think the horizontal coverage is about 3 feet. Do any of those webcams have an adjustable zoom?

[jhmartin]

Spotting Scopes
Simplest and easiest to use, but only by one person at a time.
Virtually impossible to break as they are mechanical systems.

Snicker ... Chris, do you coach JRs? That last statement is absolutely untrue.
That's the whole point of this thread ... getting cheap, effective scopes for youth & youth clubs.
Put 40 youth on a line in a gym at a match, and during 3 days of comp, chances are at least one is toppling over. If they are $200+ scopes coaches/parents tend to turn purple. $50 scope ... meh...

[JasonM]

Totally agree. An additional bonus of the smaller and lighter spotting scopes is that they are less likely to get bumped due to size and are less top heavy when they do get bumped so less likely to fall over, risking getting damaged themselves and damaging other gear/kids.

[Chris__Colorado]

"Virtually Impossible to Break".....
Guess I should have used some smiley emoticons as I was trying to compare the scope to the usb camera computer/tablet setup.
LOL.
Chris

[bberg7794]

We've had good luck with these little Celestron 52320 Landscout scopes.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B73JXKC

When I say little, I really do mean little (8.75" long) and very lightweight (14.2 ounces). From what I can tell, other than having the Celestron logo on the side they are identical to the $110 model CC1030 from Champion's Choice here that many use for junior air rifle and smallbore.

http://champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx? ... tem=CC1030

I was so impressed that I'm actually using one of these instead of my bigger scope for our current air rifle league.

Has anyone used this Celestron 52320/CC1030 while wearing prescription glasses? I would love to buy this scope if the eye relief is sufficient.

Please advise,

Brian

[GaryN]

Here is a $30 option. I have no idea of the quality or lack of quality of this scope.
Barska-15-40-x-50mm
Close focus 26ft, so it will do 10m
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Barska-15-40- ... e/30224685