Spotting scope

[jhodge]

Hey All,

Need some input on spotting scopes. It’s time for an upgrade from my current POS, and being firmly in the buy once, cry once camp, what are your recommendations? If it matters, I occasionally shoot HP as well, but mostly SB. I was looking at the deal from Creedmoor Sports, the Kowa 82SV with the LER eyepiece. I certainly understand the usefulness of the LER eyepiece, but is there a need for an 82mm objective? Seems like a huge chunk of scope to carry around to shoot SB.

Thanks,

Jay Hodge

[RByars]

If you are going to shoot full distance HP the 82mm objective lens is a big plus. Easier to see the mirage, and shot markers and better on dark days.

[40xguy]

been using the Kowa 66 for many years shooting smallbore and use the LER eyepiece.... excellent piece of equipment.!!
the KOWA 60 is also good. I've also heard the VORTEX can be good but have no personal experience with any of their product line.
at the risk of stating the obvious: remember the stand and cover and objective lens protective lens will all be an additional cost...

[j-team]

I use a Kowa 60mm and agree with the others that the LER eyepiece is a great option. Use it from 25-1000 yards no problems.

I got it from Creedmoor Sports about 20 years ago, and have never felt the need to change it.

[Egon12]

The Kowa 82mm and long eye relief eyepiece is the go to gold standard for highpower. Plenty of them on the line for a reason, good price point and optical quality. Since I shoot Smallbore more than highpower for the past few years I switched to the 66mm Kowa, and same eyepiece. I did splurge and went with the Kowa 663 prominar with the better glass. The optical quality is equal to the 82mm and I have no problem seeing out to 600 yards. The advantage of the 82mm is in light conditions of early morning or dusk where the light gathering ability is better with the larger objective lens. I also have an older Kowa TSN-3 that has a 77mm fluorite objective lens and the same LER eyepiece. While it is thirty years old it holds its own with the the 66mm and 82mm scopes. In my mind it is the ”Goldie locks” or happy medium between the three scopes in regards to size and ability.

Bottom line is what do you do more, highpower or smallbore. If Highpower go with the 82mm, while a little bulky it is workable with smallbore. If smallbore go with the 66mm due to compact size, but be aware that poor light conditions is the limiting factor but not a deal breaker, still can see the shot markers but not as well in dim light. Also consider the scope stand. The 82mm is larger and a little heavier so a larger 1” scope stand is recommended. The 66mm is smaller and lighter so you could get away with a lighter weight 5/8” or 3/4” scope stand.

[jhodge]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies. Seems like the Kiowa 82 SV with the LER eyepiece is the way to go. I noticed that the 82 SV doesn’t have the Florite glass. Big deal, or not?

Thanks,
Jay

[B.p.M]

Are you a veteran, NRA Coach or Instructor or in public safety? If so you should check out Expert Voice. Vortex, Nightforce, Celestron & Kowa are all part of their program.

I'm mostly a High Power shooter, but I dabble in Air & SB. I would suggest that an LER eyepiece, is one of the primary considerations. I've had Kowa, Celestrons & Vortex. My favorite is the Celestron Regal M2 with their LER EP. Unfortunately they do not sell that version, the only one available is the variable and that's nothing to write home about. That being said, the Vortex Razor is quite nice and they offer a very nice LER EP as an accessory.

Most reasonable priced spotting scopes suffer from some minor chromatic aberation, because refractors struggle to bring all the wavelengths of light to focus at the same point. However scopes with ED or HD or Florite use low dispersion glass that reduces chromatic aberation. These types of scopes typically have two seperate objective lenses. However the only true way to get the crispest focus is to have an objective lens cell that uses three seperate lenses. These are called tripplets and are typically heavier, use low dispersion glass and command a premium ($).

If you would like an invite to Expert Voice, feel free to send me a PM with your e-mail. If I sign up another person I win a toaster oven. :-) LoL, just kidding abut the toaster oven.

Brian

[Egon12]

No big deal that the 82sv does not have a fluorite lens. It is a quality scope and a true workhorse as is.

[jhodge]

Again, thanks everyone for the input. I’m going to pick up a Kowa 82SV.

[jhodge]

Just wanted to thank you guys for the input. I got my Kowa 82SV today, and its super cool. Worth every penny.

Jay

[PeeWeeDaddy]

Penny?
Oh, you must be in England.
In the USA we have cents.
As in one percent of a dollar.
Just so you know.

[bugman1955]

I have the Athlon I purchased from Midway USA. It got to where I could not see my shots at a hundred yards. I have a Kowa 25 ler but the zoom piece was too expensive. The Athlon zoom has solved the problem. A well made scope for a little over a hundred dollars.

[SteveT]

Penny?
Oh, you must be in England.
In the USA we have cents.
As in one percent of a dollar.
Just so you know.

I don't know what you have out in California, but we still use pennies in the midwest.

[PeeWeeDaddy]

Look on the back of the coin.

“The U.S. Mint's official name for the coin is "cent"[1] and the U.S. Treasury's official name is "one cent piece".[2] The colloquial term penny derives from the British coin of the same name, which occupies a similar place in the British system.”

[marky-d]

You're very helpful -- maybe next you can post the definition of "colloquial term".

marky-d

[PeeWeeDaddy]

If you need the help.

[Tim S]

Do penny loafers need a re-brand?

[rgibson]

Tim, a “pence” for your real thoughts on what happened to this thread.

[Tim S]

Tim, a “pence” for your real thoughts on what happened to this thread.

I was following the original discussion, even though a Kowa is not in the cards for some time. I freely admit to being a pedant, but even so I didn't see the penny argument coming.

I apologise for this, but pence is plural. I did say I was a pedant, I can't help it! Besides a penny for my thoughts is far more than they're worth.

[rgibson]

I was going to say tuppence but I didn’t want to be short til next week