spotting scope advice

[Guest]

When shooting from a bench, is the straight eyepiece or angled one preferred?

Also, what magnification works best for 10m and is a large objective lens needed for indoors?

Any suggestions on brands or where to buy one?

[Xman]

When shooting from a bench, is the straight eyepiece or angled one preferred?
Also, what magnification works best for 10m and is a large objective lens needed for indoors?
Any suggestions on brands or where to buy one?

Straight or angled eyepieces is just a personal preference. Position shooters like the angled ones ( less position shifting to check targets). A lot can depend on the type/style of spotting scope mount hardware too. Such as how close can you get the scope to your head/eye and not bump into the rest or the item you shooting with.

I suggest to go to a range and check out what othere are using and do a mock shooting tryout. If you a newbi, dont be afraid to ask..we are a very friendly sort and like to help others out.

As far a magnification. 10X at 10 meters is fine for pistol, the scoring rings are big (LOL) For 10m rifle perhaps 15 or 20 X is better. But over time even a 10 x will do as you will gain experience in your shot placement and judging the score fro the fireing line. But mined you..dont get hung up on score. Groups, sight picture, trigger control, and follow thru are more important than score.The scoreing will come in time.

With objective size for indoors.. even a 35MM lens is adequate as the lighting indoors is hopefull sufficient. If indoor range is darkish go to 50MM.

Again go to a range, ask around and take a peak thru a few.

You dont have to buy new. Gunshows are GREAT places to find low cost scopes, mounts, etc. Academy, Gander and Bass pro are good but Bass is pricey. Try Sportsmans Guide and Cheaper than dirt too, Ebay has good choices, though I would ONLY buy from a domestic seller. Bushnell has a great reputation, I have a spacemaster zoom, is 35 years old but heavy.

For 10M I use a regular 7-15x 35mm binocular with a rube goldberg set up with my Freeland stand w/ saddle mount. I only need to look thru one lens at 10M to see my target.

[weilers]

There are people on this forum who have $400 and $500 spotting scopes; I know a couple of them. I have thousands tied up in this sport, as do most of the people who read and write these posts. Regardless of who you are, resources are finite.

At 10 Meters, I wouldn't be inclined to invest too much into a scope. A spotting scope is not a very specialized item: lenses don't know if they're looking at a golf ball, sailboat, or a paper target. I'd look for a variable power scope, with a range starting at no less than 15x. I'd also want to have at least a 40mm lens.

Straight or angled is strictly a user preference. Most people that I know opt for an angled scope. Before choosing, I'd consider how it's going to be used and kept. I opted for a straight eyepiece because it fits better in my vehicle.

A spotting scope is one of the few opportunities in this sport to save some money; it doesn't need to come from a specialized retailer. I purchased mine from MidwayUSA. The other site I'd consider is OpticsPlanet. Both sites are ultra safe, give competitive prices, and have many reliable user reviews to browse before purchasing. For a decent quality scope, I'd expect to pay somewhere between $75 and $125, plus shipping. Both sites have regular specials which offer an additional opportunity to save.

Best of luck to you

[GaryN]

One thing to watch for.
Some spotting scopes will NOT focus down to 10 meters. Not a factor for the SB or CF guys, but it is for us air shooters.
I have to back the eyepiece out of my old Bushnell scope to get a sharp focus at 10m. My brother-in-laws Burris easily focuses down to 10m.

Many scopes have no specs as to their min focus. For those you have to contact the dealer or distributor or importer or manufacturer...or ask someone that has one.

[henry1]

i use a Burris 20x50 lanmark compact spotting scope with tripod set up for 10 meter and 50 yard prone and mini palma shooting .. it works great for the for the price of the scope which i got at SWFA website for a total of less then a $.100.oo with scope and tripod and shipping and handleing out the door..

.

[Rover]

This has been beaten to death in the past, not that you're not getting good advice.

Do a search on here and you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know.

[Nev C]

It would be wise to check the ISSF rules regarding 10m and spotting scopes.

[David Levene]

It would be wise to check the ISSF rules regarding 10m and spotting scopes.

For Rifle, 7.4.7.11.1, "The use of telescopes not attached to the rifle to locate shots and to judge the wind is permitted for 50 m and 300 m events only."

For Pistol, 8.5.1, "The use of telescopes not attached to the pistol to locate shots or judge the wind is permitted for 25 m and 50 m events only."

I understand that US "local" rules may differ from the above.

[Quest1]

It would be wise to check the ISSF rules regarding 10m and spotting scopes.

For Rifle, 7.4.7.11.1, "The use of telescopes not attached to the rifle to locate shots and to judge the wind is permitted for 50 m and 300 m events only."

For Pistol, 8.5.1, "The use of telescopes not attached to the pistol to locate shots or judge the wind is permitted for 25 m and 50 m events only."

I understand that US "local" rules may differ from the above.

The US rules do allow spotting scopes as their aren't many ranges that have electronic or retrieval systems for targets here in the US.

[Guest]

It would be wise to check the ISSF rules regarding 10m and spotting scopes.

The OP wrote that they will be shooting from a bench. ISSF rules have nothing to do with that, do they?
Honestly, some of you are so darn persnickety BUT overlook the obvious clues from the original post.

[Nev C]

What is persnickety (whatever that means) about advising somebody to be aware of ISSF rules regarding spotting scopes?
Nowhere in the original post is there any reference to the 10m match being shot in the USA, no country was mentioned, for all intents and purposes it was a question relating to ISSF 10m air pistol and spotting scopes. All I said was it would be wise to check the rules, what is wrong with saying that?

[Guest]

I do know that in the US, most ranges do not have electronic targeting for air rifle. As far as shooting from a bench goes, Paralympic 3 position air rifle makes use of a bench in 2 of the positions. Did not want to further complicate the question by thowing in the extra rules of disabled shooting. Mainly just wanted advice on the straight or 45degree eyepiece and magnification. It seems in my experience, most shooters tend to go with the 45. The 45 I have doesn't seem to be the most convienant. The straight Nikon I have barely focus down to 10M. I think in the end, the answer to my quetion will be that 20X is enough and depending on how I have the scope mounted will determine the straight or angled eyepiece. Maybe a pole mounted to the wheelchair and attatching the scope will work good but require the 45. For now, it seems that using a small tri-pod with my straight scope and just leaning it over towards me is working ok. Thanks for all the advice.