Spotting scope advice please

[Steve WY]

Afternoon everyone
My very first post and hopefully someone may be able to offer some advice on the above. I’m shortly to apply for my FAC and looking to start by getting into the various target shooting disciplines at varying distances, i am also keen on wildlife observation so the scope is for multi purpose use.
I don’t really need ( read can’t afford ) anything in the Swarovski/ Zeiss bracket and have a budget around £450-£500, i am more than happy to go down the pre-owned route for a better quality scope, in-fact i would prefer to.
I would be looking for something with a larger objective and with a zoom of around 60x or thereabouts, ED or HD glass wouldn’t go amiss either. Oh, almost forget to say angled rather than straight.
Can I ask what you guys use or would recommend?.
Any help, advice or info would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks
Steve

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I have a nib Minox angled eyepiece with the digital camera addon if you were interested bought around 2012 but never been out of the shooting room as I use a Steiner spotter straight eyepiece.

 

[deerstalker.308]

Kowa or optolyth would be decent for the money.

 

[Steve WY]

I have a nib Minox angled eyepiece with the digital camera addon if you were interested bought around 2012 but never been out of the shooting room as I use a Steiner spotter straight eyepiece.

Hi
Thanks for the offer, pardon my ignorance but wouldn’t the Minox eyepiece only be compatible with the Minox scopes or is it a universal fit?.

 

[User00040]

Save up and buy a better one, once.

Older Swarovski or Kowa will be choice.

 

[Steve WY]

Kowa or optolyth would be decent for the money.

Thanks for the heads up, I shall take a look

 

[VIGILAIRE]

FWIW I bought a clearance Minox for £70ish from Sportsmans Gun Centre, seems ok and though I have nothing to compare it with it does the job for me. Freely admit I'm no expert but anyone on a budget could do worse. Hope this helps. Chris.

 

[8x57]

Have a look on the NSRA shop website, they had some good offers in the shop when I was last there which was just before lock down.
Forget about the cheap Hawke spotting scopes I tried one from the Optics Warehouse it was absolute rubbish and I returned it.

 

[Freeforester]

I have a Swarovski 25-40/75 spotting scope I'd be willing to part with for £550 posted, has been serviced back in Absam and is excellent, but I've recently bought another! Can send pics if it may be of interest to you, I can attest to its performance and that the lenses are in excellent condition. pm me with email or whatsapp number if at all of interest.

Boxed and with carry covers, carry strap, etc.



Also got a Hawke 20-60/85 ED, which is pretty good also, £360 posted, excellent condition too, cased. The ED glass version is markedly clearer and has better resolution than the standard glass ones they offer.

 

[Steve WY]

I have a Swarovski 25-40/75 spotting scope I'd be willing to part with for £550 posted, has been serviced back in Absam and is excellent, but I've recently bought another! Can send pics if it may be of interest to you, I can attest to its performance and that the lenses are in excellent condition. pm me with email or whatsapp number if at all of interest.

Boxed and with carry covers, carry strap, etc.

View attachment 165700

Also got a Hawke 20-60/85 ED, which is pretty good also, £360 posted, excellent condition too, cased. The ED glass version is markedly clearer and has better resolution than the standard glass ones they offer.

Hi Freeforester
Many thanks for the offer it’s very much appreciated and the Swarovski does sound appealing, however it’s really an angled scope with a little more mag i am after and with respect the Hawke scopes don’t really appeal to me.
Thanks again
Steve

 

[Steve WY]

Well i finally managed to source a spotting scope, well two actually!.
I have an Opticron ES 80 GA ED being delivered next week bought privately which comes with the stay on case and hdl 20x - 60x eyepiece, but in the meantime came across a gumtree ad from a seller not too far away who was selling an Opticron HR 80 with 27x - 80x zoom eyepiece, stay on case , tripod and pan attachment for an asking price of £200, I couldn’t resist making a cheeky offer which he surprisingly accepted so went and picked it up this morning for the bargain price of £120.
For an older scope it’s in excellent condition and the image quality even on 80 x magnification is amazing.
WELL HAPPY .

 

[deerstalker.308]

So now you’ve effectively got some quick detachable long range binoculars then.... all you need is a cable tie...

 

[Steve WY]

Sorry deerstalker that one went right over my head......am i missing something????

 

[Steve WY]

Got it now. two scopes = 1 pair of bins..... might be a tad heavy though!!!

 

[Dawnrazor]

I have a Swarovski 25-40/75 spotting scope I'd be willing to part with for £550 posted, has been serviced back in Absam and is excellent, but I've recently bought another! Can send pics if it may be of interest to you, I can attest to its performance and that the lenses are in excellent condition. pm me with email or whatsapp number if at all of interest.

Boxed and with carry covers, carry strap, etc.

View attachment 165700

Also got a Hawke 20-60/85 ED, which is pretty good also, £360 posted, excellent condition too, cased. The ED glass version is markedly clearer and has better resolution than the standard glass ones they offer.

Can I ask where you got the carrying case for the Swarovski please?

 

[Freeforester]

Yes.


Swarovski OEM, but I've made them in the past for others, not hard for a decent local saddler to do for you.

 

[eldon]

Well i finally managed to source a spotting scope, well two actually!.
I have an Opticron ES 80 GA ED being delivered next week bought privately which comes with the stay on case and hdl 20x - 60x eyepiece, but in the meantime came across a gumtree ad from a seller not too far away who was selling an Opticron HR 80 with 27x - 80x zoom eyepiece, stay on case , tripod and pan attachment for an asking price of £200, I couldn’t resist making a cheeky offer which he surprisingly accepted so went and picked it up this morning for the bargain price of £120.
For an older scope it’s in excellent condition and the image quality even on 80 x magnification is amazing.
WELL HAPPY .

I too have the Opticron spotting scope and I'm very pleased with mine although I think mine is a 66.

I would recommend the company and its products after damaging, my fault, some binoculars made by them. Turnaround was about a week with a total cost of £30 was very reassuring should anything in the future happen.