Spotting Scope vs. Telescope

T

TXAZ

New member
In another thread Mississippi asked about reasonably priced spotting scope recommendations for 600 yards.

That got me thinking, you can get a good 8" catadioptric used scope for $500-800, with a stand. Magnification is anything from 20X to over 100, but more than that the tripods are usually more stout and the significantly larger collection area would seem to help.

But, it's clearly it's not a popular option, just wondering why?

Anyone know?
 
M

MattB

New member
Telescopes are much more fragile than spotting scopes and tend to have a very narrow field of view compared to good spotting scopes. Secondly, most telescopes invert and reverse images (Refractors reverse, reflectors invert and reverse, catadioptric are normal view with diagonal). A good C6 or C8 would probably work great for use as a spotting scope and see no reason it would not work. The telescope will weigh much more than a spotting scope so it would be for range use only which is not a bad thing. The great thing is that you can use the telescope to view the stars, etc so it would be more multipurpose. A spotting scope can be used to view the night sky but it is much more cumbersome due to the lack of pointers and the angle of the eyepiece.
 
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G

g.willikers

New member
That's what I use.
A kids' telescope I got on sale for $20.
It clearly shows .22 holes at 100 yards.
Plenty good enough.
But for longer range, telescopes can be more expensive.
As usual, the answer is "it all depends." :confused:
 
T

TXAZ

New member
5&Dime noted
They're all going to laugh at you!
Click to expand...

Maybe, ask me if I care?:D :D

And, when I connect my wifi camera so I have a tablet view from my shooting position, I'll be laughing at them not having to wait and having instant replay of the shots.

How about atmospherics at 600, 1000 yards and beyond? Will that be a problem?
 
F

FiveInADime

New member
TXAZ said:
5&Dime noted


Maybe, ask me if I care?:D :D

And, when I connect my wifi camera so I have a tablet view from my shooting position, I'll be laughing at them not having to wait and having instant replay of the shots.

How about atmospherics at 600, 1000 yards and beyond? Will that be a problem?
Click to expand...
That's an excellent idea.

I just saw a kit in the Cabelas bargain cave for a target camera that supposedly transmits up to a mile line of sight. It was $350 on clearance.
 
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