Shiloh Rifle Forums

I thought you would Woody.

Paul

My binos are 20 x 80mm. Steiner glass is sourced from the Schott factory and the same lenses as Swaro, S&B, so forth. The lens coatings are all proprietary to the individual manufacturers though.

I was thinking of a scope in the 30-35 power range and was just worried it might be too much. As far as tripods go, I bought an aluminum Benro that is rated for 45 lbs, so no worries there.

27X
Kowa, 82mm

Seems to work fine for multiple national champions, class Champions, Sr National Champions, Regional and their spotters. Or Spotter.

Good glass is necessary, but the ability to read the conditions is the Key. And to do that you need a very good scope, bullet holes aren’t necessary as they are marked in Target Rifle. And gong matches its good to see the bullet strike.

KW

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Woody wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:00 am

I think binoculars are over-rated, DeadEye.

I got it. LOL

Woody

A monocular is more in order here

I started out with a 60mm Russian military spotting scope about 35 years ago. It was fine for the muzzleloader matches I was attending. Then the BP cartridge bug bit. Sold the Russian scope and bought a 60mm Kowa. Had that until I found a Kowa TSN-1 with LER eyepiece (77mm) in a pawn shop.
I still use it to this day. My wife had a Celestron 100mm. It was much brighter but was much heavier than the Kowa 82mm we replaced it with. I occasionally use the 82mm scope but prefer the 77mm TSN-1.
Under good conditions decent scopes can see bullet hole on paper at 200 yards, often at 300 and rarely beyond that. I have seen bullet holes at 800 yards under exceptionally good conditions on paper maybe twice. The target faces were brand new. Under exceptionally heavy mirage I have been unable to tell what the shot value placard was indicating, never mind seeing where the shot placement indicator was. Everyone else on the line regardless of scope type was having the same problem.
Eye fatigue is a real issue especially as you age.
You've received some good advice in the previous posts. FM

Shadow 4 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 3:54 pm

Woody wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:00 am

I think binoculars are over-rated, DeadEye.

I got it. LOL

Woody

A monocular is more in order here

I represent that remark

So from the input so far…here’s what I’m getting. Lots of folks like binos (me included), but power tops out at about 20x. To get more than that, you’re pretty much looking at scopes. Problem with scopes is that you’re gonna run into eye strain, but you can get the clarity and increased magnification you need.

Been noodling around on this a bit. If I’m lucky enough to be able to retire in the next year, I’m thinking that I might sell a few guns to buy a high end spotting setup. I generally disagree with the idea of selling guns, but if it helps me get some years of enjoyment playing in these matches then I guess it’s worth it.

Both the clarity of the glass, the power of the scope and larger objective lens that let in more light are fairly important.

My partner had a Sawovski spotting scope that had excellent quality glass that enable you to see edge hits at long range when other scopes would not pick up the bullet streak.

And with the large objective lens you are able to see under dim light conditions.

But high magnification is not what you need.

We frequently had to power the scope down to 20X to 24X since larger magnification just blows up the mirage making it impossible to see the target.

I had a luepold spotting scope and the quality of the glass was not good for long range viewing.

When spotting I used to keep my eye on the spotting scope most of the time. I found that hard on the eyes. Now I spend a lot more time looking around at wind flags & smoke and just take occasional peeks through the scope for mirage or to watch when the shot goes. Good communication between the shooter & spotter helps here. No point straining your eyes through the scope if your shooter isn't ready to let the shot fly.

Chris.

gunlaker wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 9:52 pm When spotting I used to keep my eye on the spotting scope most of the time. I found that hard on the eyes. Now I spend a lot more time looking around at wind flags & smoke and just take occasional peeks through the scope for mirage or to watch when the shot goes. Good communication between the shooter & spotter helps here. No point straining your eyes through the scope if your shooter isn't ready to let the shot fly.

Chris.

That’s the thing about binos…I can literally sit behind my shooter all day munching sunflower seeds and not ever have any eye fatigue. With twice the number of rods and cones, I can follow the bullet from muzzle to target. I wish Steiner made a pair of 30x binos….

Do wonder if the 20x65 or 20x70 binoculars with ED glass listed on the Oberwerk website might not be very nice. If as sharp and clear as my Kowa 664 Prominar they would be spectacular. May have to give one of them a try.
Nikon has 25x56 Monarch bino with ED glass if you can find a pair. About equal to an 80mm spotting scope in brightness.