Spotting Scope Help

[geargrinder]

I am running the Viper HD and it is a good piece of glass for the money. If you can afford the Razor you wont regret it. Check out prices on Cameraland which is in your neck of the woods. They have good buys on "demo" models. I ordered mine as a demo model and it looked brand new right out of the box.

Yep, see my post above. When Doug told me that my order from Cameraland was not available, he had a new one drop shipped straight from Vortex. Brand new, no upcharge. Any other company in their right mind would have just canceled my order.

Cameraland in incredible.

 

[mcseal2]

That's where most of my optics have come from. Some stuff I traded and upgraded came from SWFA also. I usually give both an email and see who gives me the best offer. Both have had excellent customer service.

 

[Catahoula12]

I have a Vortex Viper HD 20x60x80. Great glass but I honestly hardly ever use it. This season would be my second since I purchased. I have been thinking about selling it being that I find myself with my Nikon Monarch 7 binos in my hands mostly. Vortex is good glass to have no doubt. I do have a Vortex Razor HD 5-20 on my targeting rifle and love it...

 

[lavafish]

does anyone have advice on straight versus angled scopes?? I am thinking angled would be better setting on the ground, but would it be harder to find your target?

 

[tdcour]

It's a personal preference there. There are a couple of good threads if you search for them on here. Lots for good info. I use a straight and will most likely stay with straight because of where I hunt.

 

[Shooter09]

Generally you are going to get a better optic the more you spend. You can argue what brand is best, but everyone's eyes are different. I prefer the Swarovski STS 65mm. I like the straight because I started out using straight spotting scopes and didn't like that it took me longer to acquire a target with an angled. I also like to digiscope and the straight is much easier than the angled for digiscoping in my opinion. I've had a few people come to me and say they wished they had bought the straight after taking an angled on a hunt, but never had anyone say they wished they had gone with the angled after choosing the straight.

The only complaint you're going to have with a straight spotter is neck strain if you're glassing primarily up or down hill. To look into a straight spotter you have to extend your neck whereas with an angled spotter you can look down onto the lens and avoid the neck strain.