Why a spotting scope????

[coueshunter]

I thought this might be a good topic. Why do most people want a spotter? What do they really use it for? I think most people would be best served by a tripod mounted pair of 15's and only use a spotter for scoring. Maybe this post will bring up good points and help some people buy the right equipment for themselves. What is everyones opinion on this subject...............Allen Taylor..........

[peloncillo]

I bought my swaro spotting scope before my 15s. If I had bought the binos first I probably would have never bought the spotter. Since I do have it I am planning on buying a camera adaptor and use it for digiscoping or for more weight in my pack.

 

 

Keven

[SunDevil]

Good question Allen! You can see deer a long ways away in a pair of 15s. Sometimes they are to far away to tell if they are bucks or does. Sometimes if you are far away you can tell by body size or hide color but not always. A spotter comes in handy to find out if any of the deer you have found are bucks.

 

Also, the spotter does come in very handy in determining if a buck is a shooter or not. Quite often those bucks are a long ways away. Hiking all the way over to them to get a closer look could take a long time and use up a lot of boot leather. In my opinion, expending time and energy on a buck you may decide to pass on is a waste. Frequently, they are gone or bedded down by the time you get over there. Who knows, you might have been able to glass up a different buck or two if you had stayed put.

 

Last year in NM I glassed up a nice buck but couldn't tell how good he really was until I checked him out in the spotter. In the 15s he looked like just a nice buck. My buddy said 'throw the scope on him and see what he looks like'. Well, he got REALLY nice in a hurry. He was a 3X4 that we estimated to be between 100 - 105. One of those monster NM canyons was between us and there was no way to get closer. Needless to say, the next day we looked for a way over there to see if we could find him again and get a closer look. When I got home I looked on the topo and that buck was 8/10ths of a mile away from us. In my 75X Nikon spotter, he looked like he was right there next to us

 

They are expensive and heavy but well worth it in the long run. CB

[azhuntnut]

I second what Sundevil said. I can only see out of one eye, so a spotter was perfect for me. I have the Swaro ATS 80 and can spot animals pretty early in the morning. I have spotted pigs and deer as far way as two miles with my scope. The last two years I have owned it, I probably spotted a quarter more animals than when I was using binos alone. I also plan on getting the camera adaptor for mine. David

[COOSEFAN]

This is a subject that there is not really a right or wrong answer for, everyone is different in their abilities, tactics,likes and dislikes etc. I have the 20-60x80 HD Swaro spotter and I personnally think it is the best one out there, BUT....I don't use it enough to justify the price tag! I thought I would but I don't, and a cheaper scope would have been perfect for me.......but I'm still not gonna sell it If I didn't already have and use the 15's, I would be able to justify this spotter but I use my 15's all the time. If I broke it down into a percentage of use during a normal day hunting Coues it would be like this: 8.5x42 EL's....30% = 15x56SLC's......60% = 80HD Spotter..........10%. That is an awful lot of cash for something that I use 10% of the time! Not worth it to me, should have bought something cheaper, but in general spotters are a good thing to have! My $0.02, JIM>

[peloncillo]

I have to agree with Coosefan. I have the same exact equipment and I use the 8.5 el alot and of course my 15s. The spotter does come in handy though for those occasional times when there is something way out there that needs high magnification. It weighs alot and takes up alot of space so I am constantly trying to talk myself out of packing it up the mountain but so far it always goes with me.

 

Keven

[Dan H]

Why a spotting scope.

Because it was 40.00!!!

I was fortunate enough to win the bighorn sheep raffle couple years ago and scored!!!

 

Don't throw that mail away it's only forty dollars. 2-3 times a year.

 

Dan

[Red Rabbit]

Since getting a pair of 15x binos, I have not carried the spotting scope on coues hunts. Prior, the use of an eyepatch with the spotter made it a lot more comfortable than squinting, but not up to bino comfort. Perhaps with a sheep tag, a spotting scope will be packed. Drawing a sheep tag could also be a good reason to uprade from Cabelas version of the Redfield Regal IV that I got 20 years ago.

 

I can't see where a cheap spotter would be helpful over a nice pair of 15's. If you use a spotter to judge distant antlers, you need high resolution that the Burris Landmark and $100 Trashcos cannot provide. What good is a bigger blurry image?

 

My $0.02

RR

[firstcoueswas80]

i am not a trophy hunter and do not use a spotting scope. if i can tell from a mile or so away that the deer is a buck than he is big enough for me. if i can tell the buck has nice mass, maine beams or lenght with 3 or more points, he is going down! unless its the last day or the first day, first day needs to be kinda bigger, last day, anything breaking the skin works for me! i dont see the sense of packing around a pair on ur neck, a pair in the pack AND a spotting scope. thats alot of money sitting in the pack and a lot of weight also! i can see if you are a trophy hunter after a booner and/or you have the money to burn on 3 sets of optics. i am/have neither so if my Zeiss 15x60's cant put horns on em then there arent any!

[Guest Ernesto C]

I dont own a spotting scope but will love to have a Zeiss. If you want to take pictures at a long distances and to really appreciate better the size of those antlers you'll need one. Here is another reason why a spotting scope:

[COOSEFAN]

I love that pic Ernesto! It gets me every time....reminds me of all the times I found a doe and scanned hard all around her to find the buck, then.....BAM, there he is and what a gorgeous buck!

 

Hey Casey, Thats awesome, you know what hunting is to YOU and THATS how it's gonna be! Hunting means different things to everyone and doing it YOUR way can, and usually is, alot less frustrating and more enjoyable because your not worrying so much about inches! I enjoy holding out for the big one, but I really hate going home with a tag still in my pocket. I have always said I would rather have a PILE of little bucks than just ONE big buck! Thanks, JIM>

[Lance]

For long distance identification and for scoring.

[mjmhunter]

I believe a spotting scope is absolutely essential in your Coues Deer bag of tricks. One of the number one reasons people use them is to size a deer up and decide if they want to put effort into a stalk. I think my number one reason is miday glassing or when deer are not moving. How many times have you been glassing and glassed what you think is an ear, hair, horn etc. in a bush, base of tree or whatever and could not make out what it was. If you are like me you spend ten, twenty, thirty minutes trying to figure out what it is. I have found that having a scope at my side, I can put the scope up determine if an fact it is something or go on glassing. I guess for me I feel it saves me valuable glassing time.

 

-- Manny--

[COOSEFAN]

Hey there Manny! That's very true, it does save you time and can save you ALOT of time if you are holding out for a certain buck! I just HATE carrying 2 pairs of binos AND a biga$$ spotter as well. You need to go hunting with me and you can carry my spotter for me? What do say Manny? You just have to make sure your sitting near me when I am glassing with just my binos! JIM> BTW....I drew 35B early wt.

[mjmhunter]

I have the 20-60x80 HD Swaro spotter and I personnally think it is the best one out there,

 

 

Hey Jim long time no talk to. Yeah I'll carry that thing for you, if you'll show up this time

 

But you have to let me use it too.

 

Manny