ricodabears Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Just looking for opinions on the best spotting scopes out there for under a $1000. I know the Razor can be had for that price through Cameraland but want to hear opinions on all. They also have a Zen Ray for about $800 but i have no experience with that brand. The Vortex Viper HD looks tempting at the $600 price point too. Lets hear it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azslim Report post Posted December 18, 2015 get the 16-48x65 Razor for sale here on CWT, he wants $1000 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Like all optics, you get what you pay for. So save and buy the best you can. If that means waiting an extra 6 months to a year (or more), you will not regret it in the long run. Take it from guys that have gone the "Buy cheap, then upgrade, then upgrade again, then finally buy high dollar stuff". You save a lot of money in the long run. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wish2hunt Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I agree with that!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olmos1010 Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Like all optics, you get what you pay for. So save and buy the best you can. If that means waiting an extra 6 months to a year (or more), you will not regret it in the long run. Take it from guys that have gone the "Buy cheap, then upgrade, then upgrade again, then finally buy high dollar stuff". You save a lot of money in the long run. So what is the best out there right now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Like all optics, you get what you pay for. So save and buy the best you can. If that means waiting an extra 6 months to a year (or more), you will not regret it in the long run. Take it from guys that have gone the "Buy cheap, then upgrade, then upgrade again, then finally buy high dollar stuff". You save a lot of money in the long run. Yup....years ago I bought a Nikon Prostaff. Sold it within a year. Bought a used Zeiss 65mm for $1000. HUGE difference! Definitely extend your budget as much as possible to get the best quality you can afford. I have looked through the Vortex 50mm...pretty good. I haven't looked through the larger ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues79 Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I like what's been said above. Wait and save. If it takes you an extra year, so what. That years worth of saving and having to rough it without it for one more year will be more worth it than having a mediocre scope in the long run. But having said that, a lot of good deals come up on Swarovski, Leica and Zeiss stuff. Kowa makes a helluva good spotting scope. Check out "birding" forums and see their thoughts on it as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Save your money until you are ready to buy a good one. Buy once without regrets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Used is the way to go. I bought my Leica Televid APO 77 for about that price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I'll play devils advocate. Get what you can afford now. Keep all the paperwork, box, receipt, etc. start saving for your upgrade. Use what you have in the meantime. When you are ready to upgrade sell what you have. you should be able to get about 75% of your original purchase price if you have all the docs and box and take care not to damage it. Now way I would sacrifice 3-4 years without any glass waiting for the good stuff. Drop $800 on a new viper HD or equivalent now. Save $1000 over the next 3 years. Sell your Viper for $600. Now you have $1600 to upgrade but you also 3 years of use out of a decent piece of glass. Just an alternate plan. Both arguments are valid 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricodabears Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I understand what you all are saying. I have done it the long way before I ended up with my Swaros 10s and 15s but this would be a gift and that's the budget to work with.. So back to the original question.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kazpilot25 Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I've heard nothing but good things about the Zen-Ray. I've heard it's optically identitical to the Razor 85mm. I don't have any experience with it, but it seems like a great choice at that price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rossislider Report post Posted December 18, 2015 I have a Vortex Viper 15-15x65. It is a good scope, but certainly not top of the line. I plan to upgrade at some point, but not for a while down the road, and this does fine for what I want to do now. If you are ever in the Queen Creek area you are welcome to come look through it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricodabears Report post Posted December 18, 2015 Ya I was thinking about that viper model. I found the 15-45 on a site for $600 and it comes with a cover and vortex tripod. Might try it and see if I like. Just to get by for a couple years 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted December 18, 2015 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kowa-Prominar-FLuorite-TSN-4-straight-Spotting-Scope-20x-60x-eyepiece-Case-/231787096747?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
