I been studying on this also as I'm in need for one for a upcoming Western hunt this fall and so far I have decided on the vortex straight eye piece I believe is the diamondback or the razor also best deal I have found had been amazon

 

I got a diamondback and I wish I hadn't. Waste of money. I should have just spent the extra and got the Viper or Razor. The Diamondback is not good enough glass to make out any detail about what you're seeing unless you're already inside a couple hundred yards and in decent light. My Viper binoculars are plenty good for that so my Diamondback spotting scope doesn't get much use. I couldn't even see bullet holes in my target at 200-300 yards in full sun on the gun range with it.

 

If you don't get a Swaro or Kowa...

I think the Nikon 82mm Fieldscopes are best for the money.

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check out the review of the Vanguard Endeavor HD on rokslide.

it is probably the best spotter for the money up until you are ready to buy a swaro.

 

I tried two of these off Amazon based on the reviews, the second was just in case the first was a dud. They're absolutely terrible. It basically looked like they were never in focus even at minimum magnification and it was the first time I've actually noticed chromatic aberration. Thank goodness Amazon has a great return policy.

Quality differences become really obvious at high magnifications.

I've been extremely pleased with the Kowa scope I have now. The Kowa models to look at end in 3 or 4 (ie. TSN-xx3 or TSN-xx4).

 

kowa.

 

Ok, I know this post is going to be in the weeds. But I encourage you to think about at least the logic. I hunt out West and am a PRS/NRL shooter as such I spend more time behind glass than a lot of people and use and see some really high $ stuff. Here is what I have seen over and over and personally think they are almost universally experienced.

1. Some people buy spotting scopes just to have them and often find the performance lacking.
2. People often buy a spotter that is so large it ends up only in the car or at home. 80mm and larger, plus the tripod, is really to big for most people away from the car
3. Cheap glass might seem great until you get behind the very best and people see things you can't. What weird is with my setup I can look thru two spotters or binos etc.. You can look and think the image is great on the cheaper stuff, then go to the good stuff and look for things that might be under bushes etc-- Then go back to the less, and now your brain can see them.
4. Great glass needs to be stable to see the difference.
5. You don't know what your missing until your trying to decide if the Elk 1500y away is legal and worth chasing down.
6. Great binos are better than a cheap spotter
7. You get what you pay for. If your ever going to question yourself, spend the extra $ for the one you really want.
8. People almost always settle and never really get the spotter they want the first time.. That's expensive.
9. We all including myself think what we have is the best - beware of our advice.. go test them side by side on a solid tripod.
10. See number 2 -- If your really going to step away from the car look thru a Top end 65mm like the Swaro ATX (not ATA) or even the Razor HD 65

PS- Angled might be a little less intuitive to find or grid areas until you get used to them; but far more comfortable for long periods and do not require as tall of a tripod.

Shown my Swaro ATX and Swaro 15x56 SLCs.. Love my 8's too though.

I find the Swaro 65mm to be far more manageable than my 85mm body. It is VERY hard to see much difference and the 85mm body just stayed at home. The weight but mostly the space hit is just to much in my pack.

The ATS line of Swaros is a big step down from the ATX shown. That said, I had also owned the 65 ATS in the 20-60 and it was much darker than my Vortex Razor HD 65mm with the included wide angle lens. I think the 22-48x wide angle really brightens the Razor over the ATS. To me the Razor 65 is better than the 65 ATS, but the 65 ATX is in another league.

That said this winters Elk trip I brought my Razor HD65 and even the Vortex haters that were tainted when they tried the cheaper Vipers and Diamond backs, loved the Razor HD 65mm.

PS Reg just opened for our Team match way in November and I only have a couple spots left PM me if any of you guys are rifle guys and interested (it will be sold out in a couple of days). We also have the Pro PRS series match next month..

 

Ok, I know this post is going to be in the weeds. But I encourage you to think about at least the logic. I hunt out West and am a PRS/NRL shooter as such I spend more time behind glass than a lot of people and use and see some really high $ stuff. Here is what I have seen over and over and personally think they are almost universally experienced.

1. Some people buy spotting scopes just to have them and often find the performance lacking.
2. People often buy a spotter that is so large it ends up only in the car or at home. 80mm and larger, plus the tripod, is really to big for most people away from the car
3. Cheap glass might seem great until you get behind the very best and people see things you can't. What weird is with my setup I can look thru two spotters or binos etc.. You can look and think the image is great on the cheaper stuff, then go to the good stuff and look for things that might be under bushes etc-- Then go back to the less, and now your brain can see them.
4. Great glass needs to be stable to see the difference.
5. You don't know what your missing until your trying to decide if the Elk 1500y away is legal and worth chasing down.
6. Great binos are better than a cheap spotter
7. You get what you pay for. If your ever going to question yourself, spend the extra $ for the one you really want.
8. People almost always settle and never really get the spotter they want the first time.. That's expensive.
9. We all including myself think what we have is the best - beware of our advice.. go test them side by side on a solid tripod.
10. See number 2 -- If your really going to step away from the car look thru a Top end 65mm like the Swaro ATX (not ATA) or even the Razor HD 65

PS- Angled might be a little less intuitive to find or grid areas until you get used to them; but far more comfortable for long periods and do not require as tall of a tripod.

View attachment 7067373
Shown my Swaro ATX and Swaro 15x56 SLCs.. Love my 8's too though.

I find the Swaro 65mm to be far more manageable than my 85mm body. It is VERY hard to see much difference and the 85mm body just stayed at home. The weight but mostly the space hit is just to much in my pack.

The ATS line of Swaros is a big step down from the ATX shown. That said, I had also owned the 65 ATS in the 20-60 and it was much darker than my Vortex Razor HD 65mm with the included wide angle lens. I think the 22-48x wide angle really brightens the Razor over the ATS. To me the Razor 65 is better than the 65 ATS, but the 65 ATX is in another league.

That said this winters Elk trip I brought my Razor HD65 and even the Vortex haters that were tainted when they tried the cheaper Vipers and Diamond backs, loved the Razor HD 65mm.

PS Reg just opened for our Team match way in November and I only have a couple spots left PM me if any of you guys are rifle guys and interested (it will be sold out in a couple of days). We also have the Pro PRS series match next month..
View attachment 7067409

Yeah, you offer great advice. Thanks for taking the time. I chased my tail with rifle scopes for years until I got a nikon monarch for my long range 25 06. I know there are better but the monarch is as much as I am willing to spend. Would love to drop a grand but I just don't spend enough time behind the glass to justify it.

I do a fair amount of still hunting and I started with a pair of cheap Bushnell and graduated to a nice pair of sightrons. What a difference!! My eyes thanked me profusely. Since I have purchased some mid range minox 8x24 and 8x40. They are great. I think I should probably save some coin for a bit and get the better glass right off the bat.

 

This scope is in the $1500-$1700 range and it's the only sub Swaro scope I personally would buy. I don't think there's much utility in spotting scopes that don't have top-notch glass.

https://www.rokslide.com/nikon-monarch-fieldscope-82ed-a-review/

The Vortex Razors are not impressive to me.

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I bought my razor hd spotting scope 2 years ago off another site. It came with a 20-60 Swarovski eyepiece that you can fit to the Razor hd scope. Makes a huge difference. I have the angled 65mm gen 1 scope. Can’t imagine it’s different for gen 2.

But if I were to do it again, I’d just get Swarovski 15x’s.

 

New Vortex Viper or old Razor spotting scope for about the same money? Any suggestions? Would like to get the best spotting scope for 750-1000. Any suggestions?

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