Spotting Scope - sheep hunt

[Davinci]

I am a new hunter - with my first black tail (QS), Eld (Idaho) and white tail (grand forks) last year. I was drawn for the Spatsizi sheep hunt and am thinking of buying a spotting scope. Any advise on good (light) scopes.

[bigwhiteys]

I just got my Zeiss Diascope 85T* FL to replace my Bushnell Spacemaster II... I only bought it because I got a really good deal otherwise I probably wouldn't have spent the $$$ quite yet... ($2500+) in Canada.

If this is going to be a one time deal have you thought about borrowing/renting one first? Even a mediocre spotting scope like the Bushnell for example will run around $400 at least. There is no reason why you cannot spot game with the lower end optics if you are a patient/persistant glasser.

I think my Bushnell with tripod weighed 3 1/2 pounds or so. The Zeiss and tripod weigh about 5 1/2.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[kutenay]

I just bought my third spotter, after much testing of what's out there, I started with a Bausch & lomb Discoverer in the mid-'70s, went to a Leupold Compact 25X armoured in '90 and now have a Leica 62 16-48 Armoured with a carbon fiber or graphite tripod. I have tested the Zeiss and Swaro 65s and larger ones and prefer the Leica.

IF, you are seriously committed to hunting, longterm, the purchase of the finest optices is worth the ungawdly cost. I have Zeiss and Leica binos, the Leupy and Leica spotters and may get a Leica Ultravid 7-42 bino as well. Your boots, pack and optics are where you get the biggest return on you $$$$, you can make do for lots of other gear.

[Krico]

I think the two above posts pretty much sum up what I would have said.

A sheep hunt in the Spatsizi is a mighty undertaking for a self confessed "new hunter." The 4.5 months you have to plan is less time than you think. Good luck out there.

[mod7rem]

I just bought a pentax PF 65 ED spotter, but for five years of sheep hunting I used a bushnell trophy 20-50x50. The trophy is less than half the weight and less than a quarter of the cost of the pentax, it does not match the pentax for performance but it still worked quite well. You dont have to spend big money on gear , there are cheaper alternatives that work. I just sold the trophy for a little less than half of original price, so it cost me roughly $130 for 5 yrs of use. If you find that you are hooked on spotting scope use then the sky is the limit on price, but until your sure there are cheaper alternatives. If you can only afford a cheap spotter, it is still better than no spotter.

[bigwhiteys]

If you can only afford a cheap spotter, it is still better than no spotter.

True... My little bushnell worked just fine for the hunts it's been on with me... Looking through the Zeiss and the Bushnell side by side there is no comparison - I won't be able to go back now. It's not going to make an incredible difference in how I spot game (thats got everything to do with the operator) but with the finer detail it's definitely much better for indentifying game.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[Brambles]

I was using a Bushnell Trophy 20-60X63 which cost me $400 many years ago. I thought it would be the bomb and its not too bad if you don't go any higher in power that about 35. After that the clarity and brightness drop off dramatically, the focus it too fast as well.

So I bought a Zeiss Diascope 65T*FL angle eyepiece spotter, great scope, looses very very little light on high power which in full daylight you'd be hard pressed to notice. Fast and fine focus, which I hardly use fast focus. Being able to size up your quarry at a distance sure saves on hiking.

My brother uses the leupold goldring 15-40x and it is a really good scope for the money and good and compact too.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

If you're a newbie sheephunter, you should limit yourself to shooting by horn curl only. Not by aging. The high definition of higher end spotters really shines through when you're trying to age a ram.

While the higher end spotters are awesome, they are a serious financial committment that not everyone is willing to make.
Sheephunting is not for everyone and you wouldn't want spend serious coin when it might be your only trip.

I may be willing to part with my Nikon 15x-45X60MM. It's in great shape except for the missing eyepiece cover that my friend lost when I loaned it to him:mad:.

I was hoping to keep it so my son can eventually use it but the bills are starting to pile up.....................



SSS

[Deaddog]

As trigger... oops I mean mod7rem was saying the bushnell trophy will work fine for an intro and as others have stated if you are hunting sheep forget the rings and go for full curl,