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Thread: Spotting scopes

  1. #71
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by Weatherby Fan View Post
    Theres different ways to skin a cat, if a guy doesn’t mind buying something entry level to start with and maybe even a second time.....then like you say if he gets serious can always sell and move up.....or save up for something better to start with, I think guys that have gone that route tend to realize how important good optics are so they try to save some fellows the entry level step/s into optics by going to the “buy once cry once” theory.
    Sure, but theres also guys who buy high end stuff and realize they're just not that into it and they could've been satisfied with a lesser item and had $1000 for something else.

    "Buy once cry once" is dumb because people assume someone asking here for advice has 1 hobby, hunting.

    Maybe the guy just spend $3000 on top of the line skiing gear and $3000 on scuba gear - and it took him a while to save up for it all. Theres no need for him to spend $3000 on one hunting item if scuba and skiing are his priorities. Buy once cry once just doesnt make sense for him!

    If you're buying once for everything you own, then youre not crying once. You're crying all the damn time!

  2. #72
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by twoSevenO View Post
    Sure, but theres also guys who buy high end stuff and realize they're just not that into it and they could've been satisfied with a lesser item and had $1000 for something else.

    "Buy once cry once" is dumb because people assume someone asking here for advice has 1 hobby, hunting.

    Maybe the guy just spend $3000 on top of the line skiing gear and $3000 on scuba gear - and it took him a while to save up for it all. Theres no need for him to spend $3000 on one hunting item if scuba and skiing are his priorities. Buy once cry once just doesnt make sense for him!

    If you're buying once for everything you own, then youre not crying once. You're crying all the damn time!
    twosevenO.......you mean there's other hobbies beside hunting.....now I know you've been into the sauce this morning


    I use my binos year round for work as well as hunting but Im probably in the minority, I also use my spotting scope a lot for picture taking with my cell, but like you said most guys buy a set of binoculars......use it for 1 or two weeks a year hunting and into the closet so pretty hard to justify the expense.
    Last edited by Weatherby Fan; 02-07-2021 at 02:39 PM.
    7mm PRC soon to be the most popular cartridge in North America

  3. #73
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    Jan 2017
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by rolllingbreakdown View Post
    So whats the difference between a bird watching spotting scope and one for hunting?
    Birders are probably tougher to please with optics. Whenever I want a review on Binos or Spotters I check the bird forums first

  4. #74
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by Weatherby Fan View Post
    twosevenO.......you mean there's other hobbies beside hunting.....now I know you've been into the sauce this morning
    People need something to do to pass the time until September

  5. #75
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by twoSevenO View Post
    People need something to do to pass the time until September
    Im with you on that, Ill have another glass of Cab-Sav please !


    7mm PRC soon to be the most popular cartridge in North America

  6. #76
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    The other thing to consider is the pleasure of upgrading. I wouldn’t think that “buying once” is any fun. I spend my whole winter studying different gear and upgrading. Not really because I need to, but because I like to. It’s fun! If you start at the top, where do you go from there? Sounds boring to me! I like trying different stuff. I like researching and learning. If you buy the very best right from the start what do you read about? Boring threads about inferior gear!? Probably.
    Like I said before, I have mid range optics. They are a big improvement from what I started with. I’ll try something else next time and pass this stuff on to my boys or sell it used to fund the next purchase. Things like optics and rifles hold their value really well if not too badly abused. It’s almost like money in the bank. There is no harm in making gradual upgrades. In fact, you might just figure something out on your own instead of taking advice from guys on a forum page.
    just my thoughts
    Last edited by Greenthumbed; 02-07-2021 at 02:57 PM.
    "A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children." John James Audubon

  7. #77
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by twoSevenO View Post
    Sure, but theres also guys who buy high end stuff and realize they're just not that into it and they could've been satisfied with a lesser item and had $1000 for something else.

    "Buy once cry once" is dumb because people assume someone asking here for advice has 1 hobby, hunting.

    Maybe the guy just spend $3000 on top of the line skiing gear and $3000 on scuba gear - and it took him a while to save up for it all. Theres no need for him to spend $3000 on one hunting item if scuba and skiing are his priorities. Buy once cry once just doesnt make sense for him!

    If you're buying once for everything you own, then youre not crying once. You're crying all the damn time!
    true but resale value of Swarovski or Leica tends to be pretty good. there actually pretty easy to sell second hand and don't loose out on to much money.

  8. #78
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    I'm fairly certain that the OP has expressed an interest in getting into sheep hunting in a couple of years. Fairly certain that someone has mentioned for him to get out after it this coming August on that thread to see how much he likes it before he gets too carried away with buying gear instead of waiting till 2022 (or whatever his proposed start date is...)
    Very few guys who go on their first sheep hunt think to themselves "man, I dunno. Maybe I should try that one more time to see if I like it", you are either hooked, or it just isn't for you. Beg and borrow gear. Do what he needs to, to get out there after it and see what it is all about. Find out if he is going to be a sheep hunter or not. If he isn't, then he can reassess his hunting priorities in life.

    Now before you gloss over that, fully comprehend what that statement is all about. The OP has stated that he doesn't have any background in mountain game hunting on another thread, but he is putting a plan in place to work towards his goal. That takes some drive to do that when none of your buddies are mountain hunters that have been talking up their trips.
    To me, that says that he might be leaning more towards getting bitten by the sheep bug. Or at the very least, expand his hunting horizons. Good for him, that takes balls. There are a lot of guys out there that never do that, never hunt outside of their home region, or never try anything different as to species.

    As to the buy once concept... I heard it a lot when I first started to read online forums. And I wish that I had taken it to heart earlier on.
    I wasted a lot of money to start with before I came to fully understand that there are guys out there with a lot more disposable income than me, who buy gear and try it side by side with other stuff, simply because they want to. And a lot of those guys are more than willing to share what they have learned. A lot MORE of those guys are NOT willing to share what they have learned due to people shouting them down with the "not everyone makes as much money" or "this does just as good as that for less money" and they simply don't like conflict.
    And there is a very big difference between the opinion of someone who has "done research online" and bought "this particular one because it is just as good so you should buy it too and validate my opinion" and the guy who has used X versus Y side by side and Y is better than X in this condition and under these circumstances and because of this specification.
    Buy Once Guys are more likely to ask "hey, what do you really think your use level will be, and what do you want to do with it?" and then give you an option that they have used. Or tell you that "you know what, I wish I had saved up a bit longer and did it once because it would have saved me money in the long run, which let me buy more gas money for more trips, or upgrade this piece of equipment sooner which increased my overall enjoyment".
    I personally have done it with optics - binoculars, spotting scopes, rifle scopes, and rangefinders. I have done it with rifles. I have done it with packs and tents and sleeping bags and pads. I have done it with horses, and trailers, pickups and bikes. In several of those things I listened, and jumped over several levels of upgrades and saved myself money in the long run, and found equipment that will best suit my needs. And that was from listening to guys who had tried it all, who could properly interpret what they were seeing, and who weren't afraid to say so.


    The OP stated that he was looking to spend around $700, and then stated that he was adjusting that upper level of his budget a bit higher.
    Dru, if you are thinking of bumping that budget up a bit, as much as I hate to say it, a Vortex Razor is going to be probably 80%+ of what a lower end Swarovski spotter will be. At last light you will be on par counting caribou tines at 1000 yards. Early mornings though, when the sun is at a bad angle and shining towards you, you will lose clarity, especially once you get to the edges. Colors might be a bit washed out in comparison, which may not be important to you, until you are trying to pick out a rock colored stationary animal bedded among rock colored rocks. That will be more pronounced towards the edges of the field of vision as well. And THAT will be a problem if you are trying to pick apart a hillside using it with proper glassing technique. If you are going to be using it looking at goats or assessing bears that you have already found with your bino's, then you are pretty close to where you need to be in regards to quality of spotter, IF you are going to be getting serious about that stuff.

    For a mountain hunt though, robust glass is an important feature. Dropping your pack or having it fall against a rock and having a fragile spotter inside probably isn't a great feeling, especially on day one of a multi day hunt.

    And I have no doubt that the scuba divers and golf players and expensive liquor drinkers who have too many hobbies and may be living beyond their means are going to find fault or shit to nitpick in this post, but I don't really GAF. For some of us hunting isn't a hobby, its a lifestyle, and we take this shit seriously.
    Last edited by KodiakHntr; 02-07-2021 at 04:07 PM. Reason: spelling and punctuation.


  9. #79
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    I actually offered him my Leica Spotting scope to try out, he can take bear hunting this spring and see if using an angled spotter suits his fancy, this way he has idea about a decent spotting scope and can compare with others.
    7mm PRC soon to be the most popular cartridge in North America

  10. #80
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    Re: Spotting scopes

    Quote Originally Posted by Weatherby Fan View Post
    I actually offered him my Leica Spotting scope to try out, he can take bear hunting this spring and see if using an angled spotter suits his fancy, this way he has idea about a decent spotting scope and can compare with others.
    Damn good offer.

    The other aspect to keep in mind with this stuff, is that the goal posts continually are moving. What is top shelf gear this year might be mid range a couple of years down the road in any companies product line due to technological advances. And prices typically don't go down.... However, buying stuff that was top of the line a couple months after an upgraded version is released can net some significant savings.


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