[CliffinSouthLa]

Hi guys, Being a resident of Southern Louisiana I have no way to justify the financial investment needed for a fine Kowa or Leica spotting scope...I don't think. I do most of my shooting at 100 yards and it would be nice to be able to see 20 caliber holes. I have found out the hard way....that means it has cost me lots of wasted money.....that good optics are worth the money. A little while back some of yall gave opinions on the Celestron spotting scope. These opinions are needed again. Will this do what I want it too? Help me out experts...do I want to get the mm Celestron or save my money up.
-Cliff-

 

[John Beauchamp]

spotting scope

Hey Cliff, Merry Christmas. I don't know anything about celestron but I have a really nice Leopold 20-45 that lists in cabalas for about $800. I paid $550 for it but don't use it. I'll sell it for $500 if you're interested I'll bring it down when I come or mail it if you want. John (Tell everyone hello)

 

[tbs]

20 cal holes at 100 yards can be seen with most lower priced spotters like bushnell sentry or similar. Seeing .22 caliber holes in the black rings of a high power target at 300 yards is a totally differant ball game. I use a Fujinon super 60 which is an over $500.00 spotter. Some of my friends have much lower priced spotters and most of them do just fine at 100 yards.
I have not seen the spotter you are looking at so cannot comment on that model. Things you want to look for in a spotter are good eye relief, waterproof or water resistant, change-able eye pieces, and of course good resolution.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

[samspade]

I've been shooting for over 40 years and have had a lot of spotting scopes. My favorite that I used for most of those years was a Kowa TSN2 which is a 25X with an 80mm objective. Unfortunately that scope was stolen a couple of years ago. Now that I am semi retired I couldn't afford another Kowa ($800) so I started looking around.

Some I bought and returned and some I used at the riflerange belonging to others. My prime objective was to be able to see .17 caliber holes at 100 yards and 22 holes at 200. I read the review of spotting scopes in Sniper Country and bought the Bushnell Spacemaster, it could see the 17 holes but it was a little fuzzy and difficult to focus. Unusable were Burris, Simmons, Leupold (several models) and a few others. The best that I found was a Yukon 6-100X100 so I bought it and used it for a year or so. Then I started reading on the forums about people using the Celestron C90s and I tried one at a benchrest match a couple of months ago and it was very good using the 30X and 45X eyepieces. But the C90 is kind of funny looking and looks a little fragile. Then I read about the Celestron Ultima 80 and 100 so I decided to buy the 80. Well it arrived at a cost of $179.95 delivered!!

Tried it at 50, 100 and 200 yards viewing 17 caliber holes, at all the ranges I could see them clearly and was able to focus on them very easily even at 60X. Hate to compare it to a Kowa but it sure seems clearer maybe not if they were side by side but..... This thing is bright clear, a third of a turn moves from 20-60X, easily focused. It is rather large and heavy but I don't care about that. The construction and quality is very good to excellent. It is the best spotting scope that I have ever looked through and I have seen a bunch. It is also available with the angled eyepiece.

 

[CliffinSouthLa]

This Board Has Never Failed Me....

Sam,

Do you remember where you bought yours from. This sounds like it is exactly what I need. -Cliff-

 

[samspade]

I believe I bought mine from Opticsplanet but there are several sources that may be cheaper!

 

[KYODE]

thats what santa brought me! well.....kinnda it's not actually here at my house yet, but i gotta pick it up at a buddies house soon as we can get together. he had used his paypal since mine was on the blink.

i got the celestron ultima 65. i sure hope it works good. i had seen/heard those good reviews on the ultima 80 as well. i wanted the next size smaller though.

i found mine from an ebay store. think it was $105 shipped, and cheaper than anywhere else i seen. just might be worth checkin the stores there imo.

 

[kaferhaus]

I have the Celestron also. For the money you can't beat it.

On a clear no mirage day I can see 30cal holes at 600yds.

I bought the angled eyepiece and am glad I did....

Bought it from the Optics Zone I believe.

 

[Hitman]

ED Version of the Celestron Scopes

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the ED version against the non-ED versions of the Celestron scopes? I am wondering if the better glass (ED = Extra-low Dispersion) is worth the extra money. Been looking at these scopes for awhile now and want to use it for the range and for star gazing.

Thanks.