Spotting Scopes!!! (or an eye test not sure!!!)

maverick petey · Spotting Scopes!!! (or an eye test not sure!!!)

Hi all,

I am now gettig to the point where I am starting to shoot the longer distances and am struggling to see my arrows in the boss, whether thats the distance or my eyes i'm not sure!!!!

I am thinking about buying a spotting scope to help me with this lettle issue but don't want to spend a huge amount of money, especially if it doesn't help a great deal so the questions are:

Should i just buy some fluorescent fletchings and be done with it?

What sort of price should i expect to pay for an acceptable scope?

Anyone have any tips or recommendations on make or where to buy from?

Any help or advice ill be greatly appreciated as i am completely lost in this area and don't want to go out and buy something that is tto expensive or won't do the relevant job.

As always cheers people for any response

Dawn

I cant help you with the scope as I shoot NFAS and they are not allowed

I know only too well what you mean though

I have the same problem, its against our rules to tell each other where you arrows are but if someone can see where it lands they can tell you if its a score or a miss

I find it sometimes helps if you can stand to one side of the peg, the arrow is easier to spot if you are not looking straight down to it

Liam

Depends on how much you wanna spend and do you feel you'll get your moneys worth? You can spend hundreds of pounds for a scope and stand if you want to and I'm sure they do the job just right, I have a 'pocket scope' cost me a tenner on fleabay and does the job for me up to 50 - 60 yards very clear any further than that its a bit unsteady.

Dont know much about scopes so I'm awaitng answers for this one too, as I am 'umming and arrring' about getting a cheapish scope

maverick petey

Its when i get past 60 that i start to struggle upto then i can pretty much pick out roughly where my arrows are all though sometime I am looking at someone else.

I'm looking to spend no more really than about £100 on the scope, i keep checking e-bay but am very conscious that i can't try the item through e-bay and if its wrong you don't normally get a returns policy. A local shop to me is selling what appears to be reasonable scope for £89.99, I think its a bushnell will go an have a look later, but wanted to find out peoples opinions on scopes.

Cheers

Dawn

maverick petey

If its 60 years then I am aging way past my actual years, i'm only 23 years young!!!!

Actually i can pretty much see them upto either 60yds or metres, depending on the light level, but i must just be lucky!!

I had a look at the scope in my local shop, its a summit scope 15x45 60mm lens, doesn't look bad, but i'll see what I can find online.

I never realised there was a field archery club so close, I shoot target mainly but would love to try field archery, done it once at a centerparcs, i know its not the same, but close enough. I might have to investigate Avalon Archers, i currently shoot with St. Enots bowmen just a bit further north on the A1.

Cheers

Jabberwocky

Hi maverick petey,

I have a complete setup for sale that I used to use for bird watching and archery. It may seem a little OTT for archery but has proved invaluable in bad weather, allowing me to see my arrows clearly at 100y (and I shoot X10s) when other scopes have given up. It also comes with various bits and pieces to use with an SLR.

The only reason I upgraded was for bird watching as the scope was a little heavy for carrying long distances, but for archery it is fine. The tripod that I am selling with it has never been used and is extremely solid, giving you a really good and more importantly a stable image, particularly in the wind.

I don't know if the kit is in your budget but if you want a look at it go to http://www.wcofa.org.uk/ and click on the for sale link at the bottom of the page.

If it is a little out of your price range I am open to reasonable offers, but I do want to sell it all on as a complete package as I was careful to ensure that everything was compatible.

I don't know what the P&P on it would be but if you want any more details on it just let me know.

maverick petey

Thanks Jabberwocky, but its slightly out of my price range. I was looking to spend no more than £150 on the scope and tripod as my budget is really tight at the minute.

Do you have any advice you could give me as to what to look for when i'm buying a scope because at the moment i haven't got the foggiest on what i am looking at.

Thanks anyway for the thought.

Cheers,

maverick petey

Guys,

Was just browsing round the net and came across this deal on a spottings cope, seems really good.

http://www.onlinebinoculars.co.uk/Spotting-scope.htm

Whats peoples opinions, worth the money or should i pay a bit more?

Cheers,

Jabberwocky

maverick,

The big problem with optics is that you really do get what you pay for. If you want really good quality clear image that is bright even in bad conditions then you will need to save up.

The best thing you can do is have a search for some good optics shops that will let you try the equipment out in a realistic environment, like focus optics and pay them a visit. The also carry a stock of second hand equipment.

What I would recommend looking for is getting a good tripod (cheap ones are difficult to reliably align on the target and wobble a lot in the wind making your scope next to useless)

Then you want to look for good quality coated optics and more importantly make sure that the scope is nitrogen filled as unfilled scopes will mist up if the weather turns bad making them completely useless.

Hope this helps a bit.

Jabberwocky

Difficult to tell what the build quality is like from here. But the basic configuration looks OK. 30x mag is all you really need for most archery situations and a 60mm objective is probably the minimum you want for letting in light.

Unfortunately it does not say that it is Nitrogen filled so the first sign of bad weather it will mist up and if it rains really hard you could end up with a rather nice goldfish bowl, that you would need to take a part to dry out which is not advisable as the best of times.

If the build quality is good then it may be a good buy, you really need to speak to some one that has tried it out in the field in all situations.

I think your best bet is to find a reputable dealer like FocusOptics and visit them to try their kit and talk to someone that can give you detailed advice.

maverick petey

Thanks Jabberwocky,

could you give me a ballpark figure of how much you would estimate a reasonable setup would set me back. I don't want the best of the best, but at the same point I want something that will do the job.

Cheers,

Jabberwocky

I have just has a quick look at http://www.warehouseexpress.co.uk as they usually do some good deals and they offer a Kenko 63a DX water resistant scope, good tripod and 20-50x zoom eye piece for £225

The scope has an angled eye piece that I think is essential for archery as a straight eye piece can be awkward to use. I don't know how good the optics are as I have never used one, so I cant comment on the scope too well, but warehouse express have never disappointed me and their customer service has alway been pretty good when I have had issues.

Certainly worth a look at their site for other deals as well, but this is the sort of spec or better (if you can afford it) that I would look at.

Hope this helps

maverick petey

hey everybody,

Just though i would let everyone know, last night I purchased a Nipon spotting scope off e-bay for £49.98 including delivery costs. Seems a really good scope for a cracking price, but i ensured i had a returns policy if it doesnt do the job.

Cheers for everyones help, especially the info from jabberwocky!

Cheers

Steve B

hey maverick petey, I would be delighted if you could give us a report on the spotting scope as I have a keen interest as well and I find that "Fleabay" is a good place to start as well.

Hoping to hear your report soon

Jabberwocky

Glad you have made your choice, I had a look on flea bay for them and they look OK for the money and at least they do say that they are water proof so you should not end up with an expensive goldfish bowl if it does rain hard.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

Liam

Another interested party here awaiting a report before pressing the buy button on fleabay

maverick petey

Okay guys,

I should recieve it by Monday and as soon as I have had chance to try it out i will report back.

Till then....

cheers,

maverick petey

Afternoon all,

Just got back from my 2nd shoot of the weekend and thought i would update you on the scope performed.

For the price i believe it is great, at 60yds you can distinguish everyones arrows, i did try it at 100yds and although you could not zoom right in it still enabled me to pick out individual arrows and even pretty much call any linecutters.

I think for those who shoot 100yds on a regular basis i would probably say get one with a slightly more powerful zoom, but for me it is more than adequate.

Cheers all,

Steve B

Thanks for that report, it certainly sounds like it was a great purchase and will do everything you want and me for that matter

better start looking on "Fleabay"

Jabberwocky

That must have been next day delivery from FleaBay! Not bad. Glad you are pleased with your scope.

Liam

Sounds like a goodun to me

, I'm off to fleabay