Winchester Spotting Scope

I am looking for a "decent" spotting scope. Mainly I need to be able to see .204  cal holes at up to 300 yards. My eyes are not real good so clairity is real important. I saw a Winchester 12 to 50 power scope on sale at Big 5 for 99.99. Are these any good? I am looking sugguestions guys. Thanks

luzzi308 wrote: I saw a Winchester 12 to 50 power scope on sale at Big 5 for 99.99. Are these any good?

 

No, they are a waste of your hard earned money.  No scope costing less than $100 is going to be worth anything.

 

luzzi308 wrote: I am looking for a "decent" spotting scope. Mainly I need to be able to see .204  cal holes at up to 300 yards. My eyes are not real good so clairity is real important.

 

You place the word decent in quotations which (gramatically) means that you are implying the word is used by others in ways with which you do not typically agree. Therefore, answering your question would depend on how you define the word "decent." 

 

As I stated above; I don't think that any scope costing less than $100 can be considered to be of any value. Quality optics require great precision to manufacture and precision requires skilled workers using superior machines.  It also requires that you set rigid quality control standards and that you discard any components that don't meet these standards. You just can't accomplish these goals when you restrict yourself to bottom-dollar pricing. Generally, I think you have to spend around $200 to get a scope of any remarkable attributes.  The Bushnell Discoverer is a good example of a worthwhile scope in this price range though, it is both heavy and not waterproof. 

 

In the $300 range there are the Nikon 15-45x60 Sky & Earth at $330 and also the Bushnell 15-45x60 Elite at $350 (my vote would go to the Elite in this case.)

 

The Leupold Gold Ring 15-30x50 scope is another excellent choice. This scope will cost you $400. The 16-48x60 Nikon Spotter XL costs just a bit more at $450. (I understand that this Nikon scope is manufactured in the same facility, on the same machines, with the same components, and at the same time as the aforementioned Bushnell Elite.  The only differences being an eyepeice with a slightly different zoom-magnification configuration and the fact that the Bushnell has their patented RainGaurd coatings. So again, I would advise you save $100 and get the Bushnell product.)

 

Prices (and quality) keep going up from there with Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, etc. all offering scopes that will literally blow your socks off.  You may not be able to afford these top-end models but, you are much better off at least going with one of the many mid-range products that are available.  It might hurt your wallet at first but, your eyes (and your wallet) will thank you in the end.

Edited by lucznik

you can't make a whip out of a cow pie and expect it to crack.

In a bind I got one of these spotting scopes.  Not knowing what I was doing I got it.  This thing manages some work at the range but in the field is worthless.  Eye relief is horrible etc.  I still haven't upgraded as my focus is on a new rifle scope and rangefinder this year.  Good Luck