Leupold spotting scopes.......??

[Keith in Ga]

I saw a Sequoia 15x45 angled unit at the Sportsmans Warehouse yesterday. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this spotting scope? Looking for a scope to use at the range. At what distances should you be able to see .204 bullet holes? I'm probably expecting too much for longer distances. I used a friends Nikon spotting scope, wasn't really impressed.
Appreciate any help.

[Rick in Oregon]

Keith: If you were not impressed looking through a Nikon spotter, you'll not be happy at all with a Lupy Sequoia, as that model is an low-end import with less than crystal clear glass. If you want a world-class spotter, be prepared to pay much more.

If you watch the news or have seen any recent movies with Iraq or Ashcanistan in the plot line, you've probably seen many Luepold Gold Ring spotters in use by our snipers and observers, as that is the standard spotting scope used in theater at this time. Very good stuff, but the cost of admission is above that of the model you are considering.

There's an informative article in the current Varmint Hunter Magazine on the U.S. Optics spotting scope by our buddy McPhearson. Excellent gear, very expensive, but the piece details things to consider when shopping for such equipment that are worth considering.

Remember, you get what you pay for, especially where optics are concerned.

[Jim White]

Check out the Kowa spotting scopes. I've owned a TSN-1 (77mm) with a 25x long eye relief eye piece for roughly 20 years now and it has served me well throughout my highpower career. Truthfully though, I don't use when squirrel shooting.

Jim

[Rick in Oregon]

Keith: After reading Jim's post, I remembered that I should have mentioned that if you're intending this for your annual PD fest, you'd be much, much better served with a good set of 8X or 10X bino's for spotting rodents compared to the narrow field of view found in all spotting scopes. We never ever take spotting scopes unless we just want to do some LR spotting for some reason, but bino's are the ticket for any grass rat shooting.

If it's just for range use, then I'd strongly agree with Jim on the Kowa brand of spotters. Excellent optics and performance for the money spent. You can spend more, you can spend less, just depends on what you want to use it for. The bargin scopes won't resolve .22 cal bullet holes at even 100 yards, so choose wisely and do your research.

[Keith in Ga]

No, just wanted the spotting scope for range work. I have a set of Swarovski EL binos for use in the pd fields. I'll look into the Kowa optics. Thanks...