Spending the big bucks on optics?

[Elite]

Hello I am considering spending the big bucks on a alpha spotting scope. I am usually cheap and like to watch the back account grow instead of buying stuff but I have thought about spending some on a very good spotter. So is it worth it to drop thousands on a spotting scope? Anybody have any regrets?


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[sneaky]

Depends on how you hunt. I've been watching elk through the spotter the past couple of days that have been pushed far enough from other hunters that binos would do me no good in determining what they were. Buy once cry once, it's an investment.

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[DougP]

I would suggest you wait for a smoking deal. That way you satisfy your need to conserve cash AND shave an awesome tool that you’ll use and appreciate.


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[LostArra]

I don't use a spotter enough to justify an alpha but I did take that leap on binoculars and I have zero regrets. It actually frees up time since you don't keep looking for the next best almost-alpha optic.

As mentioned, you can find alpha glass for sub alpha price if you are patient.

 

[Muley Buck]

My only regret is that I bought low to intermediate scopes / optics first and only to end up with alpha in the end. I would have saved a pile of money and time(and maybe got an extra buck or two)had I gone alpha first. Then again it was journey and experience with the lower end stuff is what solidified my decision to go alpha.

 

[Shrek]

Buy once cry once is very applicable to optics. I started pretty high up but my ATX 95 is my sixth scope. I hunted long and hard to find deals on both my ATX and ELs. If you are patient and have the time to spend on the net you can find the deals. You need to be ready with cash and be able to recognize a deal.

 

[Elite]

Thanks for the reply’s so far. I have found a kowa 883 that is barely used and thinking about jumping on it. But nervous about dropping that kind of coin


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[Hatchet Jack]

Top shelf optics are a joy to use and hold their value very well. Well worth the money in my opinion.

 

[Burnt Reynolds]

Totally worth it. I've tried the half ass measures and they, while good, are not great.
$3k for a spotter was too much for me though. $1,100.00 for a used Leica was just the ticket however. A few years back my first piece of Alpha glass was swaro 10x42 SLC binos, bought new for $1,800.00. Awesome and a huge leap and the benefits were worth the money spent. However, over time using those binos I really started paying close attention to the details I could see and the specs on paper and become more of a student of glass than I was previously. I ended up replacing those swaros with 8x42 Leica Trinivoids that were only $1k new: every bit as good, better FOV for my purposes, lighter and cheaper. A few years on and I'm daring myself to step up to a new, big spotter. I know I'll pull the trigger I just have to figure out if the best way to hide it is to put it inside this stupid expensive purse my wife wants lol.

I think one of the best parts of finally stepping up as another poster mentioned, you'll no longer be chasing the latest and greatest "almost just as good".

 

[jspradley]

Get yourself to a Cabelas NOW.

They are shutting down the bargain cave and, at least at the one near me, everything is 40% off the lowest marked price.

I picked up a pair of Swaro EL 12x50s for $1500!!!

Also, do you have a good pair of binos now? If not forget the spotter and go with good binos.

 

[Elite]

Get yourself to a Cabelas NOW.

They are shutting down the bargain cave and, at least at the one near me, everything is 40% off the lowest marked price.

I picked up a pair of Swaro EL 12x50s for $1500!!!

Also, do you have a good pair of binos now? If not forget the spotter and go with good binos.

That’s a smoking deal. I currently have vortex diamond back 10x50. I know there not the greatest but they work well and I need a different spotter for judging a legal sheep and for my upcoming mule deer hunt...


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[Jimbob]

If I put all of my money into one item then I don't have any left over for something else. If I only needed one thing then I would be more inclined to spend big.

If I would have dropped over a grand on my spotter it would have meant I had to use a junky tripod, junky bino adapter, no bino chest case, a rain jacket that doesn't fit, no pack for my son etc.

I have a cheap spotter and I am glad I do. I need other items that are more crucial than a top of the line spotter. I will be purchasing a new pack and new shelter and hopefully splurging on a fly in hunt with my son and Dad. I would rather drop the few grand on the fly in hunt instead of the spotter.

For me, it's all about trade-offs.

 

[sneaky]

Where you hunt also factors into a decision. In some places a good spotter is worth its weight in gold.

If I put all of my money into one item then I don't have any left over for something else. If I only needed one thing then I would be more inclined to spend big.

If I would have dropped over a grand on my spotter it would have meant I had to use a junky tripod, junky bino adapter, no bino chest case, a rain jacket that doesn't fit, no pack for my son etc.

I have a cheap spotter and I am glad I do. I need other items that are more crucial than a top of the line spotter. I will be purchasing a new pack and new shelter and hopefully splurging on a fly in hunt with my son and Dad. I would rather drop the few grand on the fly in hunt instead of the spotter.

For me, it's all about trade-offs.

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[Travis Bertrand]

Best decision I’ve made is to stop buying sub par equipment and buy the best. When you spring for the good stuff you are not only buying the best optically, you are buying a piece of mind that your stuff won’t break in the field. A lifetime warrantee isn’t useful when you are on the mountain miles away from civilization during the middle of the season.

 

[Elite]

Where you hunt also factors into a decision. In some places a good spotter is worth its weight in gold.

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I usually do about 2 sheep hunt trips a year and spot and stalk mule deer in the open prairie a lot


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[JWP58]

For sheep hunting, a swaro spotter is the cats pajamas.

 

[NV HUNTER]

I guess everybody has a different budget. Last season I bought vortex razor 85 mm spotter, season before I bought vortex razor 10x50 binoculars. This season I bought Sirui w-1204 tripod and va-5 head. I bought a pelican case to keep my optics in. I am very happy with my set up. I know it's not the best money can buy, but it's the best I can afford.

 

[ElkElkGoose]

I dont know if this will help but Ill tell you of a situation Im currently in. I bought vortex razor 10x binos and had to send them in a couple months ago because the glue on the center knob failed as well as the piece on the eyecups that goes aginst your eyes. Got them back all cleaned up and thought cool prob just some fluke thing. Nope, this last weekend on the first day of an elk hunt the rubber on the right eyecup fell off again. This made my glassing the rest of the trip a PITA because I couldnt get the proper eye relief.

What I decided is that a lifetime warranty doesnt mean crap if the product fails me in the field. I also cant send them in right now because I have hunts every weekend through mid october.

If you do want a cheaper scope thats bombproof watch ebay for a nikon ed 82 fieldscope. Its an old model but the birder community considers it better than anything from vortex and competing with the older line of swaro. The birding community is much much more critical of optics than the hunting community with a number of them into astrology/ telescopes as well.

 

[Elite]

I dont know if this will help but Ill tell you of a situation Im currently in. I bought vortex razor 10x binos and had to send them in a couple months ago because the glue on the center knob failed as well as the piece on the eyecups that goes aginst your eyes. Got them back all cleaned up and thought cool prob just some fluke thing. Nope, this last weekend on the first day of an elk hunt the rubber on the right eyecup fell off again. This made my glassing the rest of the trip a PITA because I couldnt get the proper eye relief.

What I decided is that a lifetime warranty doesnt mean crap if the product fails me in the field. I also cant send them in right now because I have hunts every weekend through mid october.

If you do want a cheaper scope thats bombproof watch ebay for a nikon ed 82 fieldscope. Its an old model but the birder community considers it better than anything from vortex and competing with the older line of swaro. The birding community is much much more critical of optics than the hunting community with a number of them into astrology/ telescopes as well.

My diamond back binos did the exact same thing. The glue let go on the eye pieces. I have never sent them in for your exact reasons.. always needing them. I have searched to see how kowa durability is and can’t find much?


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[ElkElkGoose]

Kowa priminar are very well regarded due to the pure florite lens they have, tests ive seen on the bird forum show it going toe to toe with the swaro stx/atx.