Is Maven S2 Enough Scope?

[BigLooch63]

Hi everyone, I’m looking at purchasing my first spotter and was hoping you all could help me out a little. I’m looking for a spotter that’s compact and light and will help me properly judge and animal’s size/points. I don’t need to see high detail, but it would be nice to know if the animal is legal and if it’s worth going after. In my mind I’ve narrowed it down to three scopes the Maven S2, Maven CS1, and the Leupold GR 12-40.


I get drawn to the Maven S2 because of the glass quality and dimensions but am concerned that 27 power is not enough for what I’m asking to do. There some great reviews on Rokslide about this scope but I don’t see it mentioned their opinions about it’s effective range. So, have you used this scope? Would you recommend it? And what range can you use this scope to accuracy judge an animal?


Thank you in advance for your input!

 

[Str8shooter]

Was in your boat last year, went with the kowa 553 and glad I did as 45x is sometimes just enough to count points on elk and deer in low light or distances beyond 2 miles.

 

[OughtsixAi]

what did you end up buying? i am in a similar situation wondering if 27 power will be enough. i don't see having to judge goats a 3 kilos but inside 2 km's will 27 power do the job? i really like the price and weight combo of the s2

 

[BigLooch63]

what did you end up buying? i am in a similar situation wondering if 27 power will be enough. i don't see having to judge goats a 3 kilos but inside 2 km's will 27 power do the job? i really like the price and weight combo of the s2

Hi, i actually ended up going in a completely different direction. I ended up buying an ATX 65 from another Rokslider. Aside from the glass differences here are a couple reasons why I don't regret my decision.

1) zoom & clarity
I think 20x is great for picking up movement at pretty far distances, but most of my judging is at 40x+. If you're someone that needs to see more than "it's a buck" then I think having the extra power is critical. I do find myself in spots where I'm glassing 1+ miles, so that magnification has been so helpful, especially since I'm trying to pick apart slivers of timber or etc that are not easy to see into.

2) High Power Close Range Glassing
I've had times where it's really difficult to find any game and having the ability to use the clarify and magnification of a 20-60x scope within 600 yards has been immensely helpful. This may not be applicable but this is a talked about strategy for when you don't want to blow out a close basin or drainage.

I think the S2 scope would be great if you have a set of 8s and this scope gives you that extra range to make you committed to walking those extra miles. Probably an awesome scope for elk but likely not for mule deer (which is what I focus on). However, I feel that greatly depends on the areas you plan on hunting.

 

[OughtsixAi]

Thanks for the response, the more I think about it the more I lean to more magnification for easier judging. Buy once cry once.

 

[Schaaf]

I’d rather have 15x binos than the S2

 

[Dirtriding4life]

I’d rather have 15x binos than the S2

Agreed, I demoed the Maven S2 and 15x56 b5 and the 15’s could resolve almost as much and were much more comfortable to use. At 27x the S2 got dark and fuzzy.

I had a Nikon ed50 with 13-40 eyepiece and that was significantly clearer than than the S2.