Yet another spotting scope question incoming.
I'm looking to purchase a spotter in the near future (slightly contingent on the NM draw results). Based on my research, I've narrowed it down to the Kowa 554 and 773. I appreciate that these are very different beasts, but I'm having trouble on deciding what the *right* class of spotting scope is for me.
Here's some context. I hunt about 80% of my time in NM with occasional forays into AZ for Coues and CO for Elk. I aim to hunt Elk and Mule Deer every year, both typically via archery in the back country. I don't want/need to carry a spotter for Elk, as we are typically running and gunning. In addition to the staples, my hunting group can typically count on 1-2 other species a year, be it Pronghorn, Ibex, Oryx, Bear, or Barbary Sheep. Deer + other species hunts are spent behind glass all day. A Caribou trip to AK is in the cards in the next 3 years. I'm not a trophy hunter, but I've definitely glassed up bedded animals in the middle of the day that I had to stare at for a long time to decide if it was actually an animal or not.
Here's a couple of other considerations. I see a lot of really cool stuff through my binos while out in the woods, and I'd really like to get into digiscoping through a spotter (probably phoneskope, but I've also got a Canon DSLR I may try out). Among my hunting buddies and I, we will typically only have 1-2 tags out of 4 guys. I envision carrying a spotter when I'm not carrying a weapon, and roping whoever doesn't have a tag into carrying it when I do, which mitigates the weight penalty somewhat.
My current optics setup is Swaro 8x42 SLCs, which get thrown on a tripod whenever I stop and sit for a glassing session. I've borrowed a number of different spotters from friends, and haven't been particularly pleased with the results. I've tried out the Razor mini, and found that I was able to see less detail than through my 8x binos. I've tried out the Razor 65, and don't think it is enough of an improvement to really want to invest in or carry it. Finally, I rented a Swaro STS 65 for an Oryx hunt, and found it to be largely useless due to the amount of heat waves coming off the white sand. That's not really a point against the Swaro though, as even our binos were struggling in the conditions, but heat waves are a common issue in NM and probably reduce the effectiveness of high magnification anyways.
The going recommendation for the jack-of-all-trades spotter is a 65, but both of the Kowa options seem to have some distinct advantages over that class. I think the gist of my dilemma is, if I go with a 55 will I be left wishing I'd gone for more scope?
I'm looking to purchase a spotter in the near future (slightly contingent on the NM draw results). Based on my research, I've narrowed it down to the Kowa 554 and 773. I appreciate that these are very different beasts, but I'm having trouble on deciding what the *right* class of spotting scope is for me.
Here's some context. I hunt about 80% of my time in NM with occasional forays into AZ for Coues and CO for Elk. I aim to hunt Elk and Mule Deer every year, both typically via archery in the back country. I don't want/need to carry a spotter for Elk, as we are typically running and gunning. In addition to the staples, my hunting group can typically count on 1-2 other species a year, be it Pronghorn, Ibex, Oryx, Bear, or Barbary Sheep. Deer + other species hunts are spent behind glass all day. A Caribou trip to AK is in the cards in the next 3 years. I'm not a trophy hunter, but I've definitely glassed up bedded animals in the middle of the day that I had to stare at for a long time to decide if it was actually an animal or not.
Here's a couple of other considerations. I see a lot of really cool stuff through my binos while out in the woods, and I'd really like to get into digiscoping through a spotter (probably phoneskope, but I've also got a Canon DSLR I may try out). Among my hunting buddies and I, we will typically only have 1-2 tags out of 4 guys. I envision carrying a spotter when I'm not carrying a weapon, and roping whoever doesn't have a tag into carrying it when I do, which mitigates the weight penalty somewhat.
My current optics setup is Swaro 8x42 SLCs, which get thrown on a tripod whenever I stop and sit for a glassing session. I've borrowed a number of different spotters from friends, and haven't been particularly pleased with the results. I've tried out the Razor mini, and found that I was able to see less detail than through my 8x binos. I've tried out the Razor 65, and don't think it is enough of an improvement to really want to invest in or carry it. Finally, I rented a Swaro STS 65 for an Oryx hunt, and found it to be largely useless due to the amount of heat waves coming off the white sand. That's not really a point against the Swaro though, as even our binos were struggling in the conditions, but heat waves are a common issue in NM and probably reduce the effectiveness of high magnification anyways.
The going recommendation for the jack-of-all-trades spotter is a 65, but both of the Kowa options seem to have some distinct advantages over that class. I think the gist of my dilemma is, if I go with a 55 will I be left wishing I'd gone for more scope?
