What Spotter Do You Use - Angled or Straight

Do you prefer an Angled or Straight spotting scope?

  • Angled

    Votes: 49 54.4%
  • Straight

    Votes: 41 45.6%

  • Total voters
    90
  • Poll closed .

crossfire3006

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
235
I'm curious to learn which spotting scope is preferred by the members here, angled or straight, and why you prefer it.
 
Last edited:

BluMtn

WKR
Joined
Nov 24, 2016
Messages
1,018
Location
Washington
That is a loaded question that has been ask and argued about many times on here. As for me I am a straight man.
 

BBob

WKR
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
3,636
Location
Southern AZ
I can't vote for both but I have and use both :)

There are pros and cons to both but I can make both work equally. I might give a slight nod to the straight for many little reasons.

Biggest pros:

Straight: Instinctive and natural to use out of the box. Faster to swap between 15x and spotter.
Angled: Less neck strain over long stationary glassing periods. I can use it prone on rifle range right next to me.
 

Q child

WKR
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Messages
399
I rock angled. Angled is better for sharing with my hunting partner who is shorter than me. Straight is cool too though.
There are pros and cons to angled when compared to straight. And vice versa. But when I compare a scope to no scope, there are only pros.
 

Cornhusker

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
123
Location
Nebraska
Straight for me, as said above they both have advantages but for whatever reason I get neck fatigue with angled spotters. I'd try both and see what works for you.
 

Tbone58

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 10, 2019
Messages
111
Location
North Dakota
I’ve owned both and I prefer the angle. I sold the straight. I don’t have a great reason but it just felt better for me.
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
4,638
Location
Colorado
Have owned both. Currently use strait. Get on target quicker when switching from binos that I glass with 90% of the time.

I also seem to be looking down from above a lot on animals as opposed to up
 
Last edited:

Steve O

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
2,908
Location
Michigan
I like angled. I don’t do much spotting from the truck so angled let’s me keep the scope lower on the tripod, this more steady. I do not have problems finding game in the spotter.
 

pc3

WKR
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
374
3 spotters in our family (other than wife everyone wanted their own...shed rather new shoes :))....all angled;

Meopta S2
Hawke (sons)
Kowa tsn (daughters, its a super light weight compact unit and surprisingly it performs well)

No reason initially but I am happy with angled......pros and cons to each.
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
7,415
Location
Chugiak, Alaska
Both. For me it just depends on the hunt and what I’m thinking will work best given the situation. I have a little Kowa TSN-553 (angled), that I’ve been using for goat hunts, and a heavier Swaro 80mm STM (straight), that I mainly use for sheep hunts. I like having options.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2016
Messages
1,237
Location
ID
Angled.

Low to ground for long glassing sessions. I like sitting with my feet out in front of me with my knees bent, tripod between the knees, easy on my back and neck. With the rotating collar you can really get in any position you want.

Easier IMO when you have multiple people (different heights) looking thru glass.

Not hard to get on game, IMO, you get good at using what you have. Although the straight argument for this purpose is probably very true.
 

Poser

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
5,033
Location
Durango CO
I have a straight spotter. I think that the angles makes it easier to get comfortable, but the straight is super efficient as transitioning from bino to spotter and finding the exact target.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,123
I’ve ran both and while the straight might be easier to transition from binos to spotter in the beginning once you have used the angled a bit it’s just as easy to transition for me now.
I prefer the angled now and also digiscoping with the angled is easier for me.
Also love the fact that I can rotate the scope body on my angled Swarovski.
 

WCS

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
Messages
238
Location
Yukon
I tried both, and didn't like the straight spotter. Looking up with a straight spotter resulted in some neck fatigue for me. I didn't find that there was a significant difference in getting on target with either scope.
 
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