Spotting Scopes for Bullseye

Having just organized and updated my collection of spotting scopes I have acquired for Bullseye competition I though it may be helpful to create a thread on scopes. Feel free to add posts of your experiences as I create individual posts of my experiences with the spotting scopes I have owned.

My first scope was a Barska Blackhawk 50mm angled scope. It fit in my 3 pistol strong case box. I lost interest in it due to low eye relief and dark imaging. The more zoom the less image quality.

Seeing several NG scopes around me I tried one, a NG 20x33. While very compact and nice to look through, the limited eye relief bothered me. 

Ok, maybe I like to stay in the scope too long.

I was given a Leupold SX-1 Ventana 15x45 60mm scope. While I liked it a lot, it did not fit in my medium sized pistol boxes so I would use a Quick-Grip as a support. 

Poor handling on my part caused the back section of the plastic housing of the scope to break off from the front. I should sent it in for repair as it was a pretty good scope for what I used it for.

A while ago I bought a slightly damaged Pachmayr pistol box and it came with a Bushnell Sentry II 20x 50mm. I actually paid $150 to have it cleaned by a camera repair shop* inside and out and it is wonderful. Very good eye relief and good glass for 50 yards.

I highly recommend this scope.



* After cleaning the scope made the edges of NRA targets appear concave. The shop took it back, corrected the assembly, and now all is well.

I poached a Kowa TS-9 20x 50mm off fleabay. The scope was used but everyone was low-balling it. I bought it with no caps or box for $90 in the last minute of the bidding.

Due to age I also had it cleaned internally for $150 by a camera repair shop and it works well. Eye relief is so-so but it fits inside a pistol box.

A Minox MD 50W 16 - 30x 50mm. Very compact for a pistol box. Ok eye relief. Gets a little dark when zooming in to see 22 holes at 50 yards. I still have it as it is handy to use with a Gehmann Universal Scope Holder when I travel light to a local indoor 25 yard range. Somewhere I acquired a small bag with a shoulder strap that I lined with closed cell foam to carry the scope and stand.

A few months ago I picked up a Kowa TS-2 60mm scope that was in good shape. The ebay seller in Japan packed it so well that it could have been safely airdropped in my yard. Due to age I also had it cleaned by a camera repair shop. 

Unfortunately it came with a 25 - 50x zoom lens that had poor eye relief. Fortunately, I found another ebay vendor that was selling a TS-2 and their other sales were Vixen eyepieces. The seller tried several of the Vixen single power eyepieces to check fit and image and I ended up with a 20x fixed eyepiece with good eye relief. The view now at 50 yards is the target backer with good definition.

Since this scope doesn't fit in a pistol box I mount it on a Champion's Choice Benchtop Spotting Scope Stand with a 22 inch extension added to it. I use a small Quick-Clamp to clamp the base to the shooting bench.

My current scope is a Bushnell 78-1236 Sportview 12-36X zoom.  It’s light enough and has enough resolution to see 22 shot holes at 50 yards.  I usually keep it at about 24X.   Photo stolen from the internet.

I borrowed images from the internets too. All of the scopes and stands were purchased over the last ten years as I started competing in Bullseye. While comparing scope performance today I thought this thread may help others in their purchasing decisions and consolidate others' (Wobbley, and I'm sure Len will be here soon) experiences.

Kowa TSN-501. Angled, compact. Decent optics.

Not a cheap option, but I really like my Vortex Razor 11-33X50....


It's not super heavy, fits in my 3 gun Strong Case, has the angled eye piece, zoom allows me to easily find my target before zooming in, has pretty nice optics for a Zoom lens. Easy to see 22 holes even in overcast conditions. Lifetime warranty. This was definitely buy once, cry once, but it's the last pistol scope I'll buy.

Dave

I have a handful of scopes, Japanese 50s are usually good, not Chinese ones. I tried the CC 60mm but didn't like it. The Kowa TSN 50 replaced it. I like that with the exception of the tapered mount base that makes me kick my box to an angle from the line. I may be selling a few of the others

You shouldn't be scoping all that much, so one that works barely is perfect.
80mm celestron regal with unobtainium 22x ler eyepiece I use for service rifle was total overkill for bullseye. I could read the re-order contact information on a b6 target.

10-30x50 celestron landscout is OK, I got a deal on a used one where the prism had come loose, glued it back and had a scope for $45 I can just let rattle arround my box and not worry about. Most of the time it's backed off to 15x or so. I can't get super precise readings but it will warn me if I'm out of the black.

Those Celestron’s come with a lifetime warranty. They typically send out a new one if something comes loose or breaks. I’ve had a couple replaced which got bounced around with rough use. Good enough for pistol distances other than in poor light.

Sa-tevp wrote:Seeing several NG scopes around me I tried one, a NG 20x33. While very compact and nice to look through, the limited eye relief bothered me. 

Ok, maybe I like to stay in the scope too long.

I’ve been using one of these occasionally at my indoor range at 25 yards.  Its eye relief was surprisingly long enough that I could see with my glasses on.  The lighting is not great, but I can see .22 holes in the black, and ID double holes. It weighs nothing and is reasonably stable on its little tripod stand. 

Might as well add for those interested that the tripod folds up to approximately the same size as the scope.  Not height adjustable, stands maybe 8” tall. I wouldn’t bother with one unless you found it for maybe $100-125.  Probably other good / better choices if you go much north of that price.  However, it’s perfect for my indoor shooting and takes zero space.  Well worth what I paid here in the classifieds.

Sa-tevp wrote:Having just organized and updated my collection of spotting scopes I have acquired for Bullseye competition I though it may be helpful to create a thread on scopes. Feel free to add posts of your experiences as I create individual posts of my experiences with the spotting scopes I have owned.

Good thinking! Talking about your spotting scopes and what you've learned can help other Bullseye competitors. I can't wait to see your posts.