50 yard spotting scope

First topic message reminder :

looking for a good scope for 50 yards to fit in my gun box

I have been traveling to matches held in unfamiliar locations this summer and quickly found out my ancient champions choice 23x50 spotter was not cutting it.  It also has a 43 power eyepiece but that was worse in low light.  Based on the recommendations of this forum, I purchased a NG 20x30 from Canada.  I was underwhelmed and posted a review on this forum.  I did find that the NG was cute, compact, and cool like James Bond 007 so I decided to keep it as a compact travel spotter for non shooting uses.  I agree with bpettit that is is unsuitable for all conditions encountered.  

As a result, I am using my Kowa TS-601 with the 25x LER eyepiece and while it will not fit in my shooting box, I have yet to be unable to see 22lr impacts at any 50 yard range even the one time it got dark and we had autos lined up behind us with bright headlights illuminating the targets.  It is not convenient but the optical quality is top notch.  I really miss the rotating eyepiece but mounted a Manfrotto Camera Ball head on my box and that seams to work.  Seams to be helping my scores whereas I am able to positively confirm my shots and shot a 98 slow fire on Tuesday which equals my high slow fire score ever recorded.  

Would like to compare the Vortex side by side with the Kowa TS-601 for consideration. 

Regards, 
Crankster

I have the Kowa 82SV for high power rifle and it's fantastic.  I have no problem recommending it.  

98 slow fire is excellent!

bpettet wrote:As an update, I received mine yesterday from Canada.  Very fast shipping, packed well, etc.  I got it out before the sun went down and was kind of underwhelmed with it but that was just my first impression looking across the yard.    

I took it out today to the range and did some comparisons with my cheap Champion's Choice CC542 scope.  To be honest, I wasn't impressed with the NG.  It's fine at 25 yards but I didn't find it to be very good with .22 holes at 50 yards.  The objective is obviously small and it needs a lot of light to work well at 50 yards.  Cloudy or low light conditions made for tough viewing (especially when looking for .22 holes in the black of the target).  When I switched back to the CC542, those issues went away in the same conditions.  I'm not comparing it to high end scopes...that wouldn't be fair.  But it's not better for me than the CC542, which is 1/2 the cost.  I will continue using the CC542.  

I hope it works better for you than my experience.  Mine will be moving on.

I also ordered an NG from Canada a few weeks ago. As I mentioned in another thread, it arrived about a week ago with minor paint damage (during manufacture I would say). What I did not know was that the eyepiece section rotates with the magnification adjuster - I really do not like that. And it is just not clear enough for me to see 22 holes at 50 yards on anything other than a bright day.

The vendor happily advised me to return it if not satisfied. I did that today - by Priority Mail (which comes with insurance) cost $46.35.

Not a happy transaction.

You guys that bought the NG 20's aren't giving me a warm and fuzzy feeling here.

Rick H.

Yea...I didn't return mine for that reason.  Was going to sell it somewhere.  It's brand new but I can't think of a use for it personally.  Maybe I should just return it and eat the $50. 

I forgot to mention the eyepiece rotating...that's weird!

Did I mention the Vortex Razor scope lol. Just put it on your CC, you won't see the bill till after you have an awesome compact scope.

I've started the return process on mine tonight.

The vendor in Canada has very promptly honored the return of the NG scope. Got repaid in full today. Very professional and courteous. Cost me a few bucks in shipping and insurance back to Canada, but I got to test the scope in (my) real world conditions, so that is a small price to pay.

Nice looking product, good vendor, just a pity that with my old eyes I need more power - sadly, for me, size matters!

Ok, so I rec'd my NG-20 scope from Canada.  I must say it comes nicely packaged and shipping was relatively fast even with the Rona situation.  I wanted a scope that would fit in my pistol box and that is exactly what I rec'd.  Pros: Size, weight and relative clarity.  This scope will let you adjust down to under 20' if you need to.  Cons: I have to get right on top of the eyepiece to get a good view with glasses on.  I also have a diminished FOV with glasses on because I can't get all the way up to the eyepiece.  Without glasses on things are much better for me and I can see more of the target. 

I walked out a target to 25 and 50 yards and had no trouble seeing .22 caliber holes.  I haven't tried 100 yards, but that isn't what I bought the scope for.  While this little scope wasn't "cheap" it was less money than most of the other good compact and sub-compact scopes.  In many respects the NG-20 scope was much better than an almost new condition Competitor scope that I have, but it should be for the money.

So I will keep this little scope and use it for a while before I pass final judgement on it.  It's not a Kowa, but I can get it in my pistol box.  If I can learn to live with the limited eye relief I think I will keep it.  If not I'll sell it and my next stop will be an Opticron.
Rick H.

Folks I am sorry that you might have bought a scope because I said it was a very nice one. Mine is and When I go to matches I see a lot of them on people’s boxes. I have no problem seeing 22 holes at 50 yards I live in Florida but all of my ranged I shoot at are all covered if that matters. I am glad the company stood behind their product that’s the way it is supposed to be and that’s rare these days

I purchased my first Minox MD 50 spotting scope for $250 in 2016, purchased a used, but actually NIB, for $125 on fleabay in 2019. Prices are higher for new. I saw one used on sold for $150 in July on fleabay.







This scope is compact and fits very well in my box. It is clear out to 50 yards and I can see, depending on conditions, .22lr bullets at distance. There are times I can't see 45 cal shots if they are in the white and the berm is dark, and that is true of my bigger 20-60 scopes too. I prefer a low magnification scope, I think 14 X was great, this is 16X. I tried a 20X scope and hated it, the field of view was too small. I had a 14X bushnell that worked well, and it was cheap, but it was much larger, and I prefer the smaller Minox.

The focus is a ring on the body, the zoom feature on the eye piece. I seldom zoom, 16X is fine out to 50. More important, it focuses down to 50 feet. I had a full sized scope that would not focus at 25 yards, so you need to look through the scope and find the minimum focus distance. It needs to be less than the minimum distance you shoot. The scope has a rotating ring, which I consider essential. I have owned Unertl's and Bushnells that had fixed rings, and they are a struggle to use.