Winchester spotters

[277284]

Has anybody seen any Winchester spotting scopes?  There are advertisements for three of them all zoom from 50mm, 60mm and 80mm.

[JustaShooter]

Our local sporting goods store used to carry Winchester Vanguard spotting scopes.  I did a side-by side comparison with it and similar scopes from Leopold (Sequoia 15 - 45 x 60), Bushnell (Legend 20 - 60 x 60), Burris (Landmark 14-45 x 60), Sightron (SII 20 - 60 x 63) and Nikon (Prostaff 16 - 48 x 65).    One evening last summer I set them all up in the loading dock at the store (I know the manager of the optics dept) and looked at some targets I had with .22, .243, and .308 holes and a USAF 1951 Test Chart set up at just under 200 yards at the edge of their property.

I wasn't impressed with the Winchester at all.  I suppose it depends on what you want / need it for, but to my eyes it didn't measure up against the others in brightness, clarity, or contrast.  It was clearly the worst of the group, but the least expensive ($100) so if price is your primary motivator, maybe it would do... 

In 5th place was the Sightron - I was surprised at how poor the scopes clarity was, especially for the price (around $600 if I remember right).  It had a fat, fuzzy, purple fringe around everything.  It was so bad I thought for sure it was a bad scope (display model after all...) so I had them bring out an unopened scope, and it was just as bad. 

4th place was the Burris - nothing special about it at all, or it's big brother (20 - 60 x 80).  Tempting for the price (about $150, or $200 for the big brother), until you looked through them and compared them to the others.

I thought it was a close thing between the top 3, but to me it went like this.   

In 3rd place the Bushnell was OK, but just didn't have the brightness or crispness the Leopold and Nikon had.  For the price (about $250), it looked like a good deal though. 

Even tougher call between the Nikon and Leopold, but to my eye the Nikon had slightly better optics.  It was a little more expensive though ($400 vs  $300), but ultimately it is what I went with.

BTW, I also looked at a Burris XTS 2575, a much different type of scope than the others - I think it is called a Cassegrain-style - with a 75mm objective.  It hung in there with the top 3 until the light started to fade, and then went down fast.  Really, not too bad for a $200, compact scope.

Just a Shooter

[mattmillerrx]

I have one, did not have a name on it like "Vanguard" but was just under 100 bucks.  It has served me nice.  I only use it at the range and most often at 100 yrds.  Not the easiest to focus but not hard either.  Once focused I can see .30 holes plan as day at 100 and have not played to much at 200 with it but have been able to see them at 200 yrds.  22 LR hole at 100 yrds are view able some times I can not find them if they are in the black other times I can.  200yrd it is not happening although I have not tried it.  Although, I can not say that I have used it on a calm day, we don't have many here.  It has worked nicely even with the wind at 100yrds.  It is a 15-60 x 60 if I remember right.  For the price and what I use it for it fits the bill.

[277284]

Well I purchased one, the Winchester 12-50 x 50 spotter currently available.  The zoom/focus eyepiece is very flimsy, hope it don't break off and the tripod is all plastic.  Everything is very small (good).  The view is sort of dim.  For $89, OK for 100 yard spotting.

[Catfish]

I have never had a Winchester, but have had several cheap spotting scopes that worked, but just never really loved. When you buy scopes you get hwat you pay for, and I would rcomand you get the best you can aford. At present I have 2 Leupold spotting scopes that I love and still have acouple cheap ones for sale. My favorit is a 15 to 30 which is very small for a spotting scope and has the largest field of view I have ever seen in a scope of it power. This one is usually on a window mouht and riding in my pick-up. It is just the ticket for those thing you can`t figure out with the bino`s. The other is a 20 to 60. With it you can count the hairs on a nat`s **** at a 1,000 yrds.  Well maybe not quite, but it`s alot bigger and I just never get it out untill I need it, but when I do I`m darn gald I got it. The 20 x 60 is not a scope that I would recomand to most people because of the price and size, but the 15 x 30 is small enough that you can easily take it to the field, for the money I think it`s the best alround scope out there, if you can live with a 30X top.