recommendation for spotting scope

[no guns here]

I need to buy a spotting scope.  I have about $400 to spend.  Uses will be multiple.  It will be used for it's normal game finding purpose.  It will also be used indoors for watching shots on 3 position air rifle.  It has to be able to resolve .177 holes at 10-25 yards.  I've never looked into spotting scopes before.  Any good ones in this price range? 

ngh

[JustaShooter]

I'd look at the Nikon Prostaff spotting scopes.  My 16-48x65 has been a very capable scope.  It can resolve .243 holes at 200yds easily, so .177 at 10-25 yds should be a piece of cake. Riflescopes.com has them right at $400.

Just a Shooter

[Graybeard]

Most will NOT focus at ten yards so most will be useless for resolving holes at that distance. You best be checking into the specs on a bunch of them if you expect to find one for that chore.

[no guns here]

I'm not sure whether to believe their specs or not.  Most that I've looked at seem to have a close focus distance of about 13-18 feet.  My viewing would be more in the 15-20 yard range since we can't be on line with the competitors.  My daughters team just won the championship for the DOD schools in Europe.  She was either number one or two shooter all year but fell back in the standings this week since she was shooting with the flu and the monthly ailment at the same time.  Mom wants her own scope for next year so she won't have to share.  I'd like to get one with a digicam eyepiece so I can output it to my laptop and then we can all watch.


ngh

[EsoxLucius]

The Stokes Sandpiper 15-45x65mm for $330 will resolve down to 25 feet which is under 10 yards.  Nice scope.

The Celestron Ultima ED 16-48x65mm is also around $330 and has a close focus of 20 feet.  Probably one of the best buys for a spotting scope under $400 right now.

The Vortex Nomad 20-60x60mm is a good scope for around $330.

If you can bump your budget up a little bit ($430-$450) the Vortex Skyline 20-60x80mm is a fantastic scope, but it is bigger and heavier than those above.

If you can, you need to look through these yourself to see which is going to be best for you.  The warranties are good on all of these but Stokes and Vortex have the best warranties in the business.

[JustaShooter]

At 48x, my Nikon Prostaff 16-48x65 can crisply focus the period at the end of a sentence in standard newsprint at something like 12 feet from the objective.  Honestly, I'd trust the close-focus specs (for name brands, anyway) since it is so easy to check/verify.  As I understand it, Nikon has a camera adapter but I don't know anything about it. 

I agree with EsoxLucius, try them out before you make the purchase.  Even though you usually get what you pay for in optics, higher prices don't always equate to better quality.  The Sightron scopes I looked through were no where near as good as the Nikon, and were considerably more expensive.  On the other hand, the cheaper Bushnell scopes were, well, cheaper...  Stokes and Vortex either weren't around or for whatever reason weren't on my radar when I was researching spotting scopes, so I don't know anything about them.

Good luck!

Just a Shooter

[ZRS-8x42]

A larger objective lens (80mm) will have more resolving power than smaller lens. But either one should work for you to see a 0.177 in hole at 25 yards range.

[WolfTrap]

The Alpen  20-60X model is well into your buget and should take care of close up needs.
There's an articles by Todd Spotty somewhere in NRA-IHMSA Silhouett sites with a full write-up.
Good luck,
WT

[cbshunter]

I got a chance to see Nikon field scope. They are very nice, and compact. of course, I only got a few minutes with them in store.