Spotting Scopes: Leupold's Gold Ring vs. Sequoia

[Anthony]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking for my first spotting scope. I intend to use it on the rifle range (100 to 1000 yards) for calling hits as well as in the field.

Besides the price can anyone explain the difference between Leupold's Gold Ring and Sequoia lines of spotting scopes?

Is there another brand of spotting scope that offers superior optics over the Leupold that one of you might have had very good luck with?

I am looking to make a significant investment in this piece of equipment and do not want to be rebuying it in a few years time.

Thank you for the input.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

If you really mean 1000 (one thousand) yards then....

If you really mean for calling hits at 1000 (one thousand) yards then I suspect you'd start with Kowa and go up from there leaving Leupold behind.

(100 to 1000 yards) for calling hits

Leupold makes fine and very fine gear but the 1000 yard market is not their market.

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for the suggestion on Kowa...any other brands I should take a closer look at while I am at it?

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Best deal going is Jim Owens on Konus

http://www.jarheadtop.com/KONUS.htm

The site has some good material and prices on Kowa and useful discussion as well. Again if you really mean 1000 yards the best - Nikon, Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica - is none too good. For normal use from pistol to 300 yards or more Leupold will do just fine and offers good value with a great guarantee. But for 1000 yards to repeat myself the best is none too good. For 100 yards a dollar a yard will do OK but for 1000 yards a dollar a yard is beginning to show weaknesses.

 

[bofe954]

I have the 15-45X60 wind river sequoia. I got it for around $300 with a case, cover and little tripod. I think it was decent deal for the money but I'll echo the 1000yd sentiments.

At 100yds I can clearly see .308 holes, I could see .22 holes whatever, it's like standing 5 ft from the target. At 200yds it's getting difficult to make out .308 holes. You could miss them on a black background, but probably pick them up on colored backgrounds (or white). It is a wonderful scope for 100 yards. It is barely enough at 200.

I haven't tried it at 1000, but I know the answer.

I went to Sportman's warehouse. If there is one by you, I recommend it. The guy at the scope area filled a shopping cart up with spotting scopes and we took it out to the parking lot. He also brought a Leica range finder and we looked at stuff at various yardage. The leupold seemed better than a lot of other scopes in it's price range and 300ish was what I wanted to spend. You could definitely see some weird haziness and color changes in worse scopes.

I think for seeing hits at 1000 yards you are talking 1K+ scopes.

 

[Jim Watson]

You don't see HITS at 1000 yards with anything you can carry to the range. You see the 6" spotting disk the pit man puts over the bullet hole.

A really, really good scope will pick out bullet holes at 300 yards in good light. Anything after that is a crapshoot. One perfect day we were seeing .45-70s in a bright orange target at 500 metres. But not the next time out.

A friend has a 600 yard steel gong 18" diameter. He paints a 6" center black, the rest white. A medium to good scope - his old Redfield, his big Kowa, my little Kowa - will easily pick up the bullet splash marks in the white, but not always in the black. So if we hear the plate ring and don't see a fresh splash, we call it a "ten". (F-class targets have a one MOA ten ring.)

The Konus is quite a good scope and a real good buy. I am seeing more and more of them at matches.

 

[Blackfork]

scopes

You'll see the bullet trace going to 600 yards...but not much else. There is just too much mirage and more magnification just compresses it. I've seen targets that flow, pulse, float, bounce, flame, you name it, but you aren't going to see any bullet holes.

I'd check Champions Shooters Supply, Champions Choice, and Creedmoor Sports as well as Nikon, Kowa, Leica, and get a list.

You'll need a good stand...NOT a little tripod or something cheap...a good wand stand. Works better even at the bench.

I've got a Kowa 821 for highpower and a little Kowa mounted on the pistol box lid. Good scopes.

It's a great help and pleasure to have a fine spotting scope and stand to use. I can usually see bullet holes at 200 on a 200 yard target face while practicing standing. When I am teaching someone else or shooting a milsurp at 100 yards I can see what I am doing downrange. Don't scrimp.

 

[LHB1]

Anthony,
I fear you will find that mirage will diminish images at long ranges but the finest spotting scopes IMO are models using rare earth lenses and front objective lenses measuring at least 77-85 mm from:
- Leica
- Swarovski
- Zeiss
- Nikon (top grade Field Scope ONLY)
- Kowa

Be prepared for sticker shock! Most scopes are sold with zoom eyepieces or eyepiece to be purchased separately. IMO fixed power eyepieces are sharper than zoom eyepieces AND have wider fields of view at the same power. Magnifications beyond 32X tend to pick up a lot of vibration and mirage. My personal long range spotting scope and birding scope is an original Nikon Field Scope with 77mm front objective, 25X fixed power eyepiece, and rare earth lens. All such scopes need a good strong tripod with ability for fine vertical or horizontal adjustment.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

 

[xcaddis]

Scopes

I have owned several and wound up with my Leica. In addition to your uses I use mine for wildlife and photography in and around Yellowstone. Between Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss you won't go wrong. The eye fatigue is one item most people don't consider. Again, with these you won't be sorry. As mentioned in an earlier post, they aren't exactly cheap, but you will not be replacing them for something "better" in a couple of years.. Good luck, hope it helps.

Xcaddis

 

[ocabj]

If you are shooting across the course, the Kowa 661 is a good option. Optically, it's pretty much the same as the 821, but it is a lighter package, which makes it better for carting to each firing line.

If you are shooting long range comps, then go with the Kowa 821. Since you won't be carting around and will mostly be at the 800 or 1000 yard line, body size and weight isn't too much of an issue.

For the 'field'? What exactly does that mean? If this means hunting, then I'd probably just get the Leupold gold ring. A friend of mine has a couple of the Leupold gold ring portable spotting scopes and they are very nice for use out hunting or what not.

Be sure to get the LER eyepieces for any Kowa you buy.

I have the 821 with 27x LER, but only because I got an insane deal on one and ended up selling my 661 with 25x LER eyepiece after I got the 821.

 

[barry23]

spotting scopes

If you are looking for a tactical scope for field use or shooting steel the Leupold is hands down the best for quality/compactness. This is still an industry favorite for many. If you want to see holes in paper at 1000 an beyond you may want to take a look at the Swarovski. Second to none in quality the coating and brightness are hard to beat but it is a bit bulky for long range tactical applications.