Graham Smith Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I have a relatively inexpensive Konus 20-60x80 spotting scope. It's OK but it's BIG. Some time back, I recall seeing some favorable reviews for a compact Bushnell 15-45x60 FLP (folded light path) scope. This only seemed to be available as a tactical version with a mil-dot reticle and was running about $350 - outside my budget at the time. I recently started looking for this scope again and it would appear to be out of production because almost no one lists it any more and those that do have it out of stock or are very dubious vendors. So, anyone have any suggestions for a decent compact spotting scope that's currently available? I'd like something that goes up to around 40x or so and would fit in a backpack without filling it up completely and won't cost an arm and leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I've been looking at the little one that DAA/CED offer. It's inexpenseive and it appears to be quite compact. However, at the price point I can't decide if it's really a "toy" or a decent piece of glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 I can't believe that a $90 spotting scope would be anything worth having. Maybe for a kid to look at the starts or birds or the neighborhood girls, but not much else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Have you considered the Burris? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Have you considered the Burris? I had completely forgotten about that one. It's a basically a small reflector telescope. The reviews on it were fairly good but with some bit reservations. Very prone to lens flare and no lens hood available. Lowest power is 25x which can make it tough to get on target. The main complaint is that is very bulky. Do you have one or have you used one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Have one, use it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Have one, use it a lot. Interesting. Don't find it somewhat bulky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Have one, use it a lot. Interesting. Don't find it somewhat bulky? Not really. I've taken it on high country backpack hunts with no worries. In fact I just got another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMedic Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 (edited) Vortex Recon R/T Thats what I use, and Like it alot, though its no 40x Edited April 6, 2012 by DocMedic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 Vortex Recon R/T Thats what I use, and Like it alot, though its no 40x It's certainly a nice scope but it's also expensive. The version without the mil-dot is $550. Anyone have any experience with the Bushnell Legend 15-45x60? http://www.bushnell.com/products/scopes/spotting-scopes/legend-ultra-hd/785460ED/ There's also a Bushnell FLP without the mildot (model 781560ED) but that's not even on the Bushnell site any more. Also nearly impossible to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Vigilante Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Looks like Amazon has a good deal on the Legend 15-45x60: http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-Legend-Definition-Spotting-15-45X60mm/dp/B00398AHLC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1333800577&sr=8-8 Also can find some reviews there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 (edited) Looks like Amazon has a good deal on the Legend 15-45x60: http://www.amazon.co...33800577&sr=8-8 Also can find some reviews there. I saw that. There are actually lower prices out there assuming that these places actually have them in stock. I'm always hesitant to go by reviews on the retailer sites because I don't necessarily trust them. I've seen identical glowing reviews for the same product at different places which lead me to think that they were plants. Not saying this may be the case here but... But I still have not given up hope of finding one the the Excursion FLP's yet. BTW, I just ran across something new to me, a Minox MD50 15-30x50. Street price is around $300. Edited April 7, 2012 by Graham Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 The two scopes that would seem to be the best choices at this point are the Bushnell Legend 12-36x50 and 15-45x60. There's very little difference in size or weight between the two but some comments I have read rate the smaller scope as more "packable" because it comes with a scope glove which gives it a bit more protection than the latter. It's also about $50 less. Of course the downside is 50mm vs 60mm. The good news is that both are ED glass and are considered to be as good or better than the FLP models that they seem to have replaced. The little Minox 16-30x50 is still a bit of a wild card. What reviews I can find are quite good and it is easily the smallest and lightest scope I have found - certainly at that power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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