Do You Need a Spotting Scope?

This is a question that we get asked almost every day, and there is a good reason why. Spotting scopes are expensive! For most people it isn't a piece of equipment that they buy right off the bat. They buy a pair of binoculars and hopefully a tripod and they start hunting. Most are successful and feel as though a spotting scope would be overkill. Then, as time goes on, they may find themselves in more and more situations where getting closer isn’t an option or would take too much time but is necessary to make a decision. Now that is where a spotting scope shines. They aren’t for everyone but for everyone that needs one they are everything. 

What's the Situation

What type of situation would require a spotting scope? If you find yourself sitting down to glass during a hunt, it is a safe bet to say that you should have a spotting scope with you. To make it simple, the west. The large mountain ranges and open country of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado are a daunting hurdle to overcome without the most powerful glass you can dig up. 

The ever elusive Coues deer of the south are always a great example of why someone may need to add a spotting scope to their pack. Imagine you are sitting down first things in the morning to glass and you pick up a group of deer about a mile away. Not an easy feat even with the best binoculars out there. They don’t call them the gray ghost because they stick out like a sore thumb.

Now you can tell that at least two of them are bucks but that is about all of the information you can gather from your 10x42s. Luckily you have a 20-60 power spotting scope with you so you throw it up on the tripod and locate the deer again, except this time you are looking at a group of 5 bucks. Two of which are first morning types of deer. 

You went from thinking you had found two smaller bucks with a few does to a bachelor group with two Boone & Crocket bucks peppered in the midst. This isn’t some made up story, this is a real life example of every single time I have sat down to glass for Coues deer (maybe not Boone & Crocket but you get what I’m trying to say). Binoculars at that type of distance are just not powerful enough to pick up the extremely small details that take a deer from good to great or doe to buck. Hell, you can even use your phone to digiscope pictures and videos of the deer and landmarks to use during the stalk.

Let Us Help

The moral of the story is that if you are looking for more detail in your glassing. Whether it’s counting rings on sheep or trying to score a bull from a mile, you should seriously consider a spotting scope. Not all spotting scopes are created equal though but don’t worry that is where we come in.

We can help you with absolutely anything that you need while picking a spotting scope. We can help you avoid the not so worth it and clue you in on the great deals that are out there right now. There is a lot to know about spotting scopes, and we are here to help.

Happy hunting.