Adding a spotting scope to your arsenal is usually something that is done after you have numerous hunts under your belt, after you have an understanding about optics as well as know the need for looking at objects at significantly longer distances. So, you aren’t likely going to be okay with just looking at a spotter in the store at 50 yards to evaluate. Our team here at Sportsman’s News have put this spotter to the test in the real-world environment over the past six months and well, here is what we’ve found.
This spotter comes in both an angled and a straight version. If you are looking at a spotter for the first time, you might not have a preference or know what’s going to fit you best. Straight spotters give you the ability to look straight through and are often easier to find your targets. The angled option is my personal preference as I can use a lower tripod when spotting and the natural angle makes glassing sessions more comfortable. When spotting out of my truck on a window mount, I can rotate the housing and cover more area without having to move the truck.
The zoom on both the straight and angled versions are 27X to 55X, so your bottom magnification is 27-power, giving you a good field of view. However, on extremely hot days, you may find that even the lowest power will give you some problems, with heat waves being disruptive. On regular days and during prime hunting season this doesn’t pose much of a problem. The maximum power is great for spotting deer-sized game and judging them out to approximately 3 miles. The 80mm objective combined with Leupold’s Twilight Max HD light management system delivers a good amount of light in those early morning hours as well as the last few minutes of daylight when game is most active.
We found that both the zoom and the focus adjustment knobs are well designed and extremely smooth to operate. The ridges on both allow them to be adjusted even with the most cumbersome gloves or mittens. When focused, the edge to edge clarity is amazing. This means that what you see on the edges is as clear as what you see in the center of the lens, a very good measurement for quality optics.
Both the angled and straight versions tip the scale right at four pounds. The angled version is right at 15 inches long and the straight is 3/4 of an inch longer, but both units will fit in all pack spotting scope pockets we tried them in. The rubberized armour coating wears like iron and keeps your optics looking new. If something ever happens to your prized scope, you can rest assured that it’s covered by the Leupold Full Lifetime Guarantee. It will be taken care of, you can be assured.
