Spotting scopes

[_AJ]

Hello everyone,

I attended my first OPM (fullbore shooter) a couple of weekends ago, but embarassingly turning up without a spotting scope... I shoot at Anzac Range, Malabar, we use the Kongsberg electronic targets and this has meant that I haven't had to think about a spotting scope until now. Luckily the captain of Gosford club, Wayne, is a friendly chap and he lent me a club scope for the day.

I should probably start looking at getting my own, to go to some more meetings and to start reading mirage.

I've been doing some searching on the net to find out what I need. What is the minimum objective size we need to clearly see targets and spotting discs at max range in all lighting conditions, ie at end of the day, or in overcast/rainy conditions? Is 60mm enough, or must you have an 80mm scope? What do most of you out there use?

To be honest the little scope I had for the day seemed to do the job, although all 3 ranges for the day were 500m.

Cheers, AJ.

[johnk]

That bloke, James Corbett, seems to put his mouth where his money is & doesn't seem to have gone astray using the little scope he sells on his JJJ website: http://www.triplej.com.au/productpages/vixen67A.htm

[_AJ]

Thanks John,

Good to hear that a smaller size scope will do the job as less glass generally seems to require less dollars.

Anyone found that a ~60mm size scope wasn't enough for someone with no eyesight problems?

Cheers,

[Tman]

Hi AJ, previously I was a full-bore shooter, and I too shoot at ANZAC, and for all of my years shooting full-bore I was using a Bushnell 20x scope with a 50mm Objective lens (front lens), and this was certainly enough to see spotting disks etc in all conditions. I have also used this scope for small-bore as well.

Originally I had a small stand just for the shooting position but later bought myself one of those stands that has the extension pieces so that the scope can be raised upto nearly 1600mm off the ground, useful if you are check scoring and sitting in a chair on the mound behind the shooter, or if you are coaching during a teams match and sitting next to the shooter and need just an extra bit of height instead of having to lie down on the mound to see through the scope to score or to read the shot and make sight adjustments for the shooter.

The major consideration is that the scope is stable but also easy to adjust for the off side eye, and its position is close enough that all you have to do is to tip your head slightly to the left to sight through without moving your shooting position and changing the geometry that exists between your elbows and shoulders, the grip of the rifle and your aim.

Over time you will find the optimum position that works for you on the mound, as well as the optimum height of your scope to suit your shooting position and height on the mound. I actually put a mark on the post of the scope stand so that I would have the same height each time instead of constantly trying to find it again each time. There are enough variables to deal with in shooting, this makes it one less to worry about.

Good luck and have fun

[_AJ]

Thanks Tman.

Actually, if there are any former fullbore shooters out there in Sydney that have a spotting scope setup they no longer need, feel free to PM me. No $1000 rigs unfortunately, especially since that'd be more than 3 times the cost of my rifle.