Scope recommendations

[rockpigeon]

Hi everyone. I wanted to ask for your advice/opinions on scopes, as I would like to purchase one in the next month or so. This will be my first time owning one. My original plan was to wait until I finished my degree, but I figure now is as good a time as any to work on my gull/shorebird ID. I'm tired of seeing these distant 'bird blobs' and not being able to get a good look at them!


I'm hoping to use this for work down the road, so I want to make an investment that will last me a long time. Nothing too fancy, but practical and effective across the board. I'm thinking somewhere between 1200 and 1500… much more than that and I'd be too paranoid to bring it anywhere! I've heard good things about Vortex scopes from other birders, and the vortex viper seems to be in the right price range... I'm a bit lost on the specs though.


Also, if anyone has a spare tripod they are selling, or knows of a good place to get a used one, I'm hoping to get one of those second hand.


Thanks in advance!

[oldfulica]

Jan 2, 2023 17:07:51 GMT -8 rockpigeon said:

Hi everyone. I wanted to ask for your advice/opinions on scopes, as I would like to purchase one in the next month or so. This will be my first time owning one. My original plan was to wait until I finished my degree, but I figure now is as good a time as any to work on my gull/shorebird ID. I'm tired of seeing these distant 'bird blobs' and not being able to get a good look at them!


I'm hoping to use this for work down the road, so I want to make an investment that will last me a long time. Nothing too fancy, but practical and effective across the board. I'm thinking somewhere between 1200 and 1500… much more than that and I'd be too paranoid to bring it anywhere! I've heard good things about Vortex scopes from other birders, and the vortex viper seems to be in the right price range... I'm a bit lost on the specs though.


Also, if anyone has a spare tripod they are selling, or knows of a good place to get a used one, I'm hoping to get one of those second hand.


Thanks in advance!

Check this link;

www.audubon.org/gear/scope-guide

[Chris]

I have a vortex skyline scope and just by taking a brief glance at the specs the comparison between the viper seems somewhat similar. The Vortex warranty is great. I haven't needed it for my scope but I dropped my bins and they fixed it. Only had to pay for shipping.

[nickinthegarden]

I am mostly a photographer, but I always wanted a spotting scope. I had played around with a very cheap one for a few weeks but there were definitely some limitations. I kept an eye out on Craigslist for a used one and managed to pick up a Vortex Diamondback being sold by a hunter. The only drawback was it had no case.

[murraybrown]

I have an older but perfectly good tripod that I'm not using anymore. I have two but only use one at a time so why not let someone else have the benefit?

If still interested text me at 604-833-4440

Murray Brown