Cabelas vs Vortex Spotting Scope

[Lastcast]

Looking for a 'budget' spotting scope to use at the range out to 300 meters. And likely use in the field several times a year.

Cabelas has their HD 20-60x80mm on sale for $349 today.

Vortex Diamondback HD 20-60x80mm is $779. Probably goes on sale for $600 or so.

Anyone try the Cabelas spotter in the field? Is the Vortex glass worth twice as much?

[Cement Bench]

google CELESTRON

they make some models to view the stars and have quite high ratings for the prices

they would be within your budget

[Twisted Canuck]

Or Pentax.

[Cement Bench]

Pentax pf80ED

1300 or so
really good scope but I thought you wanted under 700 bucks

[Lastcast]

The Celestron seems interesting and the price is the same as cabelas scope.
Pentax is a great brand but I’m not interested in spending that kind of money right now.
Reviews for cabelas scope say they see bullet holes at 300 yards no problem. I’d like to hear from AO guys if that’s true.
Im usually a buy once/ cry once kind of guy but im hoping a cheaper spotter would satisfy me for now.


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[Homesteader]

Buy it, if you don’t like it, return it.

Then post your review here, good or bad.

Optics are different for everyone, Pentax is solid. I’m sure the Cabelas one will have better glass that a guy would think but you might find your objective lense inside the case one day because I’d bet a stack o cash that their QA is not on par with Pentax and above.

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by Lastcast

Reviews for cabelas scope say they see bullet holes at 300 yards no problem. I’d like to hear from AO guys if that’s true.

Never had a Cabelas scope but as with all scopes seeing bullet holes is not only dependent on lense quality but also on light conditions, target color and bullet hole size. You might be able to see bullet holes at 300yds with a $300 scope in the right conditions just fine, yet in sub optimal conditions you might not,i.e, poor light, black bullseyes, small bullets whereas a higher quality scope may extend the window of visibility when the light and conditions aren't so great.

With few exceptions you get just what you pay for when you buy entry level optics.

[glen moa]

At 300y I can see 243 bullet holes. I can’t see 223 bullet holes.
That’s with a 16power rifle scope.