0 Scopes or....

I'm in need of a spotting scope for western hunting and for range use. The shooting range is on the Front Range of Colorado where the humidity is very low and the sun shines 300 days a year. I would think these are easy conditions for a spotting scope.
The scope will be used 70% by me, no glasses, and 30% by my wife who does wear glasses. At the range I want to be able to "see" bullet holes as far as possible. 300 yards will be common, it would be nice to be able to at least see the general area where the bullet hits at 400 yards, but keep in mind I'm not talking about scoring at 300 or 400 yards, just locating the hit. At 400 yards I'll use splatter type targets which accentuate the bullet holes with color and make them appear larger, probably use those at 300 yds also. For hunting the scope will be used to spot deer, elk and antelope, especially in an attempt to locate deer and elk bedded down mid day at long ranges. I may have to pack the scope in on occasion but not the majority of the time.
Ok, I've seen several scopes in the $800 range recommended here, the Brunton Eterna 20-60x 80mm ED, Bushnell Elite 20-60x80 ED, Vortex Skyline 20-60x 80mm ED, am I missing any?

First, is there a standout in this crowd as far as optical quality?
The Vortex seems to have good eye relief at 19-18mm. I didn't see a spec for the Bushnell. Is the 17mm on the Brunton adequate for someone wearing glasses?

The next issue I want to address is stability on the tripod. I looked through another shooters scope at the range recently that was setup for a standing position. It was an 80mm scope (I don't remember the brand) but I noticed that there was a good bit of wobble in the scope. Is this just a shortcoming of his tripod or will this be an issue with 80mm scopes in general? In reality I will not normally use it in a standing position except perhaps when glassing for antelope. Mostly it will be used in a sitting position in the field or on a bench top at the range. The reason I bring this up is because I also looked through a Swarovski ATS 65 at the range recently and was very impressed with the optics plus the small size and light weight (good for backpacking). This one was also setup for use standing upright and it exhibited much less wobble than the 80mm scope. Unfortunately, I saw both of these scope just before leaving the range and had no targets setup at 300 or 400 yards to see if I could spot bullet holes. Now I really prefer not to spend quite as much on a scope as the Swarovski would cost, but it makes me wonder how the Kowa 663 stacks up at around $1100 or any other 60-66 mm scope you might recommend. I've seen it praised here, but how would the 663 compare with the ATS 65 and the 80mm scopes mentioned (plus any others you come up with).
I look forward to your reply as I'm ready to buy a scope.
Thank you,
Barefoot

Hi

The swarovski 65HD and the Kowa 663 are not too far off in performance, but, for that kind of distance, I would still move up to an 80mm scope. I would recommend the Brunton as your best choice in an 80mm scope in that price rnage. it will ahndle 300 yard scoring.

An 80mm scope always requires a solid tripod and the only thing we carry that works, properly, with an 80mm scope is a full size, heavy tripod, such as the Bogen 055XDG, 128RC. You're wasting your time and money with anything cheaper. I cannot recommend any bench model shooter's tripod or any compact tripod for any 80mm scope. Those are designed for smaller, 60mm scopes. No one currently offers a heavy-duty compact, so you'll have to sacrifice stability if you use an 80mm scope on one.

I should have included the Pentax PF-80ED-a in the list. Please consider it also.
Barefoot

The PF-80ED is an excellent scope. but not quite up to the level of a Swarovski, high end Kowa and so on. Yes, in its price range, an excellent choice.

Joanie,
Thanks for your reply.
It's difficult to satisfy all the requirements, some of which are in conflict. I need large objective for the range, smaller size and weight for hunting, either needs decent eye relief for my wife with glasses. Does the Brunton eye relief of 17 mm cut it for glasses?

Now here's another direction I was thinking about. What if I went to higher end optics without the ED glass. For example, two possibilities would be the Kowa 77 mm non ED and the Swaro ATS 80 non ED. The nice thing about these two are that they are light and compact for their objective size. Would you comment on how these non ED scopes would compare against Brunton 80 mm ED and the Pentax PF80ED? If you have any other ideas along this line I would like to hear them. Don't forget to talk about eye relief also.
Thanks,
Barefoot

Hi

If you plan to use a scope above 40x and you will, given what you have described, I highly recommend a good ED scope. ED, visually, makes the most difference above 40x. I know it is tough to get it all in one package given that price, but I would still opt for the larger scope for those extreme ranges. Larger objectives, if done right, handle the higher magnifications better and offer better resolution.

If you are going to all the expense of the Kowa 770 (don't forget to add in the rpice of the eyepiece!!!) I'd just spend a bit more and get the XD.

That would put the cost of the Kowa 77 with ED at $2365, correct? Heck, that's only 3x my original budget
At nearly $1200, is the Pentax PF80ED a noticable improvement in optical quality over the Brunton? How about the eye relief on the Pentax, I didn't see a spec for it on your website.
Thanks
Barefoot
ps, you still didn't comment on the 17mm eye relief spec on the Brunton for use with glasses

Hi

That's why I warned you about adding in the price of any eyepiece.

Would you see a difference between the Pentax and the Brunton? Yes,there will be a slight improvement, but it will not keep pace the addional expense. In other words, you will be getting another 5% performance for an extra $400 or so. That's the nature of all optics - you pay much more to get a small increase in performance. The Pentax eye relief is quite good at 20mm. Fine eyepiece.

If you only have $800 to spend, get the Brunton and be done.

Joanie,
I wanted to thank you for your help. After much research I finally decided not to try do this on the cheap and settled on the Kowa 773. Unfortunately, Optics planet is out of stock on the item . I need it quickly for a hunt next week and can't wait so I had to order it from a competitor. I'm really sorry about that, I would have much preferred to buy it from OP. You can be sure I'll be back when I'm ready for a tripod or a new rifle scope.
Barefoot

Hi

I understand and I am so sorry we did not have it for you for your upcoming hunt. Best of luck, though, on your hunt and be sure to stop back, again.