Leupold spotting scope

[WVmike]

Does anyone have any input on the Leupold SX-2 Alpine line? I'm looking to get a decent spotting scope for this season. Ranges for shooting can be anywhere from 50 yards to 400 yards on whitetail where I live in WV. A spotting scope would be nice to pick them out of the timber and brush at distance. Primarily the long range shots would be in the hay fields we have and at the edge of the timber. I don't really have a preference of size but if I can get the bigger objective 20-60x80 for a few more bucks I would pick it up over the 20-60x60. I would also be using this on years when I get a tag out west for elk or mule deer as well. Any input is appreciated.

 

[Scott85]

Why not just binos on a tripod? Even at those ranges out west I wouldn’t want a spotting scope.

 

[Sagebrush1]

Why not just binos on a tripod? Even at those ranges out west I wouldn’t want a spotting scope.

Yah that’s what I came to say. Look into some higher power binos. The field of view difference sounds like it would be helpful to your situation.

 

[WVmike]

Why not just binos on a tripod? Even at those ranges out west I wouldn’t want a spotting scope.

Either or would be fine. This is why I post on this forum. I have a pair of vortex binoculars that I picked up years ago that are 10x42 I believe and they are nothing to brag about and I have been looking at the SX-2 alpine 10x52 or 12x52 which I could put to use when static with a tripod. That would save on weight for sure.

 

[Scott85]

I don’t know how many big bucks you have killed but I wasted a lot of year hunting pretty open hardwoood where you can see forever.
When I started hunting thick stuff where you
can’t see more than 50 yards the big bucks started to drop.

 

[WVmike]

I don’t know how many big bucks you have killed but I wasted a lot of year hunting pretty open hardwoood where you can see forever.
When I started hunting thick stuff where you
can’t see more than 50 yards the big bucks started to drop.

There's not a great deal of brush except along the edges of the hayfield and throughout some of the pasture. It's primarily cedars and jack oaks with sage grass here and there. I usually set at the edge of the field along the fence tucked back into the brush and they will hit the hay field 30 minutes before sunset. Even in the woods, it's not real thick with brush. Where my land is it's generally a spot where they are nocturnal in the fields or they are laying in the thickets from the afternoon till dusk or vice versa. Usually I'm in between where they go. Some of the farms along the river have beans/corn and the bucks there are huge and they skirt the river and depressions with brush along the field. I don't have the luxury of hunting these farms because the owners are old timers that are religious about sitting in their truck at the edge of the field with their 30-30 expecting to shoot the buck at 300 yards.

 

[BAKPAKR]

The best use I have found for a spotting scope while deer hunting in West Virginia is to confirm that the “antlerless” deer I am about to shoot is actually antlerless.

A decent set of 10x binos on a tripod should work well for the ranges you mentioned.