Swarovski ATX 95/115?

[npaden]

So this year I have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of glassing from my house. My current spotting scope is a Swarovski ATS-65HD and in the field it is very good but I haven't used it a lot during low light hours until this year at the house. Typically I'm using binoculars to spot the deer before legal shooting light and then ideally I would like to look at them in a scope to get a good idea at how good their antlers are. Usually I'm only looking at 800 to 1,000 yards but in the near dark my current setup just isn't cutting it.

I've been debating treating myself to a nice Christmas gift and I'm wondering how much better the 95 or 115 objective is going to be in those 10 minutes before shooting light. Right now my Leica 10x42 HDB 2200 binoculars are letting me see the basic shapes of the deer and maybe whether they are a buck or not in those light conditions but that is about it. Putting the scope on them in that light I can tell about the same thing and running up the power just gets it more grainy and I can't get it to focus well. Once the sun is up I can see very clearly with the ATS-65. However by then the deer are generally going to be gone.

If I spring the huge bucks for a ATX 95 or 115 am I just going to be wowed and be able to count tines on a buck 10 minutes before shooting light at 800 yards? Or am I asking too much and there really isn't an optic that is going to do that for me?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[Oak]

One thing to keep in mind is that the ATX eyepiece has 25-60x magnification when mounted on a 65mm and 85mm objective, but 30-70 when on a 95mm or 115mm objective. Your field of view is going to be much less with those big objectives than what you're used to with your ATS-65. Might not be important for what you're going to use it for, but when I went to an STX 65 I definitely noticed the difference in FOV between 20x and 25x (which is the magnification at which I do most glassing).

 

[Dan O]

One of the guys I shoot with has the 115 with the binocular eye piece. It's huge but also amazing. The best thing to do is find a local store and arrange to look through a set at sunset and then you will be able to make your decision and not depend on others' opinions.

 

[Oak]

One thing to keep in mind is that the ATX eyepiece has 25-60x magnification when mounted on a 65mm and 85mm objective, but 30-70 when on a 95mm or 115mm objective. Your field of view is going to be much less with those big objectives than what you're used to with your ATS-65. Might not be important for what you're going to use it for, but when I went to an STX 65 I definitely noticed the difference in FOV between 20x and 25x (which is the magnification at which I do most glassing).

Maybe referencing FOV was not the right way to explain what I meant. Sometimes I feel like 25x is "too close" for the glassing that I'm doing. I haven't actually compared the FOV numbers, but the fact is that you can only look at a portion of the FOV at any given time anyway. I'd rather be able to focus on a larger area at lower power when doing the majority of my glassing.

The ATX/STX line is on sale until the end of December.

 

[npaden]

Thanks for the input. I've been reading around on rokslide and the birding forums and there is some conflicting input on whether going to the 115 over the 95 is worth it for the price and the weight. Some say that they can notice a significant difference in the 115 vs the 95 and others are saying they can't tell any difference at all.

I read a few comments that said that the 95 wasn't worth the move up from the 85 because the zoom goes to 30x instead of 25x. Some reviews really raved about the 85 as the best of everything and no need to go to the 95 or 115.

I haven't found much specifically discussing the light gathering capabilities in low light of the different objective sizes.

I've been debating ditching the ATS-65HD for a ATC from a packability perspective and have read quite a few good reviews of the ATC and folks rave about the field of view on those. The ATX eyepiece is about the same price as the ATC so maybe the answer is just swapping out the ATS-65HD for an ATS-85HD and buying an ATC for packing.

I wonder if the 12x42 pures would allow me to see more clarity on a bucks antlers at 800 yards before shooting light. Not sure the extra 2x magnification is going to do much over my 10x42 leicas.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

That kowa 99 seems to be the one based on the reviews ive seen.

 

[MTLabrador]

Maybe referencing FOV was not the right way to explain what I meant. Sometimes I feel like 25x is "too close" for the glassing that I'm doing. I haven't actually compared the FOV numbers, but the fact is that you can only look at a portion of the FOV at any given time anyway. I'd rather be able to focus on a larger area at lower power when doing the majority of my glassing.

The ATX/STX line is on sale until the end of December.

I have an ATS-65 and the 25-50 wide angle eyepiece and I agree with you that the 25x is a bit much sometimes. I really like the view overall with the wide angle so I’ve gotten used to it, but I would also prefer 20x on the lower end. 30x would really take some getting used to.