Straight or angled?

NVBighorn · Oct 27, 2004

No this is not a gay bashing thread.

I have a chance to buy a slightly used Swarovski spotting scope at a reasonable price. Problem is it's an angled eyepiece. I have only used an angled eyepiece a little and am looking for opinions. I have a hunting buddy who swears by them and another who swears at them. This is more of an opportunity than a planned purchase and don't want to make a mistake. I would like for this to be my last spotting scope I ever need to buy which is why I am looking at the quality glass and seeking opinions. I would be using the scope mostly for muleys & sheep and I am a dedicated spotting scope user. I'd pack it or use it from a vehicle and in just about any other situation. What's the opinion of the masses? Straight or not?

woodruffhunter · Oct 27, 2004

NV,

I went with the angled eye piece. It took a while to get used to but I am still happy with the decision. For me, if I am not standing and looking through the scope; I have more viewing options (since I can rotate the eyepiece).

Good luck.

rost495 · Oct 27, 2004

I'm biased since I started using angled ones in matches. But I've found out that I can even setup laying down and looking up into the angled eye piece to score or glass. The options are much greater and you can allow yourself to find a relaxed position with angled. I've sat looking through spotting scopes almost constantly from 2-3 hours at national rifle matches. You need to be comfortable and have good glass.

That being said if you don't want that scope, pass the info to me please.

Good luck, Jeff

NUNYA · Oct 27, 2004

I just sold my Leica 77 straight and bought the swarovski 65 angled. I love the angled scope it is much easier to get comfortable behind it. If your spending hours behind you scope glassing for sheep they are the only way to go.

excaliber · Oct 27, 2004

I've tried both straight and angled spotting scopes and I find that the scopes with straight through viewing are far easier to initially locate you target.

BUL_KRZY · Oct 27, 2004

Angled all the way! Much more comfortable viewing IMO.

slamdunk · Oct 27, 2004

It's truly a matter of what you are comfortable with. I use a "straight" Leica, and my buddy uses the angled Leica. When we have been together, and i look through his, it just feels wrong to me, and if i have to find something through the scope, i'm totally screwed, because you have to look down, even when your scope is going "up"!! It messes me up totally, but he loves it. The other bad thing about an angled, is if your lying down in a prone position (looking at antelope in the wide open), your head is up higher than it wuld be with the straight one. In my opinion, the angled eyepeice is made for bird watching. Good luck either way!

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Oct 27, 2004

straight
casey

Oakbuck · Oct 27, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-04 AT 02:42PM (MST)[p]Outdoorsmans just sent me a magazine that has a great article about buying high end optics. In it the author dealt with the straight or angled choice and, as others are saying, it comes down to putting it on a target. Some people have trouble picking up a target looking through an angled scope because it's less intuitive than looking straight at the target. Also you can't use the scope on a rifle stock. On the other hand I have the straight STS and it gets hard on your neck when spotting uphill.

As far as you head sticking up more when prone, you can rotate the scope so the eyepiece is on the side.

Oakbuck

Tracker · Oct 27, 2004

I went with the straight for a few reasons. One I have a hard time finding anything in the angled. I glass with my binos on my tripod and I don't like raising and lowering my tripod every time I switch between my binos and scope. And try looking through an angled with a car window mount and also on a stockpod or gun stock. And the comfort thing has never been a real problem for me so the limitations of the angled far outweighed any benefits the angled might have.

rost495 · Oct 27, 2004

Most scopes have an aiming point. So using the angled is not any more difficult than you make it.

Replying to the fact that your head is up when laying down, I raise the scope above me and angle the eyepiece down. I can just lay there and stare up into it totally relaxed.

It boils down to the fact you can do so much more with an angled one once you realize this.

Due to that fact and that the straight ones can strain your neck in certain positions, almost all match shooters use angled ones. And I expect it was match shooters that demanded the angled ones, not bird watchers.

Sure the straight one is quicker to get on target if you aren't familiar with the angled ones, but normally I'm just glassing around and its normally not a huge hurry to get onto the animal if the angled one creates problems. IE if you need your scope they are so far away and relaxed that a few seconds doesn't matter. And if you use the aiming devices you'll be set anyway

Respectfully, Jeff