How much spotting scope do I need?

[BCBear]

Looking for opinions from goat and sheep guys who would know the recommended magnification parameteres for spotting scopes...aside from buying the 'best you can afford', what is the minimum magnification on a spotting scope that you would use for such a hunt? I got a fixed Leupold, but want to get something more useful for my goat draw. Thanks, BCB

[Catfish]

I have never hunted sheep or goats, but Leupold makes a 15 to 30 X scope that is relitively small and has an extreemly large field of vision, far larger than any other brand of scope I have found with the same magnfication. Should be just what you are looking for.

[skeet]

What Catfish said.. You would be surprised how hard it is to locate animals in a spotting scope. I used a Bausch & Lomb for many years. Other than being too long it worked just fine..Too long to pack well but we killed a Dall Ram using it...up east of Healy Alaska

[Evan03]

I've done a lot of research and have settled on vortex viper 15-45 or razor with a straight eyepiece so it can be lined up where I'm looking more easily than a angled eyepiece.

Many say over 45 50 power becomes is less as the glass quality drops off. If wanted maximum high power stuff to be crystal clear and sharp expect to spend a few grand.

I haven't got my spotter yet I'm still in research mode. I'm in long range mode and have been wondering about a mill reticle in my spotter for references and ranging as well as the spotter being able to call out hits or misses. 2 mills left call out kind of thing.

The leupold HD line does have one with a reticle. But those are spendy.

I've heard people speak good of the Leo 15-30. Those can be found for a few hundred bucks used.

There's soany options in good optics . The optics world has literally been exploding.