What type of spotting scope is better for backcountry hunting, a straight one or an angled one? And what zoom 16-48X65 or 20-60X

[tcaraveo]

What type of spotting scope is better for backcountry hunting, a straight one or an angled one? And what zoom 16-48X65 or 20-60X82?

[John B. Snow]

For back country hunting, I would go with the straight eyepiece since it offers a slightly more compact profile, which is key when you're having to haul everything on your back.

The power range to pick depends on a couple factors. One, what kind of game are you hunting and how good a view of it do you need? If you're hunting sheep or mountain goats, where you really need a good look to determine trophy size and whether an animal is worth a three hour climb to get a better look, the more image quality you can muster, the better.

The trade off, of course, is weight, with the larger optics being quite a bit heavier.

If you're glassing for antlered game like elk and mule deer, you will probably do just fine with the lighter optic with a lower power range.

And, as you get more experience viewing animals, you'll be able to pick up on the visual clues that a rack offers to determine trophy quality without the need to zoom as close.

[Cgull]

I'd go with the smaller objective, dont want the scope to take up all the backpacks space.

[Cgull]

I'd go with the samller objective scope, the larger would take up all the backpacks space.

[Treestand]

20-60x82 the more glass the better!