Optics Recommendations

Hi Joe. With only one good eye, I would stick with a spotting scope. As far as which one to buy, that all depends on your budget and how far out you are trying to reach. I picked up one off Craigslist a couple years ago for $50, but you get what you pay for. How much are you looking to spend?

Cheers,
Al

Al,

Thanks for the help.

I can probably manage something between $500 and $700 at this time.

Joe

I agree with Al, go with a spotting scope.  Take a look at Nikon or Leupold, you could get a good scope with that kind of money in those two brands.

Check out Theron optics... i have the saker model for a year now... i love this little guy...

The problem with using a spotting scope is the same for you as it is for everyone else. The power is too high and the field of view is to narrow, along with that you have to mount it to a tripod to stabilize the unit. Several companies make high quality monoculars that would serve you much better than a spotting scope. The two within your price range would be Vortex and Ziess.

If you would like a 10 power unit but would also like to have the light gathering capabilities of a 50mm objective along with the 5mm exit pupil that is considered optimum for an adult male your best choice would be the Vortex Recon R/T 10X50:

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-recon-rt-10x50-tactical-scope

Vortex also makes a smaller, lighter unit called the Solo in a 8X36. You would not be missing much in the light gathering department due to the 4.5mm exit pupil, however the Solo series does not have the same quality of glass as the Recon, but it it still worth a look:

http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/solo_rt_monoculars

Carl Ziess also manufactures high quality monoculars, however most of their models are built as compacts and ultra compacts. The benefit of these smaller units is that they are very easy to carry, the problem with them is that they are limited in their light gathering due to small exit pupils. Take a look at them here:

http://www.zeiss.com/SPORTS

Another solution that has worked well for my clients would be to use an extreme quality range finder as a monocular. The best unit for this would be the Swarovski Laser Guide 8X30. This unit uses the same glass as the SLC 8X30 binocular for unsurpassed optical quality in the rangefinder market. The LG 8X30 has also been listed as one of the top rangefinders on the market today, and has been since it's introduction:

http://swarovskioptik.com/en_us/products/optronic-instruments#