Spotting Scopes

I'm often surprised by how few spotting scopes I see at the range. Bullseye shooters all have them, as do other kinds of target competitors, but that's about it. I don't do any regular competition these days, but I find a scope to be invaluable for sighting in, and for improving my shooting. You can't correct your aim if you don't know where the bullets are going.

The one seen above is a 1960s Japanese "Apollo" 20x50 scope that's very simple but has good glass. Images are crisp and clear. Older scopes like this are cheap when they show up at swaps. You can easily spend $600-1100 or more on a new scope from Leitz or Swarovsky,  but you can also buy a serviceable new zoom scope relatively inexpensively. The Celestron 20-60x60 mm Spotting Scope offers a big 60mm objective, and magnification from 20 to 60x for under $90, and for a few dollars more the Celestron Ultima Spotting Scopes offer larger objectives, and even better contrast and brightness.