The best spotting scope for hunting
Quick answer: the Vortex Diamondback HD 20-60x85 ($424.49) is the best spotting scope for hunting, with 85mm HD glass that holds a bright image in the low light at dawn and dusk when game moves. If you pack in, the Athlon Talos 20-60x80 ($159.99) is the lightest here at 38.5 oz and includes a tripod, and the Vortex Crossfire HD 20-60x80 ($253.49) is the value pick from a trusted brand. Full specs and owner reviews are on our best spotting scope guide.
Hunting is where a spotting scope earns its place: you glass miles of open country, judge a rack or a ram before committing to a stalk, and read legal shooting light at the edges of the day. That shapes the scope you want differently than a bench does. Low-light brightness, a body you can glass through uphill for hours, and a weight you are willing to carry matter more than the last few power of zoom. All three picks below are the same verified in-stock scopes from our value roundup, chosen and ranked here for how they hunt.
Our picks for hunting
Best overall for hunting: Vortex Diamondback HD 20-60x85
$424.49 $699.99 4.6/5, 34 reviews on OpticsPlanet
When light is thin, glass wins, and this is the brightest pick here. The 85mm objective and HD lens elements hold a sharp, usable image into the dawn and dusk window where game moves and where cheaper spotters wash out, which is exactly when you need to judge whether an animal is legal and worth the stalk. It comes in an angled body for long uphill glassing sessions, mounts on any tripod with the built-in foot, and carries the unconditional Vortex VIP lifetime warranty. The honest trade-off for hunting is weight: at 61.3 oz this is a scope for glassing from a truck, horseback or a fixed knob, not one to carry miles deep.
Best lightweight and value: Athlon Talos 20-60x80
$159.99 $214.29 4.5/5, 19 reviews on OpticsPlanet
If you carry your glass rather than drive to it, this is the pick. At 38.5 oz it is the lightest scope here, it is an angled body built for uphill glassing, and unusually at this price it ships with a table-top tripod and soft case, so it is a complete spot-and-go hunting kit for about $160. Owners report calling splash past 1,000 yards, and one found it matched a $1,000-plus Leupold for resolution. It is standard, not ED, glass, so it dims toward the top of the zoom sooner than the Diamondback HD, and the included tripod is light-duty, but for a backcountry hunter watching weight and budget, little else competes.
Best from a trusted brand under $300: Vortex Crossfire HD 20-60x80
$253.49 $424.99 4.8/5, 36 reviews on OpticsPlanet
This is the middle-ground hunting spotter: a genuinely good 80mm HD scope from a trusted brand for around $250, with the same Vortex VIP lifetime warranty as the Diamondback. Its Arca-Swiss foot drops onto most tripods with no adapter, the glass is clear and sharp through the 20-40x band where most field glassing happens, and at 4.8/5 across 36 reviews it is the highest-rated pick here. At 53 oz it splits the difference between the heavy Diamondback and the packable Athlon. The honest limit for hunting is the top of the zoom, where the image dims past about 40x, so treat 60x as a good-light bonus rather than the norm.
What a hunting spotting scope actually needs
Hunting rewards a different set of priorities than target shooting from a bench:
- Low-light glass over top-end zoom. Game moves at first and last light, so the HD glass and 80 to 85mm objective that stay bright then matter more than a sharp 60x you will rarely use. That is why the HD Diamondback leads.
- Weight you will actually carry. The best spotter is the one you bring. These are 80 to 85mm scopes suited to glassing from a truck, horse or fixed knob; the 38.5 oz Athlon is the only one light enough to pack far, and even it is heavier than a dedicated 65mm backcountry tube.
- An angled body for long sessions. Glassing uphill for hours is far more comfortable through an angled eyepiece on a low tripod. The Athlon is angled; the Vortex picks offer both bodies.
- A tripod that holds still. A spotting scope is only as steady as what it sits on. The Athlon includes a light-duty table-top tripod; for serious glassing add a sturdier one.
These three are chosen for open-country glassing on a budget. If you hunt deep backcountry and count every ounce, a compact 60 to 65mm spotter is worth the dimmer image for the weight saved. Glassing is only half the system: pair a spotter with our best binoculars for hunting to find game first, then confirm it through the scope.
FAQ
What magnification do you need in a spotting scope for hunting?
A 20-60x zoom, which all three picks have, covers hunting from judging antlers across a canyon to picking a bedded ram out of shale. In practice most glassing happens between 20x and 40x, where the image stays bright and steady enough to read detail; the top of the zoom is for confirming trophy quality in good light. Higher power needs a bigger objective and a solid tripod to stay usable.
How big an objective lens do you want for hunting?
For the low light at dawn and dusk when game moves and legal shooting light is thin, an 80 to 85mm objective like these picks gathers the most light and holds a bright image at high power. The trade-off is weight. A 60 to 65mm tube is lighter to pack deep into the backcountry but dimmer at full zoom, so match the objective to whether you glass from a fixed knob or carry it miles.
Angled or straight spotting scope for hunting?
An angled eyepiece is usually better for hunting: it is more comfortable glassing uphill for hours, easier to share on a tripod, and it lets you run a lower, steadier tripod behind cover. A straight scope is faster to get behind from a truck window or a prone glassing position and more intuitive for following moving game. Two of these picks come in both bodies, so choose by how you hunt.
Do you need a spotting scope for hunting, or are binoculars enough?
Binoculars find game and a spotting scope judges it. For a whitetail from a stand, good binoculars are enough. For open-country western hunting, glassing miles of country and scoring a rack or ram before a long stalk, a spotting scope resolves detail binoculars cannot. Many hunters carry binoculars to search and a spotter to confirm. See our best binoculars for hunting for the search half of that pair.
More: best spotting scopes for the money · best binoculars for hunting · best hunting rangefinders.