Spotting Scope recommendations please

First topic message reminder :

I am going to buy my first Spotting Scope. I will only be using these for 25 yard and 50 yard 22lr matches (my club meets indoors). I want to keep the price low, under $100. I don't need a tripod (willing to buy separately) I hear most of the tripod that come with the lower end scopes are horrible. I don't know anything about what is enough magnification for this, or even what all those numbers even mean, to be honest. So I need suggestions on specs and brands to consider, and anything else I am unaware of.

Thanks in Advance

Another satisfied Bushnell Sentry II user here.  Mine dates back to the 1970's.  20X and I can still see .22 holes at 50yds.  The entire world seems enamored with the zoom feature, which is not needed for our use and costs optical clarity, especially in the cheaper scopes.  A fixed 20x or 30x will work for almost everyone.  Note that the higher power scopes usually do not focus as close as the lower powered ones, so if you plan to use it for air pistol make sure it focuses down to 10m.

The Bushnell Sentry II is very nice and can be found at a reasonable price on fleabay if you watch and wait. You may need to take it apart and clean it but it has great glass inside.

If you have patience sometimes 50mm Kowas show up at low prices. I bought at 45 degree angle TS-9 for $100 and it is fantastic after careful cleaning.

Sometimes it is distracting watching insects on your targets and thinking "Wow, this is a great scope..."

oh yeah, I forgot

I saw Ed Hall use a Kwik-Grip type clamp as a base for a scope mount at a match.

Like most of Ed's ideas I thought that was pretty clever. It worked well too!

Saves me from having to think up stuff.

As a FYI, optics planet (www.opticsplanet.com) has the Kowa TSN-501 for $296.99 and with a 10% off PUNT code (valid through 2/5/18) the cost is $267.29 w/free (slow) shipping.  They have a 'special deal' banner which allows purchasing the scope for $267.29 by calling.   There is also the option of getting this scope with 2 day air delivery for $296.99.  I have no financial interest, but the price is a bit better than $350.


Stan

I wasted money on 2 cheaper spotting scopes and now they are gathering dust in the closet. Then I got one of these, Hawke Spotting Scope , I can see more at 20x with this scope than I could see at 50 or 60x with the cheaper ones. Do yourself a favor and spend a little more to start with and you will save money in the long run.

I had the same experience when purchasing a Celestron Landscout 10-30x50 spotting scope.  I'm not sure what to do with that spotting scope now.  The Hawke 20-60x60 spotting scope looks good and is half the cost of a Kowa TSN-501. 

The Hawke is about the same size and price as a Celestron Ultima 65.  But, I'm not sure either one of those scopes will fit in my Strong Case 1608 3-gun box.  If it does not fit, you must acquit - or try another scope.


Edit: with new (more) range lighting, the Landscout 10-30x50 will make out .22 holes in the bullseye against a black background.  So, considering my previous posts it seems the ability to resolve detail is dependent upon how much light is available at the target.  This is not a surprise with more expensive optics being able to get the same amount of resolution with lower light.  Still, for $70, the Celestron Landscout 10-30x50mm spotting scope will do the job - provided there is enough light on the target.

How has that Hawke scope been treating you?