Barska BlackBlackhawk 18-36x50 Waterproof Angled Spotting Scope w/Tripod & Soft Carry Case

I bought this scope for use on a 100 yd rifle range to spot bullet holes from .22 - 50 caliber. It's clarity and brightness at 100 yds. is good. Considering it's price , you could say very good. A fellow shooter said it compared with his much more expensive Leupold. We didn't do a side by side comparison, so I don't know about that. It is simple enough to set up and focus. Included tripod is light weight and nothing to brag about but I expected that. It's usable on the bench. The soft case is nice with a divider to separate the scope from the tripod. I've only used it about 4 times, so I can't say anything about it's durability. For my intended purpose it works well and I would recommend it for similar usage.

I coach a high school air rifle team and was looking for an inexpensive shooting scope when I came across this little gem. While the name sounds vaguely eastern European, this scope is actually made in China. The scope has a lightweight but sturdy fiber-reinforced composite body and a back housing that is encased in a generous layer of rubber for shock protection. A hard plastic cap screws on to protect the eyepiece and a hard plastic dust cover friction fits into the front to protect the objective lens. An extendable sunshade is a nice and useful touch.

The magnification is perfect for shooting competition targets at ten meters. (Be careful when comparison shopping as many spotting scopes won't focus down this close.) We use it at the lowest 18x power setting and can see the whole target sheet while still viewing the individual bullseyes and pellet holes clearly. Like nearly all inexpensive scopes, the higher power settings are less useful as the picture darkens considerably and distortion around the edges becomes apparent. If you are looking for a scope for long range shooting or viewing, one with a larger objective lens would probably be a better choice.

Eye relief is good. Many inexpensive and compact variable power scopes have either a very short eye relief or a small field of view in order to save on the cost of manufacturing the lens elements in the eyepiece. With this scope, you don't have to tickle the lens with your eyelashes in order the see the entire field of view.

The only knock that I have on this setup is with the case and tripod that come with the set. The case doesn't offer much protection and the tripod is too small and lightweight to be useful. But then again, our school was able to purchase four of these scopes for the same price as a single "name brand" shooting scope with similar features. While I can't vouch for its long term durability this scope is perfect for what we use it for. If it lasts for four seasons of shooting, I would consider it a great value.