Barska 25-75 x 75 Spotting Scope

Heavier than I expected. The tiny, flimsy tripod that came with it (unexpected) was a joke as there is no way you could successfuly use this heavy scope on it. Fortunately, it was to replace a scope so I already had a practical tripod. Not as clear of vision as I would have liked. Should have looked at some in person before buying online. As mentioned above, the brochure that came with it was for a totally different scope so didn't have any instructive info with it, but I was able to figure it out pretty quickly, since I already used a scope. Was shipped loose with the box inside a box witout any padding but arrived in perfect condition.

• Did the product fit true to size? yes
• How is the quality of the product? Average to good
• Was the product free of any manufacturer defects? yes; except the less than informative booklet was for a totally different style scope

If someone is only wanting a spotting scope to use at the range 100-200 yds., then for the money this is a pretty good scope. I've used it a couple of times since getting it, for spotting .223/ 5.56 bullet holes at 100 yards it is EXCELLENT. For spotting the same caliber at 200 yrds., it is iffy....you can see the holes but your straining to see them on a white target. If you use the black targets that turn green or yellow with a bullet impact, then you can see out to 200 yrds. no problem. The clarity for spotting on the power of the scope is good up to about 30X, anything beyond that and you just can't focus sharp enough for spotting bullet holes at more than 200 yrds. If you just want to look at the horizon up to about a mile then this is a pretty good spotter. I would suggest if you need a spotter for the range going out beyond 200 yds. with a small caliber, then I'd spend a couple of hundred more and get a high quality scope, those will have much better optics/ prisms. For my use out to 200 yds., it is fine......especially for the $75 I paid for it, you can't expect $300 performance for that price. It does what I want it to do at that yardage for the gun range. Just make sure you get a quality adjustable tripod, the little tripod that comes with it is ok, but a good photography grade tripod is MUCH better, plus you can extend it up to around 5'. Hope this helps somebody looking at this scope.

This scope arrived packaged well and had good documentation. The scope comes in a soft carrying case with a small table top size tripod, which was my only minor issue. The case is sized to hold only the scope, not the included tripod. The table top tripod has what appears to be stamped sheetmetal legs which do an OK job of keeping the scope steady, but I was hoping to see a little better platform for a nice scope. The scope has a great sight picture, especially at lower zoom settings. Higher power/longer distance focusing does require interaction with the focus trim knob, but I was able to dial in a decent picture at 100-300 yards with little problem if you work the zoom and trim upwards in small increments.

I went to the range with 2 friends recently that both had Barska spotting scopes, so I had an opportunity to try the 25-75X75 side-by-side with a 20-60X60 before ordering this scope from Overstock.com. While both are great scopes for the money, the 75 mm scope appeared to have more eye relief and presented a better picture based on my experience. I also want to commend Overstock.com for their customer service. My first scope arrived with the lens cover broken. OS emailed a pre-paid return label, and shipped a replacement scope right away. OS also provided a confirmation email to let me know the scope I returned was received. That is outstanding customer serivce, and I will definitely order from them again.

• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Excellent Quality
• Was the product free of any manufacturer defects? Yes