SX-4 Pro Guide HD 20-60x85mm Spotting Scope

Great scope. Very clear with great optics.

The pros are excellent optics and smooth focus and zoom. The only cons I can come up with are price and size. It is somewhat large to lug about, but that is the price you pay for a large objective with a broad zoom range. Having had a number of cheaper scopes, I've concluded you mostly get what you pay for. This is well constructed and the image is bright and crisp. If you have the money and room in your pack, this is a good choice. For myself, this is a bit large to include in a backpack on a long hike. For shooting or for viewing on a fixed tripod, this is excellent. I live in the sticks and use this for wildlife viewing, watching hikers on nearby mountains, and sighting in rifles out to 300 yds. (The scope could be used for longer distances but that is the limit of my shooting ability.) A tripod is a must.

I have a cabin on a waterfront and wanted to better see the sea wildlife. This scope has been superb. We have it mounted on a tripod for stability; I can't imagine handholding something with this much magnification. But with the tripod it's great: a huge step up from the binoculars we used to use. The light gathering is good enough that we can see color even as dusk approaches. The focusing and magnification are fast enough that, with practice, I can track a bird in flight. It feels very solid, reliable, and well built. I wear glasses and have found that the eye relief is ample.

I generally use spotting scopes to see my rifle groups at the range. For the last 35 years I have used a 15-45 power Nikon scope which worked OK at 100 yards, but when I joined a rifle range which has steel targets out to 800 yards I quickly found it to be inadequate. This is when I decided to step up to the Leupold 20-60 power scope. The clarity and ability to see targets past 100 yards is greatly increased. This scope has really nice glass. Just understand when you crank up the power to 60x you will need good lighting. However, this scope’s objective lens brings in sufficient light to see.

it was a gift for a guy who hunts, fishes, lives on a lake and he loves it.

They have NO quality control in Chins, if you question Leupold about this scope, all they say is all our rifle scopes are made in the USA. No response about this product. This is coming from a tried and true Peupold fan, at present I own and use 4 scopes,but am very learyabout buying any more

This scope beats many that cost twice as much. Very clear. Little or no spherical aberration even at 60x. Leupold provides first class support. Check this one out. It's a winner.

I compared this to a vortex HD . With the most magnification at 60 power both are very close, cannot see the difference between the two. At 20 power the Leupold SX-4 is slightly better. There is a difference of $500. between the two. I cannot see paying $500. more for the Leupold. Just not that much difference. Leupold has a slight edge on clarity over the vortex HD, but not that much difference for the extra $500. So will stick with the vortex HD.