Hello Tweeters,



I wanted to send a big thank you to everyone out here on this
list for responding to my inquiry about buying a scope. I got such great information and excellent
advice from everyone. I really appreciated and enjoyed
reading the varying preferences and the reasoning behind them. I also enjoyed reading about the Birding
experiences and fun stories as well.



After the replies started coming in I quickly learned I knew
nothing about scopes. The one thing I was very sure of however was
that the $74.99 Tasco special at Big 5 that was suggested to me was not going
to come remotely close to what I needed.
I spent hours and hours reading and re-reading over every single
response I got from everyone. All of
the tips, hints, advice, suggestions, do?s, don?ts, and opinions were all put into
a list. From there I checked off what I absolutely
had to have, what would be dreamy but that I could do without (for now), and
what I knew I would absolutely not want based on other?s experiences and
preferences. Then I went out and met up
with some friends and tested out their scopes.
Not a wide assortment, but enough to get a good idea.

I shopped online, called several stores, did more research,
went back through the replies again, and talked to my husband about my scope
budget. I knew I?d need more money for
what I wanted and it was going to require some serious negotiations on my part.

After much ado, Sunday morning I went down to Wild Birds
Unlimited here in Gig Harbor. They set
out some scopes that fit my requirements, preferences, and that were in my
budget. I purchased a Vortex Skyline 80 ED (Angled),
and a Vortex STX Tripod w/Head. For me,
this being my first scope, this worked out to be a perfect fit. I love it!
I left WBU and drove straight to Ocean Shores to take my Aunt and Uncle
out to see if we could spot some Snowy Owls.
We didn?t see any owls but we sure had fun looking through my new scope
and learning all about it. I can?t
believe what a difference it makes. Why
didn?t I purchase one of these baby?s years ago?? I can only imagine what I?ve missed all of
these years. I would have liked to have
purchased a Kowa 600 or 700 something, or maybe even a Swarovski. But I figured that I would learn with this
scope, become experienced, then after a while I?d pass it down to my son and purchase
one of the ?Big Guns.?

Thanks again to everyone! Happy Birding : )


Wendy