Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics SWFA 3-15

It seems most actual users of the SS 3-9 consider it a great scope for the money. I'm wondering if the same can be said for the 3-15? I don't see too much about it on here, seems like most guys are using the 6x, 10x or the 3-9...maybe there's a reason for that. Thanks

timl

I have both (actually 2 of the 3-9x42's). The 3-15x42 is a good scope. It does everything a scope should do - hold zero, track accurately and repeatably, returns to zero every time. Reticle is nice, gets a bit small on lower magnification, but still nice. Turrets are crisp, don't seem prone to being bumped off.

The glass is pretty good, especially for the $. As magnification is increased above 12x some of the shortcomings of higher magnifications w/ less than top of the line glass/coatings becomes evident. This is not to say that the scope is unusable or even unpleasant at 15x, just a noticeable degradation over 12x.

The additional 4-5 ounces over the 3-9x42 (and fixed 6) is noticeable on my rifles. Not a huge problem, but I notice it. Since I normally don't turn the magnification on the 3-9x42 past 7x for shots from 0-500yds, I don't find the 3-15 offers any benefit for my needs over the 3-9.

I have my 3-15 on a 223, a play gun/high volume shooter. It works well there and I don't plan on changing it. If I wanted a long range rifle set up with higher magnification, I would probably spring for something with better glass/coatings in order to make the most of the increased X's.

David

The 3-15 is big and heavier than most scopes in the same class.

Quality isn't different than the 3-9, the 3-15 discussions center around the reticle size, which focal plane is "best", and whether it should be MOA/MIL calibrated.

I like the reticle, but it wouldn't be my first choice in dark timber.

TimL,
IMHO it would depend on what I am doing with the gun. Hunting with lots of hiking and lowlight shot opportunity I would probably stick with the 3-9 for the lighter weight and slightly better glass just as Canazes9 mentioned above. The 3-9 seems to last a little longer at last light for me.

I have limited range experience with the SWFA 3-15 that I just mounted last week. It tracks just like the 3-9, the turrets are a little larger. General daylight I cant see much difference in clarity until right at dark. If your doing a lot of long range stuff the parallax adjustment of the 3-15 is nice to have. For target stuff I do like the open diamonds of the 3-15 slightly better. For a carry rifle the heavier weight is the only thing I have against the 3-15.

As far as the FFP reticle, on either scope I have not had any issues. For a close shot or quick shot I use the thick outer portion of the crosshairs to bracket with. I think a lot of guys get too hung up on needing to precisely see the center of the crosshair.
YMMV.

I have the 3x15, and it is an awesome scope. I use it on a daily basis. They return to zero every time, the glass is good, and the reticle is great. There are no issues with early or late shooting. Great reticle for wind holds. Its a little thin on the smallest power. I have the 3x9 also, and its really good as well. You can't go wrong with either one. I hunt with mine,not just target shooting. I love them.

I'd be one of those who prefer the 6x, 10x, and 3-9x over the 3-15x.

I sold my 3-15x to a friend who loves it, but he finally realized that the 10x works just as well for his play rifle as the 3-15x did. And a 6x MQ covers the rest.

As David stated, the 3-15x image drops off above 12x. At least mine did. And the side focus doesn't get me warm and fuzzy on a rifle that might get some hard use. I've not seen any failures per se, but the side focus mechanism isn't like a turret with the knob fixed to a spindle. There's a couple o-rings sealing the guts from atmosphere, and the set-up relies on the integrity of the knob. In contrast, the rear focus on the Classics is well protected. And no focus on the 3-9x.

Optically, I think the 3-9x is a definite step above the 6x, 10x, and 3-15x. Not only better resolution, but less glare.

I bought a 3-15 with SFP MOA reticle, I was pretty excited to get the scope but I am disappointed and probably going to return it. The reticle sucks IMO it has a tiny dot that is only .14" dot size! .14? that is way way too freaking small. if they had just made the cross hairs connect in the middle and not worried about the dot. along with making the whole thing more bold they would have had something. but short of using the thing at the range in full bright daylight I can't see using it as a hunting and field reticle.

the plus side the glass looks great and the click adjustments are very positive much more so than my 20x fixed model. so I don't know what I am going to maybe see if they have something that will work better in low light or at least less than optimum light.

You should try the Mil Quad. FFP probably isn't a bad idea either. I had hangups with using FFP on a hunting scope but the MQ reticle functions well on my 3-9. I haven't used the 3-15.

yeah I am looking at the mil quad designated marksman, even though I really really don't want go to a mil based reticle.

i considered the 3-15 in sfp due to price. I had concerns about the reticle being too thin for my liking. I asked a few people questions including calling swfa. I actually listened to the advice and didn't get the sfp scope.

The FFP 3-15 is a nice scope. I prefer the 3-9's though.

I have both versions of the 2FP 3-15 SWFA with the Mil Quad reticle, one is the DM version with the diamond in the middle. I found the Mil Quad reticle in the regular MQ very fine and I currently use it on my Tikka T3 223 Varmint. It is too fine for hunting in low light, okay for varminting and target shooting...

I have the 3-15 DM on my 243 Tikka T3 and found it better for hunting in low light. I used it to shoot a deer at 200 yds on 3 power and I found that diamond handy to quickly acquire the centre of the reticle. I didn't have a chance to zoom in as it was a quick shot on a deer that made the mistake of stopping to look back at what had spooked it...

I'm also have a 3-9 FFP Mil Quad SWFA mounted on a Tikka T3 270. I like the reticle thickness at 5 power and up, and I think at lower powers, the thicker posts of the reticle help to centre the scope on target. The only problem is with the extra low Talley rings, the windage turret interferes with ejection. I'm going to pull off the turret and just use a rubber cap on it as done by another poster on the fire.

I'm gonna to try and get in some coyote hunting with the 3-9 FFP under various lighting conditions before next year's deer season to get more experiencewith it.

I'm liking the SWFA scopes for their tracking, turrets, reticles and value. I itching to try a 3-15 FFP.

Ed