Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics SWFA SS 3.5-15. Any input?

If you have one, what do you think of it?
I'm also looking to buy 1 if anybody has one.

I have one as does my son. Mine is on a .243, his on a .308. They are working great. Good glass, and very repeatable. I dial with mine quite a bit, and it always returns to zero,again and again. The mil quad reticle is great. The crosshairs are a bit fine from 3x to about 5, or 6x. as it is FFP. But being able to hold for wind on any power is huge. The half mil. hash marks allow for pretty precise wind holds. I use mine for hunting and as I have stated in other posts, the SWFA on 7x is very close to a leupold fine reticle on 6x. These scopes are heavier than other scopes, but the added weight is worth it for the dependability. Hope that helps.

Atse, that helps a lot. I ended up getting a 10x on the cheap here but I still think the 3.5-15 will be posted on my penny jar.
Good to hear its treating you well.

atse, that is a very useful review, thank you.

mike r

I own three, one mounted on a M77 K-Hornet and two mounted on Savage 93 17HMRs...shoot tons of little varmints year round. As good a scope as you can buy for the price...just a tad heavy but, bright, clear glass with accurate a mil dot reticle in FFP,really out weighs a little weight for me.
Dog Man

Les,

I have one, but have not shot it much yet. Just FYI, if it's on your wish list, SWFA usually has them on sale for Black Friday. That's when I picked mine up.

I would stick with the 10x you did well don't have any regrets.

Thanks for all the input guys.
I think the 10x will treat me well but I will be checking SWFA out on Black Friday.
10x seller said it was a pre SWFA scope. That would be a Tasco if my research is correct. Reports said quality slipped around that time but for the price, I think its worth a shot.
Is there any way to date the scope? When did SWFA take over?

Old vs. New. Have the naked one on my Tikka now but haven't shot it yet. Have a feeling it's going back on the 10/22 to make room for a 10XMQ. Kinda dig the no frills look. Let guys shoot it then tell them it's a top secret prototype.

I have the 3-15x42 SS and like it a lot. I have been using for a while and it never skipped a beat. I like FFP scopes, so it fits well with the way I shoot.

The FOV is a little narrower than on the SS 3-9x42 and contrast is a touch lower. However, resolution is excellent and side focus is very useful if you like to extend the range a little.

ILya

I wish they had an MOA/MOA option. I know, I know, but it is a personal thing or like.

Can't argue with that. I am a mil guy personally, but it is really just a matter of what you are used to.

It always takes me a little adjustment when I test a MOA/MOA scope, so I try not to mix them in the same test. However, once adjusted I see very little practical difference between MOA/MOA and Mil/Mil scopes.

ILya

Any chance they'll put a regular duplex in one of those SS's?

I called SWFA last week and asked if there were ever "Special Runs" of either the 3-9 or 3-15 made in MOA or if there were any in the works.....The Tech guy was semi offended and responded something like "If there were I would not be at liberty to discuss or divulge that information"....

So that, to me, means.....maybe they are doing an MOA reticle?

I actually had a group of folks out last July and we did a bunch of comparisons.
I took a flier on a Primary Arms 4-14X FFP Mil/Mil. With all of the different shooters, out to just a tick short of a mile that PA flat em-bare-assed the SWFA for target recognition.

Understand that I don't think the PA is the second comming, but it is certainly MUCH more than it's $230 price tag. And quite frankly, that SWFA isn't worth the $750 they want for it. The gent that brought out the SWFA did so for me, as I was REALLLLLLY wanting one. After shooting it, I'm absolutely thrilled that I took the flier on the PA. That scope is replacing my others.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I just sent payment out on a 10x. Sometimes for me simple is better.

Considering that the 3-9 can't be adjusted by parallax (called and asked them), I think that scope is a waste personally. FFP, mil-quad reticle, turrets, and parallax set (permanently) for 100yds???

Not to mention he sounded semi-offended when I asked that too...

The 3-9x42 SS is a FFP design.

If you get bored with it, throw it on a 10/22 with a 25 MOA rail and watch the fun begin. I paid $200 for my naked SWFA 10xMD but am sold on the 10xMQ, and its still in the mail.

Yep, sorry - brain and fingers not on the same wavelength...