People on here have been beating their gums without ever trying a Tract themselves, let alone comparing a Tract with what they think is superior. SWFA has had a lot of mentions.

So, a SWFA 3-15 FFP MOA arrived in the mail today.

Initial thoughts are...heavy, bulky and ordinary-ish glass. Slightly finicky eye box at 15 power but might be better when mounted for a good cheek weld. The glass is "good enough" though.

I like the reticle, but not in FFP. Below 6 power it loses its practicality for hunting - far too fine.

So the Tract Toric beats it on every visual test and feature, thus far. Reticle, turrets (lift and lock, zero stop, covered windage, elevation cap on or cap off), eye box, weight, size and glass (I emphasise that Im a hunter, and thats what I'm assessing for - hunting).

The SWFA has twice the elevation and windage, but the Toric has enough for practical purposes out to 800 odd yards. And you can always fit a tilted rail.

So it will really come down to tracking and reliability. The Tract is partially home on that but it needs a good wringing out hunting Tahr in the Alps. That comes in the spring (November).

Apparently the trendy test is to biff 'scopes onto the ground, but because I'm an all year round hunter that's what I will be doing with them instead. The Toric has had a 8 month head start but I will now be able to compare them both on the range and in the field. They will get plenty of knocks. My expectation is that they will both be reliable and that the features and glass will define which is best, but we will see.

The SWFA will be mounted on a very accurate Schultz & Larsen 6.5x55 (replacing a Sightron S-Tac 3-16).


Last edited by NZSika; 07/09/18.