Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Failures & known issues -- SWFA SS scopes

I'd like to discuss failures and known issues of SS scopes by SWFA, both fixed and variables. Please share any failures or issues you've had with them, such as tracking, failure to hold zero, reticle subtension errors, or even lesser issues. If you must, include pet peeves such as turret height, but that really isn't the point of this discussion.

This thread is somewhat similar to another thread about Leupold tracking and zero retention, which can be found here:

Leupold thread HERE

I've owned at least eight SWFA scopes and haven't had a major issue yet, that wasn't a glaring screw up on my part. Since this is still a pretty small sample, I'm hoping the 24HourCampfire community can provide more feedback, just lilke the Leupold thread above.

Thanks,

Jason

I'll kick this off...

These are all relatively minor issues, in my mind:

1. Older fixed power SS scopes had built-in sunshades that could unscrew. I have not observed this with recent examples.

2. Fixed power scopes exhibit glare off of exterior ocular lens. Given the price and mechanical performance, I don't have a problem with this. I also subscribe to the belief that a scope is an aiming device, not an observation device and have found this issue manageable.

3. On some 10x scopes, distances on the rear parallax ring are not always correct. Easy to correct this however.

Would also appreciate feedback from those with extensive use of SWFA scopes, without failures.

Jason

This is going to be a very short thread ☺

Trystan

I bought a used 20x fixed power for 250.00. After using it for 6 years , I thought I had a tracking issue with it because of an incident when I moved it to another gun. I sent it in to get looked at and SWFA replaced it for free. Turn around time was 11 days from door to door. Don't even know if there was a problem but my new scope is just as good as the old one was with less scratches on it!!!!!!

I have a bunch and dial them all pretty regular. (10x's, 6x's and a 1-4x)

Sent one 6x back when it started tracking weird. They sent me a new one quick. Pretty sure it was the rear ring being too tight as I've since had another one do that.

No issues other than that.

Con #1 Its a Tasco

Con#2 Looks like a Tasco

Con#3 Glass like a Tasco

Plus#1 They track good

Plus#2 They are Cheap

I personally don"t like them....I tried one for a few minutes....Put it in the sink and it filled up with water.....The glass seemed sub par....The finish seemed cheap...To me they just look cheap....The turrets seemed nice and solid...... But to each there own. Different strokes for different folks.

I have been using two, 6x and one, 10x for awhile now. I had one 6x that was not right, fresh out of the box. It went back and was replaced. That can happen with any scope. Other than that, they have been great scopes. I do not do a lot of turret spinning, but what I have done, they have been spot on. My favorite is the 10x, as my eyes aren't as good as they used to be.

When was this?

I've not crashed one yet, but I'm only using six of them compared to a lot more Leupolds. My dialing is also shorter range so no massive changes.

Read about a failure second hand of a 1-4x a while back on ARAIG's. Don't remember the end result...

Back in the spring...It was the fixed 10x model......

Six 10x on the rimfire herd: no problems.
A 3-15 I just can't warm up to. Pretty sure the reticle is canted pretty good but cannot confirm as I just don't shoot that gun very often.
1-4 done in by a slug gun. It still needs to go back. LOTS of slop in the turrets, and yes the set screws are tight and 242'd. Everything on that gun is locktighted. It survived a couple hundred rounds on an AR prior to 220f duty.

For me they have been dead nuts reliable and with a milquad reticle sight in is a two shot proposition for the most part. I wish they were a touch more compact and I wish I could have a shorty windage knob. Some of my guns go in a eberlestock to and from hunting areas and I don't like worrying about it. And yes I've seen the red cap trick but with my luck it'll be a source of problems.

Got probably a dozen now, had friends buy a few more. No failures. 6x, 10x, 1-4x, 3-9x. Son took a hard fall on rocks 2 weeks ago and bashed the windage turret really hard. Ended up being knocked off 1.5" at 100 yards. Not really a failure but wishing it hadn't moved any.

Reports of SWFA scope failures appear uncommon, but it seems that the 1-4x is the one mentioned most.

I'm guessing that scope ends up on AR's most often, mine is. Recoil may be something they don't see as much as other scopes.

My boys and I have 4 of them. Two 3x9s and two 3x15s. We dial them hard,and shoot them a lot. No issues. Good glass, excellent mil quad reticle,ALWAYS return to zero.We have killed a lot of critters with them. Absolute best buy for the money.

I killed a 1-4X in less than 30 rounds. First failed to focus. Now it won't focus, flakes of debris on the inside of the lense, and is now roughly a fixed 1.75X magnification ring seized up. This was on a .358 win so not exactly uber magnum recoil.

Not impressed by that. We shall see how well the other SWFA I have hold up as I get to shoot them more.

-Luke

Send it back.

I killed a 1-4 and they sent me a new one.

Seems like they ain't quite as bulletproof as some would like to believe.

I had a 12x fail to maintain zero..... after about 800 rounds of .260, I had to adjust the zero .1 MIL right.

I've thought I killed one twice.... both times it was busted base/ring screws and not the scope.

Just strapped a 3-9 HD atop a 7 Rem Mag... looking forward to wringing it out soon.