Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles SWFA 1x4 durability

Soooo........I've had one one my 'social' LET for a while and like it.

I'm debating optics for a .450 Bushmaster build and, for what I'll use it for, the same scope fits. Anyone had one on .458, .50, etc for any period of time?

George

I have one and like it, but it's just on a .308 AR and I haven't put more than a few hundred rounds through it, so tagging for interest. I do like those short fat turrets though, wish they'd put those on the 6x and 3-9x!

I have had a couple for 2-3 years but they haven't been on anything very challenging as far as recoil goes, but the SWFA scope line is typically pretty durable in general.

I'd be willing to put one on a 450 if needed & I think SWFA will stand behind it in any case.

MM

My thoughts after having this one for a year or two;The glass isn't anything to brag about, it's not a true 1X, and it does have a little distortion, but it's good enough, tracks true and holds zero. That's what I consider most important in a scope in that price range. The illumination also works well and is daylight bright so using it on 1X at short ranges is easy. Mine fell off the bench a while back and landed on the ocular housing, bent it, freezing up the power selector (pictured below). I pried it back up in place with a pocket knife until the power selector moved freely again and put 10 more rounds back into the center of a steel plate at 100 yards. For what it cost it has been a very good value, would not hesitate to buy another one.

I think the 1x4 is the least durable of the SWFA line. I was about to put one on a .375 but read were a couple of folks had them go tits up from recoil....I left it on the AR. Another member had one take a short fall and the turret was pushed into the scope body. It's one of SWFA's scopes that's NOT "OK for .50 cal".

Isn't this the one that is made in the Philippines instead of Japan now?

I had two and sold one, it is now made in the Philippines. It's OK I guess but I am not enamored with them any longer. I have the remaining scope on a plinker, the first one I had I drop tested it for a while on pine straw/average dirt and it held zero but then I could move the reticle by pushing laterally on the elevation turret, they gave me a new one. I had a NF 1-4 once, the optics purely sucked clear in the middle but fisheye outside the reticle, the optics may still suck, OTOH I dropped that rifle by accident a few times and the optic always held zero and returned to zero when you dialed it. FOR the money I guess the SWFA is OK but I would spring for a NF if I could possibly afford it.

That was me. A short fall onto carpet, while attached to an AR leaning against a bookcase. (My fault, my fault, my most grievous fault.)

The length of the fall (short) and the force of the impact (mild) should NOT have punched any turret (the top) so deeply into the tube of any scope as it did on this one.

SWFA sent me a new one, gratis. They said they didn't have the ability to make a repair. Thanks, SWFA.

I'll continue to use it on the AR for hunting, but I'd never trust it for a fighting rifle where there's a possibility of having to hit the dirt.

Who’s mount are you running in that photo?

That's a Badger Ordnance mount.