Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics SWFA SS hype

Funny how perspectives differ. Would you still think the glass quality is most important if the scope could not be relied upon to consistently "aim to hit the target"? The interesting thing is, that neither glass quality nor mechanical function are discrete "yes or no", "black or white", "on or off" type of characteristics. There is a scale of optical quality and a scale of mechanical reliability and precision. We all have to decide where on each scale we require our scopes to fall. For me, I'm happy with the optical quality of almost any of today's scopes, so middle of the scale or higher is perfectly fine for my needs. When it comes to mechanical reliability and precision, I demand that my scopes hold zero and adjust correctly. Not just most of the time, but every time. That means that for me, I want my scopes to fall in the top end of the mechanical quality scale. Others may have different priorities, and that's fine with me.

So to use your phraseology, I guess I'm just not really interested in the Leupold line, for the most part (except for very specific applications), but there definitely is a "golden ring" cult on the Fire and elsewhere.

Three buddies have SS’s a 6x and two 10x. I’m not impressed at all with their glass or clarity.

Thats where I'm at too,it needs to track well and track reliably every time. I gave up on leupolds after too many failures to even hold zero or adjust properly. Would i love leupold to get their chidt together? Hell yes. Who wouldnt? Statements like ab2506's actually make me wonder how much experience a guy like that really has. Probably not too damn much, especially at longer range shooting. Hell, ive had most of my leupolds give up the ghost at the range just shooting 100 yard targets.

How do you break scopes at 100? Perhaps your experience should be questioned?

Seriously? That's a legitimate question?

I got a 3x9 SWFA for Christmas, and it was sold without being mounted. Tunnel vision at 3X and the blurry edges coupled with terrible eyebox sent it packing quick. Maybe those things are not important to some, but the list of negative attributes was just too long for me.

I got a 3x9 SWFA for Christmas, and it was sold without being mounted. Tunnel vision at 3X and the blurry edges coupled with terrible eyebox sent it packing quick. Maybe those things are not important to some, but the list of negative attributes was just too long for me.

I got a 3x9 SWFA for Christmas, and it was sold without being mounted. Tunnel vision at 3X and the blurry edges coupled with terrible eyebox sent it packing quick. Maybe those things are not important to some, but the list of negative attributes was just too long for me.

I got a 3x9 SWFA for Christmas, and it was sold without being mounted. Tunnel vision at 3X and the blurry edges coupled with terrible eyebox sent it packing quick. Maybe those things are not important to some, but the list of negative attributes was just too long for me.

So, I'm hardly qualified to speak here as I'm just getting into dialing.

I've always run Leupolds, the 2.5x8 being a favorite. I like they're size, weight and clarity.
But where I hunt Blacktails, there's plenty of opportunities for shots well over 300 yards and I feel I need to do better than just holding over....which is just guessing, for the most part.

So I sprang for a couple of SS 6X MQ's from a fellow 24HR campfire member.
One is on the Ruger American .223 and the other rides on my Kimber Hunter 7mm-08.
With no time or place to shoot POA/POI, I ran the calc's through a ballistic program and sighted in.

After a quick morning hunt, I set up my steel plates at 300 and 400 yard (12" plates).
I dialed for 300 and shot twice - dead center X2 (7mm).
Dialed for 400 and sent two - one dead center, the other I pulled slightly but still was well on steel!
I'm jazzed!! This is exactly what I wanted and it ran perfectly.

Right now the range goes to 400 yards, but as soon as I can snag another 12" plate I'll go to 500.
I'm heading there in just a few minutes with a bucket full of .223 rounds and a goodly pile of 7-08"s. And I'll be burning a ton of ammo there all spring and summer.

The SWFA scopes have (for me) shown that they are as capable as many folks here have claimed,
Yes they're big. Yes they're heavy. I can live with that. The glass to me is just as good as my Leupolds and I really like the reticle.....it works for me.

By summer's end, I'll have a lot more experience with these scopes and dialing. If it works as well as I believe it will, there will be a couple of their 3x9's purchased during the Black Friday sale.

Not all of my rifles need to dial... several will stay slim and trim with set and forget scopes on deck - all are Leupolds and I'm very comfortable with that. Use what works for you.

BSA,

Yup, I always run the turret back to my zero after engaging targets further out.
No surprises that way.

I waited too long before going out today. I wanted that nice warm 60* + weather we had predicted.
I got it OK, but along with it came the wind and I got to use the windage mils in the reticle for hold off.
It worked just fine until 400 yards.... the little 60 gr Hornadys I was slinging were parachutes in the gusts.
The 7-08 did much better all around. Elevation values for both was spot on.

I'll be loading longer, heavier bullets in the .223 soon. I just finished mod'ing a magazine for them.
I have two Kimber Hunters - the 7-08 above and a 6.5 CM that I really like.
Both will probably wear SWFA 3x9's by the end of the year. They're both hunting rifles and as such will be running something appropriate for their task - steel is for fun and learning.

BT53