I recently made a switch to the SWFA 12X MRAD scopes on a couple of my rifles. There are a couple reasons I went this route.

- I wanted to transition to mil/mil
- the rear-parallax SWFA is perfect for a southpaw to reach all the controls from prone/bipod
- a whole bunch of erector travel (43.5 mils, or 149.5 moa)
- a nice modern reticle with 10 mils below horizontal
- excellent pricing, I got these like-new from the SWFA Sample List
- all the features I need in a LR scope.

The extra gravy from selling the MK4s I rolled into a Vortex Razor 65mm spotter and a nice tripod. So for me it was a win/win all around.

I was able to look through one of these scopes last spring at the Icebreaker, and was really impressed looking at targets out to 2000 yards. I have had one of the older mildot/moa 16X for a number of years and it has been 100% reliable. So I went into these 12X with full confidence.

I just got these in the mail today and got them mounted up. In the near future I'll get them out for zeroing, and run them out to ELR distances. I'll be going through my own learning curve using mils, instead of moa, but looking forward to it.

Eye relief is very forgiving on these. 3.3" is published, but there is a lot of lattitude.

Here are a few pics.









These reticle pics are not representative of optical clarity. I was shooting the pic through a double-pane window at an oblique angle, at hills about 4-5 miles away. Just want to illustrate the reticle.











These pigs will get slathered in Krylon when it warms up outside. 308 top, 30-06 bottom. These are both mounted on 45 moa rails, and I expect to have over 30 mils/100 moa after 100 yard zeroing in the erector, plus the 10 mils/34 moa in the reticle.

Looking forward to your review! Though I will say I don't know what I'm more impressed by, the reticle or the view from your house! Congrats, sir, on living where you do!

PS- A 10X or 12X version of that scope would work great for pronghorns!

Very nice Shane! I bet you'll like the mil/mil system and the reticle in practice. The owner of the one I brought to the Icebreaker last year remains quite pleased. He's since converted ALL his rigs to SS mil/mil setups.

40 mils of elevation?! That's got to get you well into the transonic range, doesn't it?

This is good stuff. I have an older 10X SS that I need to send back and I was going to ask them if I could upgrade to the newer version.

I'm switching to mil/mil also.



Travis

When the dust settles, I think I'll have a lone 6x42 Leupold that has MOA anything.

That's what I'm working toward. It is tough to sell the 6X42's though.



Travis

Fixed 12x is my personal favorite... I'm running one on the Rock .260 and a 10x on the .243 . Coupl'a pards are running 12x on 7RMs and .300 RUMs. They all have enough travel to make 1400 yds easily... and mine are in low Talleys.

Dexter the .260...

Been thinking long and hard about one of these for the 700 5R to replace a two year old SS 10x. I really like the reticle and wouldn't mind the extra bit of power. Think I'll stick with my 20 MOA base tho...

Definitely keep us posted. You're one of the few guys on here I would give credence to on this review. Thanks.

Carl, yes it was the 12X that you brought that influenced my decision.

I expect to have probabaly 30-ish mils available in the erector with a 100 yard zero. I did some QuickTARGET calcs and it looks like 30 mils would take my 208 AMax/2600 fps 308Win load out to about 2000 yards on erector travel alone. That should be more than plenty, and there is the extra 10 mils in the reticle too. In reality I've played with my 308 with reasonable good results out to a mile or so, but it kind of falls apart beyond that distance. The nice thing is that the scope will not be the limiting factor in how far out I can shoot.

I'll get these zero'd soon and share the actual el available.

Shane

Adding these 12X's puts mil/mil on all three of my serious LR rifles. The third being the 20.5" 308/HTG/Bushy 10X mil/mil.

I've still got MOA turret scopes on my sporter '06, heavy AR15, and 10/22. That will probably remain for a while.

Traitor.

I was watching those scopes on the sample list. Planned to buy one as soon as I got paid for coyote furs. That money came yesterday. Oh well, wait for another one to show up or find one used.

When I saw them on the Sample List there were five available. I scooped two, and the rest were gone in a couple days. It's a pretty good deal.

I'm running more and more mil/mil these days too. I have some of the midway vortex 3-15's, the midway weaver 3-10 mil/mil and SS's in 3-15, 3-9, and fixed 10. None of them are real expensive scopes but they all work.

Bb

Running my 10x for the second time today, and I have to say with some concern, the clicks are feeling a little mushy. I hope it works in as I use it more.. Nice glass, and I love the reticle. I can't wait to get it out to the prairie dogs..

I went out today to zero these scopes, and shoot a few rounds at distance. Broz joined me at a nearby shooting location.

The rifles are two that I've had for a while. A 308Win, and 30-06. Both are Rem 700.

The 308 is a factory Rem 1/12 varmint barrel, McMillan A5, Timney trigger, with Badger Ordnance bottom metal, brake, 45 MOA rail, and rings.

The 30-06 is wearing a Douglas #7, 1/10 stainless steel bbl, McMillan A2, tuned old style Rem trigger, and Badger Ordnance bottom metal, brake, 45 MOA rail, rings, and bolt knob.

Ammo for both rifles are my own handloads. Moly'd 208 AMax, over RL17, in both rifles.


Here's a couple pics of the 30-06,







We zero'd both rifles at 100 yards. There was a good level of consistency between scopes/rifles. After zeroing, both rifles had 33.X Mils 'up' available.

When I made the final 100 yard adjustments, I re-zero'd the turrets, then cranked the turrets top to bottom, stop to stop, twice, then went back to zero, and fired a check round at the 100 yard target. Both rifles/scopes centered the check round, dead-center. Here's a pic of the target, with the check round circled.







Next we took the rifles to distance.

The 308 we took to 1110 yards. Conditions were 5-15 mph wind from 2 oclock, 35F, 25.5 Hg. 10.2 mils put us a tad high. 10.0 mils put us right on target holding 1.5 mils wind.

The 30-6 we took directly to 1 mile. Conditions were not letting us see splash at that distance with the frozen ground, wind, and fairly depleted energy of the bullet.

Overall, I'm very happy with these scopes.

Great review! More please..

Thanks for the review!


How would the reticle work for low light evening/morning hunts?

The reticle wouldn't be my choice for low light conditions. As you can see it is pretty fine.

I believe the traditional mildot, heavy duplex, or post type reticle would be superior in low light.

I have heard this a lot, but if anyone wants my $0.02, I haven't had a problem with it. I shot an elk at opening light at 450 yds in a saddle and had no problem with the reticle. I was using the 3-9 set to 9. I could barely make out his horns, but had an easy time putting the crosshairs on his chest.

I may be missing the point of what you are saying, and I don't like to contradict people who have a lot more experience than me, but this is my experience.

Disclaimer: My $0.02 is only worth about $0.005 on the open market....

I suspect that Leupolds new Firedot Reticle might work well for the guy that needs both a fine tectical reticle and the ability to see the reticle in poor light. The dot oinly covers .3ths of a Mil, and can be turned down until it can be barely seen in bad light. E

Nick,

I'm always open to hearing others experiences. Your positive experience in low light is good to hear.

My remarks were pure speculation and opinion. I haven't yet actually tried these at first/last light.

The crux of my comment was simply that all else being equal, a thicker reticle should be easier to see in bad light, than a finer reticle.

Nick, out of curiosity I went over to the SWFA site to look at the subtensions on the 3-9X, but looks like they are not provided.

The illustration of the reticle looks heavier than that on the fixed power models though.

The thin center of the 12X subtends .04 mils, or .14 moa.

Shane,

I was shooting with Carl this morning and he pointed out the same thing. The 3-9 appears to have a slightly larger subtension for the reticle. I did not realize that to this point, but they seem noticeably darker and thicker.

It would seem that the 3-9 really is a great hunting scope in this case.

But the real lesson is that I just need to STFU when I think I know better than you!

A TMR reticle that covers 1" at 100 yards sucks ball sacks.

That's the same subtension as the Heavy Duplex. Surprising that the TMR is that heavy...

The 3x9 is most defiantly darker & thicker than the fixed powers.

While better I find the 3x9 to be sorely lacking in dim light also.

When it comes time for killing, give me a good ole plain duplex reticle every time.

I just picked up one of these for my 308 after using a couple different ones on my friend's rigs. I am hoping to get the same consitency with mine as the others have. I do love the reticle.

Saturday I took the 12X SWFA out for it's first real day of field shooting.

This scope is mounted in Badger Ord rings, on a 45 MOA Badger Ord base. This arrangement gives 33 Mils 'up' available, and 10 mils 'down'.

Rifle is a Rem 700 308 Varmint, cut to 22", braked, bedded in an A5, with an aluminum Badger Ord M4 floorplate, and a Timney flat trigger.




Ammo used was moly'd 208 AMax over 49.0gr RL17, on Win brass, lit with a CCI 200 primer, and an OAL of 3.05". Velocity in conditions was around 2590 fps. The ammo performed with excellent consistency to 1200 yards, darn good to 1500 considering conditions, but fell apart past that distance.

Conditions at the firing point were El 4600', about 25.3 Hg pressure, 40F temp, and wind 15-30 mph, from about 4:30 (half value).




Targets were shot at distances from just over 200 yards, out to a mile (25 mils, wind was too much to report any type of consistent accuracy out there, but that's not a scope issue). A lot of turret cranking, returning to zero between targets. Fired a total of 72 rounds.

The scope performed perfectly. I can't think of anything negative about the scope or how it performed. I'm very pleased with the decision to go this route.

Bitchin'...



Travis

Nick, Carl, and another LR shooter met up with me for some LR shooting Saturday.

Nick's 260 launching 140 Bergers at over 2900 fps was pretty darn consistent at a mile, considering conditions. I was impressed.

Also, Carl had brought along a pair of the 10X Bushnell BRFs. They were ranging a mile with ease. Nice piece of kit.

can someone tell me what one of the $300 ones accually weigh? I know they are listed at 21oz but have heard some talk how heavy they are ?

I think I need to move down that way.

Can I live with you until I find a place?

I got a 10X SS on my .243 that I need to put through the paces this week...


Travis

I believe 21 oz is pretty close.

6titude.

There it is, 20.9 oz for the 6X.

The other power SWFAs can't be a whole lot different.

I had forgotten just how much I like that scope and reticle till I shot yours again. I'm planning on getting one for a 22LR sometime here. The spotter with a reticle sure was nice too.

Shane is pretty slick single loading that 308...

Carl, I've just done it enough it's practically a subconscious movement.

Ya know what I wanted to do Saturday, and never got to it/kinda forgot about it,

I wanted to get all four of us doped on the same target, and fire together on command. Four shots at once, 1000 yards, give or take. Just for S&G.

That'd be fun, maybe we can catch up with you another time and make that happen.

That would be fun. We definitely need to meet up again, I realized I managed to forget to take you up on the offer to shoot that .308. My loss for sure.