SWFA 10x42...surprisingly good.

[Anonymous]

A friend turned me on to these knowing my enthusiasm for fixed power scopes.

I didn't expect much, I sort of expected a gimmicky "cheap" scope. These are pretty much state of the art 1985 technology with an NSN contract number.

I'm pleasantly surprised to date.

 

[Cleveland48]

I have heard that they are a great scope for the price. Everyone says they track exceptionally well.


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[Thebear_78]

They are excellent value for the money. I think it will serve you well.

You can get zero stop shims for them that make them more user friendly


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[Guy Miner]

Those scopes have a great reputation. I think Scotty has one or two "SS" scopes.

Several of my buddies own them, and the ones I've used were very good. Not sure why I never bought one...

Guy

 

[Jimbeaux82]

I have one on a Tikka T3 tactical 308 that I shoot out to 1000 yds. I am very satisfied with its performance for $300

 

[SJB358]

Those scopes have a great reputation. I think Scotty has one or two "SS" scopes.

Several of my buddies own them, and the ones I've used were very good. Not sure why I never bought one...

Guy

I am up to 5 of the 6x's right now and 2 of the 3x9's. I haven't found anything else that comes close for the money.

The 6X's are my favorite, I have tried to find light, better, etc scopes that work and I end up putting the 6's back on my guns. Never had a 10X since the 6X's work so well but I'd like to try one..

 

[Europe]

Scotty, Hodgeman, Jim and Bear. how are they ( swfa ) in low light compared to ?

Earle, always makes fun of me because I like ( and have had good luck with the Summit, Klassik, and Zenith S & B scopes) and he is probably correct, there are probably much better scopes on the market today for a lot less money. I am or will be soon looking for a scope for a 7mm-08 for my granddaughter.

I gave up on Leupold a few years ago, imho they are just not the company they once were.

Thanks guys

 

[Thebear_78]

I found the 6x to be good in low light, the 16x would get a little dark earlier than other scopes I have.


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[SJB358]

I found the 6x to be good in low light, the 16x would get a little dark earlier than other scopes I have.


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Same here. Been using the 6’s for a few years. Haven’t lost out on any animal to this point. A couple I shot right at last legal light and they were just fine. If I were hunting super thick canopy at expected close ranges I might choose something else but I wouldn’t stay home if that was what I had on my gun either.

 

[Europe]

Bear, Scotty, thanks for the reply. "IF" I am looking at the right scope, they are almost at "throw away" prices, so not sure how I can lose by trying one.

7mm-08
Elk and Coues in Arizona

scope her rifle with a SWFA, thanks

 

[6mm Remington]

I found the 6x to be good in low light, the 16x would get a little dark earlier than other scopes I have.


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Same here. Been using the 6’s for a few years. Haven’t lost out on any animal to this point. A couple I shot right at last legal light and they were just fine. If I were hunting super thick canopy at expected close ranges I might choose something else but I wouldn’t stay home if that was what I had on my gun either.

Scotty have you guys tried the 6x42mm Leupold. That's my favorite 6x but honestly I have not looked at a SWFA scope before. I really like it and the optics on it are great. The 6x36mm is also a really nice scope from Leupold. And to add what's SWFA stand for?

 

[gerry]

Been looking at the SWFA scopes recently too, the 6x and 3-9x42 in particular. If a 222 or 223 ever showed up in the house that fixed 10x would be an interesting option.

 

[SJB358]

I found the 6x to be good in low light, the 16x would get a little dark earlier than other scopes I have.


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Same here. Been using the 6’s for a few years. Haven’t lost out on any animal to this point. A couple I shot right at last legal light and they were just fine. If I were hunting super thick canopy at expected close ranges I might choose something else but I wouldn’t stay home if that was what I had on my gun either.

Scotty have you guys tried the 6x42mm Leupold. That's my favorite 6x but honestly I have not looked at a SWFA scope before. I really like it and the optics on it are great. The 6x36mm is also a really nice scope from Leupold. And to add what's SWFA stand for?

David, I’ve used a couple of the 6x42’s and liked them. The older one runs really well, but the last one I used went haywire. Great scopes, but like my VX6 they just didn’t work the way they were designed.

Bear, Scotty, thanks for the reply. "IF" I am looking at the right scope, they are almost at "throw away" prices, so not sure how I can lose by trying one.

7mm-08
Elk and Coues in Arizona

scope her rifle with a SWFA, thanks

There isn’t anything else out there for that price point with the same features. They are rugged, repeatable and I don’t know of another scope that cost 3x’s as much that’ll track better. The reticle is so easy to learn and very useful. It’s truly a 2 shot sight in. First shot fired on paper, lay the reticle over the target, see what the adjustments are then make em, I’d bet a buck the neck round is in the bull if you made the correct dope. They are heavy but repeatability and rugged features don’t seem to come “light” these days.

SWFA stands for Southwest Firearms Inc. They have a store around Red Oak, Texas.

 

[Europe]

I believe you Scotty and the price is sure as heck right. She is young and I doubt if she will even notice the weight. I was hoping for some more "specific" thoughts on which one you would buy for her rifle and hunt. I have sent instructions to order three of them. If they work out I will have saved enough money to fly back to Crete for some good Greek food.

Like Hodgeman I have always preferred fixed power scopes, but a little variety will let her decide for herself.

Hodgeman you started this thread so thank you, you may be responsible, in a round about way, for providing the funds for my airline ticket to Crete.

 

[Anonymous]

The market for good quality fixed powers is getting perilously thin.

I've had good luck with Leupold, but I have to agree- they aren't as competitive as they used to be. I still think their 6x42 FX3 is a tough act to beat.

Meopta and IOR make some good fixed powers but seem to command a high price in today's market. S&B is fantastic but "value for money" gets thin out there when you can get something 99% as good for 25% of the money.

My only criticism so far for the SWFA is that it's just a "big" scope. That's more of an aesthetic thing though and doesn't mean a thing when it comes to performance. My limited use to date shows that it's rugged and the tracking is 100%. I will most likely equip a hunting rifle with the 6x at some point in the near future. I actually wish they made one with capped turrets and a simpler reticle for simple minded guys like me.

 

[Europe]

Hodgeman, thank you for responding, it is appreciated and you are correct on all points.

I am the first to admit that my husbands love affair with S & B is dated at best. We have several and in all fairness to their scopes, we have had zero problems and zero complaints with them.

Scopes have gotten better and cheaper and that is a good thing. I am not adverse to trying new things and that is why I was comfortable ordering from them based on the recommendation of yourself, Scotty, Bear and others. Will I feel they are everything the S & B's are after receiving them, probably not, but for the price, if they are everything you and Scotty say they are---close enough. Also she is young and the extra weight will not even be noticeable to her. Plus, the rifle, hunts and scope are all free, to her, so hopefully she is smart enough to know that you never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Plus, as mentioned earlier the saving allowed me to upgrade my ticket to Crete. And thanks to Fotis, I will be staying in a small village ( Chora Sfakia ) eating some Sfakian Pie by the end of the week

 

[SJB358]

I believe you Scotty and the price is sure as heck right. She is young and I doubt if she will even notice the weight. I was hoping for some more "specific" thoughts on which one you would buy for her rifle and hunt. I have sent instructions to order three of them. If they work out I will have saved enough money to fly back to Crete for some good Greek food.

Like Hodgeman I have always preferred fixed power scopes, but a little variety will let her decide for herself.

Hodgeman you started this thread so thank you, you may be responsible, in a round about way, for providing the funds for my airline ticket to Crete.

April, for my money the 6X is a complete monster. It is a large scope but honestly I’ve chased my tail to find something that really bests it and to this point I haven’t. The 3x9 SS MQ FFP is an Amazing scope as well. Smaller in size than the 6X and offers a little flexibility in power range. The 6X has a bit better eye relief than the 3x9 at top end magnification but I haven’t seen that a problem on anything up to a 7 Mag. After that I want a touch more eye relief.

Hodgeman I understand wanting a simpler reticle but most of the time I forget about everything but the center unless I’m using it for hold offs. There isn’t a reticle out there that is more intuitive than the MilQuad. You have to erase thinking in MOA and just dial where you want the bullet to go. It took a second but once you dial in Mils it doesn’t get much easier and it is immediate corrections for missed shots if you can observe your impacts.

I think you will lose the fine subtensions near dark but I’ve had no problems resolving the center in the last few years for any shot I’ve wanted to take.

 

[Anonymous]

I am the first to admit that my husbands love affair with S & B is dated at best. We have several and in all fairness to their scopes, we have had zero problems and zero complaints with them.

Scopes have gotten better and cheaper and that is a good thing.

The S&B folks make a fine product, but I think that their market advantage is less since CNC machining technology got good enough to apply to optics. It may sound like heresy, but that applies to all of the alpha glass makers. That manufacturing technology has really upped the bar on quality and dropped the price on optics across the board. It's a good time to be in the market for a new scope- better and cheaper than ever.

I think your granddaughter will be well pleased with the- it really is a lot of scope and likely better than anything available not that many years ago.

As an interesting aside- in scopes I've always been more interested in tracking and reliability than the optical quality. I might spend days looking though binoculars each season...but I probably don't look through the scope for more than a few minutes combined...and generally, by the time I get to that point I'm more interested in where the bullet is going to hit than the image quality. Of course, I'm hunting wide open mountains and not in timber- but I still think the SWFA is plenty bright for that kind of work. Any of the 6x42s are going to have an exit pupil several times what the human eye can even use. It would have to be some really terrible glass to become unusable in anything other than full dark.

 

[Anonymous]

Hodgeman I understand wanting a simpler reticle but most of the time I forget about everything but the center unless I’m using it for hold offs. There isn’t a reticle out there that is more intuitive than the MilQuad. You have to erase thinking in MOA and just dial where you want the bullet to go. It took a second but once you dial in Mils it doesn’t get much easier and it is immediate corrections for missed shots if you can observe your impacts. .

I've got to admit, I'm pretty new to the whole concept of dialing for drop- for several years I've simply stalked to within 300yards and put the crosshairs in the middle of the front end and let it fly.

Of course, the SWFA is the first scope I've had that is repeatable enough in the tracking to even consider dialing with. Last year with my Leupold, I dialed for a 600 yard shot on steel, once I returned it to my 200 yard zero...it was 5" high from one trip to 600 and back. It holds zero well, but the tracking is pretty dismal for that kind of work.

My scope has the MOA quad- is there an advantage to using the MILS vs. the MOA when I pick up my 6x?

 

[SJB358]

Hodgeman I understand wanting a simpler reticle but most of the time I forget about everything but the center unless I’m using it for hold offs. There isn’t a reticle out there that is more intuitive than the MilQuad. You have to erase thinking in MOA and just dial where you want the bullet to go. It took a second but once you dial in Mils it doesn’t get much easier and it is immediate corrections for missed shots if you can observe your impacts. .

I've got to admit, I'm pretty new to the whole concept of dialing for drop- for several years I've simply stalked to within 300yards and put the crosshairs in the middle of the front end and let it fly.

Of course, the SWFA is the first scope I've had that is repeatable enough in the tracking to even consider dialing with. Last year with my Leupold, I dialed for a 600 yard shot on steel, once I returned it to my 200 yard zero...it was 5" high from one trip to 600 and back. It holds zero well, but the tracking is pretty dismal for that kind of work.

My scope has the MOA quad- is there an advantage to using the MILS vs. the MOA when I pick up my 6x?

I have just gone to mils across the board. Easier for wind calls and smaller numbers to deal with in my head for figuring up drop. They are both numbers but mils have been easier to learn and consistent with range, along with a FFP reticle makes corrections a snap.