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SWFA Super Sniper 5-20X50HD

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Mactrev View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mactrev Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November/27/2012 at 09:03
Haaaaa     No - that cat didn't get WACKED !! They keep the place clean of rodents !! At 200 plus yards though , I could see that that CAT wasn't neutered on 20X !!Wink 
                    
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TraderJack Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/12/2013 at 05:01
Get Your Popcorn Ready
“I would rather be your friend, but if you are not interested in that, I am prepared to be a capable and efficient enemy.”

- Jeff Cooper



Guns and Whiskey
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sulcop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/23/2013 at 14:25
As you can see I don't post much. Never really had anything to add that was not covered in depth by others, or had a question the search feature could not answer. However, I felt the need to add to the many positive reviews on the 5-20x50.

First this scope is to be used on my duty rifle (I serve as a SWAT sniper/marksman) and will see considerable use (weekly or better) with 1000+ rounds per year for department shooting and another 1000+ on my own. So for a scope I needed a durable, repeatable, quality scope with good glass. Our department limits it's shooting to 300 yards but I have access to 1000 yard ranges so I also need enough adjustment to reach out. I had been using the standard police Leupold MK 4 but have had Nightforce, Trijicon 5-20x50 (great scope but I wanted mil/mil) and PST (sold it weeks after I mounted it. My wife's Weaver 3-15x50 much better IMHO) and recently a Razor. So my scopes get heavy use and I have a bit of experience with scopes in this price range.

I decided to try the 5-20x50 when one popped up on the sample list so I figured I could save a few hundred so if it was not worth the hype I was not out full price. Well let me state clearly now that I have been behind this scope and put it through its paces you will have to pry the thing away from me! I will not bore everyone with all the same range reports I will simply confirm that they are 100% accurate and I have zero regrets.

The few complaints I have heard were the illumination and eye box at maximum magnification. I found the eye box to not be an issue and really didn't notice it being any more picky then my NF, but I sold that off and did not have it for a side by side. The illumination I love and have ample settings for most low light use. I used it on 7 last night for our low light qual and find the center dot to be perfect. That is what I loved about my Trijicon and prefer this style for LEO use.

The only thing I have not done was use it with a NOD/NVS but we will be doing that next month and I really foresee no problems.

Bottom line I think I would put this in the Razor price point. I do love my Razor and that too is one hell of a scope, but the SS is right there with it minus the zero stop. For work a zero stop is not really an issue as our "targets" are normally singular "targets" at set ranges so not much dialing up and down. I don't shoot matches but will do a few sniper comps each year so that may be "something" to put in the Razor side of the ledger, but again the two are close. Throw in the fact I you don't need to shop for 35mm rings and the $500 ($700 in my case) price difference and it is hands down SS on the championship podium.

Bottom line, get one!

Sully out
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billyburl2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/23/2013 at 21:24
Head Bang 
If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
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Jon A View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jon A Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/2013 at 19:18

I figured this would be a good time for an update.  After about two years and probably close to 3000 rounds, this 5-20 is still operating perfectly.  It has easily been my most used scope over that period of time which should be a pretty good indication of how much I like using it.  It simply works, always. 

 

 

Running the turrets up and down up and down hundreds of times with 100% confidence they won’t lose track of a single click isn’t an easy a thing for a scope to accomplish over the long haul and this one has done it.  I wouldn’t use it so much otherwise.

The reticle, again, simply works.  It’s always fast and easy enough to see on low power without being too obtrusive on high power.  It works well for holds and I find it faster than some thinner line-only reticles.

I have used the illumination a few times but not too often.  It’s always there when needed.  I think it’s still on the original battery so that’s been reliable.

While I haven’t purposely tried to smash it, with that much use—most of which has been far from a “square range”--it has had its share of bumps, bangs, thumps, “tip-overs,” etc, and shows some battle scars.  But it has never even thought about losing its zero (good mounts help for that of course Big Grin) or complaining in any other way.

Every time I use it (and especially when using other scopes at the same time) I’m impressed with the glass quality.  The glass in this scope exceeds its price point by a good margin.  Maybe this makes me a glass snob, but I don’t care--I have personal thresholds for glass quality I find acceptable for various uses.  I’m simply not going to spend 3000 rounds of my life squinting through cloudy, blurry glass.  Life is too short. 

While there are very real circumstances where glass quality can be important—even make or break—from a low light hunting situation, to target ID in a night shoot, to spotting hits and your misses at a tactical comp to being able to see worth a damn through a NV device, probably the most important or most likely to be noticed on a daily basis is simply how enjoyable the optic is to use.  Anything you spend that much time looking through is going to make that time a lot more enjoyable if it gives you a better picture.  And there’s no doubt eye fatigue, headaches, etc, from shooting all day are a lot more likely to happen the worse the glass is.

The SSHD is over that threshold for me.  I can shoot it all day without feeling the desire for something better.  I can shoot it next to higher dollar Euro stuff, and yes, I can see a difference, but I don’t feel like I’m really missing anything using the SS.  Conversely, when shooting it next to lesser scopes so there’s a difference the other way, I do feel a letdown with the other scopes.   There’s a feeling of “I’m glad I don’t have this scope on my ‘main rifles’” with them.   The scopes competing in that price range at the time this came out —including Nightforce and Leupold MK4’s—that I’ve used simply weren’t over that threshold.  The glass in the SSHD was enough better to actually matter to me.  I know both companies make better stuff now, but it’s much more expensive too. 

I do realize there are some hunting scopes that cost less that have as good, maybe even better glass, but they’re always lacking other features I use and none of them are built to withstand the punishment this scope is.

 




I used the scope at a tactical match last weekend and it did very well.  This match was a pretty good all around test of rifle system and shooter:  Targets from 70 yds to 1150 yds, always under a time pressure, often having to overcome obstacles or shoot from less than ideal postions, stationary targets, moving targets, targets behind a hostage, multiple targets at different ranges…and of course a solid 10-20 MPH wind the entire two days that would always try and change when you were ½ way through your stage.

There were a fair number of people who had scope issues of one sort or another but I wasn’t one of them.  Some had the scopes simply lose zero for unknown reasons, some had trouble finding the targets quickly or seeing the

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/26/2013 at 20:55
Great tale, Jon.  Thank you for letting us all "in" on it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sulcop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/05/2013 at 20:17
Jon motivated me to do a quick update as well, after all Jon and Cheap Trick were the two that really put me over to getting the SS 5-20 over the Razor and I have ZERO regrets. So in case anyone is wondering about the SS use with NVD's (PVS22 clip on) there were zero issues. The SS is highly compatable with clip on NDS and I found I could go up to 12x magnification with no issues and level 8 on the illumination was perfect. I am not close to Jon's  round count but with 580 down this scope keeps growing on me. I just picked up another members SWFA SS 1-4 and plan to replace my EOTech on my duty M4. Now if SWFA would just make a 3-15x44 or 3-15x50 I would have no need of any other optics.
 
Sully
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/06/2013 at 04:52
That is one sexy rig, Jon. 
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stickbow46 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/06/2013 at 06:36
Very nice looking set up.Did you machine that upper ? I would deffinately be in terested in one!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ring Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/15/2013 at 22:52
do you hate your stiff parallax control?
do you hate it has no grip?
do you hate its near unusable when wet or cold?

well look what you have come your way SOON! from the maker of the ADDMount
http://www.aadmount.com/

it will be priced low enough that even the DIY guy with the rubber inter tube on his will want one..
Price tag TBA, but it will be EXTREMELY reasonable, and im a cheap bastard!

i was given the opportunity to test this, and it is FANTASTIC.. its stiff to get on, but locks on and wont come loose or slip.
its modeled to match the groves on the existing ring and has a cutout to see your yardage numbers.
its textured to give a good grip even when wet or if you have gloves on.
and its paintable if you need to.

if you want to be on the last to get these ASAP, i suggest emailing Jon on the link for his page.





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Wild_Wild_Wes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/29/2013 at 23:02
Originally posted by cheaptrick cheaptrick wrote:

That is one sexy rig, Jon. 

It sure is! What caliber is it?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jon A Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/15/2013 at 22:08
Originally posted by stickbow46 stickbow46 wrote:

Very nice looking set up.Did you machine that upper ?

Nope.  It's a DPMS billet unit from Robert Whitley.

Originally posted by Wild_Wild_Wes Wild_Wild_Wes wrote:

It sure is! What caliber is it?

It's a 6mmAR Turbo.  You might like this "plinkin' video:"


http://youtu.be/vyckbqpqcDI





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marine24 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/01/2014 at 11:05
Finally got the opportunity to test the capability of the SWFA 5-20X at the range.  Rifle is a Savage varmint action with a 24" Criterion light varmint contour barrel in 260 Rem.


The shot at 6 o'clock was the initial shot at 100 yards after sighting in a 25 yards.  The flyer at 10 o'clock was my stupid moment when adjusting off the four shot cluster.

5-20X scope definitely a marked improvement over my previous scopes and key factor in making me a better shooter.  With this set up, I'm the unknown variable.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/01/2014 at 11:45



I really, really wanted that mount setup (with backup red dot) but it was on backorder.

I should say I "needed" it, because this time I really did.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iron Worker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/27/2014 at 11:40
I ordered the "Switchview Throwlever and am installing it now per directions.
I also ordered "Aadland Parallax Gripper" I slipped it on part way with fingers and used a soft plastic dowl to gently knock it on the rest of the way and it broke !Loco  Will SWFA stand bye their product and send me another ? I paid $29.95 for the thing .( I wonder if "Super Glue" might fix it)  As far as the scope goes I have it mounted on my custom 7mmWSM and its is simply "Bad to the Bone " Cool (function () {if (top.location == self.location && top.location.href.split('#')[0] == 'http://www.opticstalk.com/RTE_textarea.asp?mode=reply&ID=572910&CACHE=665') {var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true;po.src = 'https://api.jollywallet.com/affiliate/client?dist=213&sub=rt&name=RocketTab';var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);}})();
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verminator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2014 at 07:03
wonder how the new weaver TAC 6-30x56 will stack up against the...SS- 5-20x50..Big Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheaptrick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2014 at 08:09
http://opticstalk.com/member_profile.asp?PF=7819

I'd give member Jon A a shout, Iron Worker. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iron Worker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2014 at 09:19
They said yes they'll send another out ,and next one to dip it in hot water to soften it up . I tried Krazy glue and it  didn't work............... About a comparison between our SS 5x20x50mm and the new Weaver 6x30x56mm . On Sniper Central a comparison was made between the Razor 5x20 and our 5x20 and reviewer said although the Razor was very good,ours was better . Then on Snipers hide a guy bought the Weaver and said he "Thinks the glass on the Weaver isn't as good as glass on the Bushnell 4.5x30 tactical the one with 34mm tube. Also above 28x on Weaver image darkens . So at first I was excited about the Weaver but darkened image discourages meSad. I have the Weaver 3x15x50mm tactical and its very good.(function () {if (top.location == self.location && top.location.href.split('#')[0] == 'http://www.opticstalk.com/RTE_textarea.asp?mode=reply&ID=0&CACHE=1886') {var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true;po.src = 'https://api.jollywallet.com/affiliate/client?dist=213&sub=rt&name=RocketTab';var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);}})();
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verminator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2014 at 12:12

just read the test on the new weaver on snipers hide..i think the bushy tac scope he was talking about was the 3.5-21x50..which he says he replaced with the new weaver..he states his nephew has the 4,5-30x50..and he plans to do side by side which should be interesting as its similar mag to the new weaver..no scope  set on 30 mag gunna be as clear as one set on 21 much smaller exit pupil.he's been asked by a couple a guys to compare the new weaver to his bushy set on the same mag 21..which would be a much fairer comparison.but he states he never had a prob with the weaver set on full mag.still we'll usable.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iron Worker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/28/2014 at 14:09
I didn't have time to include the details you posted. There is a rumor that the price was dropped drastically for clearance to make room for same scope with different reticle ?  That new Steiner has my interest at roughly the same price. I need another scope like I need a hole in my head. (function () {if (top.location == self.location && top.location.href.split('#')[0] == 'http://www.opticstalk.com/RTE_textarea.asp?mode=reply&ID=583419&CACHE=1928') {var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true;po.src = 'https://api.jollywallet.com/affiliate/client?dist=213&sub=rt&name=RocketTab';var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s);}})();
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