The SWFA 10x42 scope mentioned is often over looked due to many thinking that how such a moderately priced piece of optics be of high quality?? Well, to make that assumption is a mistake for it is a whole lot of scope for the money and even though I don't find it necessary you can upgrade the lens to HD level and still be something under $1000.00, base unit something like $325.00 Check out Sniper 101 for a detailed, factual comparison of optics for about any application, no hype, just hard core facts from real world use.

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Originally posted by Instructor:
The SWFA 10x42 scope mentioned is often over looked...

Do you have more info on this scope? It seems like good, reliable, accurate turrets are the hardest thing to find in this price bracket. The best I've seen so far is the Vortex:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1022351/m/7941061722

But it has a few problems.

The Super Sniper Scopes are known for their quality elevation/wind drums and how positive they are. Different reticles available as well but would avoid those that offer a lot of clutter to the viewer. Their mil dots are actually a circle so you can see through them, nice feature. Local retired Doctor that shoots with me has scopes costing more than some cars I have bought and suggested one to him and now his favorite scope but of course he went with the upgraded lens, not necessary really. Checkout SWFA web site, very detailed on all of their so called Sniper series of scopes.

quote:

Originally posted by jpl:

quote:

Originally posted by Instructor:
The SWFA 10x42 scope mentioned is often over looked...

Do you have more info on this scope? It seems like good, reliable, accurate turrets are the hardest thing to find in this price bracket. The best I've seen so far is the Vortex:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1022351/m/7941061722

But it has a few problems.

SWFA SS 10x42mm Tactical Rifle Scope - Sniper Central

I shot at 1 mile this weekend with a CheyTac M200 in 408CheyTac. It was topped with a IOR (Valdada) 12-52x56 scope and, at that distance, I found that the high magnification made it relatively easy. Shooters who tried the rifle at 1000 yds tended to use less magnification if they were more experienced. I am not aware of anyone going less than 20x. Some first time shooters actually hit the steel at 1000 with that combination.

For PRS matches, I don't have time to adjust things unless a range is really far.

For F-Class I am constantly backing it in and out to take advantage of reading the flags, mirage, whatever. For F-Class I shot a 5-20, 8-32, 6-24.

Every target scope I own is first focal plane. So the magnification doesn't matter.

My PRS rifles both had 14 and 15 power maxes. One was a Weaver Tactical 30mm (nice scope ) the other was a Leupold Mark 4 3.5-14.

Instructor made many salient points most never consider in this discussion.

The telescopic sight enables much less concentration and vision effort because it eliminates the planar alignment of front and rear sights. Magnification of the aiming point is also achieved with irons that use aperture lens mechanisms. The micrometer movements of rear sight units can be more precise than those contained within a scopesight.

What magnification, though is the question...

Depends... How good is your vision? What are your funding options? Typically, the magnification ranges above 30x will lack clarity, color neutrality, and contain aberration. There are a couple scopes that sell in the $6000 range like the 5-45x Schmidt & Bender that may deliver the best possible results, but if you look at scope pricing... You get what you pay for. The March high mag optics are less expensive than their 3-24x tactical model(s). Not so true with NightForce, but their high mag NXS scopes 8-32 and 12-46 were always priced high.

I owned an 8-32x NXS and was not impressed by its average clarity or its extreme weight. Kept it 5-6mos until the "gee, I've got a 32x NF" factor wore off. Sold it almost 10yrs ago.

Not so much magnification as clarity and sight picture rendition determine how well a good shooter can perform with a scopesight. Of course, the turrets and reticle movements must perform reliably and consistent.

If you are asking about magnification, I will ask what tools you own to diagnose scope mounting problems? The best rifle tool I ever bought is the Bushnell 74-3333 boresighter-collimator. Other tools from Redfield and Tasco are also highly esteemed, but were out of production in 1990 when I bought my Bushnell. The 160moa grid enables a great lattitude for testing and diagnosing problems, in addition to enabling fast scope mount setups and verification that mounts and rings are concentric with barrel.

If you expect to get the most out of your scopesight, be sure of your mount system and be able to verify your scope as well.