Need a Scope Before October—What Would You Choose?

[betelgeuse]

Tasco has to be at the very top of the list, followed closely by Bushnell and Simmons. Don’t rule out Barska, BSA, or Centerpoint though.

Funny but not helpful

 

[betelgeuse]

This is not on your PDF list. I think the SWFA 3-15 gen 2 is a better value at its price point than the Maven RS1.2.

Thread 'SWFA SS 3-15x42mm Gen II Field Evaluation'

Jan 6, 2025

This is a field evaluation of the SWFA Gen 2 3-15x42mm scope. This scope was sent to Ryan Avery for an evaluation by a forum member. It was personally purchased. The ammunition used was Winchester loaded 175gr SMK*. The baseline 30round group with the lot of ammunition was 1.7” at 100 yards.


The scope:




Turrets:

The Gen 2 version comes with swappable capped and exposed turrets. Turrets are 5 mils revolution, elevation has a zero stop, and they are revolution indicated.





Reticle:

The SWFA Milquad reticle has .5 mil per hash...

• Formidilosus
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Rifle Scope Field Evaluations

• 

I have one of these and it's been great. The only negative is the reticle gets tiny on low power. I think they have a 2nd focal plane model which would be better for your use than the FFP model.

 

[UncleNommies]

You've been give a lot of advice, so I'm just going to chime in here with my own experiences with two of the scopes that have been mentioned: SWFA 3-9 and Trijicon Credo 2.5-15. I have both and like both, but they are very different and both have things that I can nitpick.

As others have said, the SWFA 3-9 is functional. It lives on an 18" 6.5 Creedmoor. I have a Ranger Band on the zoom dial (because it's stiff and the band helps provide purchase to turn it) and a zero stop shim kit purchased from a member on here who makes them. The reticle is ffp but easy to use. The glass is fine. I've not had a problem with it, but I'll admit that I haven't really used it in the worst of lighting conditions. And I don't have any complaints about the eye box or getting a good image through the scope or anything like that. My complaint with the scope is that it's just so damn ugly, and those turrets are obnoxious. While I haven't had brass bounce off the turret while hunting yet, I did have that happen while running a timed drill practicing where it bounced back in the chamber. That was caused by me canting the rifle while working the bolt and I can avoid it, but it was still super annoying. And sheesh those turrets are ugly. Still, the scope is very functional. If you want a dialable ffp scope useful for hunting, it fits the bill.

The Trijicon Credo 2.5-15 is a very different scope. More zoom, sfp instead of ffp, and it looks and feels nice. It lives on my 18" 6.5 Grendel AR. The turret feels a bit mushy, but I haven't had any trouble with tracking. My nits with this scope are two: (1) It's a little bit harder to look through than some other scopes. I don't know if eye box or eye relief is the correct term (or something else), but it's more sensitive to your head being in the right position than something like a Leupold VX5HD, for example. Get your scope setup well and it's not a big problem, but it is less forgiving than some others. (2) The reticle is pretty fine. I like it for target shooting, which is what I use that Grendel for most of the time. But the reticle is noticeably thinner than other sfp, hunting-centric reticles. Not too thin, but noticeable to me. I will likely replace this scope with an ffp scope at some point, but I'm not in a hurry because I like the Credo and it fits my Grendel pretty well.

In choosing between the two, I'd ask one question: do I want ffp or sfp?

I don't have any experience with the Maven. I was going to get one, but the S2H scope was announced and I didn't need a scope right away, so I stood in line to see what that's all about.

Thank you for your recommendations! I do prefer a FFP scope. Also, I agree with you, the SWFA appears bullet proof, but it is ugly as sin lol. Given my time restraints I believe im going with the Maven RS1.2!

 

[UncleNommies]

I’ve had the maven rs1.2 for over a year now and I’ve been happy with it. The eye box and eye relief are as forgiving as any scope I’ve been behind, the glass is plenty good for any hunting I’ll ever do, and the reticle is useable from 2.5x close stuff all the way up to 15x which is plenty for any hunting shot I’d ever take. My only complaint with it is the parallax knob is really stiff but I’ve found the depth of field is good enough that in practice you can just set it around 300 yards and forget it for most practical purposes.

I appreciate the feedback on the Maven! I believe this is the scope I will be going with!

 

[UncleNommies]

I found working the parallax all the way each direction a handful of times loosened mine up quite a bit

This is good to know, thank you!

 

[UncleNommies]

I’d 100% recommend a Maven, they are awesome scopes, I have a S2H scope on order but unless it’s a total rockstar it will likely get traded for another Maven. I’m not sure what your worried about the price increase if your budget is $1800. It is a great scope regardless of price, one of the if not the highest rated scopes in the drop tests.

As far as western hunting goes you don’t need a scope with turrets. Sight in for 3” high at 100 and your point blank to 400+. You can also use the reticle to shoot further. We kill a lot of animals and 90% are 200 yards or closer. My father and his buddy have probably killed close to 150 or more elk and they shoot browning 300win BAR rifles with 30 year old leupold gold ring scopes. Neither of them have ever heard of rokslide or a scope eval.

The drop test stuff is way over rated for a hunting scope. Most of the scopes barely shifted and many less than the ability of the hunter. A couple tenths of a mil isn’t going to matter under 500 yards in most hunting situations it’s going to be less than the hunters error. A tenth of a mil is 1.8” at 500 yards.

There are hundreds of thousands of scopes that failed the drop test successfully working in the field and their owners will never know the difference. I’m sure your current scope will be great if you like it. I think you are way overthinking things for a whitetail gun, I’d be tempted to use a lever action with open sights if my furthest shot was under 200.

I live out west and built a 280AI back in 2015 as a long range rifle, I put a Vortex HST 5-15 scope on it and got it dialed in for 1000 yards. That scope lived on that rifle for 10 years with zero issues and untouched, it killed 30+ big game animals would still ring steel at 1000 yards. Most people would say that scope in garbage, last year is decided to put a Maven on the rifle and loved the Maven. I like everthing about the Maven better but actually recently stole it off for a new build and tossed the Vortex back on the 280AI and have zero hesitation with it. Over the years we had way more issues with the min power height 5x than anything, lots of sub 50 yard shots with 13lb long range gun. We would have been better off on 95% of hunts using the only 30-06 with a 3-9, one of the main things I love about the Maven is that it goes down to 2.5X.

Good luck with your choice, I’m sure whatever you grab will work great.

I appreciate your insight! I actually do have an older Marlin 30-30 and a Winchester 94 big bore .375 both with iron sights that do the job just fine! This 7mm Backcountry, in my mind, will be a little more versatile when I do attempt some type of western hunt! I know the Maven was well within my budget for a higher end optic, but if was able to get just as good of quality for less I would have! That said, I have decided to go with the Maven! Also I agree, have the lower magnification of 2.5x will be very useful!!