Pretty much my experience also. I will say the weight of the Maven vs the 3-9 SWFA has resulted in me owning one Maven and 3 of the SWFA’s.I mostly shot these 2 scopes in 2025 and into this year.
I got the Maven in 2024 and then picked up the SWFA when it restocked in February.
I like the solid reticle on the SWFA better than the center dot on the Maven.
I enjoy these aspects of the Maven over the SWFA though:
- the mag ring is easier to crank on and the nub on the mag ring points straight up at 6x for a quick visual reference.
- tool-less turret slipping
- I like the zero stop. My 223 zero stops are set at -0.2 for ADI 55gr Blitzking and zero is IMI 77gr Razor Core. My hunting rifle is set for one ammo at 0 and I can just crank on it until it stops and take a peek to make sure.
It's not a hunting thing given the range involved but I like having 10mils to crank around on the elevation knob with the Maven. I don't like having to go up 5 and then start counting again with the SWFA and then track that all back to zero after the shot.
I'm looking forward to your new scope. I got to play with the THLR reticle for a couple days on a ZP5 before I sent it back and your tidied up version of that reticle looks great. It's going to be sweet.
But I’m old and the gym doesn’t help as much anymore lol…