S2H winter class 2026 observations and lessons learned

[Formidilosus]

I’ve used these mags for several months now in 223 and M+ sizes.

All 4 of them have thousands of rounds each and have performed VERY well.

They’ve done well in desert heat and blowing sand here in AZ as well as blowing dry grass/foxtail dust in VERY windy conditions in Northern California.

@pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

Good to hear.


And good to see you post.

 

[Nine Banger]

Did the parallax essentially become immovable as well? Any diagnosis? Happen to all of them?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had ranger bands on my parralax knobs before I got to class.

 

[RancherJohn]

One more thing that got discussed but hasn't been posted about in this thread is gun lube. I have used various lubes over the years with mixed success, but as was brought up in discussions there are lots of negative side effects of common lubes (toxicity, off-gassing at temp, etc...). After hearing of TW25b, I will be giving it a go on a few guns to see how it does. My backup plan is to raid the pantry and de-virginize some olive oil per @Formidilosus recommendation.

 

[RancherJohn]

What do y'all mean by "clocking" the scope bumpers - I have a couple sets in my cart ready to purchase as soon as HouseHold-6 signs off on the expenditure.
Thanks
-Doc

Here's a picture, just rotate them to make opening a fluid, one-finger affair. On the ocular, make sure it clears your thumb when crab-clawing the bolt/clears the bolt itself on the underside. This will be scope & ring-height dependent.

 

[svivian]

@Formidilosus on average what percentage of students come with rifles properly assembled and zeroed?

What have been the Most common mistakes? Aside from aftermarket trigger springs

 

[rharbaugh]

For the Atlantic Rancher - Ranger sweater users, is there a consensus on the preferred style (solid vs 1/4 zip vs cardigan)? Any general feedback on style merits or drawbacks is appreciated

 

[SloppyJ]

@Formidilosus on average what percentage of students come with rifles properly assembled and zeroed?

What have been the Most common mistakes? Aside from aftermarket trigger springs

Interested to hear this reply. I think it really depends on how tuned in they are. Before I started reading around here and objectively testing things myself I would have never done half of the things I do now as standard practice. The techniques that work are not common in typical shooting/hunting circles and you wont find them condensed in one place. I was happy that mine showed no issues that were the fault of anything in my control that werent inherent to the platform. Everyone was not that lucky though.

I thought ths cool part was that anytime something did go wrong, it was used as a teaching moment for everyone who wanted to observe and learn the what, why, and how.

 

[Steve O]

Here's a picture, just rotate them to make opening a fluid, one-finger affair. On the ocular, make sure it clears your thumb when crab-clawing the bolt/clears the bolt itself on the underside. This will be scope & ring-height dependent.

View attachment 1028408

Could I get the name of those lens covers? Those look darn useful.

 

[rharbaugh]

Could I get the name of those lens covers? Those look darn useful.

THE Scope Bumper™

The Original Scope Bumper

scopebumper.com

Thread 'Scope Bumper Scope caps'

Oct 25, 2025

I could be wrong - but I’m fairly certain these are the scope caps @Formidilosus has on a few rifles

THE Scope Bumper™

The Original Scope Bumper

scopebumper.com

In a pre-order status currently.

I have no affiliation I’m just a guy who has not found the “Goldilocks” scope caps yet.

• Ajsomp
• Replies: 137
• Forum: Optics

• 

 

[Coopsdaddy]

I’ve used these mags for several months now in 223 and M+ sizes.

All 4 of them have thousands of rounds each and have performed VERY well.

They’ve done well in desert heat and blowing sand here in AZ as well as blowing dry grass/foxtail dust in VERY windy conditions in Northern California.

@pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

This was my point on using your hunting mags instead of 10 rounders.
I understand you do mag changes but for how you train why not use the 3/4 rounders and get that many more mag changes in practice.You use all your hunting gear to mirror your hunting setup so why not the mags.
Mainly just curious if I need to burn 120-150 on a mag when it’s something I would never hunt with when you can buy 4 or more of these @pods8 for the price of 1 of the others.

 

[RancherJohn]

Did the parallax essentially become immovable as well? Any diagnosis? Happen to all of them?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Compared to others, the Maven on my 6mm does not have issues. I put it outside last night (~15*) and checked it this morning, mag ring and parallax are both still usable. On the other hand, the 3-9x SWFA on my .223 will give you a forearm workout trying to spin the mag ring in almost any temperature, even above 40*. No ranger bands or throw levers on either scope.

 

[Chris in TN]

For sure. I started taking my oldest with me when he was 4.

Oh, mine do outdoor stuff with me a lot. Possibly even an excessive amount. I just don't think they'd handle the winter class well. Or the rewarming drill. lol.

Compared to others, the Maven on my 6mm does not have issues. I put it outside last night (~15*) and checked it this morning, mag ring and parallax are both still usable. On the other hand, the 3-9x SWFA on my .223 will give you a forearm workout trying to spin the mag ring in almost any temperature, even above 40*. No ranger bands or throw levers on either scope.

I wonder if this is a design feature that applies to every scope of that model or if it's variable between scopes? I ask because I have some older scopes where I had multiples of the same line/model and you'd get one that was really tight then another that was really loose and otherwise they seemed to function the same.

I wonder if there's a 'damping grease' they use in that assembly that maybe varies from lot to lot?

 

[atmat]

Compared to others, the Maven on my 6mm does not have issues. I put it outside last night (~15*) and checked it this morning, mag ring and parallax are both still usable. On the other hand, the 3-9x SWFA on my .223 will give you a forearm workout trying to spin the mag ring in almost any temperature, even above 40*. No ranger bands or throw levers on either scope.

I had two Mavens. One was quite a bit stiffer than the other.

Meanwhile all of my 3-9x’s have been tough. I’ve used the MKM throw levers on them but don’t love it.

 

[nephewjephew]

Some thoughts on the new scope vs the maven 1.2

I had two mavens, once it got coldish the zoom ring and the parallax would stiffen up to the point annoyance. Interestingly the new S2H scopes worked exceptionally well from inside the house, to a cold garage and single digit cold outside. As in smooth and no resistance, there was no change in operation. That was eye opening.

For turrets spinning, I've had it happen on the mavens a handful of times (3-5) over the year and a half I had them. Only used the S2h scopes two days, but was a nonissue. There is a big difference in feel of the clicks. The S2H is very pleasing and intentional to move, very good tactile feed back from the turret. I don't see them moving on their own.

I like the reticle in the maven (mil), I like the center dot. Its easy to get behind and the view is very nice. The S2H is better across the board, not by leaps and bounds but it is better. On paper things like glass, eye box, wight and the like are in that top tier. What starts to separate it are things like the slim turrets on the sides, parallax and zoom rings that work in all weather and temperatures. In actual shooting the reticle is more intuitive, it's better at centering your eye. Some things I noticed while shooting was the how useful the center square became in bracketing. How useful the aim short and long can and will be in the field. And the biggest advantage is the wind brackets hands down. If you can feel, see and are practiced in light, medium, heavy winds the wind holds/bars are clear as day in the reticle, and very fast to find and use (no counting tic marks). For actual hunting and field shooting the THRL reticle has no equal. I was shooting snow patches the size of deer vitals off rocks at 4-600 yards with easy at 3x. The overall way in which the reticle works as a whole is what pushed me over the edge to get in line for one.

 

[omicron1792]

I would like to hear the negatives of the s2h scope. Every review saying it’s awesome in every way is not super helpful.

I’m reading alot of negatives on the Maven that I never read before this new scope came out also.

 

[dårlig jeger]

I would like to hear the negatives of the s2h scope. Every review saying it’s awesome in every way is not super helpful.

I’m reading alot of negatives on the Maven that I never read before this new scope came out also.

I agree. I have no doubts the THLR reticle is more intuitive or faster or better. But the Maven has the same 0.5 mil box and 1 mil holdover for short/long. If you don't have a stiff zoom (I don't on 3 I have) and you get in on the o ring exchange, there's no flies on the Maven.

I like the wind brackets in the THLR, but maybe if a guy got used to using the Maven box for reference, it would be similar?

I say all this as a guy who has a THLR on order, so no shade intended. Just a measure of temperament.

 

[Formidilosus]

I would like to hear the negatives of the s2h scope.

As soon as anything is found I will- just as I have with everything.

Every review saying it’s awesome in every way is not super helpful.

Well, I’m not sure what you want? I am sure that there will be people with different preferences about details, but every scope you can name was designed by a company or person that doesn’t actually do the thing the scope was made for, or someone that doesn’t do the type of hunting and shooting we do. The line exception to this was the Bushnell 3-12x LRHS. Unfortunately it was before its time, had a polarizing reticle, and Bushnell sucks.

People/companies have not started from a “this is what the use is, and there anre all the problems with other scopes for that use”, and then designed them out. This scope did. The elevation and windage turrets are the way they are for a reason. The parallax and power ring resistance is the way it is for a reason. The throw lever is the way it is for a reason. The size of the scope is the way it is for a reason. The illumination is the way it is for a reason. The reticles are the way they are for a reason. The fast focus eyepiece and locking diopter are that way for a reason.

I can’t tell you that it’s perfect for your use. I can tell you that there isn’t another scope on the market that is more perfect for my use… because it was designed for that.

I’m reading alot of negatives on the Maven that I never read before this new scope came out also.

Don’t know what to tell you. I wrote about the issues the Maven has within 6 months or so of them coming out. It was two years ago that I basically stopped using them on my rifles as the first choice because of the turret getting spun. They are a good scope. But they have elements- like all scopes so far, that make you scratch your head.

 

[nephewjephew]

I would like to hear the negatives of the s2h scope. Every review saying it’s awesome in every way is not super helpful.

I’m reading alot of negatives on the Maven that I never read before this new scope came out also.

I wish it was lighter, don't need 18 on the high end. I will add to this if anything else comes to mind. There is a reason it's a 6x erector, I'll let them explain.

It's not that the maven is bad, it's just the S2H is better. Less compromises ie stiff power ring/pa, slimmer package etc. It's enough of the little things the S2H does right add up to make it worth the switch for my needs...

Sometimes you don't notice or care about little annoyances until something comes out and makes them glaring.

 

[Formidilosus]

I agree. I have no doubts the THLR reticle is more intuitive or faster or better. But the Maven has the same 0.5 mil box and 1 mil holdover for short/long.

They are not the same. The Maven does not have a box, and your brain/eye does not see it as such. And no, having a mil reticle is not the same as the dot and circle bracket at 1 mil that the THLR has. Technically it is the same, functionally it is not. The “aim long” and “aim short” portions are intuitive as hell on the THLR- there is not counting, or double checking- it’s right there drawing your eye to it.

If you don't have a stiff zoom (I don't on 3 I have) and you get in on the o ring exchange, there's no flies on the Maven.

It is a good scope. It has quirks that are annoying. I currently have 4 or 5 RS1.2’s if I recall correctly. The first one I got did not get overally stiff in cold- maybe 20% stiffer. The second one was just a bit worse (could be reversed). However, the rest are very stiff in cold weather- silly stuff like Leupolds sometimes used to be.

I like the wind brackets in the THLR, but maybe if a guy got used to using the Maven box for reference, it would be similar?

It is not. The Maven reticle is a standard mil hash reticle. Looking at paper you may “see” something, in use it is the exact same as any other half mil hash reticle. That’s not a bad thing btw.

I say all this as a guy who has a THLR on order, so no shade intended. Just a measure of temperament.

As you should. However, unless LOW screws a batch up- the S2H scope is what we wanted. Not what some engineer decided to do. It may not be your preference, it most certainly is the closest thing on the market to ours however.

 

[Formidilosus]

Sometimes you don't notice or care about little annoyances until something comes out and makes them glaring.

This is very true.