SWFA website updated; More to come in 2024

[KyleR1985]

There are a pile of assumptions in your post. We have no idea how many scopes of each model SWFA has ordered and sold. All we know is that the 3-9 and the 6x have been the hardest scopes to get from them, while the 10,12,16, 20, 1-4, 3-15, and 5-20x have been in stock more. The scopes that have been discussed positively the most on Rokslide seem to have been the 3-9, 6x, and 10x, pretty much in that order.

I don’t make many assumptions. I have no idea what they’re up to.

I just make one assumption - that the scope making and selling people are marginally better at it than I am. Because I don’t make or sell scopes. Usually being in business for a long time has at least a weak correlation with aiming at, and hitting, the middle of the market.

And that “better” may or may not align with what I want.


But I guess it’s also possible they’re out specifically to get Rokslide members with what scopes are currently in stock. It’s a nonzero chance.

 

[Eluder]

When one of the Maven crew said he was afraid to sit on scopes they lost me as well.

You are a damn business. Do business stuff.
Explain why saga would be so absolutely stupid to put 10x in front of 6x or 3-9 with the limited capital they may have.

No excuse except for stupid bad business.

Again reiterating that I have no inside knowledge but have run operations for a company with over seas vendors during covid times and have had just enough coffee this morning for some heavy speculation.

There could be many reasons why those scopes weren't in the first run. One being the 3-9 is a different vendor according to folks on here. So different debts and higher production costs.

On the 6x there could be all sorts of reasons it's not included in the first run. It could be as simple as they were out of the reticles.

It's could possible the main tubes were already assembled from earlier production runs and just needed assembly on all the other scopes and they were out of 6x tubes. Often times when you order 700 of something from a vendor, they will make 1000 because that's what makes sense in the manufacturing process and they assume you will be back for more. They store these parts and assemble them later when needed. This may not be the case with scopes from this vendor, but just highlighting what is possible.

Maybe there was something wrong with the 6x production run. Shit can happen and it often does.

It could also be possible that the 6x is not there best selling option. Remember these are tactical scopes. That said I would be surprised if it does worse than the 12x or 16x because of their reticles, but I would not be shocked to hear the 10x and 20x out perform it.

Basically, I am just highlighting that when you don't make all your own components there are multiple businesses doing business things, and unless you have a pile of cash you don't always get what you want.

Many companies just fold when in these situations. Rather these folks it would seem are trying to get back to what they know and take care of things like warranties instead of walking away and starting XYZA scope company with a product they know will sell.

 

[Birch1996]

all they need to sell is 10x reg/hd 6x 3-9reg/hd and 12x.....then they would be better than economically fine.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Still waiting on my 3-9 warranty that I sent back in June of 23.

That’s just brutal.

 

[Eluder]

all they need to sell is 10x reg/hd 6x 3-9reg/hd and 12x.....then they would be better than economically fine.

I'd bet a 6x that the 20x outperforms the 12x in sales .

 

[ElPollo]

You are assuming Rokslide represents their consumer base. I'd imagine that isn't true.

What was I assuming in that post? It was merely stating what we know.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Do you have inside information to confirm this statement? I have already said that stocking those scopes in quantity would likely be their best business move. But I have to admit that I do not know what their supply-side or costs look like.

No
But what manufacturer can produce 10,12,16,20x 3-15s but can’t produce the 6x
I mean come on really?

You would have to be a fool at this point to think a manufacturer cannot produce an eta plus or minus 30 days.
Swfa doesn’t have an eta because they don’t know if or when they will be willing to place the order.
The manufacturer knows there back log and production schedule, they provide and eta when an order is placed. That’s just how it works.

I think they are going to wait 7 years for the statute of limitations to expire for the 3-9 back orders because they don’t want to honor the price.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Even if the manufacturer was waiting on a 6x part.
They would have a guess on eta

 

[ElPollo]

No
But what manufacturer can produce 10,12,16,20x 3-15s but can’t produce the 6x
I mean come on really?

You would have to be a fool at this point to think a manufacturer cannot produce an eta plus or minus 30 days.
Swfa doesn’t have an eta because they don’t know if or when they will be willing to place the order.
The manufacturer knows there back log and production schedule, they provide and eta when an order is placed. That’s just how it works.

I think they are going to wait 7 years for the statute of limitations to expire for the 3-9 back orders because they don’t want to honor the price.

That sounds pretty personal. Did you have scopes on perpetual backorder or warranty? I’ll admit to being a little pissy with them because I couldn’t get the scopes I wanted out of them. I’ve questioned some of their decision here on Rokslide. But I still like their products and hope they get their shit together.

 

[Spoonbill]

No
But what manufacturer can produce 10,12,16,20x 3-15s but can’t produce the 6x
I mean come on really?

You would have to be a fool at this point to think a manufacturer cannot produce an eta plus or minus 30 days.
Swfa doesn’t have an eta because they don’t know if or when they will be willing to place the order.
The manufacturer knows there back log and production schedule, they provide and eta when an order is placed. That’s just how it works.

I think they are going to wait 7 years for the statute of limitations to expire for the 3-9 back orders because they don’t want to honor the price.

Another thing to factor is was the whole world is ending we gotta lock everything down, covid scare. Someone else posted this on here but to summarize. People were buying guns and scopes left and right during covid, factories had covid protocols in place which restricted supply. SWFA 3-9 is built by LOW that also builds scopes for Trijicon, Nightforce, Vortex. When LOWs bigger customers increase their orders, SWFA likely got pushed to the side, hence the delay. Companies will keep their bigger customers happy at the expense of smaller customers.

 

[realunlucky]

Even if the manufacturer was waiting on a 6x part.
They would have a guess on eta

They probably do have a guess they just don't feel they need to share it with you

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[Eluder]

They probably do have a guess they just don't feel they need to share it with you

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

This, they are doing business things and hoping they can sell what they have in stock instead of having people wait x-days for the 6x.

 

[Elmer J. Fudd]

They probably looked at the rokstok thread and said no way are we giving these people a timeline

 

[Marbles]

The price point is probably a factor, I'm guessing to keep prices low they make decisions that don't focus on getting timely delivery. It is analogous to paying for ground shipping vs overnight delivery.

On the warranty side of things, they are cheap enough I mentally consider them not to have a warranty. As such, having a backup would be nice.

No money has changed hands on the back orders, they could have cancelled them all some time ago. If they were out to play people, they could have said the back orders arrived, taken payment, then ghosted like Liberty Optics.

Anyway, I'm not thrilled with SWFA, but the level of animosity on here by some is ridiculous.

 

[Birch1996]

I actually am a swfa fan...if they had inventory they could take over markets...my ss10x is the best built scope I have. Although the tract is amazing with schott glass. They do the same direct to customer and are cheaper at the same quality however as top tier.

 

[Birch1996]

my tract toric 3-15 is by far as good as s and b or nightforce for a fraction of the price.

 

[Kurts86]

On another forum I used to frequent the 10x+ fixed SWFA scopes were often recommended for beginner LR builds. I don’t think I ever saw the 6x mentioned there.

I don’t ever see SWFA ruling the scope market but they do nicely fill a low cost niche for a reliable, exposed turret FFP scope for $300-$700. Nothing they do besides the 3-9 FFP isn’t done nicer once you get over $1,000 with some more modern features. For all of the 2010’s I was aware of SWFA but didn’t give them any consideration as anything other than the ugliest scopes on the market.

SWFA is like Tikka in that they strip down their product to the bare necessities of what functions reliably. They don’t have any je ne said qoui or anything beyond raw utilitarian simplicity.

 

[NVUplandHunter]

Sure, they definitely should be relooked at.

Based on your experience described on the thread with the 3-15, do you think it’s worth snagging one on the sale before you get your testing done?

Being there are changes do you think they are significant enough to risk changing the reliability you’ve experienced in these optics?

 

[Formidilosus]

Based on your experience described on the thread with the 3-15, do you think it’s worth snagging one on the sale before you get your testing done?

Yes.

Being there are changes do you think they are significant enough to risk changing the reliability you’ve experienced in these optics?

No. I do not expect anything vastly different.
The one issue with the Classic SWFA’s is the tall turrets- during the drop evals they can get bent shifting POI .1-.3 mils. Generally bending them back straight brings the zero back. However, remember the drop eval is just the initial, and is used to predict the probability of future issues in field use. The SWFA 3-15x has proven to be overall a very reliable and durable scope in very heavy field use.

 

[Marshfly]

A few people have made comments that "Roksliders" probably make up a very small portion of SWFA sales. I find that laughable. No "normal" hunter is buying a 3-15 SWFA for $650 when they can buy a Leupold VX3 or a Vortex whatever for similar money. Normal people will buy those two WAAAAY before SWFA.

I would bet that Roksliders and readers of similar forums ARE the SWFA customer base for the most part.