SWFA 3-15 FFP Review

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again JOE.you do a fantastic job with your knowledge of scopes .theese scopes rock .i have 2 ..by far my favorites. Theres no doubt in my mind. without your previous recommendation on this scope .id have a pile of scopes that don't compare to SWFA AND THE PRICE AND SALE THATS COMING UP SOON ..TAX DAY I THINK .perfect timing for the review. ..thanks JOE .ps. The work you do to put theese terrific videos together. Is greatly appreciated. Pat Hynes
 
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Thanks Pat ! Means a lot to me ! I'm pretty proud of my scope reviews . I wish I could redo some of my older ones as I've gotten better with the thru the scope images . But ya gotta learn as ya go ') 
Got another scope on the way that I think will be a good one also . Guys keep asking me to do a true " budget " scope review but after looking thru good scopes here lately I just can't bring myself to do it. Lol. At least for now 
 
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I enjoy your reviews, too, Joe, but been thinking that it would interesting if the scopes were graded rather than pass/fail. If you say a scope is good, I mean, that's a serious endorsement for me given that you have way more experience with scopes. Given two good scopes, how do I tell which one is better? The only metric hard metric is price, and as you point out on the SWFA reviews these scopes punch higher than others at same price. For pesting, I use holdover so the box test is not particular interesting to me (other than a failing box test may mean that the scope will be less likely to hold zero). Build quality matters, but also kinda a pass/fail, and it's difficult to determine what is sufficiently good anyhow. What matters that is not obvious from the specs? Clarity? Contrast? Brightness? etc I know it may not be realistic to measure this, but could we capture a high resolution image of standard target to compare these? Anyways, just throwing it out there.
 
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That is a great idea and I'll try and do something like that ...Only problem is time if day changes the image a lot on camera . I try to only film thru the scope in the afternoon so I can keep the images apples to apples beat I can. 
When I recommend , or talk bad about a scope I always consider price point .It's not fair o compare a 700$ scope to a 300$ scope . I'm filming a new scope buying guide this week about features to look for , and ignore . And thinking hard about your expectations and budget . 
Fo me I'd rather dig just a lil deeper in my pocket now , than regret not geting what I really wanted later . 
The scopes I've been buying lately have been because I have sold off most of my guns . With all the abdominal surgery things like Hog hunts and all night coon hunts are kinda behind me now . Along with REALLY hard kicking rifles . 
I do my BEST to do plenty of research ahead of time before I buy a scope . And before I review it I test it a while . A LOT of scopes seem great outta the box ...But use them a while and you notice lil poop that starts becoming a concern. Perfect example is my Clearidge scope RM 3-9 . Light , bright , and nice but after a while the fact the image was never focused all the way across got to be too much . I'm jot talking right on the Very edge ...I mean like only 50% of the scope was clear at a time . 
I sold it before I started doing reviews , but I wouldnt buy that scope again after having a bad experience. Not upset with the company or nothing ...Just there are better choices for the coin . 
The scope lines to me from top to bottom that represent good value for the dollar are Weaver , Leupold , Bushnell , SWFA , and probably the Tac Vector and Aztec ( although I've only owned the one Aztec) Hawkes are nice but in just my opinion some of their stuff is over priced . Same with Sun Optics and UTG MTC and a few others . Just one guys opinion . But since I spend my money and then sell the scope I don't wanna sell something I wouldn't feel proud to pass on down the line 
 
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First of all I wish you a speedy recover, and the best of health without that we are nothing but a few grand in materials. Yeah, I don't have all the answers either, but was hoping we all could give you some helpful feedback to make your videos even better. Totally dig your style, funny, informative, you have opinion. I hope it continues to grow for you.

It would totally fair if you line up (list, score board etc) all the scopes you have tested by your preference, and then explain that order. These scopes are junk to me. I prefer swfa 12 over the 10 because it gives you a little more magnification and little difference in price, or maybe it's I prefer the 10 over the 12 for the side wheel, or x is a little sharper or brighter or whatever. What's the best scope for you? Why? How does this scope compare with the lower and higher ranked scopes?

It may not jive with your style, but one way to go about this is to come up with a list of features, score them say between 0 and 100%, then weight the features according to your preference. For instance, for this scope it might be, (illumination, 0), (feel of turrets, 100%), (build quality, 100%), (comes with mounts, 0), (warranty, 80%) etc, and with your weights you might end up with total score of 100% making it a perfect scope for you for what matters to you. There is value in both the scores and your weights. Latter reflects what you learn with use. For instance, I found that I value illumination as a pest at dusk, and can't see the subtensions otherwise. You don't care about that and that's perfectly fine.

I enjoyed your series of scopes at different price ranges, and I picked up a Athlon Helos in part due to it being on your list and your and others that tried these out before me.
 
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Joe,I love your videos. you are very knowledgable,candid and honest in your opinions.However,your recent posts me confused. You highly recommend the SWFA variable scope to us air gunners,but now say it is not rated for air guns.It has a lifetime warranty. Is this warranty voided by use on a gun that it is not rated for? Based on your review this sounds like a great scope, but ?????
 
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I'm just relaying what they told me when I asked . But to be fair I've used both on Airguns and had Zero problems . 
But then again not many guys are gonna mount a 700$ scope on a Springer . For my money you couldn't tear one up no matter what ..
But they told me when I asked that their fixed power scopes were airgun rated and that was honestly all they said about it . I used a 3-15 on a HW 95 With ZERO problems. 
I do know from talking with SWFA they are like Leupold ...If there's a problem they make it right . A warranty card printed on a scrap of paper don't mean much if the company flakes out on you ...I KNOW , HAD IT HAPPEN FIRST HAND . 
 
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Joe Wayne, you mentioned the Leupold VX3i as the standard that a lot of people compare other scopes to. I leaning very hard to buying one of those Leupolds, (6.5-20x40 EFR CDS Target).

My primary interest is image clarity/resolution. How does image sharpness/clarity/resolution, say at 15x, of the Leupold compare to the SWFA 3-15x42 FFP at 15X? Which has a sharper image/better resolution?
 
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CK Everones eyes are different, but to me there is no comparison. Back to Back the SWFA is MUCH sharper and has better resolution and truer colors . No Knock on the Leupold at ALL , I've owned several 6.5-20 scopes and probably not bought my last one yet .
But apples to apples the SWFA tops it . The 6.5-20 gets a lil fuzzy around the edges at top magnification, the SWFA stays sharp all the way to max magnification. 
The ONLY problem ive EVER had with a Leupold is sometimes tracking can be not as exact as I'd like...It's predictable and the hold zero .But sometimes it seems that the click value can change . Hard to out into words but it just gives you the feeling you had better verify impact before you case the rifle 
Hope this helps 
 
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