****This is just a re-post of my review written on militaryfirearm.com****
I thought I should probably write it up here too.
Since I had a rare day completely off, with no research due this week, I decided to head out to the range. Lucky me, out of all days, we had wild thunderstorms here today. No worries, it ain't rain'n we ain't train'n.
So since I had three of my precision rifles, I thought that I'd snap a few pics, and write that review that I had talked about writing for you guys... so here we go...
First off, the scopes are way brighter than they seem in these pics. I needed to tone them down with my photography and post production. The pics are just to depict what you will see through the scopes at my 200m target.
Three scopes we're going to review today:
1. SWFA Super Sniper 10x42 fixed. Currently sitting on my accurized M14
2. Falcon Menace 4-14x44 FFP. Residing on my Rem 700pss .300WM
3. Nikon Tactical 2.5-10x44. Housed in a Larue 1.5 mount on my 20in HBAR.
Overview:
As previously stated, our Super Sniper is a Japanese manufactured fixed 10x scope that has a lot to offer in a no-frills package. Target turrets and mildot reticles give the shooter all that he/she essentially needs for longer range shooting at a very attractive ~$280 price range. It is military backed (USN contract) and .50cal rated.
While the Super Sniper has made it's name in the entry level scope arena, the Falcon Menace FFP scopes have certainly turned the heat up for lots of manufactures. This scope is assembled in the UK with Japanese Glass and Chinese and S. Korean parts. At ~$450, it is an attractive FFP scope with a correct mil-hash reticle that comes in either mil or MOA turrets. This particular model is in 1/4MOA adjustments.
Alas, the Nikon Tactical 2.5x10x44. This is one of the earlier models when they still sported a glass with the transparency that had been clocked to be on par with some S&B models. It is a second focal plane scope with 1/4MOA adjustments.
SWFA Super Sniper10x42
At 21oz/595g, the Super Sniper(SS) is the lightest scope out of the three. Rightfully so, since it does not zoom, have side focus or provide any high speed lit reticle.
One of the reasons why I have been so in love with this scope is precisely the utilitarian aspects of it. On heavy rifles like my M14, the SS does well at cutting my weight down.
The fact that it is cheap, however, does not take away much quality. The SS does well in almost all aspects aside being able to zoom(which it cannot... unless you get one of the zoom models, which i would love to test out). The glass quality is actually fabulous. Out of the three rifles, the SS is brighter than the Falcon. The mildot is also correct. There is a bit of haze in low light conditions when compared to the Nikon.
The controls on the SS seem to be improved since one of the earlier generations that I had in the past. The dials are much more audible and click a lot crisper. One pet peeve that I have had is that I do not prefer adjustable turrets that lock down with multiple allen screws on the side. In the long run, they are prone to backing out and you may end up slipping out turret in the field. The turrets on the other hand are great and easily operable with cold weather gloves on. The turrets are easily track-able to see how many turns you have made and what your adjustments are.
The parallax adjustment was superb. My model had the parallax adj in the rear and it glides like glass. It is by far the easiest to focus out of all three.
Elevation and Windage adjustments were true and worked well.
One thing to point out, however... I HOPE you guys aren't using the parallax to judge distance. Pretty please, use your mildots. I've always thought it was silly to try and use a focus mechanism to put ranges on there.. it's just not accurate, and it shows the most on the SS, mine focuses at 100m targets on the 250m mark.
This is by far one of my favourite scopes out in the market. I would love to try their HD line soon.
I thought I should probably write it up here too.
Since I had a rare day completely off, with no research due this week, I decided to head out to the range. Lucky me, out of all days, we had wild thunderstorms here today. No worries, it ain't rain'n we ain't train'n.
So since I had three of my precision rifles, I thought that I'd snap a few pics, and write that review that I had talked about writing for you guys... so here we go...
First off, the scopes are way brighter than they seem in these pics. I needed to tone them down with my photography and post production. The pics are just to depict what you will see through the scopes at my 200m target.
Three scopes we're going to review today:
1. SWFA Super Sniper 10x42 fixed. Currently sitting on my accurized M14
2. Falcon Menace 4-14x44 FFP. Residing on my Rem 700pss .300WM
3. Nikon Tactical 2.5-10x44. Housed in a Larue 1.5 mount on my 20in HBAR.
Overview:
As previously stated, our Super Sniper is a Japanese manufactured fixed 10x scope that has a lot to offer in a no-frills package. Target turrets and mildot reticles give the shooter all that he/she essentially needs for longer range shooting at a very attractive ~$280 price range. It is military backed (USN contract) and .50cal rated.
While the Super Sniper has made it's name in the entry level scope arena, the Falcon Menace FFP scopes have certainly turned the heat up for lots of manufactures. This scope is assembled in the UK with Japanese Glass and Chinese and S. Korean parts. At ~$450, it is an attractive FFP scope with a correct mil-hash reticle that comes in either mil or MOA turrets. This particular model is in 1/4MOA adjustments.
Alas, the Nikon Tactical 2.5x10x44. This is one of the earlier models when they still sported a glass with the transparency that had been clocked to be on par with some S&B models. It is a second focal plane scope with 1/4MOA adjustments.
SWFA Super Sniper10x42
At 21oz/595g, the Super Sniper(SS) is the lightest scope out of the three. Rightfully so, since it does not zoom, have side focus or provide any high speed lit reticle.
One of the reasons why I have been so in love with this scope is precisely the utilitarian aspects of it. On heavy rifles like my M14, the SS does well at cutting my weight down.
The fact that it is cheap, however, does not take away much quality. The SS does well in almost all aspects aside being able to zoom(which it cannot... unless you get one of the zoom models, which i would love to test out). The glass quality is actually fabulous. Out of the three rifles, the SS is brighter than the Falcon. The mildot is also correct. There is a bit of haze in low light conditions when compared to the Nikon.
The controls on the SS seem to be improved since one of the earlier generations that I had in the past. The dials are much more audible and click a lot crisper. One pet peeve that I have had is that I do not prefer adjustable turrets that lock down with multiple allen screws on the side. In the long run, they are prone to backing out and you may end up slipping out turret in the field. The turrets on the other hand are great and easily operable with cold weather gloves on. The turrets are easily track-able to see how many turns you have made and what your adjustments are.
The parallax adjustment was superb. My model had the parallax adj in the rear and it glides like glass. It is by far the easiest to focus out of all three.
Elevation and Windage adjustments were true and worked well.
One thing to point out, however... I HOPE you guys aren't using the parallax to judge distance. Pretty please, use your mildots. I've always thought it was silly to try and use a focus mechanism to put ranges on there.. it's just not accurate, and it shows the most on the SS, mine focuses at 100m targets on the 250m mark.
This is by far one of my favourite scopes out in the market. I would love to try their HD line soon.
