<span style="font-weight: bold">Review of SWFA SS 6x42</span>
Most of the people who own these scopes right now probably acquired them the same way I did, coupled with the SWFA 5-20HD from the black Friday sale. Since most of those people probably didn’t even look through it before they sold them off I decided I should post a couple observations on this scope before I too probably sell it. This review is my own personal impressions and observations as a consumer and weekend long range shooter. I’m not an expert so take my words with a grain of salt.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Initial impressions:</span>
When I received my big box of expensive happiness from SWFA I was determined to pace myself and check out everything included in the black Friday deal before jumping into my first top dollar scope, the SWFA 5-20HD. I have to say that the SS 6X actually ruined my initial excitement over the 5-20HD. I expected the 5-20HD to be everything a $1000+ scope should be, and it is, but the SS 6X was so unexpectedly excellent that it totally desensitized me to the other. It is hands down the most forgiving low end scope I’ve ever looked through and nearly as good as the 5-20HD on low power.
Currently I only have 3 other scopes to compare the 6x to: the SS 5-20HD, a Wotac 4-14 gen 5, and a Vortex Viper 2-7x32. Most of my comparisons are oriented to comparing the Vortex and the SS 6x because I think they fill a similar role: a mid-range scope oriented toward tactical shooting and hunting rather than precision.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Dimensions:</span>
The single greatest downside of the SS 6x is its size. Its dimensions are identical to the SS 10x and not far off from most variables in the 3-15ish power range. The weight is also shared with its higher magnification competitors. At 21oz its 6oz heavier than most Acogs, 8oz heavier than my 2-7 vortex viper, about the same weight as most illuminated 30mm 1-4x scopes, and only 2oz lighter than my Wotac 4-14. The give and take of features versus mass is definitely not in the SS 6X’s favor.
Top to bottom: Vortex Viper 2-7x32, SWFA SS 6X42, Wotac 4-14x50
<span style="font-weight: bold">Adjustments:</span>
I could really just start and finish this section by saying that this scope has fantastic clicks for a 300$ scope. Anyone who’s ever spun any of the SWFA lineup knows that all of the super sniper scopes have a positive repeatable feel. They completely blow the turrets on my Wotac and the falcon menace 10x I owned previously out of the water.
The internal travel is the first category that the SS 6X takes the lead. While I can’t know how much of the elevation is usable because I didn’t mount it on a rifle, this scope has nearly 150MOA of travel top to bottom. Even if you only get 100 usable travel out of the scope, that’s still a really impressive number. According to some quick numbers I plugged into JBM, that’s enough elevation to get a 220smk at 1100 fps out to 700 yards. With numbers like that I really can’t think of a better scope for a 300 BLK bolt gun like the new AAC micro 7. I didn’t play with the windage travel but I’m sure it has enough to accommodate even the most ridiculous long shots in high wind.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Clarity:</span>
My eyes are pretty shoddy so I always have trouble judging glass quality unless I’m looking at something that obviously highlights a scope’s contrast and resolution. Nothing like that was visible from any of the windows in the house so I can ony give my impressions. I’m not really going to get into it because I don’t really know better and glass quality is so subjective.
Comparing the scopes previously mentioned I would rate them in order of brightness/clarity as follows:
SWFA SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Vortex Viper > Wotac (In the past I’ve also owned a Falcon Menace 10x which was optically about the same as the Wotac)
<span style="font-weight: bold">FOV:</span>
The FOV of the SWFA SS 6X is the category that it dominates. Using the full advantage of a large objective and 30mm tube combined with a relatively low power, its field of view is much larger than any of the other scopes at 6x power including the 5-20.
To try to achieve the same field of view in the other scopes I had to run them at the following powers:
SS 5-20HD: Couldn’t match it (maybe if it had a 4.5x)
Wotac 4-14: Couldn’t even get close (maybe if it had a 3> power)
Vortex Viper 2-7x32: 4.25x
Here’s a few terrible pictures demonstrating the FOV’s of 3 of the 4 scopes at 6x. The SS 5-20 pictures didn’t want to come out but the FOV was about the same as the Vortex Viper. The house is about 30 yards away.
Baseline image
SS 6X
Vortex Viper on 6X
Wotac on 6X
So we see that even though the SS 6x is a 6x we’re getting the same FOV as a 4x scope. The high power variables in its weight class couldn’t even get close to the same FOV. For picking up targets quick on the 100-600 yard range this scope is an excellent choice.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Eye Box:</span>
When I compare the eye box of a scope I look for 2 things: how much I can move my head around and still have a good image and how much the image fills the ocular. I won’t really go into eye relief since you guys can find that in the specs. All scopes are compared once again at 6x.
Obviously forgiveness is crucial in any scope that’ll be used in multiple positions/conditions. As previously stated the SS 6x is the most forgiving low <$1000 scope I’ve ever looked through. Someone on the hide previously said that the SS 6x has a 7mm exit pupil. It can’t find any technical specs to back this up but from behind the scope I believe it. It is extremely easy to “find” the image quickly even when not mounted on a rifle. In comparison, the Wotac needed a little bit of wiggle to get a good image whereas the SS was right there instantly. The SS 5-20HD shares its forgiveness but for 1300$ is damn well better. The Viper is also pretty good for side to side movement but quite a bit more finicky on the eye relief.
Rated for side to side forgiveness: SS 5-20HD = SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
Rated for eye relief forgiveness: SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
When I talk about how much the image fills the ocular, I mean how large or small a ring there is around the image when looking through the scope. This is probably the characteristic that I care about most in a scope. In this category the SS 6x is a-freaking-mazing for the price. It almost completely fills the entire back of the scope with a nice big image. It feels like looking through a window whereas my Wotac feels like I’m looking at an image at the end of a tunnel. The SS 5-20HS only slightly beats it but I have to really compare side by side to tell the difference.
Rated in order: SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
<span style="font-weight: bold">In conclusion:</span>
For $300 retail or around $200 if you snap one up from one of the black Friday buyers trying to liquidate, this scope is a really amazing buy. Initially, I really didn’t see the point of a 6x scope in a full sized form factor. After really comparing this scope against a few others in its price range with different features, I think that this is an instance of less is more. From my observations, I think that this scope gives a very high end viewing experience at the cost of a slightly worse magnification to size ratio. The fact that to my eye its comparable in several aspects to a scope priced $1000 dollars higher should say a lot. Its crazy large FOV gives it equivalent performance to a much lower power scope and can’t be matched by high power variables. I really think that this scope is a perfect marriage for any rifle intended for shooting fast out to 600 yards. It might lack the low end of some comparably sized scopes but I really think that it is equivalent in a practical sense. Sadly, the Achilles heel of this scope is its size and weight. Even though it’s a joy to look through and probably better for shooting than the vortex 2-7 on my mid-range AR it’s really hard to justify adding a full half pound of weight and several inches of length to a firearm I built to be lightweight. For that reason alone I probably won’t keep it.
Most of the people who own these scopes right now probably acquired them the same way I did, coupled with the SWFA 5-20HD from the black Friday sale. Since most of those people probably didn’t even look through it before they sold them off I decided I should post a couple observations on this scope before I too probably sell it. This review is my own personal impressions and observations as a consumer and weekend long range shooter. I’m not an expert so take my words with a grain of salt.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Initial impressions:</span>
When I received my big box of expensive happiness from SWFA I was determined to pace myself and check out everything included in the black Friday deal before jumping into my first top dollar scope, the SWFA 5-20HD. I have to say that the SS 6X actually ruined my initial excitement over the 5-20HD. I expected the 5-20HD to be everything a $1000+ scope should be, and it is, but the SS 6X was so unexpectedly excellent that it totally desensitized me to the other. It is hands down the most forgiving low end scope I’ve ever looked through and nearly as good as the 5-20HD on low power.
Currently I only have 3 other scopes to compare the 6x to: the SS 5-20HD, a Wotac 4-14 gen 5, and a Vortex Viper 2-7x32. Most of my comparisons are oriented to comparing the Vortex and the SS 6x because I think they fill a similar role: a mid-range scope oriented toward tactical shooting and hunting rather than precision.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Dimensions:</span>
The single greatest downside of the SS 6x is its size. Its dimensions are identical to the SS 10x and not far off from most variables in the 3-15ish power range. The weight is also shared with its higher magnification competitors. At 21oz its 6oz heavier than most Acogs, 8oz heavier than my 2-7 vortex viper, about the same weight as most illuminated 30mm 1-4x scopes, and only 2oz lighter than my Wotac 4-14. The give and take of features versus mass is definitely not in the SS 6X’s favor.
Top to bottom: Vortex Viper 2-7x32, SWFA SS 6X42, Wotac 4-14x50
<span style="font-weight: bold">Adjustments:</span>
I could really just start and finish this section by saying that this scope has fantastic clicks for a 300$ scope. Anyone who’s ever spun any of the SWFA lineup knows that all of the super sniper scopes have a positive repeatable feel. They completely blow the turrets on my Wotac and the falcon menace 10x I owned previously out of the water.
The internal travel is the first category that the SS 6X takes the lead. While I can’t know how much of the elevation is usable because I didn’t mount it on a rifle, this scope has nearly 150MOA of travel top to bottom. Even if you only get 100 usable travel out of the scope, that’s still a really impressive number. According to some quick numbers I plugged into JBM, that’s enough elevation to get a 220smk at 1100 fps out to 700 yards. With numbers like that I really can’t think of a better scope for a 300 BLK bolt gun like the new AAC micro 7. I didn’t play with the windage travel but I’m sure it has enough to accommodate even the most ridiculous long shots in high wind.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Clarity:</span>
My eyes are pretty shoddy so I always have trouble judging glass quality unless I’m looking at something that obviously highlights a scope’s contrast and resolution. Nothing like that was visible from any of the windows in the house so I can ony give my impressions. I’m not really going to get into it because I don’t really know better and glass quality is so subjective.
Comparing the scopes previously mentioned I would rate them in order of brightness/clarity as follows:
SWFA SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Vortex Viper > Wotac (In the past I’ve also owned a Falcon Menace 10x which was optically about the same as the Wotac)
<span style="font-weight: bold">FOV:</span>
The FOV of the SWFA SS 6X is the category that it dominates. Using the full advantage of a large objective and 30mm tube combined with a relatively low power, its field of view is much larger than any of the other scopes at 6x power including the 5-20.
To try to achieve the same field of view in the other scopes I had to run them at the following powers:
SS 5-20HD: Couldn’t match it (maybe if it had a 4.5x)
Wotac 4-14: Couldn’t even get close (maybe if it had a 3> power)
Vortex Viper 2-7x32: 4.25x
Here’s a few terrible pictures demonstrating the FOV’s of 3 of the 4 scopes at 6x. The SS 5-20 pictures didn’t want to come out but the FOV was about the same as the Vortex Viper. The house is about 30 yards away.
Baseline image
SS 6X
Vortex Viper on 6X
Wotac on 6X
So we see that even though the SS 6x is a 6x we’re getting the same FOV as a 4x scope. The high power variables in its weight class couldn’t even get close to the same FOV. For picking up targets quick on the 100-600 yard range this scope is an excellent choice.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Eye Box:</span>
When I compare the eye box of a scope I look for 2 things: how much I can move my head around and still have a good image and how much the image fills the ocular. I won’t really go into eye relief since you guys can find that in the specs. All scopes are compared once again at 6x.
Obviously forgiveness is crucial in any scope that’ll be used in multiple positions/conditions. As previously stated the SS 6x is the most forgiving low <$1000 scope I’ve ever looked through. Someone on the hide previously said that the SS 6x has a 7mm exit pupil. It can’t find any technical specs to back this up but from behind the scope I believe it. It is extremely easy to “find” the image quickly even when not mounted on a rifle. In comparison, the Wotac needed a little bit of wiggle to get a good image whereas the SS was right there instantly. The SS 5-20HD shares its forgiveness but for 1300$ is damn well better. The Viper is also pretty good for side to side movement but quite a bit more finicky on the eye relief.
Rated for side to side forgiveness: SS 5-20HD = SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
Rated for eye relief forgiveness: SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
When I talk about how much the image fills the ocular, I mean how large or small a ring there is around the image when looking through the scope. This is probably the characteristic that I care about most in a scope. In this category the SS 6x is a-freaking-mazing for the price. It almost completely fills the entire back of the scope with a nice big image. It feels like looking through a window whereas my Wotac feels like I’m looking at an image at the end of a tunnel. The SS 5-20HS only slightly beats it but I have to really compare side by side to tell the difference.
Rated in order: SS 5-20HD > SS 6x > Viper > Wotac
<span style="font-weight: bold">In conclusion:</span>
For $300 retail or around $200 if you snap one up from one of the black Friday buyers trying to liquidate, this scope is a really amazing buy. Initially, I really didn’t see the point of a 6x scope in a full sized form factor. After really comparing this scope against a few others in its price range with different features, I think that this is an instance of less is more. From my observations, I think that this scope gives a very high end viewing experience at the cost of a slightly worse magnification to size ratio. The fact that to my eye its comparable in several aspects to a scope priced $1000 dollars higher should say a lot. Its crazy large FOV gives it equivalent performance to a much lower power scope and can’t be matched by high power variables. I really think that this scope is a perfect marriage for any rifle intended for shooting fast out to 600 yards. It might lack the low end of some comparably sized scopes but I really think that it is equivalent in a practical sense. Sadly, the Achilles heel of this scope is its size and weight. Even though it’s a joy to look through and probably better for shooting than the vortex 2-7 on my mid-range AR it’s really hard to justify adding a full half pound of weight and several inches of length to a firearm I built to be lightweight. For that reason alone I probably won’t keep it.
