Rifle Scopes SWFA SS 5-20x50 HD vs Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44

[Voltron]

This is my first post here on SH, so bare with me.

I currently have a SS 5-20 HD, and have played around with it a bit looking through it and cycling the adjustment knobs. I still have yet to mount it on my rifle, but that is due to me not being 100% sold on it for my rifle. I have access to the Leupold Military discount, and that is why I brought up the MK 6.

Some of the problems that I am having with the SS is that some portions of the scope to me feel like they cut corners with the design.
These are some of the issues I have, even thought they are fairly minor:

The turret feel and look cheap for the price point
The turrets don't line up correctly when re-zeroed in some positions (this is due to the design 100 point (10mil) rotation, and 60 spline knob attachment)
The turrets seem to have a bit of slop in them, the detent's don't hold the knob solid in position.
The illumination is ok, but it spills out on the rest of the reticle like crazy unless it turned down a lot.
No zero stops
Non locking turrets

Things that I do like:

The glass looks outstanding to me (this is the nicest scope I've owned)
The tracking is spot on
The reticle is crisp and I like the MilQuad style
Plenty of elevation adjustment
Built like a tank

I am looking at the MK 6 because it seems to have a well rounded package. From what I have read, they seem to be leaps and bounds above the MK 4 line. The glass is said to be impressive. The turrets look very nice, and I love the elevation locking turret. I have yet to handle one of these, but they seem like a big step up in the overall fit and finish of the scope from the SS. The MK 6 that I would by would be the non-illuminated TMR reticle.

I am looking for any thoughts on if I should sell my SS and by the MK 6. It shouldn't put me out much more money to by the MK 6 and sell the SS on here. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions on these scopes.

 

[RFutch]

I have both scopes and like both for different reasons. The SS IMO is the best bang for the buck out there. The Mk6's size and weight are what set it apart.

FWIW I have no slop in my SS turrets and the marks line up perfectly. Have you contacted SWFA about yours? The other thing is, if sloppy turrets bother you the Mk6 will drive you crazy. The elevation turret is the one thing I hate about that optic. The pinch mechanism has to be pinched in the specific location on each side to unlock it. When it is locked there is quite a bit of play in the turret. There also is not much of a tactile feel to each click. It is quite audible though.

These are just my observations so hopefully it helps. If Leupold would ditch the pinch and turn turret on the Mk6 it would be about perfect IMO.

 

[Voltron]

Thanks for the info!

How would you rate the glass on the mk6 vs the SS?
How is the clarity and brightness of the glass on them at max power?

 

[reeljob]

I am not familiar with the MK6 but I traded a MK4 for the SS 5-20 HD and never looked back. My SS turrets line up perfectly and the knobs are solid and crisp. I do not have a illumination model so I cant help you there. The SS is a great optic in its price point.

 

[hk dave]

I have both scopes and like both for different reasons. The SS IMO is the best bang for the buck out there. The Mk6's size and weight are what set it apart.

FWIW I have no slop in my SS turrets and the marks line up perfectly. Have you contacted SWFA about yours? The other thing is, if sloppy turrets bother you the Mk6 will drive you crazy. The elevation turret is the one thing I hate about that optic. The pinch mechanism has to be pinched in the specific location on each side to unlock it. When it is locked there is quite a bit of play in the turret. There also is not much of a tactile feel to each click. It is quite audible though.

These are just my observations so hopefully it helps. If Leupold would ditch the pinch and turn turret on the Mk6 it would be about perfect IMO.

Have you ever compared the glass between them?

 

[Redmanss]

If Leupold would ditch the pinch and turn turret on the Mk6 it would be about perfect IMO.

They did ditch it, unfortunately you have to pay >$3k to get it!

 

[BCP]

I thought the leupold's size and glass were great. The price makes it a non-starter for me though.

It also sounds to me like you're on a budget. If your super sniper works fine for you right now why change?

 

[RFutch]

The Mk6 glass is a little better but it's not a huge difference, at least to me. I don't get too wrapped up in the glass differences. IMO it's splitting hairs.

 

[hk dave]

The Mk6 glass is a little better but it's not a huge difference, at least to me. I don't get too wrapped up in the glass differences. IMO it's splitting hairs.

If the Mk6 is indeed as good as the SWFA 5-20 in the glass department, that's plenty good enough for me on the rifle it's going on. Good to know this.

 

[Voltron]

I went to my LGS the other day, and looked through some scopes. The shop didn't have a MK6, but they did have a MK4 34mm tube scope that I figured I can compare reasonably with a MK6. They also had a 5-20 Vortex Razor that I compared to the MK4 glass-wise. I know that most people say that the glass SWFA SS is on par with the Razor's glass, so this was a decent starting point for me to compare the glass with the MK4 as well. When I looked through them, I liked the Leupold a lot better than the Razor. The Leuopold seemed to give me less of a tunnel vision feeling than the Razor. The glass also seemed to be sharper and more crisp with the image quality than the Razor. I do think that the Razor did have better turrets, but the MK4 wasn't the same as what comes on the MK6, so I don't know what to expect with the MK6. All in all, I was pretty impressed with the MK4 that I looked at, and I feel that it is pretty similar to the MK6 specs.

I am still pretty undecided as of now, but I would love to hear some more feedback from those that own the MK6 leupy's.

Thanks!

 

[hk dave]

What you saw in terms of glass is the exact opposite of what everyone else sees. Do you think perhaps Leupold upped their glass in the Mk4?

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have a SWFA SS 5x20, bought it used from a member here.

I also have a few Leupolds. Glass on the SWFA is clearer than all my Leupolds. VX-III, Mark 4, but no Mark 6.

 

[propulsionclimbing]

I had a Leupold Mk 6 3-18, and I have had quite a few SWFA 5-20x50 scopes. I really wanted the Mk 6 to be everything it was hyped up to be. However, I hated the turrets on the scope, and I felt like the glass was a step down from the SWFA 5-20 glass. The Mk 6 has a lot of nice features including a broad power range in a very compact, light-weight package, but I couldn't live with the mushy turrets. There was 0.05 mils of play in either direction on the Mk 6 after dialing it in. I found I could still get it dialed with reasonable accuracy, but concerning the price point, I think Leupold could do better on the turrets. Bottom line for me is that the Mk 6 is a nice scope, but I prefer the SWFA 5-20 as I believe it has superior glass and better ergonomics, not to mention, it's a good bit cheaper.

To be fair, some of the earlier SWFA 5-20 scopes had a bit of play in the turrets as you can read about all day long if you do some searching. However, I have found the later production models have kept the play to a minimum and no longer find it distracting.

 

[TacosGigante]

Did your Mk6 have the M5B2 or M5C2 turrets?

I had a Leupold Mk 6 3-18, and I have had quite a few SWFA 5-20x50 scopes. I really wanted the Mk 6 to be everything it was hyped up to be. However, I hated the turrets on the scope, and I felt like the glass was a step down from the SWFA 5-20 glass. The Mk 6 has a lot of nice features including a broad power range in a very compact, light-weight package, but I couldn't live with the mushy turrets. There was 0.05 mils of play in either direction on the Mk 6 after dialing it in. I found I could still get it dialed with reasonable accuracy, but concerning the price point, I think Leupold could do better on the turrets. Bottom line for me is that the Mk 6 is a nice scope, but I prefer the SWFA 5-20 as I believe it has superior glass and better ergonomics, not to mention, it's a good bit cheaper.

To be fair, some of the earlier SWFA 5-20 scopes had a bit of play in the turrets as you can read about all day long if you do some searching. However, I have found the later production models have kept the play to a minimum and no longer find it distracting.

 

[bmt]

Thanks for this thread guys.

I feel better about the $$ spent on my Nightforce.

BMT

 

[Voltron]

I had a Leupold Mk 6 3-18, and I have had quite a few SWFA 5-20x50 scopes. I really wanted the Mk 6 to be everything it was hyped up to be. However, I hated the turrets on the scope, and I felt like the glass was a step down from the SWFA 5-20 glass. The Mk 6 has a lot of nice features including a broad power range in a very compact, light-weight package, but I couldn't live with the mushy turrets. There was 0.05 mils of play in either direction on the Mk 6 after dialing it in. I found I could still get it dialed with reasonable accuracy, but concerning the price point, I think Leupold could do better on the turrets. Bottom line for me is that the Mk 6 is a nice scope, but I prefer the SWFA 5-20 as I believe it has superior glass and better ergonomics, not to mention, it's a good bit cheaper.

The SS HD that I have is an earlier model I believe. I bought it pre-owned, but unused. I wonder if the scope I have isn't quite up to the standards of the typical SS HD. I will contact SWFA and inquire about the manufacturing period for it and any other information that I can get. I remember when I received the SS HD, I thought that the glass was equal to a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x40 30mm tube. From what I was told by Leupold, the glass in the VX-3 I have is the same glass as the MK4 but with better coatings. Between the 2 scopes, I actually found myself to enjoy looking through the Leupold more. With all of the positive reviews on the SS HD glass, I was pretty surprised with my results.

After hearing your (propulsionclimbing), thoughts on the SS HD it really makes me wonder if I received a dud SS HD scope.
To be fair, some of the earlier SWFA 5-20 scopes had a bit of play in the turrets as you can read about all day long if you do some searching. However, I have found the later production models have kept the play to a minimum and no longer find it distracting.

 

[hk dave]

I had one of the very first SS 5-20s and I don't recall any play in my turrets. I do remember the turrets being some of the best I had ever felt in the price range.

I did compare the glass between it and my Nightforce F1 and I felt they were on par with the SS possibly being a little better.

 

[Voltron]

Small update. I contacted SWFA and sent my scope in for an inspection. The gal I spoke with said they'd send me a new one, but they are currently back ordered. I'll update this thread once I get the new one and have a chance to inspect it.

 

[Voltron]

I forgot to update the thread, incase anyone wants the update.

I got the new scope from SWFA in the middle of June, and I'm impressed with the new scope. The glass seems to be much better, and the turrets are crisp with no slop. They fixed the issue with the spines of the turret knobs, and they now have 100 splines so they always line up with the tick marks. Overall I'm much more satisfied with the new scope.

The problem now is that I really want one of the new Steiner scopes.

 

[darth_ritis]

The problem now is that I really want one of the new Steiner scopes.

That's kinda my problem as well. I'm looking to upgrade to either the SWFA 5-20 HD (a brand I'm happy with) or the new Steiner for $650 more. It's really tough to decide what will be "good enough" without being able to compare them in person.