So I've been wondering. Everyone rates the SS as "head and shoulders" above the Viper PST, but there are TONS more SS available used. What does everyone think about that? Is it that you think people are disappointed? Is it the type of person who buys each? Viper users tend to be more budget minded and not looking to upgrade where SS users are the type to sell and move up a level? Anyways, just wondering since I'm on the fence with these two scopes.
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Rifle Scopes why all the SS 5-20's for sale
- Thread starter Tarheelpwr
- Start date
I'm not sure, although I've wondered the same thing. I have an SS 5-20 and really like it, they are DEFINATELY a great scope. I think a lot of it is a natural progression up the food chain to more expensive scopes for most people, but who knows? If you get one you won't be disappointed.
Probably bought them in last years group buy. Were more interested in the 1-6. But at 1600 bucks for both it made sense to get both and sell the 5-20 making the 1000 dollar 1-6 effectively 600 bucks. I would scoop another 5-20 up if i could. The swfa sees into shadows much better than my friends 4-16 pst. Shooting 800 yds with 308s was obvious which has the better glass. The pst knobs are like razor blades in cold weather.
Last edited:
^^^This. Everyone snatched them up on the group buy and are now offloading them to offset their cost of entry for the 1-6x. Ignore the amount and enjoy the discount while it lasts. I would snatch up another myself if I actually needed that much top end magnification, but instead I'm looking at a 3-15x for the new 300BLK.
That makes sense. I didn't realize the 5-20's didnt ship until now (as 1-6 are shipping). I thought people already had them.
Chris
There was also a 5-20 group buy when they first came out and they sold whole lot of units in that group buy. (I think it was well over 1000) I got one in that one. I like mine, it's not for sale. I think it's that a certain portion of the market is saturated and folks may find they have more than they need.
Well, I got the 5-20 and 1-6 a year ago and the waiting began. I thought i was going to use the SWFA 5-20 on one of my rifles, but the wait was taking too long so I got a PR 3-15. So now I don't need the 5-20.
As the previous posts have stated, SWFA recently caught up with the group buy they did last year. The remainder of the scopes all shipped to everyone, 5-20 and 1-6, and people are selling off what they don't need or want. It's not that people don't like them, just didn't want another and are selling them off. The 5-20 is a great scope for the money, especially if you were able to get any of them on the sale prices. Decent clarity in the glass, very accurate tracking, 1/10mil clicks, and plenty of travel. I've been very happy with mine for what they cost. Hell of a deal for all you get along with the backing of SWFA if you ever have problems.
You also have new scopes just coming out like the Bushy 10mil turn and their new 30X for a little more.
Exactly.
A lot of guys are selling their group buy scopes for a profit and there are others of us that are always changing stuff around. At one point I had 10 5-20s on all my rifles; now I'm down to 6 after selling a few rifles and upgrading to an S&B 5-25 on one rifle. Once my last two backordered S&B 5-25's come in I'll be down to 4 5-20s.
I still like the 5-20... quite good glass, pretty good reticle, 10 mil knobs that track extremely well, and lots of elevation travel. Great deal at the initial group buy price of $999 which is why I ended up with so many of them-- I bought enough for all of my rifles. The 5-20 on my .22LR Sako Quad often gets up to 25 mils dialed in for 400M shots and it's never let me down. I am considering upgrading the last 4 5-20's I'll have to Bushnell 4.5-30 ERS scopes but it would end up being a ~$4000 upgrade by the time I buy/sell/switch scopes and buy/sell/switch from 30mm to 34mm mounts. Not sure if that's worth it even if I do prefer the G2DMR reticle in the Bushnell to the Mil-Quad in the SWFA; the SWFA's aren't holding my shooting back and that $4K would buy a lot of ammo to send downrange!
Beacuse the Bushy 3-21 is a MUCH better scope at the same price or cheaper used.
The SS is in a weird place. The glass isint that great and it is not much better than a PST but is still outclassed by the Bushy/Razor/MK6
I understand the swapping, but you would still think there would be more PSTs being changed as well.
I get what others are saying. Very likely people booking a profit or dumping bc they waited too long. The main problem I have with it is it's price point. At $1500 new with no discounts, you can snag a Razor for $1750ish. I either want to pay $850 and save on a PST or bump the extra $~250 to a razor.
Odd, my experience is opposite. While I much prefer the G2DMR reticle in the Bushnell I find the glass in the 5-20HD to be brighter, clearer, and have better resolution than the 5 mil Bushnell 3-21s that I have looked through. I haven't looked through the latest 10 mil 3-21 or 4.5-30 Bushnells so I can't offer a comparison with those if Bushnell has made any improvements in the glass department.
Compared to the PST 6-24 I prefer the PST reticle to the SWFA mil-quad but I like everything else better in the 5-20; 10 mil turrets, glass quality, and durability. I've gone 2 for 2 with PST's failing-- debris & detached reticles on the first day of firing. Vortex made them good and they've been fine ever since but that experience still sticks in my mind. I never had any troubles with my Razor 5-20.
100% agreed. At the full retail $1500 price point of the SWFA 5-20 I don't think I'd pick one up but used for about $1050 to $1100 they're good deals IMO. At that ~$1100 price you can also get a Bushnell 3.5-21 DMR (5 mil version). At the full $1500 that's putting you close to the new Bushnell ERS & XRS and also right in the territory of a nice used Razor 5-20 and very close to the price of a new Razor. A nice used NF F1 is also in that price range.
Always plenty of options out there, you just need to figure out which one works best for you!
Last edited:
Nothin wrong with the 5-20. It's been my primary match optic since the group buy and have no intentions of switching anytime soon.
I had both the 3-9 and 5-20. Both lost zero multiple times in two separate matches. That was enough for me. I got new replacements and sold them.
Sure every company has a defective product hit the street form time to time but one person getting two of them... Really? I paid good $ to get into these matches only to have my scope loose tracking. I did verify that they were not tracking after I got home from each match. I now use Premiere Reticles. Ya, the are $3K each but they do what they are supposed to.
All this being said, SWFA does stand behind their product and I thank them for that. They do make a great product for the price point.
Sure every company has a defective product hit the street form time to time but one person getting two of them... Really? I paid good $ to get into these matches only to have my scope loose tracking. I did verify that they were not tracking after I got home from each match. I now use Premiere Reticles. Ya, the are $3K each but they do what they are supposed to.
All this being said, SWFA does stand behind their product and I thank them for that. They do make a great product for the price point.
I had one for like less than 3 weeks. The glass is better than NXS's that I compared to. (Color pop/ true colors).. I didn't like the reticle at all, the thickness of the reticles and the diamonds were not of my liking and when there's that much money out on scopes or anything for that matter, I sure want things right the way I want them.
