Swift scope

[White Horseradish]

I bought a Swift SR665M scope on the recommendation of a guy I trust in gun-related things. He said they were the best of cheap brands. The glass is pretty decent.

http://www.swift-sportoptics.com/rscopes_reliant.html

"A versatile compact and variable scope. Especially desired by brush hunters to pick up moving objects at low powers for the wide field of view."

The scope got all milky after about 100 rounds on a 7.62x39 AR. I wrote their support.

First, they tried to convince me that I destroyed it with excessive recoil and that it was never meant for "powerful calibers". I pointed out their site makes no mention of caliber limitations, and that 7.62x39 is an intermediate caliber, and that since they advertise it as "desired by brush hunters", it can't be meant for a .22 only.

So, they issued me a number and had me send it in for warranty service along with $25 "inspection fee".

A few weeks went by. I wrote them again, asking for an update. They replied they were "working on my scope today".

A month later I sent them a much ruder email asking WTF was going on. Three days later I got a package with a scope in it.

I think I'm going to stay away from them from now on...

[Jocassee]

I bought a Swift SR665M scope on the recommendation of a guy I trust in gun-related things. He said they were the best of cheap brands. The glass is pretty decent.

http://www.swift-sportoptics.com/rscopes_reliant.html

"A versatile compact and variable scope. Especially desired by brush hunters to pick up moving objects at low powers for the wide field of view."

The scope got all milky after about 100 rounds on a 7.62x39 AR. I wrote their support.

First, they tried to convince me that I destroyed it with excessive recoil and that it was never meant for "powerful calibers". I pointed out their site makes no mention of caliber limitations, and that 7.62x39 is an intermediate caliber, and that since they advertise it as "desired by brush hunters", it can't be meant for a .22 only.

So, they issued me a number and had me send it in for warranty service along with $25 "inspection fee".

A few weeks went by. I wrote them again, asking for an update. They replied they were "working on my scope today".

A month later I sent them a much ruder email asking WTF was going on. Three days later I got a package with a scope in it.

I think I'm going to stay away from them from now on...

In this day and age it seems along with paying more for a superior product you also get superior service as well.

[griz]

Not all economy brands have poor service.  I had a Simmons with the same symptoms.  They replaced it pretty quickly, no fees either.  Admittedly that was a few decades ago, but I think more shooting related companies have good service than other markets.

[MechAg94]

I have never been completely happy buying cheap scopes.  IMO, for that price, you aren't that far from Nikon or Leopold scopes. 

But I know lots of people have different opinions.  My Dad has liked Simmons for years.  I got a Simmons similar to the one you bought years ago that did fine for what I was looking for at the time.

[charby]

I have never been completely happy buying cheap scopes.  IMO, for that price, you aren't that far from Nikon or Leopold scopes. 

But I know lots of people have different opinions.  My Dad has liked Simmons for years.  I got a Simmons similar to the one you bought years ago that did fine for what I was looking for at the time.

I have Nikon and Burris (and on high end Weaver) on most of my rifles, got my first Leupold on my Rem 700 in .223 last fall, I'm sticking with Leupold for now on.

[bedlamite]

I've had warranty service from a few companies. Leupold and Vortex are excellent, I won't buy Nikon again.

[mtnbkr]

I have a Redfield Revenge on my heavy kicking 35Whelen and it has held up through a couple hundred shots as well as a few hundred on the 300wm barrel I had before (this is an Encore).  It has consistently held zero, even after removing and reinstalling it.

I have a Nikon on my muzzleloader barrel, no issues there, though I probably only have 100 shots through it.

My long-time deer rifle, a Winchester Featherweight 6.5x55 has sported a Leupold VX-1 2-7x32 for 14 years.  No issues and it's boringly reliable and accurate.

Chris

[Mannlicher]

"best of the cheap brands" is hardly a glowing recommendation.   :)

[White Horseradish]

"best of the cheap brands" is hardly a glowing recommendation.   :)

It's not.

Maybe next time I have an accident I'll buy a Leupold off the insurance...

[dogmush]

The ONLY cheap optics I've had success with is Primary Arms.  Their cheap Chinese stuff works way better than the other choices.  Which is not to say their stuff never failed. I had one of the first shipment of .300blk 1-6 scopes, and the reticle started turning in the scope.  But those have a store in TX I can call, and they know their niche is cheap stuff that sometimes fails so they back it up with great service when that happens.  EVERY other cheap Chinese scope I've had (and it took me a bit to learn my lesson) has failed and been backed by crap service. I have 4 PA red dots, and 3 PA scopes and only one scope is a replacement for a defect.  And when they replaced it I got the new upgraded model.  I sometimes feel like I'm shilling for them, but I get really good results from their stuff.


And besides:

Maybe next time I have an accident I'll buy a Leupold off the insurance...

That Swift is $181 at optics planet.  A comparable Leupold is $80 more.  $55 if you count the $25 service fee they hit you with.  I feel your insurance levels need to be looked at if that's all you get......

[brimic]

The ONLY cheap optics I've had success with is Primary Arms.  Their cheap Chinese stuff works way better than the other choices.  Which is not to say their stuff never failed. I had one of the first shipment of .300blk 1-6 scopes, and the reticle started turning in the scope.  But those have a store in TX I can call, and they know their niche is cheap stuff that sometimes fails so they back it up with great service when that happens.  EVERY other cheap Chinese scope I've had (and it took me a bit to learn my lesson) has failed and been backed by crap service. I have 4 PA red dots, and 3 PA scopes and only one scope is a replacement for a defect.  And when they replaced it I got the new upgraded model.  I sometimes feel like I'm shilling for them, but I get really good results from their stuff.


And besides:

That Swift is $181 at optics planet.  A comparable Leupold is $80 more.  $55 if you count the $25 service fee they hit you with.  I feel your insurance levels need to be looked at if that's all you get......

For $100 more, you could get a SWFA 'tactical' model, which is a far better scope for the money than the leupold.