Author Topic: Swift Scopes (Read 1274 times)

Possumcop · « **on:** January 18, 2003, 09:30:57 AM »

Has anyone here had any dealings with the Swift Premier scopes. I have Leupold and Nikon scopes and like them very well. I was reading an article on the EABCO web page to the fact that SWIFT Premier was comparible to the Leupold at a 1/3 the price. ANY COMMENTS???

Zachary · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2003, 01:29:17 PM »

"With optics, you get what you pay for." Does it make sense that you could have equal quality scopes, with one brand being 1/3 the price? :? Which leupod model were they talking about? The one that was made in 1856 B.C.? :?

The only thing that is comparable between the Swift and the Leupold is that they both have a tube with round glass pieces on both ends. Other than that, the buck stops there.

Keep in mind that Leupold has many levels of quality ranging from VX-1 to VX-II to Vari-X III to LPS. (and of course their other models like Tactical, Long Range, etc.). In all fairness, the Swift Premier might be comparable to the Leupold VX-I, no more(if even) the VX-II, and no where near the Vari-X III, and you are not even allowed to even THINK about comparing it with the LPS. :roll:

Zachary

onesonek · « **Reply #2 on:** January 19, 2003, 06:41:34 AM »

I too, seen that claim. My brother in-law, also swears by them. So I thought I'd try one once. I figured if it didn't meet expectations,I could replace the old weaver on my 22 with it. So far, I haven't had the chance to do alot of shooting with it on. But what shooting I have done, it seems ok. Except at the last and highest power setting. Then eye relief tends to be touchy. But on lower settings, the sight pictures are surprisingly clear. Also scope adjustments put the bullet where expect it to, and return. Are they Leupold replacements? I don't think so. But if you're on a buget, you could do worse. I most likely will replace it with my personal favorite, a Burris Signature. I guess my biggest concern, is how the Swift handles ambient temperature changes. If they don't fog up, I can't complain about the price or performance so far. But more testing is needed to be sure. O

acearch72 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2003, 01:26:51 PM »

I have some experience with the Swift that was posted on a different topic late last year. I will restate it for you.

I purchased a Savage Lazzeroni and because of the cost of the ammo, decided to save a few $$ and put a Swift Premier on it. I purchased the 4.5 x 14 x 50 with the illuminated recticle. I have a Leupold Vari X III in the same power without the illuminated recticle. When I looked at the Swift Scope I really couldn't see an appreciable difference between the Swift and my Leupold. So I purchased the Swift.

To make a long story short, I had problems with it. I initially related the problems to the Swift not being a strong enough scope to stand up to the recoil of the Lazzeroni. However, after thinking it through that's probably not what happened. It seems that the scope lost the ability to adjust zero. If I moved the point of impact right by 6" and up by 3", it might move to right by 2" and down by 4", or something similar. It did not have a problem with the accuracy, as I continued to shoot moa groups or better, just didn't know how to adjust it. I returned the scope to the store that I purchased it from and traded for a Zeiss.

However, I needed to replace a scope on another gun, so I purchased another Swift just like the one I returned. So from my standpoint, the Swift is a good scope at a reasonable value. Is it as good as a Leupold? Don't know, but I could have afforded to have purchased another Leupold but chose to go with the Swift because I liked it as well as the Leupold. In fact, I like it as well as the Zeiss that I put on my Lazzeroni, and if I was totally sure that it wasn't a recoil issue, I would not have hesitated to replace it on the Lazzeroni.