Rifle Scopes Is there a better go-to scope than the Weaver 3-15x50 EMDR?

BurnOut

BurnOut

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Nov 24, 2013
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#1
So, after much consideration, I think that the 3-15x50 Weaver Tactical with the EMDR reticle is probably the .308W of the optics world. Rarely is it the BEST answer, but it's almost always a good one.

The glass is good, the tracking is decent, the reticle is in the first focal plane and is of a non-offensive (and even somewhat useful) design, the weight/size are livable, and the magnification range is pretty useful for most cartridges and applications in the rifle hunting and leisure shooting realm. The cost is within reach of most folks who are interested in the hobby, especially if you catch 'em on sale.

So, that's my take on it... what's yours?
 
#3
I have not looked through one to compare glass, but my go-to around that price range is the SWFA 3-15. While I would prefer a larger objective lens and it doesn't have illumination, it accomplishes everything I need out of it.

The budget 3-15's really are perfect for the average shooter or a rifle that serves multiple uses.
 
#5
They're a nice option in the $500-$600 range on sale. I hope to see an updated model with a better reticle and the zero stop/10 mil. turrets of their 6-30 model. I'm not really a fan of the popup turrets, but they work.

Seems like everything over $600 these days has a zero stop. The lack of a zero stop is the main reason I sold mine.

They are currently $599 at Natchez. Think I paid around $525 shipped for mine. Natchez's prices are always changing though.

https://www.natchezss.com/weaver-su...llum-enhanced-mil-dot-reticle-emdr-matte.html
 
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#6
I concur on the zero stop, other than lacking that feature and that fact the reticle could be improved (though it works), they're good optics. You get Japanese build quality and some nice features at an affordable price.

That said, I absolutely believe that the DMR2 is worth the additional price (yes over double, I know) and is what I label as the best option for a new entry level optic. For budget my vote always goes to a SWFA fixed power, I'd personally buy one (or two) 10x or 12x over the Weaver.
 
#7
redneckbmxer24 said:
That said, I absolutely believe that the DMR2 is worth the additional price (yes over double, I know) and is what I label as the best option for a new entry level optic. For budget my vote always goes to a SWFA fixed power, I'd personally buy one (or two) 10x or 12x over the Weaver.
Click to expand...

The thing about the Weaver, for me, is that it's just so versatile. I have two of them currently - one on a 20" heavy/bench Grendel AR, one on an 18" heavy/prairie dog 5.56 AR, and two more on order... one of which will find a home on a varmint-barreled .243 R700, and the other on a stupid-heavy barreled 16" Mauser in .308; as I mentioned previously, the Weaver may not be the best choice for any of those guns, but it's a pretty good one. There are certainly some improvements that could be made (as mentioned, a zero-stop and an updated reticle would be nice), but it's honestly a pretty useful optic for anything from picking off critters the size of squirrels out to 400 or so yards (maybe even 500), to banging steel out to perhaps 750.
 
#8
I haven't even seen the Weaver 3-15 yet.

Owned 3 SWFA 3-15's. Good scopes in a various ways, or at least some of the features I wanted like for one the 6m focus for indoor shooting with air rifles in the winter. I sold two of them because they aren't quite what I wanted.

Had 2 or 3 of the SWFA fixed power scopes. Just didn't cut it for me.

Being picky about close focus and nice tree reticles I have gotten away from some other scopes and into the cheap Athlon Talos 4-14x44 and Argos BTR's. I've had great times with them and they have worked fantastic. Of note was achieving the top score at our state match last year and getting my first perfect score this year with the Argos BTR 6-24x50. Sold the one from last year to a friend and bought the second which is on my rifle now, so good tracking and overall performance. This month I held over for the entire match and won freestyle division.

The most recent addition is a Ares 2.5-15x50 which has exceeded my expectations for the money so far! It has 10y parallax side focus, 10 mil knobs with zero stop and as of late my favorite tree reticle and great glass as well. I like it enough I'm leaving it on my AR in place of the Bushnell LRHS which is collecting dust in the safe right now.

A friend just bought the 4.5-27x50 Ares BTR. Actually a mil version was sent to me by mistake so I sold it. Athlon sent a moa version the next week. I got to inspect both a little bit just to compare with my other scopes. The conclusion is that both had "great everything", nothing but a smile when I was done looking at them and feeling the controls! In other words there was absolutely nothing that brought attention to itself to fault those scopes on!!! Right now I've got more scopes than rifles but one of these is definitely on my bucket list.
 
#9
SWFA is the standard. Who cares if it doesn't have zero stop. That is what the horizontal hash marks are for under the turrets.
 
#10
Culpeper said:
I like the 20x regular mil dot. I have a few of them.
Click to expand...

I run one of those also, I'm not a slave to the latest - newest stuff made in China!!!!!

 

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#11
Culpeper said:
SWFA is the standard. Who cares if it doesn't have zero stop. That is what the horizontal hash marks are for under the turrets.
Click to expand...

SWFA is the standard in this price range. It is amazing in terms of tracking, zero retention and offers more travel than anything at this price point. It is also built like a bloody tank. I use it on my Anschutz 64MPR. Elevation range sure comes in handy when shooting that .22LR past 200 yards. Not to mention that it also has 10 mils on the windshield should you wish to holdover versus dial.

A zero stop can be added for $22. It is definitely nice to have IMHO as I am old and sometimes get lost in the multi revolution turret.
 
#12
redneckbmxer24 said:
That said, I absolutely believe that the DMR2 is worth the additional price (yes over double, I know) and is what I label as the best option for a new entry level optic.
Click to expand...

I love reading that because I decided on making one my next optic, but I also hate reading that for the fact that I want it sooner rather than later now! lol It will actually be replacing my SWFA 3-15.
 
#14
For the same price, the Weaver Tactical is a better scope than the SWFA, its got better glass, better turret design[the three screw top clamp is crap] For the fixed SWFA price, I just got an Athlon 4-14; and it demonstrates a better value than the SWFA to me.[I.E I used to alway keep a 10x SWFA for a back up, not anymore].
 
#15
Nik H said:
SWFA is the standard in this price range. It is amazing in terms of tracking, zero retention and offers more travel than anything at this price point. It is also built like a bloody tank. I use it on my Anschutz 64MPR. Elevation range sure comes in handy when shooting that .22LR past 200 yards. Not to mention that it also has 10 mils on the windshield should you wish to holdover versus dial.

A zero stop can be added for $22. It is definitely nice to have IMHO as I am old and sometimes get lost in the multi revolution turret.
Click to expand...

Wasn't it you that just had a SWFA 3-15 fail in a 22 match??? The POI shifting IIRC. What was the conclusion?

I sold one to a friend recently and his dope isn't lining up. It was your post that got me thinking that it might be his SWFA 3-15 that might be having a problem. It's not 100% confirmed yet so no use in saying more as of now but...

At any rate the ones I had/have work/ed well for the most part, except the focus on mine won't focus the image sharply past 700Y. Maybe it's how I have the diopter set for my eyes.

At times I wish I could try every brand of scope so I could make up my own mind about them, like the Weaver. I saw that the enhanced mildot didn't have a half mil mark inside the first mil which would nix the idea of getting one to me anyway. I couldn't find info on the parallax but if it's 50y min that wouldn't work for me either being that I might want a scope on a 22 or air rifle to shoot closer in.
 
#16
I have been really tempted to try an Athlon to replace the SWFA as my go to budget recommendation. If they can nail the tracking down where it doesn't feel like a risk buying budget priced optics, I will be giving them a try.

Now note that I have not actively followed them for the last few months so maybe their tracking is already top tier in their budget lines.. I will look into it before picking up a DMR2.
 
#17
steve123 said:
Wasn't it you that just had a SWFA 3-15 fail in a 22 match??? The POI shifting IIRC. What was the conclusion?

I sold one to a friend recently and his dope isn't lining up. It was your post that got me thinking that it might be his SWFA 3-15 that might be having a problem. It's not 100% confirmed yet so no use in saying more as of now but...

At any rate the ones I had/have work/ed well for the most part, except the focus on mine won't focus the image sharply past 700Y. Maybe it's how I have the diopter set for my eyes.

At times I wish I could try every brand of scope so I could make up my own mind about them, like the Weaver. I saw that the enhanced mildot didn't have a half mil mark inside the first mil which would nix the idea of getting one to me anyway. I couldn't find info on the parallax but if it's 50y min that wouldn't work for me either being that I might want a scope on a 22 or air rifle to shoot closer in.
Click to expand...

Good memory Steve....

The failure was mine. I was one revolution off and the ZS was set poorly by me. All is good. Still ended up winning the 200 yard portion after I CALMED down.
 
#19
I have a 3-15×50 and feel it is very good. I like it. My biggest and most difficult decision when trying to decide what to buy was picking between the SWFA 3-15x42 vs the weaver. I don't regret buying the weaver but I still want an SWFA lol.
 
#21
Well, that'll learn me... here I go, bragging about the Weaver Tactical 3-15x50, and I had an out-of-the-box failure on the illumination on one of them. D'oh!! I have a call in to their CS, so we'll see how it goes...

(Yes, I tried a known-good battery just in case the included battery was a dud)
 
#22
supercorndogs said:
[the three screw top clamp is crap]
Click to expand...

Seems to be working ok for Nightforce, Vortex, and others....


I had one of the 4-20X50 versions and it was a good scope, always held zero and tracked spot on. The only flaw I found was the reticle wasn't centered in the tube and when I purchased it, was only offerent with MOA knobs and a mil-dot reticle. Seemed like a well made optic though. I still think SWFA owns the market in the $750 or less range for a repeatable and reliable precision rifle scope.
 
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#23
wareagle700 said:
Seems to be working ok for Nightforce, Vortex, and others....


.
Click to expand...

Just because it works doesn't make it good. Splined turret covers are much better. "Crap" was specifically referring to the set up on the SWFA low end turret covers.

I think SWFA needs to make a bunch of updates to stay competitive in any of their target price ranges, and needs to review their Leupold like business model of skating on a ten year old reputation; if they want to stay relevant. But thats just how I see it.

 
#24
I would like to see some SWFA updates. The turrets track well, but they need some design updates. Add in a zero stop, shrink turret height, maybe toss in illumination as an option while staying close to their price point and I think the argument would always tip their way.
 
#25
supercorndogs said:
Just because it works doesn't make it good. Splined turret covers are much better. "Crap" was specifically referring to the set up on the SWFA low end turret covers.

I think SWFA needs to make a bunch of updates to stay competitive in any of their target price ranges, and needs to review their Leupold like business model of skating on a ten year old reputation; if they want to stay relevant. But thats just how I see it.
Click to expand...

I agree somewhat. However, for something to be "much better" there would have to be a significant amount of failures with the other designs. I see where you are coming from but the 2 and 3 screw design has been working very well for years on some of the toughest scopes out there. Not to mention many manufacturers using "splined" turrets struggle to get 50% of their scopes with reference marks that actually line up.

The SWFA scopes certainly have room for improvement but as far as mechanics go, they are unmatched for the dollar.
 
#26
wareagle700 said:
I agree somewhat. However, for something to be "much better" there would have to be a significant amount of failures with the other designs. I see where you are coming from but the 2 and 3 screw design has been working very well for years on some of the toughest scopes out there. Not to mention many manufacturers using "splined" turrets struggle to get 50% of their scopes with reference marks that actually line up.

The SWFA scopes certainly have room for improvement but as far as mechanics go, they are unmatched for the dollar.
Click to expand...

That is true, much better is a stretch. Crap was also a stretch. I ran a 10x for years and have nothing against it, probably my favorite in their line up.
 
#27
Arguing whether Weaver 3-15x50mm or SWFA 3-15x42mm is the best go-to scope is rather silly. Sig Sauer's Tango 4 3-12x42mm is in all probability the "best" go-to entry Tactical scope currently made.

For $749.99 you get:

FFP
MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA
Illumination
Zero Stop
40 Mils of adjustment or 100 MOA if you choose an MOA/MOA adjustment/reticle
24.4 oz Package

https://swfa.com/sig-sauer-3-12x42-t...lescope-3.html
 
#28
BobinNC said:
Arguing whether Weaver 3-15x50mm or SWFA 3-15x42mm is the best go-to scope is rather silly. Sig Sauer's Tango 4 3-12x42mm is in all probability the "best" go-to entry Tactical scope currently made.

For $749.99 you get:

FFP
MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA
Illumination
Zero Stop
40 Mils of adjustment or 100 MOA if you choose an MOA/MOA adjustment/reticle
24.4 oz Package

https://swfa.com/sig-sauer-3-12x42-t...lescope-3.html
Click to expand...

The only thing missing from the Weaver in question is the zero-stop, and it's all of 3 oz. heavier... and can be found on sale (at Natchez SS) for $599. For the $150 difference, I can deal with either shims or lack of a zero-stop. I don't have the ability to do a comparison of image quality, but I will say that the Weaver has a 50 mm objective vs. 42 mm for the Sig (may allow the Weaver to gather light better, by comparison).
 
#29
Update on the non-functioning illumination: I called Weaver support yesterday, and the support rep, after listening to the symptoms, told me that it was likely that there was just some shmutz (my word) in the battery compartment and that I should try cleaning it with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. I figured that I'd humor him, 'cause why not, and I had already gone through the trouble of mounting/leveling the scope.

I'll be damned if it didn't actually work! I figured that there was no way that was the problem, since there wasn't any visible gunk in the battery compartment on a fresh, out-of-the-box scope. However, as I ran the alcohol-soaked cotton swab around, it definitely picked up some stuff... and even then I figured that I was pissing in the wind. Put the battery back in, and sure as shit, the illumination fired right up, just like you'd expect.

So, to make a short story long, if you have malfunctioning illumination on one of your scopes, try cleaning the battery compartment with alcohol on a Q-tip... you may pick up more gunk than you expect, and "repair" your optic.
 
#33
BobinNC said:
Arguing whether Weaver 3-15x50mm or SWFA 3-15x42mm is the best go-to scope is rather silly. Sig Sauer's Tango 4 3-12x42mm is in all probability the "best" go-to entry Tactical scope currently made.

For $749.99 you get:

FFP
MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA
Illumination
Zero Stop
40 Mils of adjustment or 100 MOA if you choose an MOA/MOA adjustment/reticle
24.4 oz Package

https://swfa.com/sig-sauer-3-12x42-t...lescope-3.html
Click to expand...

I think this is a WAY better deal:
 
#35
This is an interesting discussion.

Weaver EMDR 3-15x50 is an exceptionally nice scope for the money, although I prefer the SWFA SS 3-15x42 FFP. I am not terribly happy with Weaver turrets (although they usually track) and I definitely prefer Mil Quad reticle.

Generally, I lean toward the SWFA 3-15x42FFP, 3-9x42FFP and 10x42 being the most proven of the existing precision oriented designs in the sub-$1k range. I am particularly fond of the 3-9x42 of which I own two, one with a Mil-Dot reticle and another with the Mil-Quad. However, for general purpose use, the 3-15x42 that focuses down to 7 yards is a more flexible design.

That having been said, there are newer entrants into this price range that are very full featured and seem to be holding up alright. They need a bit more time to prove themselves out, but they are definitely steps in the right direction. Of the Chinese made scopes, Athlon and HiLux are the ones I am watching most carefully. Athlon Ares 4.5-27x50 is exceedingly nice for what it costs and I am also seeing a lot to like in HiLux' 5-30x56FFP Phenom.

If you can live with SFP, Hawke Frontier 30 and Athlon Midas are worth looking at.

All the scopes I have mentioned so far are in the sub-$800 range (or much less for some of the SWFAs).

Now, if you are willing to move up in price a little to around $1k mark, you can add Burris XTR II and Vortex PST Gen 2 to the list.

PST Gen II is a new design, so durability needs to be proven out. Still, 3-15x44 is looking pretty good and is likely a contender.

XTR II, however, has been out for a bit and I am really impressed with the 2-10x42 I tested a little while back. If I were looking for a general purpose scope in the $1k range, XTR II would be at or near the top of my list.

Disclaimer: I have not tested Sig's Tango 4. I liked Tango6, but it is made in a different factory.

ILya
 
#38
I've only used the 5-20x50 FFP Weaver and it's a hell of a scope for the money. Another good one for me has always been the bushnel elite 3200 10x40. I think I own five of them. All of my rim fires have the for gopher hunting. I taught my girlfriend to use mil dots with one on her .17. It's a hell of thing to see her ranging and taking head shots on gophers at 200 yards.
 
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