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Rifle Scopes SWFA 5-20x50 HD vs Midas TAC 6-24x50?

R

RFMan

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Minuteman
May 10, 2013
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Anyone ever compare these two?

I have an SWFA 3-15x42 FFP that I've had a few years. I put in on an SPR-ish rifle in 5.56mm with a White Oak barrel, and I've had a lot of fun and education shooting to 600m (I haven't done as much as I'd like, but I've done more that I had...).

I have an M&P 10 that I changed to a free-float handguard and a better trigger; I'd like to take it out to 1000m. I have a hard limit of around $800. That has me looking at the SWFA 5-20x50 HD, 30mm (thanks to the SWFA sale), and the Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x56, 34mm. I'm looking for advice on this choice, or maybe another suggestion at this price point.

I almost just bought another 3-15x42 since I have one already, like that scope, and have some experience with it. But that sale has me intrigued, and I'm going to ask elementary but subjective questions, like: would I like the extra mag on the upper end enough for the money? Would I like the 5-20 HD glass better than the 3-15 glass (if at all)? I'm not going to mind the extra weight; it will be welcome, all things considered. The TAC has 6 more mm of aperture, and is a 34mm tube...but I don't know (doubt?) if its whole package beats the SWFA; they are only equal in price because of the sale. How does the glass compare between the two scopes? In other words, is the extra mag of the Midas over the SWFA helpful/usable, at the ranges I'm looking at?

(As a data point, I had a Primary Arms 4-14x FFP scope...and, oh yes, even I can tell the difference between it and the 3-15x42, even at 100m...no big surprise there.)

All help is appreciated.
  • What is the platform for the scope? M&P 10, semiautomatic (though I may very well one day move it to a .308 bolt gun)
  • What cartridge are you shooting? 7.62mm/.308Win
  • What is your intended use for the scope? Primarily paper target, secondarily steel
  • What type of conditions will you typically shoot in? Early morning through dusk
  • What are the typical distances you intend to shoot? 600-1000m
  • Are there any specific specifications you would like? Desire FFP, "high enough" mag, "good glass" (yeah, I know)
  • What is the price range you can afford? ~$800
 
The 5-20 is an excellent scope in my opinion. It’s an old design but dials very reliably and has significantly better glass than your 3-15 SS. I would rank its durability right up there with the best.

Cons

No zero stop
Heavy


I went from SS to Mk5 to ZCO and still wouldn’t hesitate to buy another SS. Not a chance I’d buy another Mk 5.
 
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stanley_white said:
I would love to hear more about this if you are willing to share.

-Stan
Click to expand...


I had been fortunate having never had a scope fail to track properly or maintain zero prior to buying the Mk5. That fact lead me to a full year of tracking down rifle issues that didn’t exist. The Mk5 would just start drifting higher after dialing, but it wasn’t immediate, it would hold for several rounds then start drifting. After essentially going through the rifle twice I switched the scopes and the issue followed the scope to the other rifle. Suddenly my rifle was awesome. I sent the scope to Leupold who said there was nothing wrong with it but they rebuilt the erector anyway. A second unfortunate event was that I had given up on the rifle before I found the problem and had listed it for sale at a low low price noting that it was a problem child. So of course it sold cheap and I lost my ass. 100% on me.


This was essentially my fault for not recognizing that the scope was the issue sooner, but it was a brand new scope on a new rifle that I built myself. I assumed that the issue was my work and not a brand new $2800 scope.
 
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Cberndt said:
I had been fortunate having never had a scope fail to track properly or maintain zero prior to buying the Mk5. That fact lead me to a full year of tracking down rifle issues that didn’t exist. The Mk5 would just start drifting higher after dialing, but it wasn’t immediate, it would hold for several rounds then start drifting. After essentially going through the rifle twice I switched the scopes and the issue followed the scope to the other rifle. Suddenly my rifle was awesome. I sent the scope to Leupold who said there was nothing wrong with it but they rebuilt the erector anyway. A second unfortunate event was that I had given up on the rifle before I found the problem and had listed it for sale at a low low price noting that it was a problem child. So of course it sold cheap and I lost my ass. 100% on me.


This was essentially my fault for not recognizing that the scope was the issue sooner, but it was a brand new scope on a new rifle that I built myself. I assumed that the issue was my work and not a brand new $2800 scope.
Click to expand...
Thank you!

-Stan
 
The SWFA 5-20 doesn't have a built-in zero stop, but you can buy a set of zero stop shims from Sniper's Hide member TimK here. He linked a video in the first post of that thread showing how to install them. I've had good experiences with all my Athlon scopes, and the Midas has a good feature set, but opto-mechanically the SWFA 5-20 is a definite step up, it's Japanese made, and for distances out to 1000m, 20x is more than enough to get the job done.

If you really want higher magnification, another scope you might consider is the Burris XTR III 5.5-30x56. It has more modern reticle choices, a full set of features and provides a very wide field of view. New, it's going to bust your budget, but if you can find a good used example in the PX here, you just might be able to make it work.
 
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RFMan said:
Looks good on paper. Out of stock though. Thanks for the pointer.
Click to expand...
Supposed to be back in stock next week. Not sure how fast you need it but might be worth the wait.
 
rhsc said:
The SWFA 5-20 doesn't have a built-in zero stop, but you can buy a set of zero stop shims from Sniper's Hide member TimK here. He linked a video in the first post of that thread showing how to install them. I've had good experiences with all my Athlon scopes, and the Midas has a good feature set, but opto-mechanically the SWFA 5-20 is a definite step up, it's Japanese made, and for distances out to 1000m, 20x is more than enough to get the job done.

If you really want higher magnification, another scope you might consider is the Burris XTR III 5.5-30x56. It has more modern reticle choices, a full set of features and provides a very wide field of view. New, it's going to bust your budget, but if you can find a good used example in the PX here, you just might be able to make it work.
Click to expand...
I bought zero stop shims from him for my 3-15x42 :)

Yep, that busts the budget!

Yes, I'd LIKE more mag...but it must be GOOD mag. I appreciate the info; it's helping me to decide.
 
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Rob01 said:
Supposed to be back in stock next week. Not sure how fast you need it but might be worth the wait.
Click to expand...
I've never had the chance to look through any "better" Bushnell optics, so I have that age-old question about the glass...in particular, in comparison to the SWFA 5-20. Any thoughts there?
 
The SWFA has 10mil turrets so depending on caliber and distance you'll be dialing quite a ways before making a full revolution. Much better glass quality than the regular SWFA lineup. I wish they made their 3-9 with the little low profile turrets that are on that 1-4 scope. Another option would be a used bushnell HDMR if you wanted to try out the Horus/G2 reticules. The Burris 3-18 with the SCR2 reticule gets a lot of love on here as well. It used to be there weren't many options, now it's the opposite you have tons of options.
 
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SWFA because it's Japanese and the Midas is Phillipino IIRC. They're a little outdated but reliability trumps features 100% of the time.
 
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RFMan said:
I've never had the chance to look through any "better" Bushnell optics, so I have that age-old question about the glass...in particular, in comparison to the SWFA 5-20. Any thoughts there?
Click to expand...
Here’s a thread on them.

www.snipershide.com

Introducing The 5-30x56 Match Pro ED

Bushnell 5-30x56 Match Pro ED The 6-24x50 Match Pro has been a great optic, but some folks were wanting more. With the 5-30x56 Match Pro ED We really tried to pack everything we could into this that people said they wanted. Major differences: Magnification range - Went way up up to 5-30x...
www.snipershide.com www.snipershide.com
 
RFMan said:
I've never had the chance to look through any "better" Bushnell optics, so I have that age-old question about the glass...in particular, in comparison to the SWFA 5-20. Any thoughts there?
Click to expand...
I’m don’t know about clarity but in my opinion you’re talking about scopes in two different classes. The SWFA may be dated but it’s in the same class as the NF NXS in my opinion. Also a dated but excellent scope.

If you want to compare the SS 5-20 to a Bushnell look at the 3.5-21s of various ABCs. DMR/HDMR/II etc. that is a proven good scope series.
 
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Rob01 said:
Here’s a thread on them.

www.snipershide.com

Introducing The 5-30x56 Match Pro ED

Bushnell 5-30x56 Match Pro ED The 6-24x50 Match Pro has been a great optic, but some folks were wanting more. With the 5-30x56 Match Pro ED We really tried to pack everything we could into this that people said they wanted. Major differences: Magnification range - Went way up up to 5-30x...
www.snipershide.com www.snipershide.com
Click to expand...
I read that. I might would go for the Bushy, but the SWFA sale ends May 1. At this point the SWFA is the front-runner.
 
RFMan said:
I read that. I might would go for the Bushy, but the SWFA sale ends May 1. At this point the SWFA is the front-runner.
Click to expand...
The SWFA is stupid good for the price. I’ve never looked through a match pro but I’ve had and have several Bushnells that are at the top of the Bushnell line and the swfa we have is as good or better than those.
 
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I really liked my SWFA 5-20. I replaced it with the latest DMR3, and the bushy is a little better, but for $800 the SWFA is a solid buy. There are times I would prefer the simple mil dot reticle, but other times I’m happy with the G4P reticle. The G4 is fairly thin and can get tough to see subtensions at lower power against a dark background.
Overall I’m a fan of both scopes in the $1000 budget range so you can’t go wrong.
 
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RFMan said:
I've never had the chance to look through any "better" Bushnell optics, so I have that age-old question about the glass...in particular, in comparison to the SWFA 5-20. Any thoughts there?
Click to expand...
The SWFA is pretty comparable to the original DMR. The ERS, LRHS, LRTS, DMRII, DMRIIPro, XRS, XRSII, and DMRIII, are better. I haven't seen and XRSIII, but assumedly. The SWFA is ok, but I wouldn't pay almost as much for it, as some of the listed Bushnells, or an XTR2 or 3.
 
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supercorndogs said:
The SWFA is pretty comparable to the original DMR. The ERS, LRHS, LRTS, DMRII, DMRIIPro, XRS, XRSII, and DMRIII, are better. I haven't seen and XRSIII, but assumedly. The SWFA is ok, but I wouldn't pay almost as much for it, as some of the listed Bushnells, or an XTR2 or 3.
Click to expand...
Our 5-20HD was way, way better than the DMR2 we tried years ago. The 2 Pro is as good or a little better than the 5-20 but not by much. All subjective of course as eyes are different and scopes of the same model can be different.
 
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supercorndogs said:
The SWFA is pretty comparable to the original DMR. The ERS, LRHS, LRTS, DMRII, DMRIIPro, XRS, XRSII, and DMRIII, are better. I haven't seen and XRSIII, but assumedly. The SWFA is ok, but I wouldn't pay almost as much for it, as some of the listed Bushnells, or an XTR2 or 3.
Click to expand...
Well, that's the thing. I can't find any of those priced below $1500 (e.g., DMR3 at EuroOptic). SWFA had a sale, and the 5-20x50 HD was $780. Around $800 was my limit for this. I'll certainly keep an eye out for those other models, even if only to grab a peek through one if possible, but that's out of my reach for now. I appreciate knowing how they rank though.
 
RFMan said:
Well, that's the thing. I can't find any of those priced below $1500 (e.g., DMR3 at EuroOptic). SWFA had a sale, and the 5-20x50 HD was $780. Around $800 was my limit for this. I'll certainly keep an eye out for those other models, even if only to grab a peek through one if possible, but that's out of my reach for now. I appreciate knowing how they rank though.
Click to expand...
Optics planet has the xtr2 5-25 in that sand camo below 600 pretty often. Natchez and ebay have good prices sometimes too. Between the first two you mentioned I would have to lean heavily toward the SWFA
 
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RFMan said:
I bought zero stop shims from him for my 3-15x42 :)

Yep, that busts the budget!

Yes, I'd LIKE more mag...but it must be GOOD mag. I appreciate the info; it's helping me to decide.
Click to expand...
I use those shims on my 3-15 SS but I don’t believe that they will work on a 5-20. I remember that there was a thread on that long ago. Double check with him to be sure before you buy them
 
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The SWFA is here. I like it. The side focus is rather stiff, but it's starting to loosen a little. I'll know more when I put it on the rifle and shoot...which is AT LEAST a month away due to work.

Thanks for all the input.
 
RFMan said:
The SWFA is here. I like it. The side focus is rather stiff, but it's starting to loosen a little. I'll know more when I put it on the rifle and shoot...which is AT LEAST a month away due to work.

Thanks for all the input.
Click to expand...
Head over to the Aadmount website and buy the parallax gripper for the SWFA 5-20. It’s listed as backordered, but just buy it and he makes them as orders come in. I had one on my old 5-20 and it was well worth it for the notoriously stiff parallax knob.
 
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