Rifle Scopes VX-R Patrol 1.25-4x20 or SWFA 1-4x24

[RiverRatMatt]

I'm about ready to put a new scope on my lightweight Remington 700 in .30-06. I've narrowed it down to these two scopes and would like some advice on which way to go. The rifle will mostly be used for hunting big critters (elk, bear, mtn lion etc) in wooded conditions and some long range shooting out to 500m.

I considered the SWFA 1-6x24 but it is just a bit too heavy and considerably more expensive than the VX-R. (22.4 oz and $1000).

As I see it:

VX-R pros:
Extremely light - 11.5 oz
Good glass
Good price

Cons:
No true 1x (it's actually a 1.5x)
Less precise reticle (mil markings are at. 2.5 mils, thick lines)
SFP (ick)


SWFA 1-4x24 pros:
True 1x
More precise reticle
FFP
Bigger exit pupil

Cons:
$230 more expensive
50% heavier (17.5 oz)
Unknown [to me] glass quality



So what do you guys think? I'm leaning toward the SWFA at the moment. How is the glass?

Maybe I should spring the extra $200 for the even heavier 1-6?

 

[rweaver00geo]

I cannot compare the two as I have never looked thru the swfa but I do own the vx-r in 1-4 ger #4 and its nice, lightweight and I love the auto off feature. The cross hairs are a little thick, they obscure an entire orange at 150 yards. Its not a target scope so that doesn't bother me and neither does the 1.5 on the low end vs a true 1x. I do miss a little more top end magnification but most my other scopes top out on 16-20 range. 1-6 power would be ideal imo and in a way regret not getting the 2-8 vxr

 

[strambo]

Since it is for a bolt action the 1.5x vs true 1x isn't as big of a deal like it would be on an AR. The 2.5 mils is OK considering the low magnification, 1 mil marks are harder to see at 4x. And for anything under 10x, I'd prefer SFP since you can't really mil well at lower magnification (hence the 2.5 mil markings).

The SWFA doesn't use FFP to make the mils work at lower magnification, they use it to make the close quarter circle small at 1x, the magnify out of the way at 4x. These scopes are typically used at 1 or 4, not in between.

I just got the 3-9x40 VXR Patrol, I really like the firedot, it is daylight bright. That said, I like the way the reticle works on the SWFA with the CQB circle for 1x and the mils fat 4x. Hard choice!

 

[CSTactical]

Vortex 1-4x with or without capped turrets. If your looking at 1-6x look at the Vortex HD GENII 1-6x these scope are very nice.

Mike @ CSTACTICAL

 

[RiverRatMatt]

Any other input? A bit torn between the VX-R 1.25-4 and SWFA 3-9x42. Still like the size/ weight of the Patrol but I'm not sure about 4x for 500m.


2.5-10 sounds good but the only scopes I'm seeing in that mag range are Nightforce NXS which are $1600+ and SFP.