SWFA SS Turret Markings

[BuffCyclist]

I put a silver paint dot at the end of the horizontal line. So I can easily see if I'm up more than a turn from zero. That's my zero "visual" stop for the SWFA. My Viper Vortex PST has a mechanical one that uses shims like stated above. It stops just past zero so I just move it a click or two to get back to zero. Still have to look at both methods to verify exact zero.

Thanks, I may end up marking it with paint once I get it zeroed. Same thing goes for the eyepiece focus (reticle), it is very easy to turn and with the flip up cap on it, it will move.

The storm finally cleared today so I looked out of my room with the scope at a building the next mountain peak over. I used gmap-pedometer and discovered it is .40 miles away (birds eye) or roughly 700yds. At that distance, the scope is crystal clear and I can make out plenty of detail on the building. I'm even able to read a roughly 1ft x 1.5ft sign that is next to the door (deliveries in rear type sign) without much difficulty. I always thought 10x at distances like that would be difficult to resolve anything. Perhaps it was just my first 3-9 scope that was pretty bad because I had trouble seeing targets at 200yds.

Anyways, just having this scope and spending time researching long distance shooting, I feel like I'm learning a lot (theory at least). Am considering picking up one of those 7" x 12" AR500 plates that whats his face is selling on here. My range goes out to 360yds, so that would be roughly 2moa x 3.5moa at that distance, and even at 200yds it would be a tricky target to hit. Now all I have to do is wait until early next week when I get home from work before I can mount the scope and head to the range.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

[Blowby]

With a fixed scope like your 10x the light gathering and clarity will always be better than a variable like the 3-9 you had. The number of lenses needed for a variable scope can vary to maybe 5 lenses. More glass to pass light through will degrade the image a little per lens. With a fixed sight you have fewer lenses, maybe only 2 so the image is not degraded as much. Now don't get me wrong there are great quality variable scopes but you pay BIG BUCK's for the glass quality required.

[BuffCyclist]

With a fixed scope like your 10x the light gathering and clarity will always be better than a variable like the 3-9 you had. The number of lenses needed for a variable scope can vary to maybe 5 lenses. More glass to pass light through will degrade the image a little per lens. With a fixed sight you have fewer lenses, maybe only 2 so the image is not degraded as much. Now don't get me wrong there are great quality variable scopes but you pay BIG BUCK's for the glass quality required.

Makes lots of sense, I deal with mirrors primarily so the larger the objective, the more light you can gather. The old scope was a 42mm and the SS is a 42mm as well, just never put two and two together.

And yes, I've seen how expensive the high quality variable power scopes can be, kind of hope I never get THAT much into long range shooting

Spun the turrets around another 5 cycles today and I absolutely love them! Can't wait to take this thing shooting!

[skullybones]

Thanks, I may end up marking it with paint once I get it zeroed. Same thing goes for the eyepiece focus (reticle), it is very easy to turn and with the flip up cap on it, it will move.

If you are varying target distance, you will be adjusting parallax often. I wouldn't worry too much about marking the eyepiece focus.

[BuffCyclist]

If you are varying target distance, you will be adjusting parallax often. I wouldn't worry too much about marking the eyepiece focus.

Not parallax, the actual reticle focus that doesn't change at distances (this is the focus ring at the very end of the scope, not the parallax ring at the front of the eyepiece nearest the thin part of the tube).

[XC700116]

They will be scope specific, but we think that one size will fit all SWFA fixed power scopes, for example. The design is untested still, but if it works like we think it will, it will be easily adjustable. Skullybones may have prototypes ready some time next week.

Yes Please!!!

[TheBelly]

But still, I guess you have to know what turret revolution you're on.

just keep it between the navigational beacons: the scope has markings to tell you that you're between 4 & 5 in the above picture. Just put it at the zero marking (the one on the knob) in between the 4&5 (on the turret stem). Done. And yes, you're over thinking it.

go find timk's thread about his scope jig and how he makes sure it tracks correctly. Once you know it's tracking correctly (including return to zero), then all is well.

folks will check the tracking all the way up and down their scope. That's important if you plan on swapping the cope between rifles, but if a scope is going to live on a rifle on a semi-but-mostly-permanent basis, then just make sure the 10-15~ish mils that you're going to use are tracking correctly.

[BuffCyclist]

Thanks again Belly, I actually found TimK's thread on his scope tracking jig, looks very nice! Once I get the scope mounted and zeroed, I'll definitely be doing tracking tests, but nothing as serious as TimK's, mostly just up 1mil, line up with the reticle, up 1mil, etc.

[TheBelly]

Thanks again Belly, I actually found TimK's thread on his scope tracking jig, looks very nice! Once I get the scope mounted and zeroed, I'll definitely be doing tracking tests, but nothing as serious as TimK's, mostly just up 1mil, line up with the reticle, up 1mil, etc.

1 mil won't really expose any flaws (not big ones at least). Track all the way up the 10 mils on the scope, with one shot at each mil mark, then measure the first and last shot. It should average out to 1 mil for both the dialed amount AND the distance between shots...

[BuffCyclist]

I think we were talking about the same thing.

Zero Scope
Dial up 1mil, shoot
Dial up 1mil, shoot
Dial up 1mil, shoot
Dial up 1mil, shoot
Dial up 1mil, shoot

Keep going until I get to the top of the reticle. The shots should line up with the 1mil marks in the reticle. Then, go back to zero, shot again. Then, dial down the 10mil on the reticle, for a total of 15mil of reticle holdover basically. (so I'd have 1 shot on each of the vertical 1mil diamonds on the milquad reticle.