A thorough conversation with Swarovski - Conclusion: Rookhawk knows nothing and is wrong about everything

[Russ16]

This fascination with adjustable turrets is mind boggling to me. I have scopes with adjustable turrets on two rifles, both intended for long range shooting. IMO, if you need adjustable turrets on shots out to four hundred, you don’t know your rifle well enough.

I have one rifle with one figured I needed to at least experience it before criticizing. All I do is spend all my time paranoid that the turret has gotten moved without me knowing it.

 

[CZDiesel]

This fascination with adjustable turrets is mind boggling to me. I have scopes with adjustable turrets on two rifles, both intended for long range shooting. IMO, if you need adjustable turrets on shots out to four hundred, you don’t know your rifle well enough.

The Boone & Crocket reticle on my 264 and 7STW will allow me to hold dead on with the specific stadia out to 600yrds and then 700yrds using the top of the bottom duplex! And without having to fiddle with a silly turret!
Exactly how many wanna be sniper hunters are gonna shoot out past 700 yards?

 

[Green Chile]

The main thing is to know your gun/load and be able to get on target quickly. I've dialed at distance a few times on game (like Coues) but the main thing is knowing your setup and being able to shoot with confidence in as little time as possible. Sometimes game is unaware but a lot of opportunities don't last more than 10 seconds if that.

I think the most common mistake I have seen in the field is having too much magnification dialed up and the shooter can't see the animal or find them...or they switch back and forth between binos and riflescope. If the PH calls it out to you, get on the scope with as little delay as possible. When I see the sticks coming up, I'm setting up right now while the PH is making a decision. I want to be ready to shoot without delay. Get on the sticks and get settled onto the right animal and get your breathing under control while making any small adjustments if needed.

 

[Datchew]

Guess I'll stick with leupy vx6's
Rugged, dial reliably, and at least a small amount of consideration for customer preferences.

 

[skydiver386]

Guess I'll stick with leupy vx6's
Rugged, dial reliably, and at least a small amount of consideration for customer preferences.

...and outstanding warranty service.

 

[Dirtdart]

And if they could give that three to nine a solid four inches of eye relief they would have solved the number one conundrum.

Add illumination and you would have a winner.

 

[Major Bonkers]

It's a great pity about Swarovski. They have the Scottish deer stalking market sewn up, both in riflescopes and binoculars. The Z6i 'scopes suffer from an illumination switch that is all too easy to knock and drain the battery and, of course, they have suffered from the gradual bloating of riflescopes (and objective lenses) over time. In Scotland, by the way, an 8 power 'scope is considered the sine qua non for stalking.

Within the last month, I have got in touch with Swarovski to get some help with repairs to two pairs of binoculars, only to get back a breezy e-mail telling me that these are out of production and they are unable to help. Hmmmm. That's not why I bought them in the first place. Mercedes went through a similar stage in the '90s where they decided that they were over-engineering their cars and reduced the quality, only to find that they were driving their customers away.

I suspect that Kahles and Meopta are the way to go, although they are a step down from Swarovski.

van der Walt's African Small Game Cartridges discusses riflescopes at Chapter 5 - some 36 pages. Interesting excerpt below:

 

[Datchew]

*snip*

Who the hell wants to shoot an elk at 700m? Get closer.

*snip*

I laughed when I saw this. So true. Probably a quotable quote.
If I didn't take your question as rhetorical, then I believe the answer would be the 6.5 Manbun crowd

 

[thriller]

Well the problem is we are not the majority of the shooting community. They can move a larger quantity of those other optics to people who aren’t using heavier calibers.

 

[Yukontom]

Or more like they're going make what the guys doing the market analysis say to make.

This is most likely true. Everything now is about a scope as big as the rifle it is mounted on. The market (shooters today in the US) is all about long range and high tech along with those extra 30mils of elevation adjustment that of course you never need while hunting. In Europe they want big objective lenses and large tubes for low light shooting at dusk. In both of the above situations you are not likely walking far so heavy and bulky rigs are not a big deal.

 

[PerH]

It's a great pity about Swarovski. They have the Scottish deer stalking market sewn up, both in riflescopes and binoculars. The Z6i 'scopes suffer from an illumination switch that is all too easy to knock and drain the battery and, of course, they have suffered from the gradual bloating of riflescopes (and objective lenses) over time. In Scotland, by the way, an 8 power 'scope is considered the sine qua non for stalking.

Within the last month, I have got in touch with Swarovski to get some help with repairs to two pairs of binoculars, only to get back a breezy e-mail telling me that these are out of production and they are unable to help. Hmmmm. That's not why I bought them in the first place. Mercedes went through a similar stage in the '90s where they decided that they were over-engineering their cars and reduced the quality, only to find that they were driving their customers away.

I suspect that Kahles and Meopta are the way to go, although they are a step down from Swarovski.

van der Walt's African Small Game Cartridges discusses riflescopes at Chapter 5 - some 36 pages. Interesting excerpt below:

View attachment 668114

8x56 scope is one very good all rounder that don’t have much to compromise when it comes to light gathering and weight .

 

[Ontario Hunter]

8x56 scope is one very good all rounder that don’t have much to compromise when it comes to light gathering and weight .

8x56 would be mounted too high and too much magnification to be useful as a quick shooter for stalking up close. Shooting things at last light is dicey enough, especially if no snow. In my experience trying to take animals long range at that time of day should be reserved for varmints.

 

[375er]

8x56 would be mounted too high and too much magnification to be useful as a quick shooter for stalking up close. Shooting things at last light is dicey enough, especially if no snow. In my experience trying to take animals long range at that time of day should only be reserved for varmints.

How much experience do you have at it?

 

[NDWoods]

I tried to like the Zeiss with 36MM tube but had to let it go. I see they are back to a 1-8x with a 30MM tube. I will have to check those out for the rifle I am waiting on.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I think Schwaro is making a big mistake chasing the tactical long range crowd. That market is already saturated with mid to low end manufacturers. Long range wannabe tactical shooting is a niche that is more attractive to those with mid to low end incomes. Shooting gongs at ranges is much more affordable than hunting Africa or paying for trophy nonresident hunts in North America. The former also has higher net showoff value. Weigh the impact per cost of making fantastic long range shots in front of a herd of man-buns every week vs having a buddy or two over for drinks to ogle the mounts on the wall ... which is one-&-done for impact effectiveness. Schwaro should have stayed where they were. I cannot believe they didn't have a solid lucrative market base. Why risk messing with it?