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Jesse's Hunting > Gun Room Articles > Gun Room Archives > Trying out the Swift Scopes
Trying out the Swift Scopes
Andy Moe - JHO ProStaff
- San Diego, CA
May 27, 2005
Have you ever stumbled around, looking for the right tool for a job –frustrated- only to find it was sitting right under your nose all the time? I feel that way about my introduction to Swift Riflescopes. Anyone who has taken a biology class has probably used a Swift Microscope. If you’ve handled enough quality binoculars you’ve probably gazed through some precision ground lenses made by Swift. I’ve done both so why has it taken me so long to delve into their rifle scope line? Beats me, but I’m here to stay. Why? Quality. Price, and Performance.
The Author's 77/17
Outfitted with a Swift Model 687M 4-14X Variable, the rifle is wicked medicine on ground squirrels. The Swift optics impressed as much for the price as the performance. |
In researching the different scopes I was acutely aware of my budgetary limitations. My son is heading off for college in the fall so I was driven by the "All American Consumer" need to get as much scope for my money as possible. When I contacted E. A. Brown of Alexandria, MN, I looked at the options provided by Swift. This distributor holds these scopes in very high regard indeed, and they seemed to have a scope that met my specific needs: The Swift Model 687M 4-14X Variable. It features a matte finish, a Mil-Dot reticle, variable power down to 4 X (for the close shots), an adjustable objective, and finger adjustable turrets.
Not only did it meet my basic requirements, but it also came with a screw in sun shade, lens covers, and a speed focus adjustment as standard equipment. The price? under $175 with a rock-solid warranty program to boot. I placed my order and had the scope in hand in about three days.
This Swift scope feels very solid. On initial inspection I found the turrets to be seated squarely, the adjustable objective adjustment firm but not gritty, and the focal eye-piece likewise: smooth but firm enough to guarantee it will stay put under normal handling. All the machining and finishing was splendid. I have handled scopes costing twice as much that did not feel as solid as this Swift. Getting this glass onto my Ruger was a breeze.
When I had it mounted I noticed one little detail in design that tickles me still: On this model, the front of the objective housing is slightly reduced in diameter to allow for the scope cover to fit even when the actual clearance of the objective to the barrel is minimal. Have you ever had to cut a piece out of your scope cover to allow it to clear the barrel? You won’t have to with this Swift 687M! I don’t know if the scope was intentionally designed this way but it should have been! Either way, it’s yet another check mark in the Swift’s “plus” column for me. 
The Author's Savage Striker
Outfitted with a Swift Premier Model 660M Long Eye Relief scope in 2-6X with a 32mm objective, this 22 wmr found its match. |
The optics on this scope are crystal clear. The objective adjustment jived with my range settings; when I adjusted the parallax focus on target at a specific range I found the reading on the bell housing to correspond to the target distance. The rapid focus eyepiece is one of my favorite selling points for a riflescope and the Swift’s made focal adjustments for my aging eyes quick and easy at all ranges.
Ah! But looks and feel don’t tell you how well a scope will function. To see how well the internal tracking functions it is customary to do a test that I call “walking the square”. In this test a three shot group is fired, the windage moved X amount of clicks then another three shot group is fired. The elevation is then moved the same number of clicks as was previously done on the windage and another group fired. The windage is then backed off to the original starting point and another group is fired. Lastly, the elevation is returned to it’s original starting point and a last group is fired. If your scope’s internal adjustments are good, you should have formed a neat square with your groups and the last group should be superimposed right over the first. I do it somewhat differently as I always move several clicks past the original starting point before firing my last test group. Don’t know why, but I’ve always done it that way. I then return to my zero. If it’s good, then I figure I can rely on it to run accurately in all directions.
How did the Swift do? Perfectly. I shot at 50M to avoid any wind error and moved eight,
quarter-minute clicks after the each group but for the fourth –after that group I came down ten clicks. My fifth group was stacked neatly under the first, just as I’d hoped. When I returned the two clicks to my “zero” for elevation I was again dead on. That works for me.
My success with the Ruger Swift combination got me thinking about my Anschutz 22 Hornet. This rifle has always been a little “under glassed” with an old Weaver 1.5 to 4.5 X scope on board. Swift produces the Model 676M; a matte finish, 4-12X A/O with speed focus that looked like it would be right at home on this long-barreled hunter. A quick call had one on the way to me that morning.
Three days later I was at the range with my Hornet and 100 rounds freshly loaded ammunition. The same tests were applied and the scope performed superbly. It’s not surprising that the rifle delivered the tightest groups ever with this new glass to aid in sighting. While this 40mm model doesn’t come with the sunshade, many of the other quality features I found so pleasing on the 4-14X Mil Dot were present for about $50 less than the Model 687M. A bargain.
Another gun in my larder that I have always felt needed a little more optical power is my Savage “Striker” 22 WMR. With a fixed 2X on board it was a great rig for tree squirrels but the petite ground squirrels we have around this end of California call for a bit more glass if I’m going to get consistent hits. A Swift Premier Model 660M Long Eye Relief scope was just what this Savage needed. With a 2-6X variable and a full 32mm objective this scope would bring the gophers into eyelash range. Like all the Premier scope line, it has the speed focus adjustment I appreciate so much; unlike the previously mentioned scope models, the 660M as a fixed objective.
A field trial for all three scopes was inevitable. Our favorite ground squirrel territory was yet unmolested when we packed up the Hornet and the HMR and drove out our favorite spot along the Alamo River. Here ground squirrels can be taken at ranges stretching from 20 to 200 yards. This time of year the young squirrels are a milky tan color and blend into the sun lit sands and broken soil quite well. Through the lenses of the Swift 4-14X there was no hiding from the 17HMR Ruger. I took the little rodents at will. 
Clarity is Key
To spot groundsquirrels against the sand and rock, clear glass is a must. The Swift scopes have it in spades, as you can see in this 175 yard sight picture! |
Later as the activity moved away to the west, I drove along the far edge of an adjacent alfalfa field, stretching the distance to 175 yards and more. The 17HMR continued to do fine work when the wind gods allowed a shot. Wind or no, hit or miss, I certainly had no problem marking my targets.
Switching to the Hornet helped. With the 4-12X Swift, the long 175 yard shots to the holes above and below the gated field road were brought into close view. The optics were sharp enough to allow spotting these tiny critters in the mouths of their holes. The shooting was good.
My 22WMR Striker has yet to be blooded but at the range, it passed the square test with flying colors. My 100 yard groups were the tightest I’d ever shot. The increased magnification of the glass enhanced my wiggle, but seeing more of my target amply
compensated for it. I was shooting squirrel killing groups off of a Harris Bipod at the
century mark using the 6X magnification setting. Parallax error was absent.
I was very pleased with my Swift trials, but all was not perfect. If I had one complaint about the Swifts, it would be the ¼ minute adjustment. I know that an 1/8 MOA clicks would add to the price but with optics this good, and with the degree of accuracy that rifles and components are providing these days, it’s easy to want to split the Minute of Angle hairs a wee bit finer. The 660M Long Eye Relief scope on my Savage has ½ minute of angle adjustments. On my super-accurate Savage the groups ended up well centered but it could have easily gone the other way, leaving the groups a bit either way from center. Not that I can hold that well, but I need every advantage I can get when I shoot handgun! Of course, a Redfield style base and rings would easily allow any error to be corrected. With the Weaver-style bases and rings there is little in the way of tweaking that can be done.
All in all, the Swift Premier line can draw little criticism from yours truly. I am taken with them and hope to explore more of their Premier Line in the future. I could go on but I’d probably be preaching to the choir; Swift Riflescopes already have a strong following amongst shooters. Drop the name Swift on any shooting forum and you’ll see the same comments time after time; “Great optics, great quality, great price.”
What more could I add to that? Maybe this... Give them a try.
E. Arthur Brown on the web - http://www.eabco.com
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