Swarovski v Leupold

[ds1]

Thought I would do a mini-review on two scopes I got off the for sale board from pnse and Steyrman 2. Both transactions went very smoothly and both are excellent people to deal with. From Steyrman 2 I got a Swarovski PV 6-24x50 with TDS 4 reticule and from pnse a Leupold LRT 8.5-25x50 with varmint reticule. Both scopes had been very well looked after.

 

 

A change of religion on my part from S&B to USO promted the need to put something other than a S&B PMII on a Sako rimfire and cz700 – S&B turrets turn the opposite direction to every other bugger and I do not think it is good practice to train with something that works in the opposite direction to what I will use in competition.

 

Comparisons:

 

. the Leupold is about an inch shorter than the Swarovski.

. the Leupold is lighter than the Swarovski.

 

. parallax adjustment – on the objective with the Swarovski, side parallax on the Leupold. I prefer the parallax on the objective and in particular do not care for the Leupold system – to get it to work properly when changing distances you need to turn it to infinity and then back to where you get the image parallax free – overshoot it and its back to infinity and repeat – this faffing about is due to the way the parallax lens moves in the scope. Its a well known thing but annoys me. Parallax on both scopes is down to 50m / yards.

 

Now the surprise I could get the image both in focus and parallax free from 50m on max magnification with both scopes – never been able to do that with an NXS.

 

. Reticule – Both have a TDS type reticules, the leupold has more dots on it – looks like a lit up runway. The reticule is finer on the Leupold by about a 1/3rd. I think I would prefer the Leupold reticle for target stuff and the Swarovski for bunny bashing. It is easier to pick the Swarovski reticule up without being too fat.

 

. eye piece – fast ocular adjustment with the Swarovski, and also has a spring loaded rubber eyecup – no more scope eye. The Leupold has the screw adjustable ocular – longer to set up, but one its done it does not get reset.

 

. turrets - target turrets on the Leupold, they are more positive and more audiable than were on my S&B PMII`s, really like these turrets, easy to read marks, traditional 1/4 moa adjustments, loads of elevation. Swarovski – a different system, and works well if used in conjunction with the TDS reticule – clicks not audiable and less positive than on the Leupold, low profile type turrets that can be reset just by lifting the turret up turning and resetting – clever and beats the hell out of fiddling with allen screws to reset zero on every other scope I`ve owned. Once zero is reset you have 10 marked clicks above and below a zero point. The scope has many more clicks available above and below this but you would have to count them. In short it is a scope where you use the TDS reticule and turret for fine adjustment. The scope clicks adjust 0.18“ at 100 yards. The scope comes with labels indicating TDS line ranges for popular calibres / velocities. Less internal elevation in the Swarovski scopes compared to Leupold.

 

 

Image – to my eyes, the Swarovski was hands down better, the image appeared sharper, better defined and brighter, no contest at dusk. I looked at different objects / distances with the scopes set side by side in V blocks over a few days. I do not have a resolution chart so can not say that one resolves better than the other. Another surprise, both have the same objective size, and at max magnification 24x both should have the same exit pupil – it was easy to pick the Swarovski up and find the image, not so with the Leupold, eye placement was far more critical – don`t know why. I did this hand held, may not make any difference when the scopes are mounted.

 

Conclusions – for target work I think the Leupold is the better option for my rimfire, finer reticule, nice target turrets and same Ľ moa click adjustments as the uso`s will be set up with. However if I wanted a scope for LR bunny bashing / foxing the Swarovski is clearly better (pun intended). Better image, easy aquire reticule, clever reticule / turret system. It may in some respects be better for target work, - finer adjustments and better image.

 

I have decided to sell the Swarovski to fund another USO – usual problem though, big eyes and short pockets.

 

David.

[Guest northernchris]

Good review David

[stag1933]

When I bought my .243 Sako Varminter S/H from a friend who was emigrating it had a Leupold on it with a fine Duplex type reticule.

Because of my eye condition I found this hard to see at times, however the same chap had a Swarvoski 6-24X50 PV on another rifle which he was also trying to get rid of.

I did a deal with him and got the SWARO. instead and it having a No.4A reticule I have no problem seeing now.

I have a SWARO. 4-16X50 with the TDS4 reticule on a Sako Varminter .308 and find that to be a good reticule also and easy to see.

 

HWH.

[Streeker59]

Great review David, thanks very much. I'm still going for a leupold despite it's shortcomings compared to the swaro. Plus i cant sfford a swaro..lol..

[Ronin]

Good read David

 

a sham Swarowski have never adopted the side parralax ajustment and target turrets - it would make serious competition to S&B / USO.........

[Jager SA]

Good read David

 

a sham Swarowski have never adopted the side parralax ajustment and target turrets - it would make serious competition to S&B / USO.........

 

 

Watch this space...its on the way! Not sure of the Target Turrets, though the new Kahles has them.

[ds1]

The Swaro glass I think is on a par with S&B PMII stuff. No direct comparion having flogged the PMII`s but from looking at the same test targets over the last 10 years with the PMII`s I have a fairly good idea of what compares to my eyes.

 

The swaro Z6 scopes if they had target turrets would be nice. The 6x ratio zoom is a step forward. Must admit I am not a fan of side parallax - sooner have it on the objective.

 

A big leap for Swaro though - from hunters and birdwatchers to tactical - use the Kahles name and deny all involvement - don`t want to upset the crystal buying tree huggers too much.

 

David.

[Jager SA]

A big leap for Swaro though - from hunters and birdwatchers to tactical - use the Kahles name and deny all involvement - don`t want to upset the crystal buying tree huggers too much.

 

David.

 

 

Thats a good point David, didnt think of it like that. Having spoken to Kahles at the IWA last year, it appears that the new Taccy scope is way over priced and possibly out of the market to degree...£1000 of the Taccy Kahles? A lot of money considering the competiton.

[stag1933]

Hi Andy.

Swarovski made a Model PV-S 6-24X50 P [front parallax] for target shooting with high target turrets, 1/6 MOA [0.17in/100yds or 4.8mm/100m] per click.

Reticules:- Crosshair, Dot, Plex. in the 2nd image plane.

They called it the `Habicht Sport`.

 

HWH.

[Ronin]

Thanks for the info Stag, wasnt aware of that.

[v-max]

Hello my mate has 2 of the swarovski 6x24x50.One is like ds1 & the other like stag1933 says with target turrets on his 308 mannlichier SSG for range work & very good.Im after one of these scopes but with the illumination or a S&B PM11 but will be a while for me to get them but cant complane with my 2.5x10x42 swaro & S&B 2.5x10x56.

[Alycidon]

Hi Andy.

Swarovski made a Model PV-S 6-24X50 P [front parallax] for target shooting with high target turrets, 1/6 MOA [0.17in/100yds or 4.8mm/100m] per click.

Reticules:- Crosshair, Dot, Plex. in the 2nd image plane.

They called it the `Habicht Sport`.

 

HWH.

 

I have one of these, it is better than any Leopold I have looked through. Optical quality similar to NF to my eyes. In decent light though you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the Swaro and the top end Leupolds.

 

A