SWFA business model?

[NDGuy]

SWFA is have a July 4th sale, no 3x9 sadly, but the price on 3x15 is good. Might be something to check out.

Yep no brainer price IMO under $500 shipped

 

[Balderdash]

Yep no brainer price IMO under $500 shipped

Thanks for the heads up. Not my favorite model of thiers, but ordered one anyway.

Might find it's way onto a CTR .223.

 

[NDGuy]

Thanks for the heads up. Not my favorite model of thiers, but ordered one anyway.

Might find it's way onto a CTR .223.

I love the 3-15x42. Have it on 2 rifles.

 

[Balderdash]

I love the 3-15x42. Have it on 2 rifles.

It's certainly a great scope by a lot of measures, and I wouldn't say no to using them anytime. Can't go wrong for $525. Can't go wrong for $700.

 

[waldo9190]

Has anyone used that 3-15 for Midwest whitetails? Re-scoping a particular rifle that sees mostly whitetails but my main concern is reticle visibility during first/last night in the hardwoods. Ideally I'd buy the 3-9 but trying to work with what's available.

 

[Formidilosus]

Has anyone used that 3-15 for Midwest whitetails? Re-scoping a particular rifle that sees mostly whitetails but my main concern is reticle visibility during first/last night in the hardwoods. Ideally I'd buy the 3-9 but trying to work with what's available.

Lots. I prefer the 3-9x, however the FFP 3-15x is solid.

 

[roosiebull]

Gona get me a big Ole Vortex with turrets!

surely you meant tourette's?

 

[waldo9190]

Ended up trying to place an order today for the 3-15...kept getting an AVS Authentication error so will have to call tomorrow and hopefully get it on the way.

 

[Jakelly]

A used SWFA 3-9 popped up in the classifieds about 15 mins ago (as of this posting) and went for full retail within minutes. Unsure of the statements above regarding low demand or small market share.

I would buy two of them right now, at full retail. And I’m not on any list. I’d wager they could make 1000 and sell them in pretty short order.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Supply chain issues like any other buy parts manufacturer. Their suppliers are short, so they are short. All comes down to order quantities, seed stock obligations going back years, and allocation based on priority.

My guess is that they are lower priority on buy parts suppliers current allocation.

Big names with big money get priority. They are also likely paying higher lander costs to suppliers in order to maintain market share and supply. Big name mark ups are about 4-5 times their landed cost with a 25-40% discount to direct retail sale. This means they are willing to take a hit on their landed cost of goods in order to maintain supply and keeps them prioritized with buy parts suppliers.

What you end up with during major supply shortages like this (not always but a lot of the time) is a lower quality replacement component to try and meet demand. Companies with strict QA requirements will have rigorous first article inspections on any change orders in buy parts. Big companies who want to maintain share and priority will “waive” these inspections and keep selling.

Food for thought.

 

[Jakelly]

I was thinking the same about this scope reading this thread. I have never met anyone in person that ever mentioned SWFA and when I have mentioned I have one no one I told has ever heard of them.

I’ve never seen one in the wild, and every single person who’s seen mine has asked what it was. Companies like Vortex and NF are probably selling as many scopes in a month as SWFA did in a year.

This product [the 16-18oz FFP midpower scope with a 3-4x erector] is going to require vision, commitment, and understanding. The bulk of the market is going to need educated, and that’s never the short play. The good news: every scope you sell is for-profit advertising and a grass-roots infomercial. The one thing SWFA absolutely can NOT afford to do is what they are doing, running out of scopes.

 

[Balderdash]

This product [the 16-18oz FFP midpower scope with a 3-4x erector] is going to require vision, commitment, and understanding. The bulk of the market is going to need educated, and that’s never the short play. The good news: every scope you sell is for-profit advertising and a grass-roots infomercial. The one thing SWFA absolutely can NOT afford to do is what they are doing, running out of scopes.

What they have going for them is that their scopes don't really have direct competition. For one, they have a long track record of ruggedness and reliable function. Secondly, they come in at a price point that's lower than other offerings.

When they get back in stock, I'll keep right on buying them. I'd guess that most others who like them will as well.

 

[Jakelly]

@Balderdash I’ll keep buying them, too, but they are tough to recommend to a new guy. Eventually the competition is gonna catch up.

 

[Balderdash]

@Balderdash I’ll keep buying them, too, but they are tough to recommend to a new guy. Eventually the competition is gonna catch up.

That's for sure with the recommendation to anyone. I've already sold a few to friends that I had either on the shelf or mounted on rigs I didn't need for a certain purpose in the near future.

It does surprise me that at least one company hadn't started offering some models close to the SWFA's. But then, I was surprised for years that more companies don't offer scopes that actually do what they should do without equivocalities
or caveats.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

A question that's been asked before, but I haven't seen really answered. Are the Ultralights similarly durable? I don't dial and they're cheaper, lighter, and in stock (edit: not in stock, back to an academic question). Obviously weight savings come at a cost, but I don't know if that's in the internals or just the smaller tube/objective & lack of turrets.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

The eye relief spec on the ultralights is really bad.

 

[Jimbee]

A question that's been asked before, but I haven't seen really answered. Are the Ultralights similarly durable? I don't dial and they're cheaper, lighter, and in stock. Obviously weight savings come at a cost, but I don't know if that's in the internals or just the smaller tube/objective & lack of turrets.

I'm curious as well, but I don't see them in stock.

 

[BCD]

I had the 3-15 and thought the reticle was absolutely terrible for low light or in the timber. It is way too faint for midwest whitetails in the brush unless you have incredible eyesight (which I don't).

 

[Balderdash]

Agreed. I like the 3-15 best around 8x or so. I greatly prefer the 3-9HD for all around big game use, but you gotta take what you can get these days.

 

[NDGuy]

I had the 3-15 and thought the reticle was absolutely terrible for low light or in the timber. It is way too faint for midwest whitetails in the brush unless you have incredible eyesight (which I don't).

I wouldn't buy a 3-15x for a brush/timber gun to begin with, not what it's designed for.