Death of a Super Sniper scope...

[EBR Works]

I have had a Super Sniper 16x mounted on my Ferret50 for 16 months and put well over 1000 rounds of DTC through the gun. This past weekend the rear eye piece shattered during fire.

Glad I was wearing safety glasses!

I called SWFA this morning and they shippped a new one out to me immediately since it has a lifetime warranty. They told me to just ship the dead unit back when I receive the new one.

A+ for customer service!

[Joe]

Scary! Glad you were wearing safety glasses.

Excellent customer service from swfa

[Solidsnake87]

Wow, when did they start doing the lifetime warranty? Glad to hear they replaced it.

[CoyoteHunter555]

That's pretty crazy looking. Glad you're getting a new scope and still have your eye!

[wash]

Wow.

A friend of mine has that 16x SS on his Serbu .50 BMG.

Was the glass ever scratched or any scope kisses?

Any symptoms before it popped (wandering zero, etc)?

[brando]

The warranty is almost a business necessity, otherwise there would be lots of pissed off customers. As far as I know, they're still the same cheap Japanese scopes they were years ago - not bad if you don't want to spend much and have some leeway in the quality/reliability department. There'll always be a market for them and having good customer service that will replace broken ones quickly sets them above some others.

[Black Majik]

Poor Ferret .50 now is glassless. I vote to have people shooting from the hip.

[BamBam-31]

Holy cow! Good thing you had safety glasses on, Mike. Looks like it could have been ugly. No lifetime warranties on eyeballs, eh?

[EBR Works]

Was the glass ever scratched or any scope kisses?

Any symptoms before it popped (wandering zero, etc)?

No scratches or dings and never dropped.

The shot prior to the breakage was very low at 400 yards, which was unusual since it has always been right on at 400. I adjusted it up 2 clicks and it hit the target on the final shot.

I received the replacement scope today and it's already mounted and ready to zero this weekend...

[yf19ex]

My Super Sniper elevation turret broke 2 weeks ago. I have not call SWFA because one of my other friends who had a super sniper that had the exact same problem, was refused service and said the cost to fix the scope would be more than its worth, so he got a Leupold instead.

Although I want a 1k scope, funds are tight, but my rifle is out of commission until I get a new scope. This post gives me some hope. I just sent SWFA an email to see if they will repair or replace my old scope.

[Divernhunter]

One thought. 50bmg = Nightforce or at least a Leuopld(any Leupold will hold up)

Why risk an eye? or any other body part??

[brando]

I'm of the opinion that the mount is more important than the scope when it comes to the massive jarring effect of the .50BMG. The rifles we were issued in the 90s had a variety of mounts; some built like a tank, others built like they belonged on hunting rifles. Guess which ones caused problems?

[EBR Works]

I'm of the opinion that the mount is more important than the scope when it comes to the massive jarring effect of the .50BMG. The rifles we were issued in the 90s had a variety of mounts; some built like a tank, others built like they belonged on hunting rifles. Guess which ones caused problems?

It is mounted in Badger Ordnance Max-50 steel rings that are built like a tank. The ring screws were all tight as well.

[mrkubota]

My early 20x SS (tasco) broke loose after 520rnds. The reticle rotated about 45deg and I could see glass shards in the tube, but it sure didn't crack the way this one did!

I did get some shot stringing just before it went out completely.

Here's a pic of the target I was shooting when it started to fail:


Tasco repaired it under warranty for 25.00 shipping/insurance.

After repair, it's still working great on a Serbu heavy barrel DTC gun.

It did give me enough time to save up for the Nightforce I'm running on my BMG now..
I tried a Leupold Mk3 on it too, but the eye relief was too short for my liking!

[Jon Se]

My Super Sniper elevation turret broke 2 weeks ago. I have not call SWFA because one of my other friends who had a super sniper that had the exact same problem, was refused service and said the cost to fix the scope would be more than its worth, so he got a Leupold instead.

Although I want a 1k scope, funds are tight, but my rifle is out of commission until I get a new scope. This post gives me some hope. I just sent SWFA an email to see if they will repair or replace my old scope.

If you're refused service, post your problem and customer support experience over at http://www.opticstalk.com/ where you can leverage the public's support against SWFA. It seems like whoever makes a complaint there gets their problems resolved quickly. The site itself is owned and operated by SWFA and filled with members who tout the SS's durability and CS backup.