I have had the 6-18x44 mil-dot Swift for some time and I have to say that I am well impressed with the optics and overall quality of this scope for the price. However I was alternating it between an FAC Super 10 and CZ rimfire and couldn’t decide on which rifle I liked it best. (I will tell you later where it ended up and why!). I was contemplating getting another 6-18x44 when I heard that Swift were putting mil-dots into their 6-24x50 and 8-32x50. In the end I opted for the 6-24x50 as I like to use 6 magnification for hunting as I find 8 magnification too much for close range shooting in and around cover.

The 6-24x 50 mil-dot is essentially the same scope as the older model with the exception of the addition of mil-dots and minor cosmetic changes. Whereas the older models had a gold ring around the objective lens the new model is in red, and as far as I can tell everything else is much the same.

The mil-dots are the same as on my 6-18x44 in that they are fine with outer crosshairs that are fine / medium. I like this style as it allows for very precise aiming. I can aim at pellet and bullet holes out to 100yards with no difficulty and yet the crosshairs can easily be picked up in the lamp at night. The mildots equalize at 10 magnification.

The scope is 16inches in length and weighs 20oz. It has a black satin finish that we are all familiar with and this doesn’t scratch easily. Both the objective bell and the magnification ring are heavily serrated to facilitate grip and both turn smoothly with no stiffness or tight spots. All numbering and markings on the magnification ring and the objective bell are highlighted in gold and interestingly the range markings on the objective bell have no ranges marked. I contacted the supplier about this and was informed that this was to allow individual users to mark their own ranges as everyone’s eyes range find differently. In my estimation this is a good thing because this allows me to tailor the settings to my eyes. Rarely have I found that these marks correspond to my estimation of the range on other scopes so it is good to set this up for yourself with the Swift.

On this point I have to say that for a 24 magnification scope it ranges surprisingly well out to 55 yards. It is never going to range find as well as anything above 32 magnification but that is not what it was intended to do. My mate has an 8-32 (with mil-dots) which does this with ease. It has excellent clarity even on high magnification and is a great range finding scope for the price. Shooting sports did a review of this scope some time ago and rated it very highly in the clarity and range finding departments.

The 6-24x50 has the small target type turrets that we are all familiar with and these are covered. The clicks are audible and reasonably firm though I would have liked them to be little more firm as they are on my 6-18x44. However this did not effect repeatability.

I did a number of tests with the Swift. With the scope clamped I zeroed the crosshair on a small mark approximately 25 yards away and the moved elevation and windage two turns and back and the scope returned to zero. I then turned the magnification ring up from six to twenty-four and the crosshairs stayed zeroed with no shift about the point of aim as some similar priced scopes do. Later I shot from a rest and repeated this finding with all shots staying zeroed whether I changed magnification or windage and elevation.

However the most impressive test for me was shooting in low light with a friend at his home at a white page with red dots on the very edge of darkness. We were both commenting on how significantly brighter and sharper the Swift seemed in comparison to a Deben that he had. At this point my friend produced two fixed 6 magnification scopes and a 1.5-6 magnification for comparison a Pecar, a Zeiss and a Schmit and Bender. Now I know that this is going to sound ridiculous but the Swift was brighter on that target. I kid you not! The Schmit came very close but we both agreed that the Swift still had it. I would not have bet a penny on this before we compared them. The Swift really surprised us both. I would add that the fixed 6’s and 1.5-6 were older models with one inch tubes and this may partially explain why the Swift did so well, however we are still talking about quality glass here. I have also wondered if the Swifts performance is a sign of how much lens coatings have improved in recent years in terms of light transmission and the Swift certainly has something in this respect.

The 6-24x50 is a good all round magnification and I am pleased that Swift have seen fit to include mil-dots on this model. For the money I don’t think there is anything that can touch them for optical performance.

As expected the scope is shock proof, fog proof, comes with a lifetime no quibble guarantee and a sunshade thrown in for the price.

So where did I end up putting this scope? On top of the Super 10 because of its magnification range, range finding ability and the fact that 50mm objective clears the barrel with medium mounts. My 6-18x44 can now rests in peace on the CZ with medium mounts also.

Trig