Swarovski dS Riflescope Review
After owning the Swarovski dS 5-25x52 P Rifle Scope for a little less than a year, and now that it is available for sale in the United States, I will share my experiences in this review on what I have learned. I will also answer some frequently asked questions you guys have on this crazy do-it-all digital riflescope.
The Setup
As soon as I received Swarovski's dS rifle scope, I threw it on my Blaser R8 that I have already broke in. I started sighting it in immediately. First, I did a rough boresight by taking out the bolt housing, looking down the barrel (unloaded, safely and carefully), and adjusting the crosshairs to match. When I got to the range, I started with a three round group. My shots were about three inches high and one inch to the left. When it comes to adjusting the scope, it covers everything you need to zero the rifle. You detach the top turret cover which exposes the scopes battery and two adjustment tools. Then, you take off the adjustment covers on the front of the scope, insert adjustment turret tool and then, zero like normal. Below is a photo of my five shot group at 200 yards with a 300 win mag, after I had the gun zeroed.
Now that I had zeroed the rifle with the scope, I had to upload my load info to the scope using Swarvoski’s dS Configurator app. The first step is linking your scope’s Bluetooth to your phone’s dS app. You do this by holding the + and the – down for three seconds at the same time until the light on top starts blinking, indicating that the scope is in pairing mode. Then you click “find my scope” on the app. The scope’s serial number will show up on the app. If the serial matches your scope, then you can hit continue. On the next page, you will set your sight height above the bore, ammunition type, conditions, zero range; then you plug in fps reading, the temperature, and your good to go. This dS scope offers tons of scope display customization options such as line thickness to even calculating how much energy your bullet has at any distance. After fully customizing your display, tap upload on the app, and your dS rifle scope is set up and ready to shoot.
My Thoughts
This scope is crazy! I have taken out three different shooters, of which none have ever shot more than 300 yards or turned a turret in their lives. After zeroing the weapon and a quick lesson on how to evaluate wind speed, they were all maintaining tight clusters at 800 yards with a 5 MPH crosswind. Two of them even hit 1000 yards before a storm weathered us off the range.
I often get comments about the weight of Swarovski’s dS scope being too heavy (38.4 oz). As a backcountry hunter myself, I do understand the importance of counting ounces and staying light. However, if you add up the weight of a top-end scope and range finder that can read angle, distance, temperature, and air pressure that is good out to 1400 yards, you’ll be surprised how much lighter, and more sophisticated this dS scope is. Another critique I have heard about this scope is the accuracy of the rangefinder to the crosshairs. To test this, I maxed out the down angle and windage adjustment on my dS. I still got consistent dead center range readings of the crosshairs on a ten inch by ten inch piece of steel at 1000 yards. With my year of playing around with this scope and over 2500 rounds through several different rifles in different calibers, I have had no problems or failures. As with any review, I must find a critique on this scope. This scope has a functional temperature of +14 °F to +131 °F. I called Swarovski to ask why the low-end operational temperature is +14°F. They told me this is because the battery manufacturer doesn’t guarantee that the battery will work past that point. I have hunted at 12,000 feet in the Rockies with temps hovering around 0 °F, and after four days of hunting, I had no issues with the scope functions. You can see my kill shot of a goat I got that trip at 500 yards below!
The Verdict
This scope will change the way you hunt, and the MSRP price point of $4500 is a reasonable price for this do-it-all rifle scope. If I had to sum up this scope in one sentence, it would be “This scope takes everyday shooters and turns them into confident, mid to long range hunters with a push of a button.”
Description
The Swarovski dS 5-25x52 P rifle scope is Swarovski’s latest and greatest creation hitting the US market in 2019. Focusing on the core aspects of hunting has never been easier with their newly developed "smart" rifle scope. This scope utilizes real-time info (wind speed, distance, ammo type, etc.) projected into your field of view and automatically calculates and displays the correct aiming point. The smart technology in the Swarovski dS features a high-resolution Head-Up Display (HUD), which projects the essential data needed for your successful shot. The aiming point factors in all the crucial metrics, including shot angle, distance, temperature, and air pressure. Manual adjustment is not needed with the dS. The aiming point is calculated using the individual ballistic data from the firearm-ammunition combination. This data entered into the dS Configurator app, which calculates the ballistic curve and transfers it immediately to the dS riflescope via Bluetooth connection. Once the data is uploaded, you can leave your phone, range finder, and shot card at home. Once this scope is set up, the perfect shot is as easy as hitting a button, putting the new set of crosshairs over the target, judging the wind, and letting it fly.
Specifications
Reticle: 4A-I
Scope Weight: 38.4 oz (1090 g)
Scope Length: 15.87 in (403 mm)
Central Tube Diameter: 40 mm
Magnification Range: 5-25x
Focal Plane: Second
Effective Objective Diameter: 48-52 mm
Exit Pupil Diameter: 9.6-2.1 mm
Eye Relief: 95mm
Field of View: 21.9-4.5 ft @ 100 yds (7.3-1.5 m @ 100 m)
FOV Degrees: 4.2-0.84
FOV Apparent Degrees: 21.5
Dioptric Compensation (dpt): -3 to +2
Light Transmission: 83%
Optical Coatings: SWAROCLEAN, SWARODUR, SWAROTOP
Twilight Factor acc. to ISO 14132-1: 14.1-36.0
Turret Style: Capped
Turret Click Value: .250 MOA
Impact Point Corr. per Click (in/100 yds / mm/100 m): 0.25 in (7 mm)
Max. Elevation / Windage Adjustment Range (in/100 yds / m/100 m): 43/25 (1.2/0.7)
Parallax Correction: 55-∞ yds (50-∞ m)
Objective Filter Thread: M 63x0.75
Illuminated Reticle: Yes
Laser Type: Class 1 EN/FDA
Brightness Levels: 64
Operating Time: 500x
Display: LCoS monochrome
Measurement Range: 33-1500 yds (30-1375 m)
Measurement Precision: ±1 yd (±1 m)
Measurement Time: ≤0.7 seconds
Measurement Units: Yards / Meters
Angle Measurement (degrees): ±60º
Max. Aiming Point Correction: 1120 yds (1024 m)
Display Duration: 40/60/80 seconds
Battery Warning (at 73 °F / 23 °C): ca. 100x
Display Switch-Off Warning: 10 seconds
Program (App): dS Configurator
Operating System: iOS 8.1+ / Android 4.4+
Interface: Bluetooth
Bluetooth Range: 2 m
Weather Resistance: Waterproof and Fogproof
Functional Temperature: +14 °F to +131 °F (-10 °C / +55 °C)
Storage Temperature: -22 °F to +158 °F (-30 °C / +70 °C)
Submersion Tightness: 0.4 bar; 13 ft / 4 m water depth (inert gas filling)
Model: dS 5-25x52 P (4A-I)
MPN: 71000
dS Configurator App
The all new Swarovski dS 5-25x52 rifle scope connects to your smart device using the dS Configurator app on your iOS (iPhone / iPad) or Android device via Bluetooth to amplify it's amazing optical performance. Utilizing the latest long-range and technical optical innovations, combined with your own hunting experience, makes total focus in even the toughest conditions possible.
Elevate your hunting game by configuring the following parameters in the app:
- Personal Ballistic Data
- Thickness of Windage Marks
- Size of Aiming Points
- Duration of Aiming Point and Distance Display
- Wind Speed for Wind Aiming Points (2 default values to choose from)
- Display of Impact Energy as an option in joules
- System of Units (Metric/Imperial)
PERSONAL BALLISTIC DATA
Manual adjustments are a thing of the past with the new Swarovski dS scope. The aiming point is calculated automatically when your sighting in from your personal ballistic data for your firearm and ammunition combination. Your personal data is input via the dS Configurator on your smartphone or tablet and the resulting calculated ballistic curve is sent directly to the dS scope over Bluetooth.
PERSONAL SETTINGS
All of the following settings can be modified to your requirements and personal preference in the dS Configurator: the display duration (40, 60, or 80 seconds), meters or yards, the crosswind setting for the windage marks between 3/6 m/s (5/10 mph) or 5/10 m/s (10/20 mph) always from 90°, and the point and stroke width displayed as small, medium, or large.