[SHOT 2016] Media Day at the range: Hands-on with Swarovski's New X5 Riflescope

Press Release:

Cranston, Rhode Island – SWAROVSKI OPTIK
NORTH AMERICA, a subsidiary of the Austrianbased
company is pleased to announce the
introduction of the X5(i) Rifle Scope series. The
X5(i) has been developed specifically with the long
range shooter/hunter in mind. The X5(i) is a brand new design built for extreme precision on an
exceptionally rugged platform.
The newly designed turrets allow for 20 MOA per revolution, have a viewing window to show the user
what revolution he or she is on and the X5(i) has ¼ MOA point of impact adjustments.
At the heart of the X5(i) is a Spring Retention and Lever System that exerts the same pressure on
both turrets from the inversion system regardless of positioning. This assures maximum accuracy and
repeatability. There is up to 116 MOA of elevation adjustment inside of a 30 mm tube that yields a 5X
zoom range. The elevation, windage, parallax turrets as well as inversion system are built from
stainless steel components adding to the overall ruggedness of this scope for hunting or competitive
purposes.
The X5(i) also features a new SUBZERO FUNCTION. This allows the shooter to shoot at closer
distances if the zero is set at a further than usual zero. It allows the shooter to come down 10 MOA or
40 clicks from a pre-set zero.
The illuminated versions will be fully illuminated reticles and have 10 brightness settings. 2nd focal
plane long range reticles will be available in 1 or 2 MOA increments in both illuminated and nonilluminated
versions.
The new X5(i) Rifle Scope is available in two different models, X5(i) 3.5-18×50 and X5(i) 5-25×56.

New from Swarovski this year at SHOT (it was released at IWA 2015) is their X5 riflescope, which is available in both illuminated (i) and non illuminated versions. I tried the 5-25×50 non-illuminated model (with the 4WX reticle), which has 116MOA of adjustment. The glass clarity was amazing, yet what one would expect from Swarovski Optik. I liked the feature of the 1/4 MOA adjustments, as some of their hunting scopes have .36in adjustments. I also liked the revolution counter as well. The thing that struck me was that this optic weighs not much more than a z5 or z6, yet has double the adjustment range (in most cases) in comparison to other Swarovski scopes.

I took aim at the 830 yard target with an H-S Precision PLR in .338 Lapua, and read the mirage to determine wind speed. The clarity of the glass allowed me to see the mirage better than other high-dollar scopes I have tried/used. They did have a “cheat sheet” available for elevation come-ups, and I dialed in 18MOA of vertical correction. The turret gives nice, tactile clicks for each adjustment. I then held 2 MOA right after calling the wind, and boom, first round hit at 830. As outstanding as the glass was, price of admission is very steep at $3k and up. If one has the money, however, one would not be having buyer’s remorse with this optic.

Thanks to Swarovski Optic and H-S Precision for the time!