Stalking Scope - S&B 8x56 or Swarov 8x56

Lukesterz

Active Member
Hi all,

I have recently purchased a Steyr SBS Tactical .308win for the purpase of deer and feral goat stalking.
The next stage is finding a scope to purchase and have narrowed my scope search down to the Schmidt & Bender 8x56 (Hungarian or German) and the Swarovski Habicht PF 8x56.

Is there a major difference in the quality of these scopes and which is the better second hand one to go for?

Open to any other suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Lukesterz
 
If you can find one the Swarovski 8x50 is the best. Not a lot wrong with S&B I have 4 but the swaro is just better finished and a 50 is lower to the rifle than a 56
 
Hi all,

I have recently purchased a Steyr SBS Tactical .308win for the purpase of deer and feral goat stalking.
The next stage is finding a scope to purchase and have narrowed my scope search down to the Schmidt & Bender 8x56 (Hungarian or German) and the Swarovski Habicht PF 8x56.

Is there a major difference in the quality of these scopes and which is the better second hand one to go for?

Open to any other suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Lukesterz
All a mater of opinion here, having had both but not both in that mag. I personaly would say go for the cheapest no matter what the name is as at the end of the day you are buying first class German glass either way.
 
i have had both , i never really got on with the s and b. thought the cross hair was a wee bit to thick.
try to get a look through both and see what one suits you best
 
Myself and some people I shoot with directly compared the two of them at last light one evening - initially, in good light, the Swaro felt brighter but when we actually looked at the detail we could see with each on it was agreed that we could see no difference at all between them. Some bino/scope manufacturers tweak the response of their glass to give their items "showroom appeal" (hence why cheap binos can sometimes look fantastic in good light in the shop) and I suspect maybe Swaro do this hence the initial perception that it might have been brighter. The other thing that did occur to us was that perhaps the Swaro had a slightly wider field of view and so this caused it to feel brighter. Either way a group of maybe 5 - 6 of us could detect no difference at all in the detail that either could resolve.

As mentioned the cross hair on the S&B is quite thick and if you are intending to shoot in low light then this will be a huge bonus to you, it covers about 1 inch at 100 yards and I don't know anyone who can consistently shoot better than 1 inch on deer, in failing light, in the field so it is a huge advantage, and no disadvantage at all.
 
6 of one, half a dozen with other. The S&b is bit longer in the objective tube. Looks a bit sleeker, but may foul rear sight etc. i have the 6x42 Swarovski Habicht, a 6x42 Zeiss and have used the 6x42 S&b - I would have a job to tell which was which.

Dont nt discount the 7x50 - the 50 is substantially slimmer.
 
It's a matter of personal preference for sure.

However, if you can bump into a Swaro 8x50 rather than the 56, I'd pick that over the 56 every day of the week. They seem to make around £500 second hand and will hold their value indefinitely compared to the latest super duper variable from an Asian country....
 
Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback!

I’ve seen a few S&B 8x56 for sale reasonably priced, so I am thinking of going for one and then investing more heavily in a pair of Swaro binos!
 
Think carefully on the ranges you are likely to shoot at. If you are mostly going to be around woodland / farmland where ranges are often 30/40 yards you might be better of with a 6x42 and typically these seem to be 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of the equivalent 8x56. 8x is quite a lot of magnification for close range stuff.

But it if you are more open hill type with longer ranges, or eyes not as sharp as they once where then 8x56 is the way to go.

and don't overlook doctor, meopta or zeiss scopes as well as S&b and swaro
 
I have a Swaro 8x50 and a S&B 8x56. I have a problem with the S&B steaming up so when I don't need that rifle for a bit I'll send it off, now there is no UK distributor it'll either have to go back to Germany (expensive) or to Glasgow Optics, either way I suggest it will cost me a bit.

On the other hand if I had an issue with the Swaro, it would go back straight to them and be fixed, probably free.

For that reason alone, I'd go Swaro every time.
 
If you can find one the Swarovski 8x50 is the best. Not a lot wrong with S&B I have 4 but the swaro is just better finished and a 50 is lower to the rifle than a 56

Couldnt agree more. Have a Swarovski 8 x 50 on each of my rifles since I started stalking. Nice and simple and have served me well for quite a few years.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top