Mark Ripley finds himself ‘far from dSappointed’ when testing the long-range capabilities of the Swarovski dS scope

When I first saw the details of the new Swarovski dS scope I couldn’t wait to get my grubby little mitts on one. Designed to simplify long-range shooting, it was immediately of great interest to me.

In a nutshell, this scope takes all the guesswork out of long range by ranging the target. It also takes into account all the environmental conditions that will affect the shot and, at the touch of a button, almost instantly gives you an accurate aiming solution. Combine this with the typical high-quality glass and craftsmanship associated with a name like Swarovski and you know you’re on to a winning combination.

As expected, this scope oozed quality as soon as I saw it and I was pleased to see that despite all the clever gadgetry hidden inside, and its beefy 40mm scope tube, it still retained a nicely proportioned look and clean lines.

A while ago, I tested the X5i and although this was a good, long-range scope, I wasn’t visually keen on the tall, bulky turrets, despite the fact that they had practical advantages. The dS, however, looks a far more attractive scope, emblazoned with the silver eagle while a parallax turret adds that extra bit of class.

This scope, like many of the Swarovski range, incorporates an illuminated reticle with brightness adjustment controls on the top of the eyepiece. However, on this scope it also incorporates a central ranging button and a smooth and positive 5-25x magnification ring.