Buying SWFA SS from America, anyone has idea of duties and taxes?

I just ordered a basic 10x42, import fees were $80, all is well,

BUT

I just got word that customs is holding the package for 30 to 60 days for some unknown/undisclosed reason, it's even in Calgary already. Has this happened to anyone else?

Update? I've heard that SWFA isn't shipping to Canada any longer...
 
I've pretty much got rid of all other branded scopes, no Leupolds no Bushnells any more. Replaced with SWFA 6x (2) 10x side parallax adjustment (2) and a 20x.

They all adjust accurately and hold zero. The 'glass' is as good as any mid range scope. A shooting partner has several Nightforces and I can not really tell the difference in glass clarity.

The 10x is a favorite, an IPSC target (~17"x 22") at 1200 yards is very doable and gives up little to a 20x.

The 10x on a long range hunter is ideal around here in the big cut blocks.
 
I don't think SWFA wants any of these sent here for some reason
They were hot and cold about even dealing with Canada in the first place
 
I used one of Ganderites 20x and then bought my own 16x SS…. They are darn good scopes….. and I do have various scopes including Zeiss, Swarovski, S&B, Kahles, Nickel as well as Leupold, B&L etc to compare it to. I got caught up in the chase for better optics many decades ago when photography took me into Leitz lenses… and their other optics.

My first ‘higher end’ scope was a Leupold vari-x 1.5-5 … imagine my surprise when I discovered that it flared badly. Imagine my equal surprise when I discovered that the little Bushnell ‘Scopechief IV’ of the same power was a beautiful little optic with a much sharper and brighter image than the Leupold — AND performed routinely very well on a relatively hard recoiling 35 Whelan…

Personally I am not as fixated on ultimate ‘optical’ quality in a scope as others are.

Optical resolution, contrast and freedom from aberrations are extremely important in photographic optics where the image is magnified many times and then examined (across the field of view) at close distance …. Whereas for me the most critical point in a rifle scope is the centre of the field where the reticle is placed on the target.

And IMO the most important characteristic of a rifle scope is the mechanical robustness and it’s ability to maintain the relationship of the reticle to the bore of the rifle…. Regardless of the frequency or amount of recoil force generated. It’s also a huge benefit if the adjustment of the reticle permits consistent and repeatable changes in POI. These are far more important than a theoretical improvement in optical resolution…. Particularly when this resolution may already exceed the eyes ability to discern a difference.

all to say … don’t underestimate the SWFA SS scopes
 
You will always find somebody to buy cheap and trying to convince himself and others this is as good as high end scope.
This is pure BS.
If you can’t see the difference is because you do not own or owned a high end scope, or your scope spend more time in the safe than being used.

At the range, 2-3 times a month, a shooter got scope problems. Scope that don’t track, bad reticle or just plain stop reacting to adjustments. All cheapos.

Just a matter of time you will see posts on warranty issues with those imported scope that need to be exported back for service or the lack of service. Been on CGN long enough to know this story will repeat itself over again.
 
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A few years back I tried ordering a scope from them and they refused to deal with or ship to Canada. They said even if the scope was being shipped to a US address the order would not be completed it payment was made with a Canadian credit card. There are enough decent quality reasonably priced scopes available here in Canada that I wouldn’t even bother trying to get one from the US.
 
A few years back I tried ordering a scope from them and they refused to deal with or ship to Canada. They said even if the scope was being shipped to a US address the order would not be completed it payment was made with a Canadian credit card. There are enough decent quality reasonably priced scopes available here in Canada that I wouldn’t even bother trying to get one from the US.

Yes, ITAR was a thing. Thank Chretien's Liberals. - dan
 
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