24 http://www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 305
onds. Ninety-degree wind drift for
5 to 10 mph, or 10 to 20 mph, can
be selected for the entered load.
Bluetooth transfers the ballistic
information on the app to the dS.
Holding down the + and – reticle
illumination buttons on top of the
scope’s ocular housing for three
seconds activates Bluetooth in the
scope. A blinking green light just
ahead of the buttons indicates the
dS is enabled. Pushing the “Trans-
fer now” button on the app trans-
fers the ballistic data. The app is
no longer required unless changes
to the data, like temperature, are
required.
The range measurement button
on the top of the ocular housing is
easy to reach and feel while your
eye is busy looking through the
scope. Pushing and holding down
the button lights up a generous
circle in the center of the reticle.
Placing a target in the circle and
releasing the button instantly dis-
plays distance on the right side of
the view, an aiming point on the
vertical wire calculated by the
ballistic information, the scope’s
magnification setting and angle
to the target. On both sides of the
aiming point are hash mark holds
for app-provided wind velocities.
The bullet’s energy in foot-pounds
at the measured distance is also
displayed. Swarovski refers to this
as “Knock Down Power.” It is sort
of like a little angel on your shoul-
der suggesting the distance mayA load’s ballistic information is entered
in the Swarovski dS Configurator app
on a smartphone and then transferred
to the dS scope via Bluetooth.This group was shot at 300 yards with the Swarovski dS 5-25x 52mm P scope
mounted on a Cooper Firearms .22-250 Remington. The dS was set on 12x.
be too far to shoot a game animal.
It can be switched off in the app if
a hunter has no misgivings.
Swarovski states the dS mea-
sures distance from 33 yards out
to 1,500 yards and provides an
aiming point correction out to
1,120 yards. The dS instantly dis-
played distances to small build-
ings and large evergreen trees at
well over 1,000 yards. I took read-
ings on small buildings, and dis-
tances of 1,162 and 1,216 yards
immediately appeared. However,
“Over Ballistic Range” showed
at the right side of the view. That
warning may also appear when
the aiming angle is greater than
45 degrees at targets up to 656
yards, or greater than 30 degrees
between 656 and 1,200 yards.
With readings of 1,088 and
1,105 yards, a symbol appeared
at the bottom of the vertical wire,
indicating the aiming point was
located below the field of view.
Reducing magnification widened
the view and displayed the aim-
ing point. Aiming points were
presented at 951 and 967 yards
with the magnification turned all
the way up to 25x. Heavy snow
started to fall, and I thought it
would stop the laser from work-
ing. The dS calculated a distance
of 247 yards to a building as far
away as I could see through the
snow.
I started shooting at a one-inch
diameter red circle at 300 yards.
The dS, though, stated a range of
299 yards. The reticle illumination
was set fairly high, and the 5- and
10-mph windage hash marks on
both sides of the center made it
difficult to distinguish the aiming
dot.
With magnification set on 12x,
three bullets hit 2 inches below
the dot with a 2.94-inch horizon-
tal spread to the bullets.
Turning down reticle illumi-
nation intensity and turning up
magnification helped clearly see
the dot. Also, on the dS Config-
urator app, reticle line thickness
can be set on “large,” “medium”
or “small.” I had it set on medium.
Changing to small provided a
precise aiming point. With those