Swarvoski's 'smartscope' takes the doubt out of taking your shot

Technology is a wonderful thing. After all, you’re probably reading this on your phone or tablet, and we’re now all so used to having access to a digital treasure trove of information and entertainment that not having wifi or 4G reception can feel like having a hand cut off. The world is replete with “smart” enabled items, many of dubious usefulness. Take, for example, the LavvieBot, a smart, automatic cat litter tray that plays you a happy tune when moggy has performed his or her ablutions.  However, there are plenty of ‘smart’ items that are genuinely useful.

Not content with making some of the best scopes and binos on the market, Swarovski want to take hunting and stalking optics to the next level. We have already documented their digital rangefinder, and now we’re looking at their latest rifle scope, snappily called the dS Gen. II. As you’ll have gathered from the “Gen II” part, this is an update on the original dS. The product combines the high standards of optical quality that we have come to expect from Swarovski with digital functionality that makes taking a safe and responsible shot easier.

Taking the guesswork out of taking a shot

At the touch of a button the scope calculates the correct point-of-aim, taking into account air pressure and temperature, the angle of the shot, the magnification on the scope and the ballistics of your rifle and ammunition. Using the accompanying dS Configurating app, which connects to the scope via bluetooth, you can set the dS to your personal firearm/ammunition combination. The app then combines all of this information, calculating the aiming point on the basis of the ballistic data that you have input, and the calculated ballistic curve is transferred directly to the dS via Bluetooth.

The app also allows you to choose what information is displayed when you look through the scope, such as wind speed, bullet velocity, knock-down power, and even the alignment of the rifle, so you can be sure that it is not canted to one side. You can also choose from six different reticles. 

Technology aside, the Gen II offers uncompromising optics with a 5x zoom for magnification of 5 up to 25, 83% light transmission for high detail recognition, and improved ergonomics.

Frank Stephenson, GunsOnPegs’ resident stalking-obsessive - has been giving the dS Gen. II a go on some recent stalking trips. Sod’s Law is, well… a sod. “As luck would have it, every stalk I’ve been on since having Swarovski’s new smart scope on trial has resulted in either no deer seen or no safe shot available,” he told me. Never work with children or animals, as they say in showbiz. 

However, in preparation for those outings he did of course complete the setup process, and zero the scope. “The whole thing is so intuitive to use, it was a total breeze. I’m not the best with technology, but it was pretty idiot-proof.” says Frank. “I was also really impressed with the scope’s balance, and the ergonomics. Swarovski have obviously made an effort to make all the buttons easy to use.”

The ethical choice

Frank is an enthusiastic deer manager, so I was interested to get his take on this high-tech style of hunting. I asked him whether he felt that the dS Gen II took something away from his passion. “Some purists might consider using something like this unsporting and taking away some of the challenge,” he said. “But I am sure that people said the same when hunters first moved from iron-sites to scopes.” 

I thought that was an interesting point, so I probed a little further. “Look,” he said. “No ethical hunter worthy of the name is going to take a marginal shot, one that they’re not confident in taking, so I don’t think something like the dS Gen II is going to help you to kill more deer. What it does is remove any doubt or guesswork from a shot, giving you the confidence that you can achieve a humane kill. If anything, with this you’ll probably take fewer shots, but achieve better outcomes when you do decide to pull the trigger.”

What’s next?

From cameras that attach to your shotgun to the technical wizardry that Swarovski keep delivering, we never cease to be amazed by the exciting ways that modern gubbins can be incorporated into the most traditional of activities like shooting and stalking. We find ourselves asking: what will the next development be. What innovations would you like to see in the future?