Hawke Optics Thoughts...

[jasonprox700]

I've been eyeing these up for some time, but I have never had 1st hand experience with them. From the reviews I've read, they seem to be well liked. I was wondering if anybody here has had any experience with them. If so, what were your thoughts?

They have a few models I am interested in. I would like to try one of their lower priced scopes 1st for close range stuff, and then go from there later on.

Hawke 1.5-6x44 Eclipse 30mm Riflescope

 

[300rum]

I've been eyeing these up for some time, but I have never had 1st hand experience with them. From the reviews I've read, they seem to be well liked. I was wondering if anybody here has had any experience with them. If so, what were your thoughts?

They have a few models I am interested in. I would like to try one of their lower priced scopes 1st for close range stuff, and then go from there later on.

Hawke 1.5-6x44 Eclipse 30mm Riflescope

hi,

i just got one hawky 6-20x42 mildot scope for my 7mm rm rifle few mo ago.
if i compare them with a nightforce scope.... well
hawky has good tracking
outstand the recoil of 7mm rem,
pass the box test
very impressed by the lock knows system- very handy in hunting situation.
nice mildot reticle with half hashline gradations.
---------
down size...
moa clicks and mildot reticle
clicks are not sharps and heavy as nfx
glasses at max power are darker.
for the 300-400$ scope it is a very good deal.
they have very appealling design
i just want to see this scope with moa/moa ret or mil/mil ret.

 

[GoodmanCPA]

Hawke Eclipse 6 -24 X 50 scope

iI am planning to buy the Hawke sport optics Eclipse 6-24x50ao rifle scope, illuminated mil-dot reticle, 1/4 moa, 30mm tube for $299. It will be mounted on my Ruger M-77 sport barrel .22-250 rifle, primarily used for ground hogs. Most of my shooting is 75 to 300 yards, and I like that power.

My friend, who bought a Hawke for his .500 double rifle, says it handles the recoil fine. He likes the optics. I never used a Haawke, but examined displayed samples at a hunting show.

I have used a Bushnell Trophy 6 - 18 X 40 AO scope successfully for 9 years, but it has recently failed. I paid about $200 in 2004. The Trophy scope does not hold horizontal zero. The right / left adjustments do not track. I carry the rifle and scope often in a soft case in the back of my SUV and do not mistreat it. I do not remember ever dropping or banging it severely. I plan to return it to Bushnell for repair if practical.

I was considering a Chinese Legacy 6 - 24 X 40 scope with illuminated reticles and adjustable target turrets for $160. The dealer told me he never had any complaints. The Hawke lacks these adjustable target turrets.

I read the many posts abouit the Hawke on this website and others, and heard no serioius criticism. $300 is my budget limit. I have Leupold VX3 and VX2, Burris Signature, and Redfield Widefield on my other center fire rifles, .222, .30-06, 7 mm STW, .338, and .375 . They are all 3 - 9 X 40 or 2 - 8 X 32. They never failed me, but I cannot currently afford $1,500 for a fine name brand 6 - 24 X 40 or 50 scope.

 

[SidecarFlip]

This isn't meant as a diatribe in any way, but, there is an extremely long running Hawke versus Vortex thread on site with literally dozens of comments.

You should be able to find just about any answer to any question concerning Hawke Optics on that thread....

With that low of a budget, I'd be looking at a used scope and let the original owner eat the depreciation. Plenty of used optics on this site and keep one thing in mind and that is, all name brand scopes have a lifetime transferable warranty which means, the manufacturer (or importer in the case of quite a few optics) could care less if you are the original owner or the scope is second or third or fourth hand....

Hawke is all about Chinese. I can tell you (for a fact) that their company address in Fort Wayne is nothing more than a suite in an office park. A desk, some phones and pretty gals with some flunkies unpacking crates that came in, in an overseas shipping container.

I have nothing against Hawke, just be apprised at what you get for your fiat dollars.

For 300 clams, you'll never get a used NF or a S&B or US Optics but you can get a decent new Leupy VX2, or lower end Vortex or Nikon or a used one with better features.

Something to consider.

 

[bruce_ventura]

hi,

i just got one hawky 6-20x42 mildot scope for my 7mm rm rifle few mo ago.
if i compare them with a nightforce scope.... well
hawky has good tracking
outstand the recoil of 7mm rem,
pass the box test
very impressed by the lock knows system- very handy in hunting situation.
nice mildot reticle with half hashline gradations.
---------
down size...
moa clicks and mildot reticle
clicks are not sharps and heavy as nfx
glasses at max power are darker.
for the 300-400$ scope it is a very good deal.
they have very appealling design
i just want to see this scope with moa/moa ret or mil/mil ret.

I'll chime in because HighPowerOptics is a Hawke dealer and I have a lot of experience with some of their products. We have evaluated several of their scope lines and we carry the Sidewinder 30 and Sidewinder Tactical rifle scopes, and the Frontier ED binoculars. They are the only Chinese optics that we sell.

We decided to carry them because they are well built products at a great price and return rates are low, which confirms to me that Hawke does a good job with quality control at their factory. We've had no customer complaints. We had one customer return a scope because the box was dented in shipment, and he exchanged it for a different Hawke model. Hawke's warranty is excellent, although to my knowledge none of our customers have had to use it.

I agree with 300rum's assessment, assuming that he is talking about the Sidewinder Tactical model. One thing that attracted me to these particular Hawke scopes is the excellent resolution and high contrast. At this price point, Hawke scopes have unusually good optics. Also, they have a solid construction and are very durable. Other nice features include the reticles and illumination systems. Be aware that because the Sidewinder Tactical has a 42 mm objective, it will not be as bright as a larger objective scope at the same magnification.

Regarding mil/MOA vs mil/mil and MOA/MOA, I have the following viewpoint. It generally costs extra to get a mil/mil or MOA/MOA scope. I'm all about saving money, so I've found ways of using second focal plane mil/MOA and mil/IPHY scopes that avoid the usual problems.

I use a mildot reticle to hold for wind and sometimes to mil impact miss distances to determine aiming corrections. I run my ballistic calculator one of two ways, depending on the type of shooting I'm doing. If I'm not going to mil misses, I simply program my ballistic calculator to output elevation holdoffs in MOA (which I dial) and windage holdoffs in mils (which I hold, not dial). That way I don't have to do any math in my head.

If I need to mil misses as well as hold for wind, which is more common for me, I simply drop the magnification down to the value for which the mildot reticle is calibrated in MOA. In the case of a Hawke 6.5-20X, that means reducing the magnification down to
20X x (3.44/4.00) = 17.2X.

The Hawke mildot reticle is then calibrated in MOA, with 4 MOA between dots and 2 MOA between a dot and a line. Now I have an MOA/MOA scope when I need it. The scope lost 16% of it's max magnification in the process, but I rarely operate scopes at their max magnification anyway. This method can be used to convert any second focal plane mil/MOA scope to an MOA/MOA scope.

If I wanted a wider field of view for some reason, I would drop the magnification down further to 8.6X. Now the Hawke mildot reticle has 4 MOA between a dot and a line.

To the OP, HighPowerOptics will be placing a restocking order with Hawke soon. If you pre-order from us, you'll get a very good deal. LRH members always get a good deal at HighPowerOptics. The deal on a pre-order like this is even better. If you decide to go with a Hawke scope, pm me to talk models and prices.

Hawke Sidewinder Rifle Scopes

 

[jasonprox700]

It's been a long time since I originally posted this, so I'll give an update. I did purchase the mentioned scope and I did use it to harvest a small buck (should've passed but I had an itchy trigger finger that day!).

I was happy with the scope, but then I got a screaming deal on a like new VX3 1.5-5 Ill that I couldn't pass up. I likedthe glass and field off view better on the VX3 better so I sold the Hawke.

I don't really have any complaints about the Hawke and I would have kept it if I had not purchased the VX3 for only a few more dollars than what I purchased the Hawke for. Hard to compare a sub $300 scope to a +$500 scope (especially when the +$500 scope is purchased for less than $300).