9 replies to this topic

[CBR400RR]

Looking for opinions on this scope for target shooting Hawke Sidewinder 30 Scope IR 8-32x56 Mil Dot IR

[Brant]

Did you ever buy this scope? I was considering one for my Cricket.

[CBR400RR]

No I got  Nikko Target master 6-24X56 Mil Dot but I'm going to get the Hawk 8-32X56 Mil Dot for my next scope probably unless they come out with a better one. 

[docskinner]

Is it designed for air rifles? different dynamics and all. And the crickets look cool - but are they 500yard+ guns? 32x? seriously? 9x is a ton of magnification under 100 yards. If you can print patterns with that under 100 yards, more scope is not going to help. 

[Brant]

Sounds like your interested in adult airguns. :-) They are way cool for hunting or target shooting with vast improvements in the technologies. Yes the scopes are designed somewhat for airguns too and focus down to ten yards among other differences (side focus for precise ranging is required). I dont shoot Field Target in competition but take advantage of their scopes for precise pesting fun. That said guys do shoot cast slugs in airguns out to maybe 300 yards regularly but the high mag for Field Target shooting is normally 100 yards and down. More mag always helps even if it is to a lessor degree than at 100s of yards. We sometimes shoot at flies that land on a white target at 50 yards. These guns are that accurate but tend to run in the $2k range plus $500-1000 or so for a good scope. I see Field Target scopes run to 50-60x. You can count whiskers. On the other end of the spectrum there are big bore airguns (like 50 cal) and all north American game has been taken humanely with a big bore airgun.

 

Hawke even distributes excellent free software for airguns for their scopes. Its become a large market. Probably ten years ago I couldn't imagine ever using  more than a 3-9x scope on an airgun. Twenty years ago I bet my airguns had 4x scopes.

 

http://www.hawkeopti...m/chairgun.html

 

The lowest mag Hawke SIdewinder 30 goes up to 12x. The Hawke Sidewinders, Panoramas, and others are real popular on the airguns in the US.

 

http://www.hawkeopti...side-focus.html

[Brant]

Here is the Hawke Sidewinder 30 8-32x56 with the new SR Pro Reticle at 32x on a 70 yard image. Although I prefer the 1/2 mil dot 20x reticle the both glass etched reticles are impressive.

 

[CBR400RR]

Is it designed for air rifles? different dynamics and all. And the crickets look cool - but are they 500yard+ guns? 32x? seriously? 9x is a ton of magnification under 100 yards. If you can print patterns with that under 100 yards, more scope is not going to help. 

There are airguns that can shoot dime size groups at 100 yards and here is a video of a guy shooting soda cans at 1/4th mile.

 

 

[eeler1]

I've got 2 sidewinder tactical scopes, neither one is current production.  I use them for pistol FT (4x12) and rifle FT (6x20? going on memory here).  Love the reticle choice and the mil-dots.   Both work fine for distances out to 55 yards, which is generally what you find in FT matches.  If I were going longer distances, I might opt for the Bushnell Elite (pricey) series of scopes, just better optics and clarity.  But if you need to rangefind, and shoot within maybe 60 yards like most airguns do, the Hawke is a good value.  I'm very happy with mine.

 

The software that comes with some Hawke models is better than nothing, but make sure you test it at the range before you rely on it in the field.

 

Bottom line, the Hawke sidewinder scopes are pretty good for the money.  If you are serious about shooting longer ranges, like 60+ yards, you need to get serious about spending some money.

[Brant]

Thanks for the info. I also own a Bushnell Elite and have a story to share but to be fair one first needs to compare the more recently redesigned Hawke SIdewinders to the Bushnell Elites and you will find the optics a lot closer. The Tacticals were redesigned about 2-3 years back and the SR 30s in just the last year. Lots of things changed with the lens manufacturing such as the reticle thickness, etc. I only started buying the Tacticals after the redeisgn and would not have considered a SR 30 until this last year. We actually did some informal clarity and brightness testing between a new Sidewinder Tactical 6.5-20x42, a Bushnell Elite 6-24x40, and my NightForce NSF 8-32x56 about two years ago at 20x. Basically the new Hawke was very close to the Elite on clarity but slightly dimmer in low light. Hawke has nearly caught up.

 

Anyway, my story is that my Elite starting losing POI and it took me nearly 4 months and 2 trips back to Bushnell and lots of negotiating to get them to replace the scope.  I fought for so long for such an expensive scope that I decided I was done with Bushnell for a while with their poor customer service in the US (I hear it is better in Europe). I overcranked my elevation on one of my 4 Hawke Tactical SW 6.5-20s and they replaced it in 3 days no questions asked. The scope still worked fine but it put a few very tiny specs of dirt on the reticle.

 

I just let someone compare my Hawke SWT to my Nightforce NSF and they were surprised how little difference there actually is at 20x. They preferred the glass etched reticle on the Hawke. I posted some independent research done comparing high end scopes on this forum a few years back and it was amazing how much snake oil is still being sold out there. High-end versions of Bushnell, Leupold, and Nightforce all underperformed the high-end  scopes like Zeiss, Docter, and March somewhat significantly. The tests measured clarity, brightness, and included environmental testing and was done by a lab in Germany. I argued with a few diehards on that for a while but you can't beat the instruments. The conclusion is you aren't necessarily getting a great scope by dumping a bunch of money on it.

 

A guy at my range has a Bushnell Tactical Elite with the G2 reticle and that is a very nice scope but I refuse to pay $2k for a 37 oz scope. I think they hammer forge the tubes. I guess if I ever do FT competition with ranging, etc I might consider something else. As for the regular Bushnell Elites - the old guys slamming the Hawkes at my range get awfully quiet when I plop my gun next to theirs for a scope-off and eveybody gets a look. Then they shift the debate to weight or ranging.

[Brant]

I shot with a guy today who has a Steyr LG110 HP (.22) with a new Hawke SW 30 8-32X56 scope on it.  He said it focuses down to 10 meters but not a foot less but the latest ones are very good scopes. He shoots Field Target with it and an occasional vermin he says. Nice gun but I like my Cricket better for pesting purposes at 27" long and under 6 lbs before scope.  Other guys at the range told me he normally shoots in the top three at the local matches. He also has a Steyr LP10 177.