Hatsan Mod 125 super magnum optics killer extraordinaire!

[SpringerForever]

With runners up: RWS 48 & RWS 54. And probably sooner than later, a RWS 56.

Here's the tally so far from just this past April listed chronologically:

UTG/Leapers 4-16x56 mil dot
Centerpoint 4-16x40 mil dot
Centerpoint 4-16x40 mil dot (RWS 48)
Optima 3-9x32
CenterPoint Optics 32mm Open Reflex Sight (red dot sight)
Hawke Sidewinder 8-32x56 mil dot
Hawke Varmint 6-24x44 mil dot (RWS 54)
Hawke Sidewinder 6-24x56 SR Pro

and the latest casualty, a:

Simmons 1x24 red dot sight

A little more than 80 rounds & two days (Tuesday & Wednesday) later & the Simmons 1x24 I bought at Walmart this past Monday nite is toasted. Here's a pic of a 'group' of six shots from its final death throes:



shot at 25 yards BRed with my Vortex spring powered Hatsan Mod 125 Sniper .25 that normally shoots 28+ FPE with its most accurate pellet. The grid & red bullseye are just over 3/4".

And here are 4 follow up shots taken immediately afterwards using open sights at 25 yards BRed:



Yes, believe it or not, that's a 3 shot 'group' on the bottom right. Shows just what this rifle, & any Hatsan super magnum I've shot, is capable of. Why 4 shots? I was finishing off a 10 shot chrony string.

[NickB79]

In my head I was mentally adding up the cost of all those scopes 

Hope you were at least able to get some of your money back on them, "dang".

[fortyshooter]

I've had my EOTech SP2 on my Sniper 125 for over a year and no issues. They are tested on BMG .50's and seem to take a lot of
beating.

[cnjl3]

I have read that a good one piece scope rings rig will help keep your scope from shaking apart.
Are you using two piece scope rings?

[dancergene]

just a thought, my rws 48 destroyed two center point scopes, then a third one went bad.  so, i ordered another hawke eclipse scope from one place, and le max quick detach med pica rings from another.  while waiting for the hawke scope to arrive i put on a dovetail to weaver adapter and attached the new rings.  just for grins i put the old cp scope on the new rings and bingo, found out the scope wasn't what was broken, it was the rings.  could not tell just by looking at them, used lock tight and snugged them down real good.  this weaver rail and new rings is like having it welded on.  i probably sent back two good scopes.  yep, the 48 is a beast, but worth it.

[dancergene]

one little trick to try, use an old fashioned lead pencil and mark the rifle where the mounts are on the barrel and also where the scope rings are on the scope. this will tell you if the scope is moving.

[SpringerForever]

I have read that a good one piece scope rings rig will help keep your scope from shaking apart.
Are you using two piece scope rings?

I've only used 2 pc rings so far. FWIW, one of the CPs came to me used with a Hatsan Mod 125 I bought. Included with the purchase was a one pc mount but the scope was still DOA. Don't know what to make of it?

[SpringerForever]

just a thought, my rws 48 destroyed two center point scopes, then a third one went bad.  so, i ordered another hawke eclipse scope from one place, and le max quick detach med pica rings from another.  while waiting for the hawke scope to arrive i put on a dovetail to weaver adapter and attached the new rings.  just for grins i put the old cp scope on the new rings and bingo, found out the scope wasn't what was broken, it was the rings.  could not tell just by looking at them, used lock tight and snugged them down real good.  this weaver rail and new rings is like having it welded on.  i probably sent back two good scopes.  yep, the 48 is a beast, but worth it.

I haven't had an issue with rings. Aside from occasional slippage but that's easily corrected. Simply no way that all those optics would have an issue with rings. Besides, they most often shot fine to begin with & then went to poop. An example, the Hawke Sidewinder 6-24x56 SR Pro shifted POI by almost 2" down & ~1.5 to the right during an afternoon shooting session 3 weekends ago. Confirmed by my brother who test shot it for me immediately after the sudden POI shift. Prior to the sudden POI shift it was shooting ok. And all the optics had POI shifts from shooting session to shooting session. Not to mention they don't track worth a darn.

I'd never used scopes prior to my reintroduction to AGing this past April & at this point I've pretty much lost all faith in them. At least on any magnum or super magnum AG.

But thank you for mentioning the possibility & offering advice.

[SpringerForever]

one little trick to try, use an old fashioned lead pencil and mark the rifle where the mounts are on the barrel and also where the scope rings are on the scope. this will tell you if the scope is moving.

That's an excellent tip! I'll definitely file that one away for future use.

I normally mount all my scopes with the rear ring dead center on the scope tube so it's pretty easy to see any slippage. Plus, I look for adhesive from the ring tape. If the scope slips in the rings the ring tape adhesive becomes visible.

[JR]

I have a CP 4x16 on my 125 Sniper and I'm kinda wondering how long it will last to be honest, I put 200 shots through the gun before putting it on though just to get the worst part over with. My take on the magnum springer's is that a good 2pc set of rings is better than a 1pc setup. I think the 2pc doesn't transfer all that shock to the scope, I also try to keep the scope as low as possible, duno just my thought on it. I also try to keep the crosshair adjustments as close to center as I can, it does require a shim once in a while but it seems to help save scopes. When the adjustments are extreme to one side it doesn't have a uniform tension on the reticle and a lot of scopes that I have seen broke over the years were sighted in at the extreme ends of the scope adjustment. This also includes big bore center fire rifles.

[SpringerForever]

I have a CP 4x16 on my 125 Sniper and I'm kinda wondering how long it will last to be honest, I put 200 shots through the gun before putting it on though just to get the worst part over with. My take on the magnum springer's is that a good 2pc set of rings is better than a 1pc setup. I think the 2pc doesn't transfer all that shock to the scope, I also try to keep the scope as low as possible, duno just my thought on it. I also try to keep the crosshair adjustments as close to center as I can, it does require a shim once in a while but it seems to help save scopes. When the adjustments are extreme to one side it doesn't have a uniform tension on the reticle and a lot of scopes that I have seen broke over the years were sighted in at the extreme ends of the scope adjustment. This also includes big bore center fire rifles.

Yup, on zeroing optics as close to their optical/mechanical center as possible. It's something I've always done. Even delayed mounting a scope because I didn't think I had the 'right' UTG compensator mount.

Started off with the UTG compensator mounts but since they're non-adjustable & only available in 10", 17", 20"(?) & 2?" I've moved on to the Hawke adjustable compensator mounts instead. Lower profile than the UTGs too.

I normally arrive at optical center by using the turret method - total # of revolutions then divide by 2 - but I've gone so far as to check the results of the turret method using a v-block (vee-block) & it's always been quite close with the elevation almost being spot on but the windage a little off. Don't mind the windage being off that much as I'm usually having to correct for that anyway when I start zeroing on paper.  I normally use a laser bore sighter to get the gun on paper. Since my backyard 'range' is only 25 yards that's what I zero at but I'd prefer something closer to 40 yards & might eventually zero for 40 yards anyway using one of the ballistics programs to calculate the drop at 25 yards for a particular pellet.

Good luck with the CP. I think you definitely helped its longevity by 1st breaking in the gun a bit. I know that all my super magnum Hatsans jumped around like crazy when new but then settled down. So I can just imagine what a scope would go thru at the very beginning of that process.

[SpringerForever]

Add another casualty to the list:

Bushnell Banner 6-18x40 AO

Broke this one in 3 shots! Yeah baby!!! My scope killer extraordinaire is continuing its 'winning' streak! The scope is an oldie but, apparently, a baddie. Made in Japan too. What's odd is that another Bushnell Banner 6-18x40 AO Japanese held up fine for the few shots it 'suffered' thru before I gave it to one of my brother's. I guess I should've given him this one instead. What's really 'funny' is a very oldie but goodie, very cosmetically challenged, Bushnell Scopechief 3-9x32 Japanese is doing just fine. So far. At less than a 5th of the cost of the Hawke Sidewinders I have. Go figure? Very, very sweet shooting scope. Even if it's blurry on 9X at 25 yards. Doesn't affect accuracy one bit tho.

[haertig]

With the number of scopes you've killed, I'd recommend switching to pneumatic air rifles if you want to continue using scopes, or switch to aperture sights if you want to continue using springer air rifles.  Continuing on your current path of optics and springers does not make sense to me unless you're a self-mutilating masochist with an unlimited bank account.

[SpringerForever]

I'm definitely no masochist! But I am stubborn. :-)

And I definitely don't have an unlimited bank account! Which is why I've resorted to trying to find some oldie but goodies made in Japan scopes at reasonable prices. Mostly on eBay.

I had never owned a scope before I took up AGing again this past April so it's definitely been a learning experience. Expensive too!

I really like the simplicity of open sights but I can't maintain consistent POIs under varying lighting conditions. At least not with the current setup on my Hatsan Mod 125s which is a notched rear sight with a fiber optic front sight. I've been shooting almost exclusively BRed at 25 yards & I can actually shoot very tight groups with open sights at that range but the problem I've been having is with my sight picture changing ever so slightly with changing lighting conditions. Enuf so that my groups shift. Just yesterday I shot two shots touching each other then the light changed & my next two shots, altho also touching each other, were on a different area of the target. I ended up with 3 two shot groups with the varying lighting. Here's a 10 shot group I shot this past Saturday with open sights BRed at 25 yards with my new remanufactured Hatsan Mod 125 Sniper .25 Vortex:



Not exactly my best effort. But at least the lighting was consistent enuf for me to obtain consistent grouping. The inner white square is 1/2". Screwed up 4 of the 10 shots. The one at 6 o'clock was definitely the result of pushing the rifle down slightly as I shot. The other three may have been due to a slight failure to maintain a proper sight picture. I have a tendency to stop focusing on the front sight.

As for PCPs, Nope! Not going to happen. The closest I'll come to a PCP is my newly acquired Crosman 1400 .22 pump air rifle. Sweet shooting rifle! And so easy too! Gives me a taste of what it would be like having a PCP. But for right now it's strictly my super magnum springers & pump air rifles.

[SpringerForever]

I've had my EOTech SP2 on my Sniper 125 for over a year and no issues. They are tested on BMG .50's and seem to take a lot of
beating.

I don't know how I missed your post but I did.

Very nice optic! But I just priced it & holy smokes is it ever expensive! For that kind of money I'd just as soon spend just a little bit more & buy a SWFA SS scope. Altho I like the compactness & quick sight picture capability of a red dot/reflex optic I'd rather have a working fixed power scope or better yet a working variable power scope. Would definitely like to get a SWFA SS because they're great values, have a great warranty & CS &, most importantly, are rated for 50 cals (& supposedly AGs).

Thank you for sharing.

[Nathan]

Back in 2003/2004 there was a airgun publication done online called Addictive Airgunning. Some of you older shooters may remember this. There was a guy named Wayne who tried lining his scope rings with epoxy on a RWS model 48 he claimed broke 3 scopes and a BAM B-21. He claimed it kept even non airgun scopes from breaking. I have a pdf copy of that issue on one of my computers. Send me a PM with a e mail address Springer,  and I'll send it to you and you might give it a try. What have you got to loose, but another scope and a few dollars for some epoxy.

P.S. I have never tried it myself.

Nathan

[SpringerForever]

Nathan, just sent you a PM.

[SpringerForever]

I wrote too soon about the

       "... very oldie but goodie, very cosmetically challenged, Bushnell Scopechief 3-9x32 Japanese is doing just fine."

Not so fine anymore. It only lasted ~100 shots before the reticle broke. Happened just today. And I had high hopes for the scope. First scope that, believe it or not, reliably tracked. I so wanted it to succeed for that reason alone! Reliable tracking from a scope less than a 5th of the cost of a Hawke Sidewinder! Imagine that! Oh well ...

On to the next victim ... errr ... I mean candidate. This one is another oldie & (very) hopefully a goodie made in Japan Tasco 4-16x40 AO. Very nice looking scope considering its age. Almost afraid to put it on the scope killer.

Don't know what I'll do if this one fails. I really like the simplicity of open sights but I just don't have the eyesight for it.

With that in mind, I've got two more victims in mind: an Aeon 6-24x50 & a SWFA 10x42. Both sellers claim the scopes will survive on a super magnum but at this point I'm more than just a little skeptical. Neither will offer a refund if the scope doesn't. Just replacement. I guess at worst I'll be getting a new scope every month or so. And I'll get plenty of additional practice diagnosing scope issues, re-mounting & re-zeroing scopes. I'll be able to do it my sleep! So long as it doesn't lead to scope nightmares, I'll be fine with that. :-)

[SpringerForever]

For those that haven't ever seen a broken wire reticle here's what the broken reticle on the Bushnell Scopechief 3-9x32 Japanese looks like:

[SpringerForever]

Wonders of wonders!

The latest & greatest victim ... err ... candidate is holding up! At least so far! +370 shots so far! Absolutely amazing! And the scope is ... drum roll ... a

                                        Tasco 4-16x40 AO Japanese

Couldn't resist! Yeah, I know, a whole lot of exclamation points! What can I write? I'm very, very pleasantly/happily surprised that this scope is still going strong. And still at approximately a fifth of the cost of a Hawke Sidewinder.

It tracks accurately!

It holds zero during a shooting session!

It holds zero between shooting sessions!

I think (I hope) I've got a winner!

Might be a bit premature but I bought another one off of eBay. Hopefully it holds up as well.

Or maybe I just got lucky? Only time will tell.