Donation

All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General > Scopes And Optics Gate

Hawke scope opinions needed

(1/3) > >>

Kragman1:
'm planning to buy a 4-12 with a half-mil reticle and 1/4" W/E adjustments for my HW77k.
The reason is simple - at 11.15X, each of the HMD marks equal inches:  2 at 100, 1 at 50 and 1/2" at 25.  Inch-based adjustments support that as well.  Obviously, old school SFP as well.

This is useful to me as I think of drift and drop in inches, and I have no expectation of that changing.  And while an MOA reticle starts much closer to inch, they are also a minority and the HMD reticle have two subtle advantages - they would operate at 10% more magnification and do allow the shooter to simply work in Mils should they desire.

The two that stand out to me are the Vantage 3-12X44 with side focus and the AirMax 4-12x40 with traditional AO.

They are both roughly the same size and weight, and should both fit the mounting window on the HW77.
I like the reticle of the Vantage a little better, and I do like side focus. 
T
But the AirMax has a full springer warranty, and I assume (!) better glass/coatings.

I like my current AirMax 4-12x40, but I have never even seen one of the SF Vantages.
There is a $10 difference in price, so that is not a factor.

For those that can compare the two, please post about it, especially any shortcomings of either that I may not have considered.

Thanks

Bayman:
I have both scopes. I have the 3-12x44 SF Vantage on my Tikka 22 LR and the 4-12 Airmax on my HW97. I have well over a dozen Vantage and Airmax scopes. They all serve me well and Hawke customer service is excellent when they don't.

I like the Airmax reticle much better for target work and drop and drift calculations. The Christmas tree reticle really helps lead the wind. Especially when your holdovers reach four plus mils.

I like the turrets on the Vantage better. They are more tactile and audible. The Airmax can be mushy on some individual units. They all vary somewhat between units. It's what you get with Chinese scopes. Neither scope tracks well enough to be a Dialer. You'll wind up using the reticle. Therfore the Airmax turrets don't bother me. Much.

The glass on the Vantage is definitely good for the money but the Airmax is noticeably better across the whole line.

Pick you poison by whats important to you. My experience is the Airmax glass is better and the reticle is better suited to airgun trajectories and that's why the 3-12x44 was resigned to a powder burner.

Any more questions feel free to PM me for my phone number.

Hth
Ron

Kragman1:
Thanks Ron!

I thought it was odd that they are so close is price, the only real outward difference being the SF on the Vantage.

I'm playing scope roulette now.  May just move my AirMax 4-12 to the 77k, as I remembered having an Athlon 4-12 to replace the AirMax on the Parrus it is currently mounted on.

Rick67:
While I do have an IR 2-7x32 Vantage AO whose glass and etched reticle I like, the glass on their higher mag SF version is close to pathetic to me.

One of the worst glass I’ve seen on a scope of that price range  ???

Kragman1:
Thanks to both of you gentlemen!

I had heard some low opinions of the glass in the more expensive Hawke lines before, didn't realize it went as low as the bigger Vantages.

You just kept me from making an expensive mistake!

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page