Hawke Vantage, Airmax, or Panorama

[dmiller]

As of now i'm looking to put a Hawke scope on my Hatsan Torpedo 155 and have a few questions. Iv'e done some emailing back and forth from Hawke customer service about different scope options. My personal preference of Hawke scopes is the Panorama 3-9x40 AO 10x1/2 mil dot; however, my main question is, I hear that the Vantage series is not for guns pushing I think over 12 fps, my Hatsan is around thirty fps. Would my gun actually potentially damage a Vantage scope, or not? If it would not damage a Vantage,is it worth waiting a year or two till I can afford/justify spending the extra $$$ on an Airmax of Panorama? By the way, do any of you air gunners own a Panorama? Thanks! Sorry for all the questions.  Dale

[SteveP-52]

I don't own a rifle that shoots under 12 fps, most shoot between 14 and 20, my Walther Talon Magnum (same thing as a Hatsan 125) shoots about 24 and 10 of them have Vantage scopes on them including that Walther and I haven't had any problems.
How well they'll hold up on a rifle pushing 30 like yours I can't honestly say but the thought is the Airmax, which is supposed to be designed and built for magnum springers would be a better bet. Dvor is free to sign up, sends daily emails on specials and when they have sales on Hawke scopes, you can save a bundle. I've bought a couple of my scopes from them and saved quite a bit.

https://www.dvor.com/

[dmiller]

Thanks for the reply Steve! I will have to check out dvor. Thanks!

[nced]

I own both a 4-12x50 Vantage and Airmax and both were mounted to my HW95 that's detuned to shoot at the 12.5fpe power level so I have some personal opinions concerning each.

I first bought the 4-12x50 Airmax and used it for a couple hunter class field target matches and really didn't like the thin AMX reticle since there wasn't an "illumination feature". Actually, the Airmax performed well except for the fact that the thin reticle would get washed out on a dark target set on a dark lane so I bought the 4-12x50 Hawke Vantage.

The first vantage I owned would ping with every shot mounted to my detuned HW95 however I actually preferred the thicker mil dot reticle and the Vantage does come with an illuminated reticle feature. Hawke customer service was called concerning the "pinging with the shot" and was assured that all was well since the ping I heard was only internal springs. I used the Vantage for a couple matches and after a couple hundred shots the pinging went away, however at a recent field target match I was getting a LOT of unexplained fliers and the "illumination feature" died, even with a new battery. Calling Hawke and getting authorization to return the scope it was sent in to Hawk for warranty work. After the Hawke inspection I was told that the parallax was messed up due to a shifting lens element. I then received a brand new Vantage from Hawke and it works well, however it doesn't ping with each shot like the first Vantage. The replacement Vantage does give some felt vibration with each shot but it's holding zero well so far. I asked the Hawke "tech guy" if the Vantage was "springer rated" and was assured that it was, however it was recommended that the Vantage be limited to springers of 12fpe or less.

I did replace the Vantage on the HW95 with the Hawke 4-12x50 Airmax with the AMX reticle and actually used that scope for the field target match last week and except for the lack of reticle illumination it is indeed a better scope for the hunter class. The fine AMX reticle still tends to get lost on dark targets however the Airmax does "scope rangefind" a bit better plus I believe that the optics are a bit crisper. When I mentioned the AMX reticle getting washed out on dark lanes to the Hawke "tech support guy" he mentioned that the 4-12x50 Hawke panorama is the exact same scope except it also has an illuminated reticle feature.

Personally, I found that I preferred the 4-12x50 Hawke Airmax AO over the 4-12x50 Hawke Vantage AO due to the slight edge in optics, a slight edge when scope rangefinding at 12x, and the fact that the Airmax doesn't ping or vibrate with each shot of my HW95.

Hawke also offers a considerably more expensive Airmax with 30mm tube and side focus and the ones that I've looked through are pretty nice, however I personally prefer the smaller/lighter Airmax with the AO.
HW95 with the 4-12x50 AirMax AO.......


 

[dmiller]

Thanks for the reply nced! The Panorama you mentioned is probably my best choice, as I would prefer the illuminated reticle. I really appreciate you reply! Thanks!

[dmiller]

Another question for you guys; I have the potential opportunity that I could get a new Panorama 3-9x50 EV with the L4 dot redical for $130.  Personally, I would prefer the 10x1/2 mil dot redicle, but don't particularly feel like spending around $240 on the ones I have seen. (As of now, I will probably not be shooting past 50 yds.) What do you guys think? Thanks

[mobilehomer]

Give this one a look. I have a 4-16X56 etched glass reticle and love it!!!

http://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&midx=911&allids=898_911&itemno=SCP3-UG105AOIEW

[dmiller]

Thanks for the reply Ken! Your advice is appreciated! Another question- the scope I mentioned earlier did not say that it has an AO or is side focus. Being that it is most likely a fixed focus a 100yds, and I will only be shooting up to 50 yds, it would not focus well for me, right? Would it be a problem to have a fixed 100yd focus and constantly be shooting at only 15-50 yds? I would need an AO or side focus scope, right? Hope my questions aren't bothersome- I really appreciate you answers! Thanks!

[mobilehomer]

Dale, the one I posted has side focus down to 10 yards. In my experience, any scope over 4X used under about 75 yards needs to have focus/parallax adjustment. I have noticed that the focus knob has to move the most from minimum to about 40 yards and very little from about 75 yards to infinity. So the closer you are to the target, the more you need it. Also, this scope was going for over $200 at Leapers last year.

[Norcal]

Give this one a look. I have a 4-16X56 etched glass reticle and love it!!!

http://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&midx=911&allids=898_911&itemno=SCP3-UG105AOIEW

Ken - the link you posted is for a fixed power 10x50 for $119. I think you meant to post this link for the 4-14x56 which sells for $230 list price.

http://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&itemno=SCP3-UG4165AOIEW&midx=900&allids=899_898_900

[mobilehomer]

Give this one a look. I have a 4-16X56 etched glass reticle and love it!!!

http://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&midx=911&allids=898_911&itemno=SCP3-UG105AOIEW

Ken - the link you posted is for a fixed power 10x50 for $119. I think you meant to post this link for the 4-14x56 which sells for $230 list price.

http://www.leapers.com/index.php?act=prod_detail&itemno=SCP3-UG4165AOIEW&midx=900&allids=899_898_900

Nope, I linked the right one. For his purposes, this would be a great choice.

[Norcal]

Ok - I just read into your post wrong.