jhilde

Went into town today to pick up some ammo and the owner of my favorite gun store had four of the new Hawk scopes on display. He has always carried both Bushnell and Nikon as his line of new scopes, but these hawks are pretty impressive--the cross hairs are etched in glass rather than being wires and the crosshairs go from black [in full light], to blue,[as the light fades]-small battery and switch inside parralax adjustment knob -he was saying they are manufactured in Fort Wayne and that the company making them has been making air rifle scopes this way for years and has decided to offer this line of big bore scopes---three of the four sold for under $200--the competition model that he had goes for $360---Have any of you seen or used these yet?

bugsNbows

John, from what I've read the Hawke scopes are decent...probably comparable to the Bushy 3200 series. I did read that their illumination system wasn't that great...too bright for use sometimes. The etched reticles are nice though. Not sure where the glass comes from...possibly the Phillipines. If the price was right, I'd give them a shot (no pun intended).

dylan_b

most hawkes are sourced from china, these are mostly the ones i have experiance with. as with even the good chinease scopes, the dials in the early nite-eye sr model i had, were complete crap. aside from that it actually had a pretty good image. the reticle itself isnt that impressive but the ballistic software worked great. of all the chinease scopes ive owned or used, id rate this 3rd on my list, behind mtc optisan and falcon.

they also offer mid priced scopes ($200-$400) that are or were sourced from the phillipines. very typical scope from that region (about in line with burris, not quite as good as nikon) but again the reticle with the software really sets them apart from other similar offerings.

hawkes real contender in their lineup was the frontier sf. hawke actually sourced parts from the same company nightforce does in japan. the glass and finish isnt anywhere near on par though. id say they are about in line with a bushnell 4200. but imo the best turrets $600 can buy are hawkes frontier sf turrets. if you are planning to get one get it fast, they have been discontinued just this year.

all in all, i wouldnt buy another aside from the frontier. there are better scopes for less money. im still a fan of reticle compensation but i dont need anything more then a milldot for that purpose. if you want a hawke buy it for its reticle. if you dont use a reticle that often maybe look at something else.

jhilde

I'll be the first to admit, I'm no expert on scopes, but based on the other two lines he carries, Nikon and Bushnell, I would think he would have checked them out prior to taking them on as a new line---The clarity seemed to be very good, the adjustments felt positive and the overall finish was what it should be--it was interesting that when turned on, looking out the window, the crosshairs are black, as you lower the scope so that your getting the shade inside the store, it changes to the blue. He says, for the money, it's a decent scope and well able to stand up to the recoil of the average big bore--the scope he has for the "heavies" runs about $360 and should compare to the midrange Bushnells--so we'll see----I'd buy one of these long before I'd buy a Simmons or Tasco-----John

timbercruiser

I would buy a Nikon or a Bushnell 4200 before I would invest that much money in a discontinued scope. Comparing scopes outside at dusk dark is will tell you a lot about a scope t hat you can't see inside a shop.