In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Hawke scopes anyone?
Kevin_L
Member Posts: 2,011 ✭✭✭✭
I've been looking online at Hawke scopes. They seem nice but I've never owned or used one before.
Anyone have any positive or negative experiences with the scopes or the company?
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
Comments
I have a Hawke Vantage 30 2.5x10 that came on a used rifle I bought I would say glass quality is on par with the old Nikon Monarch. If I was in the market for a decent hunting scope with a Illuminated Reticle I would give them a look I'm happy with that one
Good to know! I'm wary of paying for the high profile brand name (Vortex, Leupold) when something lesser knows is as good or better.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I think I read that Hawke scopes were rated for springer air rifles.If you know what a springer can do to a scope,thats pretty good endorsement.
"Good to know! I'm wary of paying for the high profile brand name (Vortex, Leupold) when something lesser knows is as good or better."
Huh? What? Vortex Crossfire II is in the same price range as the HAWKE and IMHO, has a far better warranty. The mid-grade HAWKE scopes are OK but not great and from my experience not as clear or light gathering as VORTEX Crossfire II.
Interesting. I have a Crossfire II and I have never liked it. That's why I only have 1 Vortex scope and am looking for input about other brands.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
In optics, you get what you pay for. That is why the best in the world are not the cheapest. The real question is, how descent is good enough for your purpose and acceptance. You can buy better glass today for $250 than you could buy for any price in 1965. My birding optics are Vortex.
Mobuck, to be clear scopes do not "gather" light. They transmit a percentage of the light that hits the objective. How well they do that depends upon design, the glass and to a large degree the coatings on the glass. The better spotting scopes/binos/rifle scopes transmit a larger percentage of the light to the eye. If you only hunt late morning to early afternoon, that is probably not a big deal. At the edges of the day even 3 or 4% more light might make the difference between that elk or deer, or going home skunked. I am with you on Vortex, worth every penny.
"Mobuck, to be clear scopes do not "gather" light."
I was trying to not confuse others by using terminology consistent with 'gunwriter' phrases. 🙄
"Interesting. I have a Crossfire II and I have never liked it. "
Which model and what is it about the scope you don't like?
It's a Crossfire II Rimfire, 2-7x32. I shoot at the indoor range most of the time and unless the targets are well lit, I have some visibility issues. The target is dim (not to be confused with the shooter also being dim). I figure that's either from the optics or the 32mm objective. I also need a parallax/side-focus adjustment these days which my Crossfire doesn't have.
Would you suggest a larger objective? I mean, that might be all I have to do to get the visibility I need.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
Not to be indelicate, but how old are you? A larger objective will render a larger exit pupil, but if you are older like me, your eyes will not dilate enough to allow you to make use of the larger spot of light. To calculate the exit pupil divide the objective diameter, in this case 32mm by the magnification 2-7. At 2X you have a 16mm exit pupil, larger than the youngest eye can use, but plenty of light. At 7x you have a exit pupil of 4.57 mm, perhaps large enough for your eye. Really good older eyes, which I don't have, will have a pupil diameter of 6 or 7 mm. So if you are, uhumm, a bit mature look for an exit pupil at about that size.
I think you hit on it questioning whether or not a larger objective would serve you better.
A 32mm objective has 804 sq/mm of surface area. A 40mm objective has 1257 sq/mm of surface area. That equates to the 40mm letting in 50+% more light. All other things being equal, lens quality and configuration, coatings, etc..., obviously you will notice a BIG difference with a 40 over your 32.
He Dog hit it right when he said the quality of optics today beats the heck out of the old scopes for a lot cheaper cost. I have 30 year old expensive scopes that aren't as good as some of the $250 dollar scopes of today. Binoculars are the same way. I will stack my Vortex Razor binos up against some brands that cost thousands more and only the most discerning eye can tell the difference in certain rare conditions. Bob
Nothing at all indelicate about that. I'm 55 at the end of this month. Beyond 5 feet, my vision is 20-20. from 0 to 5 feet, I need readers or everything looks as blurry as that famous picture of Bigfoot. Thanks for the info!
You answered one of the things I was yet to ask, @BobJudy : the quality of modern, mid-priced optics compared to yesteryear's high-end, high dollar optics. And now I'm wondering where the price point is where you start to get diminishing returns on the optics and are paying for the brand name and features. Maybe around the $300 dollar mark?
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
Take a hard look at Vortex ( no I don't own stock!) I have Diamondbacks as my truck binocular, and Razors for serious birding. Scopes in the model range from Diamondback level and up. Most of my remaining scopes are older European or Burris.
I will. There's a Sportsmans Warehouse about 10 minutes down the road and I know they have a bunch of Vortex options.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I am not familiar with that brand, but I will say for sure, some of my best deals on GB have been buying used glass.
Good suggestion Warbirds.
Yep, same here.
I seek older Burris scopes. Here and elsewhere. The upper end models at an affordable price. I haven't scored yet but I will. Aside from that, if I was putting together a hunting rig, I would look seriously at vortex viper models.