Hi,
Anyone use Hawk Optics?
How are they at low light?

The IR options seem cool.

thanks haeffnkr

Made in China crap...

Glad to see you're here to shill for Hawke.

I have a Hawke air gun scope that is pretty decent, but I've never used it in low light conditions so I can't speak to that.

I went to the main gun store in Windhoek Namibia. They had only Nightforce and Hawke on the shelf. I asked the counter guy why. He told me that those were the scopes that held up to all the heavy recoiling rifles.

I found that interesting since i had brought a 458 Lott and it was sporting a 1-4 Hawke. I broke a 1.5-5 VX3 and a 1-4 Burris just working up a load. The Hawke has held up great. Has a perfect low-light red dot too.

That said, i have a couple others and the zoom rings are so tight you need channellocks to twist

I have four of them on varmint rifles due to the IR options, because I do a lot of night shooting. Mine are the Hawke Endurance and Vantage models, not their more expensive ones, and Im very happy with them. Granted the little varmint guns dont recoil much....In low light they will allow you to shoot anything during legal hours. No complaints here.

Thanks for the replies!

I have 2 so far, a 4 x 12 - 50 ao IR on a 22 that seems great so far. I just put on a Vantage 6x24 AO IR on my 17 hornet... have not sighted it in yet. Seems a bit touchy getting getting my eye aligned on the tube, but other than that seems great so far also.

thanks again

What makes them crap? interested in your opinion please!

I tried an endurance a few years ago and was not impressed.

I have a 2.5-15x50 frontier 30. Bought it from camera land when they ran a big sale back a few years ago. The original price tag was $799 but on sale I got it for $370 if I remember correctly. At the sale price I am very pleased. Clear optics, works good in low light, but does have a touchy eye box above 12 power. If I were to have paid the full price, I would not be near as impressed. At the sale price point, I am satisfied for under $400.

I've got 2. Both Frontier 4-20s. One is a FFP, the other, SFP. Both are mounted on varmint rifles, and as INGWE state, they do their job.

I find it interesting that the gun shop in Namibia mention by DennisinAZ, stocked because they held up to the recoil of the big guns. I'm in the market for a scope for a Ruger 375 Alaskan, and the Hawke Frontier 1-6 is on my radar. Reticle choices are L4A Dot and Circle Dot - not sure which I'd opt for. They (Hawke) have a 1.5-6x44 available with the L4A Dot reticle in the Endurance line. Not sure how the Frontier and Endurance line compare as far a recoil tolerance.

I have 2 of their Crossbow scopes, There is possibly no bigger idiot on earth then the rube that designed their illumination system. They will be replaced by Burris Oracles for next year.

I have their spotting scope and it is pretty decent but it is a range spotter only Endurance ED. It is not bad at all at the range. I would not ever use it in a hunting situation.

China makes them crap.

I own several rifle scopes and 1 pair of binoculars. They have always performed well and are probably the best optical quality per $ that I have.

I recently put one on a high-end air rifle. Tracks properly. Shoots tiny groups and invasive birds as far as I've tried. Focus is pretty sensitive

My cross bow scope works very well.

But a strange reticle.

Tracks illuminates holds zero

I like it

I have 3 Hawke scopes. 2 are on air rifles and work fine. I have an Endurance on a AR15 in 450 Bushmaster with an illuminated crosshair. That Endurance is a great deer hunting scope and plenty bright. The biggest drawback is the weight. Very heavy.

Dan

NoLooked at 2, Hawke Frontier 30, 1-6x24s today at the LGS. One was the illuminated L4A, the the illuminated circle dot. $520 for either. Compared them to a VX5HD 1-5, and a VX6HD 1-6. To my eyes the Hawke was on par with the VX5HD as far as glass was concerned. The VX6HD edged out both the Hawke and the VX5HD in the glass department.
Not sure which Hawke I'd buy. More research is needed. I seem to recall the the dot in the Circle dot version was like 3.5 or 4MOA @ 6x, whereas the L4A dot was closer to, if not just slightly more than 1MOA @ 6x.
Of note, Hawke clearly states Made in China; Leupold sports Assembled in USA moniker.

Probably the best you’ll find that says “made in China”…

I ordered one of their crossbow scopes and it was a POS so I immediately sent it back. The damn fast focus eyepiece was loose and wobbled. Replaced it with a Vortex Crossfire II crossbow scope. The eyepice on this one is nice and tight with no wobble and it works very well.

With Hawke you get what you get. Their QA is lacking at final inspection. They send out a few scopes that are completely and obviously defective. You can tell instantly. If you got one that was good or if the box, they're real quite nice.

I shot a .015" group with my air rifle(5 shot) and a cracked it 5 Mils after every shot and back. No recoil but the tracking worked good. Best group I've ever shot

I’ve owned four, all purchased deeply discounted; as much as half off. The remaining one, an Endurance LER 2-7, is on the shelf after failing the Mini-14 Challenge; it simply couldn’t hold a zero under the steady pounding of that rifle’s op-rod, even though the gas system has been choked somewhat and the op-rod double-buffered. At some point I’ll put it on a .22 and try it again to be sure it’s not broken. The remaining three were sold.

As for performance, the clicks were slightly mushy, the optics clear. The adjustments gave me no problems during sight-in. The illumination worked well, especially in the 8x56 (a very nice scope, and not just for the money). I replaced the ones I sold with Burris and Trijicon scopes in a general optics upgrade, though the Burris is only a slight one, and mechanically, not optically IMO. Not buying more, as I’m trying very hard not to buy PRC goods on principle, though not all Chinese manufacturing is government-owned, despite claims to the contrary. It’s just not possible for consumers to determine who makes what, and that can change at any time. Hawke is very popular world-wide, and their airgun scopes are especially well-regarded. The owner of my primary LGS told me a few years back he sells more Hawkes, mainly Vantage models, than anything else, and at that time none had been returned.

Can’t help on current models as all mine were discontinued when purchased, and I’ve moved on to stuff made here (occasionally) and by former enemies, not current ones, though that’s a fluid situation too (just read the news). Without a serious effort from optics companies, importers, and retailers, it’s unlikely individual consumer buying decisions are going to have much effect on the Chinese economy, but we do what we can I suppose. Since the higher-end Hawkes aren’t inexpensive, I’d recommend that anyone looking for IR scopes take a look at Trijicon or other quality brands and avoid the moral dilemma.

What dont you like about the xbow scope?

I love my hawk xbow scope, not sure of the model, the red IR give me a few more minutes at dark.

thanks haeffnkr

Great point! Well stated.

Stay awesome mr kingston!
haeffnkr

I had you pegged after two posts Mr. Chinese Optics Shill

Good man.

China is no friend. If the only power an individual has is through how he spends, it's better than no power at all. There are too many instances where there's no choice and the only option is Chinese production. Where there's a viable alternative, I believe it's my duty to eschew Chinese produced goods.

I have a hawke vantage 3-9x40 AO mil dot on a bolt 223. Its my 'truck gun' and also main vermin centerfire .

Tracks very good, very clear, bright optics functions flawless and stays zero'd.

Not a high end scope but it keeps the bullets going to the right spot every time.

I also have a hawke vantage 4-12x40 AO, mil dot still in the box that might go on the 25-06.....

China says thank you.

Support China all you want to. Maybe you can get a China flag bumper sticker for your truck.

Every time you answer your cell phone . . . . .

What non Chinese options does he have?

Finally !
You made a constructive point, thanks for sharing your opinion.
Your point is valid IMHO, and yes I dont think one person could live in the modern world with NO china products in their house.

haeffnkr