I never felt handicapped by the hammer on mine. I suppose it has more to do with the size of the ocular bell itself than with the design. I bought mine back before Hubble telescopes became all the rage with riflemen- the old Weaver 3-9 certainly wasn't in the way of my manipulating the hammer (and it served me well the whole time I campaigned the gun).

"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz
"Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty