Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Hawke Sidewinder 4-16x50 Review

Hawke 4-16x50 FFP MIL Review
https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...0135-d841-00163e90e196?variation=1677050


Well it’s time for another review for Doug over at Cameraland. I’ve had the chance to check these scopes out at SHOT over the past few years. They seemed like a solid brand. I mounted this optic on 3 different rifles for my test. Over the course of a month I ran about 500 rounds during testing. I tried it out on my Vudoo V22, JP AR15 (223), and a JP AR15 (22LR). I shot distances from 25-200 yards from indoors to outdoors. This scope is pretty versatile so I could see this being used for steel targets, hunting and plinking.

The most important part of a test is to insure that the rifle you use for testing is accurate and the mounting system is solid. I used Nightforce rings for testing as well as Aadland Engineering mount. All the mounts were torqued to spec and the scope was leveled using Ariska Defense level. For ammunition I used Federal GMM 69 gr. and Lapua Midas Plus. So pretty much if something wasn’t going to work it would have been the scope.

I shoot a lot of small-bore and being able to focus at closer distances is key. My Vudoo V22 normally sports a Vortex AMG that is useless under 35 yards. This really sucked at a match where one stage was at 25 yards! This scope can focus as close as 10 yards. At 16x spotting bullets holes was no issue at 100 yards. I was surprised how clear the glass was and the colors were very true. No blue shade or dull grey like some scopes. The parallax moves smooth and gets the target nice and sharp. The scope also comes with a large parallax wheel like those used for field shooting.

My first few trips out to the range were just to play around with the scope and check out the image quality. This weekend I performed 2 types of tests. First, was a box test conducted at 50 yards. I used my Vudoo since it’s insanely accurate. I knew if tracking was off, you’d see it. Well as you can see in the target the 5th shot went back into the first hole. I clicked 40 clicks each direction. For the next test I shot at a target and went up 5 Mils and shot again at 50 yards. Next, was back to my original POI for a total of 10 shots. Again, both groups were very tight.

I’m a fan of the reticle. It’s got enough holdovers but at the same time it’s not too busy. So, if you just want to use hold offs, you’re set. This feature is great for wind or quick target acquisition at different distances. The reticle lights up in green and red. It has 5 settings and you can see it in the daylight. This is a handy feature for hunting. Keep in mind if there is sun shining directly on the target you wouldn’t be able to see it.

Really my only bitch is that the turrets are mushy. Keep in mind I’m used to Gen 2 Razors and Nightforce. The clicks are audible but, I’d like them to be a little more solid. I had no issues with them besides that. I was able to crank away and return to my zero with no problems. This unit has a street price of a little over $500. This makes them very competitive. It’s very similar to the Vortex PST minus the zero stop at half the price. I know Hawke isn’t a very common brand these days, but they have been around for 15 years in the United Kingdom. They even offer ballistic software https://us.hawkeoptics.com/x-act so you can use their reticles to their full potential. Their warranty is a no fault one just like the competitors these days. It seems if you don’t offer this these days you’re out of the running. Any questions I’ll be happy to answer them. Overall, it’s a great optic. No major complaints to speak of. As always, I do honest and fair testing. It doesn’t matter to me how these scopes perform.

Pros:
Lit reticle in both green/red
Built in lens covers
Smooth power and parallax controls
Parallax focuses down to 10 yards
Excellent tracking and return to zero
Crystal clear glass
Locking focus

Cons:
The turrets are somewhat mushy
The design of the scope has that European style not very sleek

Sorry for the spacing it didn't copy and paste well from Word.

Thanks for the review.I have an Endurance30 with about 500 rounds on it.My experience with the scope has been similar...

I agree about the mushy clicks on my Hawkes. Makes it easy to overrun if you're running them quickly. I don't generally do that, (or dial for that matter) so not a problem. A reviewer from, IIRC, NZ noted the same thing.

I'm going to need to put some more rounds on my closeout Hawkes before I spring for a spendy full-price model. So far, so good on four Endurance models. Regrettably, they dropped the LER models with 4.5 inches of ER. Still some out there, but Doug has been picked clean.

BTW, their software is in its final version and may not support new models.

Thanks for checking the scope out and running it through it's paces Brian. Greatly appreciated. I have passed this along to the guys at Hawke.

Anyone who is interested in checking out a Hawke scope just mention this review and we will take extra great care of you on it

They discontinued the ballistic soft ware, I believe. I have one of these, that I got as an upgrade for a lesser model that was bad. It is on a hard-kicking -06 and appears to be a good scope so far. However, I think that the illumination dial is a pos. It is hard to tell what is on, or off and two different colors are not necessary. I haven't dialed it too much, but tried it and it appeared to be accurate. The bdc seems to be spot on for my rifle, which is all that I wanted for particular rifle. So far, so good.

This one has 5 setting on each color. Positive clicks and when its off its easy to see. As for the different colors I could see a use depending on what background your shooting in front of.