FT Scope For 30 Cal Cricket – The Search Begins
While my 30 cal Cricket is being constructed I decided to start shopping for scopes. I have arbitrarily set the budget at $1k but ok if it goes over a little but I know this is low for the better scopes. The requirement is 32x minimum on the max mag. I am pretty picky on reticles and prefer glass etched. All good suggestions appreciated with specific models and links. It seems a lot of higher end scopes can double as an FT scope. I have been reading about FT and the value of FT scopes – at least enough to be dangerous. I see Optisan is getting into the FT arena and I found out I can order specific MTCs through SWFA who carries just the Mamba in stock or from papertargets.com in Wisconsin.
Thanks in advance….
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Right on Coda ! The first Varmint i had was equipped with that ridiculously thick reticle and milky,creamy optics. I send it back to Hawke and got this newest edition in chnge. The reticle is really thin now and the optics 200% better than the first one had. Still-it isn´t a Swarovski by a long shot but definitely much,much better. I told Hawke that if the scope i get in return isn´t 100% right i´ll jump out of the deal and demand my money back. Hawke calibrated this one and that actually shows.
Good scope for me (I’ve got one sightron10-50x60LRIRMOA)
The link :
http://luchtbuks.com/luchtbuks/index.php?page=winkel.php&detail=1988&cat=2&sub=3
Others choices :
http://luchtbuks.com/luchtbuks/index.php?page=winkel.php&cat=2&sub=3
I hope it help you : the contact is JOOST, a super sympatic man.
Mika
The best Hawke I have found in the lower echelon ($250) are the latest/redesigned Panoramas which still have the 10X 1/2 mil dot glass etched reticles. They are clear and bright. The negatives are limited magnification (12 max) and front focus on the AO. They have it in 40 mm for lighter weight.
http://www.hawkeoptics.com/hawke-panorama-ev-4-12×50-ao.html
I owned Sir Ville’s Hawke Varmint model 6-24x for about two months. Besides the wired 1/2 mil dot reticles being too thick and busy, some of the first ones had a clarity issue and other problems. I sold it quickly. It reminds me of the Vortex Crossfire I’s that were a disaster a few years back only not quite that bad. While they have fixed the clarity issues, the thick wired reticle remains. I would avoid them. I tell folks there isn’t a good $200 scope with all of the features we want for our high-end air guns. The best bet may be a used Bushnell Elite. Of course Bushnell customer services sux and Elites are only a bit better optics wise than the current Best Hawkes. The differences have become very marginal. Elites are not in the Sightron/Zeiss/March class by a long shot.
I develop prototype military optics for a living and over the years I’ve developed a quick method of assessing riflescope quality. I just got back from the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I spent a fair amount of time inspecting Vortex and Hawke scopes, among others. I evaluate glare and chromatic aberration over the entire field of view, and I take detailed notes. I can only do a limited evaluation, however. I do not have the opportunity to do quantitative optical tests, which would include veiling glare, chromatic aberration, resolution, transmission and reticle adjustment accuracy and repeatability. I’ve been doing this at SHOT for the last four years. After a while, some trends become clear.
I can say with confidence after looking at most of the scopes in the Viper PST and Hawke Sidewinder lines that, optically speaking, they are not in the same class. The Hawke scopes are much better. I’m not saying the Vortex PST scopes are bad optically. They are acceptable quality for that price point. However, “acceptable” is actually below average.
The Hawke Sidewinder and TAC scopes, on the other hand, are exceptional for their price point. Glare performance is good – substantially better than average for that price point. Off-axis chromatic aberration is excellent and rivals that of the best scopes I’ve inspected.
In my experience, if glare and chroma are good, then overall contrast (“clarity”) will also be good. Lens surface figure also plays a role, but that is a material cost issue and since both lines have similar prices, they should have similar material costs. Even though Hawke scopes are made in China, the company has factory quality under control. Return rates are less than 0.1%. Hawke scopes also have a reputation for handling recoil very well.
I know there are a lot of Vortex fans out there. Vortex is a good company and they offer some features (like FFP reticles) not available elsewhere at the same price point. There are other factors than optical quality that go into a purchase decision.
Optical quality has a high priority for me, however. I would give up features before I gave up optical quality.
BTW, I have no business relationship with either company. Nor do I own a Vortex or Hawke scope.
All this being said…is there a “lower end” Hawke scope you would recommend? Hawke TAC scope??? What is that? Slow minds need to know…is it cheap?
Regards,
Hoot
I am going to look at that Sightron today and also the Zeiss Conquest 5-25 with the Rapid z 1000 reticle.
It turns out the owner of my hunting forum owns a Falcon Menace 10-50 FT and he says it is eons beyond a Nikko. He has a lot of top end guns and scopes. Of course it is a bit more expensive. He says the Falcon doesn’t cloud and dim out so quickly like the Nikko does as the mag goes up.
Then get a wheel from Eric@Compufoil.
http://www.compufoil.com/order_focus.html
If you really want to go bananas…
March 8-80x
Sightron SIII 10-50x, I will be ordering one on Sunday to replace my Nikko Diamond 10-50x.
Then get a wheel from Eric@Compufoil.
http://www.compufoil.com/order_focus.html
If you really want to go bananas…
March 8-80x
Uncle! PM or e-mail me. I have one Hawke Varmint 6-24×44 SF with half mil-dot reticle that i got from Hawke as a warranty replacement. They calibrated the scope before i got it so it actually works very well. You can buy it cheaply if you wish. Check the Hawke website so your slow mind gets to know the scope i’m referring to.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2. This POS iPhone sucks though …
I develop prototype military optics for a living and over the years I’ve developed a quick method of assessing riflescope quality. I just got back from the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I spent a fair amount of time inspecting Vortex and Hawke scopes, among others. I evaluate glare and chromatic aberration over the entire field of view, and I take detailed notes. I can only do a limited evaluation, however. I do not have the opportunity to do quantitative optical tests, which would include veiling glare, chromatic aberration, resolution, transmission and reticle adjustment accuracy and repeatability. I’ve been doing this at SHOT for the last four years. After a while, some trends become clear.
I can say with confidence after looking at most of the scopes in the Viper PST and Hawke Sidewinder lines that, optically speaking, they are not in the same class. The Hawke scopes are much better. I’m not saying the Vortex PST scopes are bad optically. They are acceptable quality for that price point. However, “acceptable” is actually below average.
The Hawke Sidewinder and TAC scopes, on the other hand, are exceptional for their price point. Glare performance is good – substantially better than average for that price point. Off-axis chromatic aberration is excellent and rivals that of the best scopes I’ve inspected.
In my experience, if glare and chroma are good, then overall contrast (“clarity”) will also be good. Lens surface figure also plays a role, but that is a material cost issue and since both lines have similar prices, they should have similar material costs. Even though Hawke scopes are made in China, the company has factory quality under control. Return rates are less than 0.1%. Hawke scopes also have a reputation for handling recoil very well.
I know there are a lot of Vortex fans out there. Vortex is a good company and they offer some features (like FFP reticles) not available elsewhere at the same price point. There are other factors than optical quality that go into a purchase decision.
Optical quality has a high priority for me, however. I would give up features before I gave up optical quality.
BTW, I have no business relationship with either company. Nor do I own a Vortex or Hawke scope.
All this being said…is there a “lower end” Hawke scope you would recommend? Hawke TAC scope??? What is that? Slow minds need to know…is it cheap?
Regards,
Hoot
I develop prototype military optics for a living and over the years I’ve developed a quick method of assessing riflescope quality. I just got back from the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I spent a fair amount of time inspecting Vortex and Hawke scopes, among others. I evaluate glare and chromatic aberration over the entire field of view, and I take detailed notes. I can only do a limited evaluation, however. I do not have the opportunity to do quantitative optical tests, which would include veiling glare, chromatic aberration, resolution, transmission and reticle adjustment accuracy and repeatability. I’ve been doing this at SHOT for the last four years. After a while, some trends become clear.
I can say with confidence after looking at most of the scopes in the Viper PST and Hawke Sidewinder lines that, optically speaking, they are not in the same class. The Hawke scopes are much better. I’m not saying the Vortex PST scopes are bad optically. They are acceptable quality for that price point. However, “acceptable” is actually below average.
The Hawke Sidewinder and TAC scopes, on the other hand, are exceptional for their price point. Glare performance is good – substantially better than average for that price point. Off-axis chromatic aberration is excellent and rivals that of the best scopes I’ve inspected.
In my experience, if glare and chroma are good, then overall contrast (“clarity”) will also be good. Lens surface figure also plays a role, but that is a material cost issue and since both lines have similar prices, they should have similar material costs. Even though Hawke scopes are made in China, the company has factory quality under control. Return rates are less than 0.1%. Hawke scopes also have a reputation for handling recoil very well.
I know there are a lot of Vortex fans out there. Vortex is a good company and they offer some features (like FFP reticles) not available elsewhere at the same price point. There are other factors than optical quality that go into a purchase decision.
Optical quality has a high priority for me, however. I would give up features before I gave up optical quality.
BTW, I have no business relationship with either company. Nor do I own a Vortex or Hawke scope.
All this being said…is there a “lower end” Hawke scope you would recommend? Hawke TAC scope??? What is that? Slow minds need to know…is it cheap?
Regards,
Hoot
Are you sure this expert isn´t suffering a bad case of grey starr or some other eye-desease like total blindness ?? ❗ 😯
Also – inspecting scopes under the influence of LSD isn´t recommended according the Surgeon General.
This guy didn’t think so much of Vortex. Too bad Hawke doesn’t make a 10-50.
I develop prototype military optics for a living and over the years I’ve developed a quick method of assessing riflescope quality. I just got back from the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I spent a fair amount of time inspecting Vortex and Hawke scopes, among others. I evaluate glare and chromatic aberration over the entire field of view, and I take detailed notes. I can only do a limited evaluation, however. I do not have the opportunity to do quantitative optical tests, which would include veiling glare, chromatic aberration, resolution, transmission and reticle adjustment accuracy and repeatability. I’ve been doing this at SHOT for the last four years. After a while, some trends become clear.
I can say with confidence after looking at most of the scopes in the Viper PST and Hawke Sidewinder lines that, optically speaking, they are not in the same class. The Hawke scopes are much better. I’m not saying the Vortex PST scopes are bad optically. They are acceptable quality for that price point. However, “acceptable” is actually below average.
The Hawke Sidewinder and TAC scopes, on the other hand, are exceptional for their price point. Glare performance is good – substantially better than average for that price point. Off-axis chromatic aberration is excellent and rivals that of the best scopes I’ve inspected.
In my experience, if glare and chroma are good, then overall contrast (“clarity”) will also be good. Lens surface figure also plays a role, but that is a material cost issue and since both lines have similar prices, they should have similar material costs. Even though Hawke scopes are made in China, the company has factory quality under control. Return rates are less than 0.1%. Hawke scopes also have a reputation for handling recoil very well.
I know there are a lot of Vortex fans out there. Vortex is a good company and they offer some features (like FFP reticles) not available elsewhere at the same price point. There are other factors than optical quality that go into a purchase decision.
Optical quality has a high priority for me, however. I would give up features before I gave up optical quality.
BTW, I have no business relationship with either company. Nor do I own a Vortex or Hawke scope.
They make us bend over sometimes. :2:
The folks say at 35-50x the Falcon is clearer and brighter than the Nikko 10-50s in reviews I have found. I see quite a few complaints on the Nikko’s. One guy used a resolution grid and said at 35x he could read the same lines with his Falcon at 100 yards as a Sightron at double the cost.
http://swfa.com/Falcon-Menace-10-50×60-Field-Target-30mm-Riflescope-P47585.aspx
Supposed to be a good scope for FT though.
They guys are supposed to be the most independent on scope reviews. I wish Hawke had a 10-50.
600 $ ?? Now you´re getting ripped off. It´s about time …
Supposed to be a good scope for FT though.
We have the Falcons here for $600. I’ll go take a look at one – may head up to Cabelas. AOA wants $679 – what a rip.
A friend of mine is a scope freak and very picky about the optics. He considers buying one and that tells me it´s a good scope. He said it´s definitely worth the money after he had tested some models. We also have a quite new player on the European scope market – The Delta Optical in Poland. Those scopes are made in Japan by Light Optical Works – the supplier of optics for Clearidge,Bushnell etc. among others – and i just bought their Titanium 6-24 for my Sako Quad. Absolutely brilliant optics – not just for the money – but truly clear and light. Very distinct turrets,exact PX and just a genuine good scope that i´m glad i listened to my friend and bought it. Will buy a Titanium 4.5-30 with that MCZ II reticle very soon. It has clearer optics than the Bushnell Tac 4.5-30 and costs 1/4 less than the Tactical. Truly good stuff !!
http://en.deltaoptical.eu/
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Cool – The Brits own and control Hawke’s quality so I have no doubt they will fix stuff. I would still caution someone to look through a glass etched reticle and see what you really want prior to buying. Some of the etched reticles are simply a work of art and it makes it hard to go back to a wired reticle.