HAWKE SideWinder 30 deal you won't believe

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I got mine UPS’d from Precision Optics in Dallas, sold on Amazon $129.99. Quick glance, not a full review:

Side-by-side, the glass seems comprable to my Hawke Sidewinder 6.5-20x42.

The box and packaging isn’t as fancy as Hawke.

The lense covers aren’t as nice.

The turret clicks aren’t as crisp.

The parallax knob is too tight, but has loosened up after cranking on it a few times.

I haven’t installed a battery to try the illumination yet. 

I haven’t mounted it on a solid immobile object to test the reticle tracking.

Mil/MoA reticle not matching with the turret is OK to me because I’m gonna choose one projectile for one PcP to do scope stickers and dial my distance, that is why I got exposed turrets. I might ask Strelok Pro what windage to dial if I think it matters at the particular shot I’m taking. What is important to me is repeatable & consistent turret function. Anyhoo, the reticle looks like random markings rather than mil or MoA, IDGAF.

So this $129 scope is a copy of the old SideWinder 6.5-20x42 that I paid $379 refurb many moons ago, and it was $500 retail. This copy has “wish version” features, probably to tame the price. It seems like the glass is good, if I can reliably dial distance with the turret, I’ll be happy. I will actually shoot the distances and slap number stickers on the turret instead of relying on a ballistic calculator to lable the turret. An analogy of this product might be if glass was an automobile engine, somebody took the LS engine out of a Corvette and stuck it in a 1988 Cavalier, then sold it on Amazon for like 28% the price of a new ‘Vette. It might be fast, but it won’t have the most bourgeois experience, if that matters to you. And let’s say the distance you have available to shoot with a PcP might be analogous to a public two-lane with speed limits instead of a F1 track. Would you buy a supercar, or a sedan? It ain’t the Soviet Union, you can do as you please. 
 
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Got mine today, and I'm finding the same as @pumacarl and @BZO100. My notes:

  • Nearly every aspect of this scope screams Hawke — even the font used. Feels and looks very, very similar to the SW series. 
  • Glass has the same clarity and brightness as Hawke SW.
  • Seems like the eyebox is tighter; however, I don't have n SW on hand to directly compare.
  • It's solidly built, like a tank. 
  • The parallax knob is very tight, and I hope/expect it to loosen.
  • The magnification dial is smooth and consistent. 
  • Focuses down to around 5 yards at min magnification — which is perfect for managing copperheads. 
  • The included user manual is not for this particular model but does explain the nuances of affixing the sunshade and sighting in steps.
  • The turrets are mushy, but the push-pull locking system (like the Hawke SW series) should be adopted by every optics company IMHO
  • Illumination has 5 levels of red/green brightness: bright, really bright, too bright, super bright, and my retina is toast. That might be an exaggeration, but there are no low settings. Might try a dying CR2032 battery for better performance.
  • The aesthetics are great in all respects except one — the name "SNIPER" emblazoned on the side where Hawke typically appears. I might try to remove it with some acetone or other fun solvent. It continues to amaze me that most of these foreign manufacturers won't spend a few dollars to hire a US-based marketing manager or product consultant. I'd prefer Thawke or Squirrel Tickler far more than Sniper.

Comes with

  • Basic low 30mm Picatinny QD ring mounts. While I don't need them, free stuff is always cool.
  • 2" parallax wheel — which is cute, but it spins freely and does not turn the knob. No big deal, as it will be replaced with an extra 4" wheel.
  • 30mm pointer for the parallax wheel
  • 4" sun shield
  • Flip caps are likely the worst I've used. Was really, really hoping for the same metal screw-ins as Hawke sells.

The two primary differences between the HK Sniper and the Hawke SW are the quality of accessories and price tag. 



As for the reticle, my scope's reticle hashes are numbered, and I don't remember having seen a mil-dot having numbers. I "chatted" with one of the reps online this afternoon, and was told that the reticle is configured to 1 MOA at 10x magnification. She also emailed me a copy of the MOA version of the PDF whose heading states "MOA reticle" at the top. If I find that this is mil-dot, it'll likely be returned to Amazon immediately. 

I plan to do some tracking tests with it over the weekend.



My initial feeling is it's a tremendous value. Until you reach the Vortex Diamondback Tactical FFP (price level), the HK Sniper 6.5-20x42 would be my choice in the same magnification range.



Screenshots of the pdf manual received.

Screen Shot 2022-03-04 at 3.40.35 AM.1646383279.png
 
Screen Shot 2022-03-04 at 3.40.44 AM.1646383292.png

 
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7-Weight, what really bugs me personally, is that you talked to a rep and they were still telling you that it was an moa reticle. It makes me wonder if that rep ever even handled the scope. (The moa data sheet has nothing to do with this scope but might be handy for a newbie. If anyone is interested in a non-electronic range estimation a mildot master is what you should get.) Anyway I compared this scope against a known mil/mil at known targets. The reticle is mil. It is a close match for the Discovery VT-T reticle. Whoever's working the phones at Sniper needs to leave the phone bank and go look at product. The power and clarity for $130 still makes this scope a good deal, if it holds up, I use Strelok anways, so it doesn't really matter what it is, but the misrepresentation means that someone (or everyone) at Sniper doesn't know what they are talking about.
 
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I'll keep this short as others have covered it pretty well thus far. Most importantly, that the glass is surprisingly good considering the price, it's actually better than my Aztecs and equal to my Hawke and Athlon scopes. But for that, a locking ring on the ocular lens, and overall looks the similarity with Hawke ends there. This scope is no where near the Hawke's build quality. The flip caps are just plastic and probably won't last, but the ones on my 4 X the price Athlon broke in just a week, so there's that. The illumination is almost shockingly bright, as was mentioned earlier, but I seldom use that feature so it's another non-issue for me.

The biggest drawback is the turrets. Turret clicks are almost inaudible, and very mushy. I don't recommend doing a Joe the Cyclops nipple twister test on this one. The Mil vs MOA thing would be problematic to some, but since I always make a scope tape that's not be a big issue for me.

Even though it is not the same a Sidewinder, as I was hoping for, I don't regret the purchase. For the price it isn't bad, the glass being the big selling point, but I can't see where this scope will hold up well over time.

I put it on my Brocock Bantam for testing; so unless someone beats me to it, I'll try to post some scope cam footage later.

Someone else mentioned the parallax wheel just spinning. There are 3 very small phillips head screws that need to be tightened after you align the distance markings. Then it works just fine.


 
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Someone else mentioned the parallax wheel just spinning. There are 3 very small phillips head screws that need to be tightened after you align the distance markings. Then it works just fine.
Click to expand...

Ah yes — you beat me to the update. I discovered those earlier today and the wheel is now secure. Along these lines, has anyone popped the wheel atop the elevation turret yet? 2" is a bit small for a parallax wheel but possible use for a turret?

As for build quality, I don't see the difference between the Hawke SW Gen 1 and this one... if you remove the accessories from the consideration. The lens caps are junk, the rings are very basic, but the 2" wheel is decent (for what it is), the sunshade is exactly that, and the wheel pointer is the same as a few past SWs I've enjoyed. I can't help but think these rolled out of the same manufacturing plant. It would be interesting to put the two head-to-head. 

I messaged their tech support again giving them the results from a MOA and MIL test run this morning. Something is off, as I can't get the numbers to reconcile either way @ 10x.



IMG_1395.1646412716.JPG





 
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Someone else mentioned the parallax wheel just spinning. There are 3 very small phillips head screws that need to be tightened after you align the distance markings. Then it works just fine.
Click to expand...

Ah yes — you beat me to the update. I discovered those earlier today and the wheel is now secure. Along these lines, has anyone popped the wheel atop the elevation turret yet? 2" is a bit small for a parallax wheel but possible use for a turret?

As for build quality, I don't see the difference between the Hawke SW Gen 1 and this one... if you remove the accessories from the consideration. The lens caps are junk, the rings are very basic, but the 2" wheel is decent (for what it is), the sunshade is exactly that, and the wheel pointer is the same as a few past SWs I've enjoyed. I can't help but think these rolled out of the same manufacturing plant. It would be interesting to put the two head-to-head. 

I messaged their tech support again giving them the results from a MOA and MIL test run this morning. Something is off, as I can't get the numbers to reconcile either way @ 10x.



IMG_1395.1646412716.JPG




Click to expand...

I'm basing build quality primarily on the inferior turret performance. It's obvious to me that the internals (which we cannot see) are responsible for that and therefore it's not equal in quality to the Hawke.
 
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I'm with NickT, pretty excited, too. Mine arrives early next week, going on my new Taipan Veteran .25. Amazon shows only one left in stock but looks like a few are heading back. Thanks for all the well done reviews, feel like I know the scope pretty well. Too bad 7weight is sending his back, was interested in the acetone "Sniper" title removal trick. I was thinking of coloring it in with a fine tip permanent black ink pen. "Sniper," isn't that bad, they could have called it "SuperTerrific." WM
 
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Follow up: After some very careful testing I figured out that "my" copy of this scope's reticle subtends correctly at 13.5x indicated, which is important to know when setting up Strelok. I had assumed that it was 10x, at first, because most sfp scopes are and it seemed close enough, but I noticed that things were not lining up when checking with other scopes and sure enough, it's an odd ball. The magnification indicated did check out to be accurate, so it's not a matter of putting the markings in the wrong spot, the reticle subtends at 13.5x. Using Strelok it dosn't matter what the number is, just that you have the right number.
 
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so this is not a hawke re-boxed > this is a cloneof it ? what is up with true reticle at 13.5x I sold all my hawke scopes a few yrs back but the 6.5x20 was my favorite hawke if it had matched turrets I would of kept it LOU
Click to expand...

I don't know what's up with the 13.5x either, but thinking on it, it does make sense to have it in the middle of the power range for easy, on the fly, conversions. I was hoping that someone with a scopecam and a calibration chart (like JWR) would test this scope but couldn't find any so I checked it myself. I used a known accurate mil/mil ffp scope to measure the distance between antenna towers 5 miles away and then matched the mil distance with this this scope. Because of the distance involved this should be a very accurate number. Either way, it's the best I could do without an actual chart.
 
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I received mine today. Ordered on Wednesday. Very impressed for price. Plan to get it mounted this afternoon and shoot a little before the snow. Then hopefully get to do a little critter hunt in the snow tomorrow.


Parallax dial a little stiff, but worked it back and forth a few times and it has loosened up enough. My son said it looks very familiar. He has the Hawke.

Alabama, the only thing consistent with the weather here is the inconsistency. 70 degrees today, 25 tonight, 21 tomorrow night.

chris 
 
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Glad someone resurrected this topic. While there are some similarities in terms of appearance, it's not a Hawke. However, it's still a decent value depending on the *use case* — especially at $99, so long as you don't mind the MIL/MOA reticle/turret arrangement.

I ended up keeping mine and putting it on a BSA R10 .22.
 
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