N/A Hawke Vantage

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Mister Bill

Mister Bill

Member
Feb 2, 2023
23
23
79
Kerrville
I shoot .177 break barrels, both spring and pistons. Most range from 12 to 14 FP's.

I have recently trashed three Hawke Vantage 3 x 9 x 40 A/O scopes with maybe 200 shots. I returned them and they were replaced at no charge.

Still, it is a lot of wasted time.

Is it my bad luck, or is this to be expected?

No one ever warns about that. Pyramid says they are air gun rated.

What is a guy to do?
 
Mister Bill said:
I shoot .177 break barrels, both spring and pistons. Most range from 12 to 14 FP's.

I have recently trashed three Hawke Vantage 3 x 9 x 40 A/O scopes with maybe 200 shots. I returned them and they were replaced at no charge.

Still, it is a lot of wasted time.

Is it my bad luck, or is this to be expected?

No one ever warns about that. Pyramid says they are air gun rated.

What is a guy to do?
Click to expand...

Airgun rated is a bit obscure. I emailed Hawke directly years ago and they confirm what is mentioned above>>> sub 12fpe for piston guns.
 
Upvote 0
Duckfish said:
I believe the Hawk Airmax line is airgun rated.
Click to expand...

Just about or ALL Hawke scopes are airgun rated but as I mention it's obscure. The Airmax is NOT the only one as many think. They have the "under 12fpe piston rating" for the Vantage the rest are above according to their email they sent me a while ago...
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
uh,I have no problems with mine; I hope it stays that way; I know on some of my harder hitting, I use way better mounts; one mount is called the Dampa mount, I believe.....remember the scope and mounts must work together.
So, my take on a higher-power springer is to invest in the Dampa mount...I hope that is the name of it...
 
Upvote 0
The Vantage scopes have held up on my rifles for 4-8k shots. Airmax for 8-12k shots. Great warranty service on all of them. Good scopes for the price.

Expect any scope to scramble on a springer after a few thousand shots. Just like springs and seals you will be dealing with scope problems. It's just the nature of the beast.

Low power rifles may take longer to break a scope. Some scopes may not work for 200 shots on a 400 fps gun. Even the Airmax scopes are going to go sooner or later. For the price you pay for them you simply can't expect too much.

Keep your scope small, light and low on the barrel. You will have very few problems with a 32mm objective and low rings. Mount a large objective scope on high rings the shock doubles and the scope life shortens. Add illumination, wheels, cameras, gadgets and a spring rifle will break them pronto. Buy rings with a picatinny mount for a flashlight, an on board computer and a satellite dish and a springer will shake them off like a dog flopping his ears.

Less is more when it's mounted on a slide hammer. Buy as good a scope as you can afford with a lifetime warranty. Expect to use that warranty.

FWIW iron sights are almost as good as a scope at springer ranges and are completely trouble free. I don't bother with a scope on most of my springers. The few that have scopes are a constant hassle. I can count on the iron sights for the lifetime of the rifle. I have rarely had a scope that gave me 3k trouble free shots without something slipping, breaking, or not holding zero. Just my two sheckles worth...
 
Upvote 0
At one point in time, the vantage models were only rated up to 12 FPE according to Pyramyd Air and Hawke. However in the last few years, Hawke changed the vantage models (in a fairly quiet manner) and that energy limitation was removed. So any current production Vantage models should be more than up to the task.

What exactly is "failing" on the scopes? When a person regularly "trashes" scopes, the scope is typically not at fault. Improper mounting, over-adjustment, etc are all very likely candidates.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Orv
Upvote 0
coastal drifter said:
I have had a lot of luck with the UTG Bugbuster. I got the one with side parallax (3-12x32)
Click to expand...

I like those scopes! (mine was 4x12x32 AO). They are short and have a limited range of adjustment coupled with a narrow range of eye relief. If you can get one to mount in the right spot they are great scopes. I couldn't get mine mounted right on my rifle and didn't use it.

I gave it to my buddy for his Hatsan. It has a picatinny rail so it mounted fine. It was a good scope for over 10k shots. He praised it until the eyepiece fell off into the sand one day and I stuck it back on there over some broken stops. Got a big greasy fingerprint on the inside lens. He shot it another 4-5k before it fogged completely up. It still holds zero. I think it lasted more shots than any scope I've seen.

It was a tough little bugger. If it can survive 10-15k shots from a Hatsan 95 it's a solid scope. Being small and light it checks a lot of boxes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: coastal drifter
Upvote 0
Mister Bill said:
I shoot .177 break barrels, both spring and pistons. Most range from 12 to 14 FP's.

I have recently trashed three Hawke Vantage 3 x 9 x 40 A/O scopes with maybe 200 shots. I returned them and they were replaced at no charge.

Still, it is a lot of wasted time.

Is it my bad luck, or is this to be expected?

No one ever warns about that. Pyramid says they are air gun rated.

What is a guy to do?
Click to expand...
Hawke makes Air Max for your type of rifle https://a.co/d/0RAOqzt
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu