Whats your take on the Hawke Airmax 3-9x40

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Thinking of buying one. Not sure about the reticle for hunting or how reliable the scope is. Most reviews are decent! But I know alot of "reviewers" leave feedback after only a sight in.. Also, don't really want to hear about the lifetime warranty! Just from folks who have some time behind the glass.

BTW, the last Hawke optic I owned drifted POI on my PCP & I was constantly re-sighting. It also became cloudy after a couple yrs & I ended up retiring it.

Should I hold off & save?? Whats your take?
 
I believe Hawke has updated all their scopes.I have the new Airmax...the Airmax is a step up from the Vantage which I also have....I get mine for for quite a bit less than retail...well build I have not had any problems with it....I could compare it to Burris or Nikon under $300 scopes.I like the Sightrons better...they are all good optics,I just like simple mil-dots.....the Airmax is fancier....

I think it is as always a matter of opinion ,mine is the Airmax is a good scope and at the power you want a better choice than many other brands and models.... oh hold=off and save.....yes,,,,,but you are going to have to spent over $300 or more,for a new scope...what is it going on?
 
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Hi Howler.

I had many Hawke scopes and still have some also that Airmax.I did like it a lot,lightweight and compact nice glass and reticle.But it was on my Weichrauch hw97 springer and after arond 1500 shoots it didn't hold it's zero anymore.Hawke has great warranty service and they replaced it with new one.I didn't mount a Hawke scope on a springer since.For a pcp i wouldn't worry because i have a few Vantage 3-9x40 scopes and they serve me all well for a few years now.You can also look at Hawke Vantage sf scopes that are similar price as Airmax and have half mill dot reticle i own 3-12x44sf model.I also have Airmax 30 compact 4-16x44 and i like it alot.

In more then ten years in airgun hobby i had over 15 Hawke scopes for sure from Frontier and Sidewinders to Airmax and Vantage scopes.I only had problem with that Airmax 3-9x40 and one Vantage 4-12x40 i think it was that i could not focus the retickle from new.It was also replaced with new one under warranty.

I am a fan of Hawke for their customer service and products in general but i don't think i am going to buy one of their top tier scopes because of their prices.

Regards Marko


 
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I like mine (3-9x40) just fine. I have it on a Browning Leverage UL 22cal. ( kind of a magnum springer )The AMX line has my favorite reticle. I don't turn the turret knobs once it is centered for the pellet and distance I'm working with,I use the hold-over / hold-off method so this reticle really helps with that. I have a couple 2-7x32 AMX on a couple break-barrels and only 1 little problem. It looks like 1 of the dots on the reticle flaked off and is sticking to the lower right quadrant of the sight picture. No dots r missing from the reticle and no change in the scopes performance. I did send one back because the aberration was too excessive at the edges.
 
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I have had an AirMax 3-9x40 for almost a year now, and I have mounted it on three guns using two different sets of rings. I agree with HeyU that the Airmax has my favorite reticle. It is better than the pictures of the reticle on the vendor's websites, so go to Hawke's website to see what it looks like now. It has mil dots with lines in between and gives you lots of reference points for hold-over/under as HeyU also mentioned. I've also got a Hawke Vantage 4-16x50, and even though the glass is really bright and clear on that scope, the reticle isn't nearly as good as the Airmax.

I would like the magnification to be a little better than 9x sometimes even shooting at just 75 yards, so I would recommend that you go for the 4-12x40 instead as it is only $30 more. 

I forgot to mention that the turrets on the Airmax are also a little better than the Vantage line, so another reason to get the Airmax.
 
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DVOR has several Hawke scopes on clearance. Camera Land NY too.

There are many more better reliable brands than Hawke for the price you pay even if they are on clearance sale price. 

I have had multiple Hawke failures over the years and am not going to waste any more of my money on that brand. Most were not even used on spring guns. I worry about the ones that are still working wondering when they won't track or just cause unexplained fliers on the guns.

Noticed resale value is terrible for this brand too. Even when a brand new in the box warranty exchange is listed when the owner just wants out of the brand.

Athlon brand on the contrary seem to be opposite and sell freshly warrantied brand new scopes rather quickly for not much of a loss.

Are you aware that they fix and resell the scopes and the next buyer no longer has a lifetime warranty? It is more like 30 days or 60 and the discount for an as is refurbished scope with practically no warranty is very minimal.

My opinion is that it's all about greed.

It proves they don't stand 100% behind what they offer a lifetime warranty for in the first place. To me it is a racket.

You notice a lot of Hawke scopes on clearance even many still in production.

Surprisingly practically all 3 models of Element Optics brand has been seen on sale at DVOR too while retailers still selling them at retail prices during the exact same time.

I would not recommend the Helix and Titan even when on sale at DVOR based on cumulative reviews and complaints and witnessing the difficulty of selling the brand new warranty exchanged scopes.

I would recommend the Nexus next time it goes on sale for $999.
 
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I have 2 of the 3-9x40 Airmax scopes bought from Trenier Outdoors when they were first released in the US 5ish years ago with the new AMX reticles in them. I've never had problems with either one and both have spent that 5ish years mounted on springers. They now reside on a pair or R7's after I bought the bigger 4-12x40's to go on my HW95 .22, Beeman R9 .20, Diana D34K Premium .20. I have 2 more still new in boxes.

Your mileage may very well vary should you decide to get one, but I've had no issues with mine and definitely no complaints about how well they work for me. For what it's worth, they were $148 each at that Dvor sale which is where I got mine, just wish they'd been priced that low when I bought mine...lol
 
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I have the 4-12 Airmax, and while I love the reticle, the adjustable objective (front turn) is ridiculously stiff. There is no way I can adjust it while looking through the scope, as I must wrap my hand around it to get a good enough grip to turn. Way overpriced for what I got, and would definitely not recommend that model. In fact my cheese whiz Centerpoint side focus is much more usable for me. I’d sell it cheap, but would feel bad for the new owner. I suppose I should see about replacement, but I don’t want another anyways. 
 
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I own a 3-9 Airmax AMX, it sits upon one of my pcp rifles and does a great job for my style of shooting. Though, I must add that I liked the old style MAP6 reticle much better. I had a number of warranty returns of the old EV Airmax model due to reticle issues and was finally told by Hawke that the EV was being discontinued and a new model Airmax AMX would be sent in replacement. I've used the new AMX on several rifles, springer and pcp with no issues of any functions.
 
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