Hawke Sidewinder 4.5-14x any good

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I don't think you're going to like the eyebox of the Gen 1 4.5-14 any better. I had one several years ago for various reasons. I sold it and went to the 6.5-20's SFP and had a couple of those until the Gen 2's came out. I'm currently running a pair of SW FFP 6-24x56. One on my HFT and one on my XFT/ Prairie dog gun and they have a generous eyebox.
I tried to find a link to what they call their legacy series and check the specs but it wasn't anything I could quickly help you link to.
You might shoot them an email and ask about the specs of the eyebox so you can compare them to the current Gen 2 series.
 
Upvote 0
I personally do not like the Hawkes and prefer the Athlon/Arken budget scopes. There are lots of happy Hawke customers but I think today they dont hold up in dollar value to what else is on the market. I also had an issue with a Hawke which I admit has left me jaded.

But I would assume the eyebox would be better on the 4.5-14x compared to the 6.5-20x. Enough to justify buying that over something else? I vote no.
 
Upvote 0
Lol, different things work for different folks. My wifes D75 has a 6-24x56 Sidewinder with tens of thousands of shots. I like it and she likes it. I have an Air max 6-24×? that I dislike. Much darker that the Sidewinder, smaller FOV, darker. The Airmax is going on a beater .22 .22lr and a new Sightron STax is going to replace it on my TX200. I guess if we all liked the same thing we would not have all the options out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boscoebrea
Upvote 0
I've become very fond of Vector Optics. I was looking through mine earlier when some kind of Sparrow with a yellow head landed atop the target. I was on 10x magnification at 25 yards. It was a glorious sight image. Just beautiful. So he perched there for several minutes allowing me to zip the magnification up to 18x and tune in on focus. The color , contrast and clarity, detail in every feather and its eyes were just astonishing. I just watched him for a bit, I don't know , maybe 4 minutes. Then he up and took flight and off he went. I never expected the glass quality of this scope to be this good. I was stunned by what I was looking at. I've had many Hawke scopes including the sidewinder ( which I never cared for) and none of them were this good. Not even close. Maybe things have changed since that time. I don't know. For the money I have not been behind a scope that is better than the Vector. Even compared to my Leupold or IOR Recon it's like splitting hairs, good. I didn't expect much for 172.00 and I was told before it arrived that I was going to be surprised. And I am. I'm really not exaggerating this because I'm sort of an optics snob. I've been blessed in this life to have been able to look through some of the finest glass in the world , from Nikon Lens, Sony Lens, Canon, Olympus, and pentax, on a darn near daily basis. Many scope optics from Schmidt Bender , IOR, Leupold, Zeiss , yes even Discovery and Swift. Quite a few others., Weaver when Weaver was really Weaver. I have never expected much at all from a budget scope. For me, Vector has broken the rules.
 
Upvote 0
I have an Airmax and a Sidewinder, but they are both 4-16x50. I will try to compare them tomorrow. I have a compact Victor 3-12x44. It is heavy for its size, but it is a good scope. In no way are they as good as my Leupold scopes.I can agree that the Victor scopes are good for the money spent.I am going to install this Victor scope on my Akela and see how it stacks up.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I checked some of the scopes out.4-16x50 Hawke scopes were a bit disappointing, they are the older model Sidewinder and Airmax,I did not pay anywhere near retail. whew.
The Victor 3-12x44 compact has good optics; the eye box is so-so...
The Barra H-30 4-12X40IR has good optics, like the Victor,but it is brighter and has a more forgiving eye box.
This was a rather fast text at 30 yardsT in bright Sunlight.
I also looked through a Bushnell 4-12x40 Engage. I like it because it is easy for me to aim.The glass is on par with the Hawks I mentioned.
Again, fast test,I bought all these scopes at a good discount...really good.
The Barra and Victor are my favorites, though the Engage is more forgiving.
 
Upvote 0
I share the amazement of the Vector optics. The 3-12x is a true gem. I've never found the eyebox to be at all critical. If you waant to see critical try a Hawke Sidewinder 6.5-20,or a SWFA 16 or 20x,those are critical. The Vector 4-16 is starting to get eyebox critical but is not all that uncomfortable.
I have a Vector 10x that I love and am contemplating buying another one.
I would like to buy the Hawke 4.5-14x Sidewinder, but if it's like the higher power SW scopes, no thanks. The Airmax i've had, up to 4-16x have been great, much better than the SW.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu