The Hawke +Sidewinder 6-24x56 has been one of the best surprises for me in rifle scopes. When I was shooting a lot of bench rest rim fire, I used either a Weaver T36x40 or a Nightforce. When I switched to air rifles, I was going to do some light hunting as well as shooting from the bench and wanted a scope for both purposes. I read some good information on the Hawke Sidewinder and decided to go with it.
Ocular & Power adjustments
After focusing the scope at the ocular, it has a locking ring that prevents the movement of the eyepiece. This is nice since I had experienced movement in the past on other scopes I had used over the years that didn’t have this locking ring.
I have always found the zoom ring on scopes to be slightly difficult to adjust. It seems it has a little more tension on it than is required plus they are usually only slightly larger than the 30 mm tube. I found the Sidewinder to be the same way. I’m going to put a simple extension on the zoom ring. Then it’s just a matter of reaching over and moving the lever. It doesn’t get in the way and is easy to spot and use. As you can see, the numbers on the zoom are easy to read.
Side focus & wheel
The premarked 4 inch side focus wheel is also a real treat. Mine was hard to install, I had to trim some of the rubber away so it would slide into place. After it was installed, it works very fast and smooth. If you shoot at different distances a lot, the side focus wheel is the only way to go. Having to reach forward and adjust the front objective on a scope is not nearly as quick and easy as the side wheel.
Magazine issue with some rifles
The magazine on my FX Royale inserts on the right side of the rifle and there is no problem using the side focus wheel. However, if you use a rifle where the magazine inserts on the left side of the rifle, there will be a problem. Another issue is if you are using a single shot tray and the side focus wheel is in place, you have to feed it from the right side. If you’re going to shoot at Extreme Bench rest and you’re shooting the Speed Silhouette course, you can remove the side wheel and load from the left side if you’re a right shoulder shooter.
Turrets
The turrets are large and very easy to operate. They do not come with a protective covers. To turn, pull the turret up on the top, or out on the side and turn in the direction needed. Solid clicks can be felt when adjusting. Push in to lock in place. After your zero, a small setscrew can be loosened and the turret moved back to zero mark. The markings on the turrets are very easy to read. They have white numbers and marks on a black background. I do not turn my turrets when shooting different distances, I just hold over. In the past I would forget to reset the turret to zero for the next shot so I just holdover now.
20X ½ Mil Dot Reticle
The 20x simply means to turn the zoom to 20 power and then you can use the mil dot for target ranging. This being a second plane rifle scope, each scope has an area where the reticle works with the power setting. In this case the power setting is set at 20. The ½ mil dot reticle is not really distracting and for me adds that little filler where one mil dot is not quite correct and the one below is not correct either. The ½ mil dot gives that in between point that comes in very handy. The image you see below shows some off coloring on the left side. This is NOT the scope. The scope is crystal clear. It captured an off color area that it was pointing towards when the photo was made.
Illuminated Reticle
I have had several scopes over the years with an illuminated reticle and have never used it. When viewing the reticle without the illumination turned on, it is clearly visible at all ends. You can see in the photo above with the side focus wheel, the illumination setting for the reticle. Each is colored code for the reticle you choose. When viewing either the red or green illumination, the right and left sides are not as sharp as they should be and are hard to see if the illumination is not turned up on a higher setting. In the images you see below, it appears the reticles are canted. They are true to the rifle. The camera was at an angle when the photo was taken.
Front Objective
The front objective is fixed in place since the focusing is done on the side, however, it can still serve a very good purpose. The scope comes with screw in lens caps. You can purchase camera filters that will enhance the environment you are in. You can purchase polarizing filters, fog filters, blue blocker filters, etc. Sometimes an adapter is required to use the filter you want. Further, if you keep a UV or clear filter in place, it will protect the front element of the scope. Damage the filter, throw it away. Damage the front element, send the scope back and get ready to pay through the nose to fix it.
So far I have had no issue my Hawke Sidewinder. I like the 30mm tube and the 56 mm front objective. The scope is very clear with no blurry areas. I plan to purchase the FX Boss around October and it will probably carry the same scope. Hawke Optics also has their own ballistic program, Chair Gun. I’ve used it a little, but then that’s another review for another time.
Ocular & Power adjustments
After focusing the scope at the ocular, it has a locking ring that prevents the movement of the eyepiece. This is nice since I had experienced movement in the past on other scopes I had used over the years that didn’t have this locking ring.
I have always found the zoom ring on scopes to be slightly difficult to adjust. It seems it has a little more tension on it than is required plus they are usually only slightly larger than the 30 mm tube. I found the Sidewinder to be the same way. I’m going to put a simple extension on the zoom ring. Then it’s just a matter of reaching over and moving the lever. It doesn’t get in the way and is easy to spot and use. As you can see, the numbers on the zoom are easy to read.
Side focus & wheel
The premarked 4 inch side focus wheel is also a real treat. Mine was hard to install, I had to trim some of the rubber away so it would slide into place. After it was installed, it works very fast and smooth. If you shoot at different distances a lot, the side focus wheel is the only way to go. Having to reach forward and adjust the front objective on a scope is not nearly as quick and easy as the side wheel.
Magazine issue with some rifles
The magazine on my FX Royale inserts on the right side of the rifle and there is no problem using the side focus wheel. However, if you use a rifle where the magazine inserts on the left side of the rifle, there will be a problem. Another issue is if you are using a single shot tray and the side focus wheel is in place, you have to feed it from the right side. If you’re going to shoot at Extreme Bench rest and you’re shooting the Speed Silhouette course, you can remove the side wheel and load from the left side if you’re a right shoulder shooter.
Turrets
The turrets are large and very easy to operate. They do not come with a protective covers. To turn, pull the turret up on the top, or out on the side and turn in the direction needed. Solid clicks can be felt when adjusting. Push in to lock in place. After your zero, a small setscrew can be loosened and the turret moved back to zero mark. The markings on the turrets are very easy to read. They have white numbers and marks on a black background. I do not turn my turrets when shooting different distances, I just hold over. In the past I would forget to reset the turret to zero for the next shot so I just holdover now.
20X ½ Mil Dot Reticle
The 20x simply means to turn the zoom to 20 power and then you can use the mil dot for target ranging. This being a second plane rifle scope, each scope has an area where the reticle works with the power setting. In this case the power setting is set at 20. The ½ mil dot reticle is not really distracting and for me adds that little filler where one mil dot is not quite correct and the one below is not correct either. The ½ mil dot gives that in between point that comes in very handy. The image you see below shows some off coloring on the left side. This is NOT the scope. The scope is crystal clear. It captured an off color area that it was pointing towards when the photo was made.
Illuminated Reticle
I have had several scopes over the years with an illuminated reticle and have never used it. When viewing the reticle without the illumination turned on, it is clearly visible at all ends. You can see in the photo above with the side focus wheel, the illumination setting for the reticle. Each is colored code for the reticle you choose. When viewing either the red or green illumination, the right and left sides are not as sharp as they should be and are hard to see if the illumination is not turned up on a higher setting. In the images you see below, it appears the reticles are canted. They are true to the rifle. The camera was at an angle when the photo was taken.
Front Objective
The front objective is fixed in place since the focusing is done on the side, however, it can still serve a very good purpose. The scope comes with screw in lens caps. You can purchase camera filters that will enhance the environment you are in. You can purchase polarizing filters, fog filters, blue blocker filters, etc. Sometimes an adapter is required to use the filter you want. Further, if you keep a UV or clear filter in place, it will protect the front element of the scope. Damage the filter, throw it away. Damage the front element, send the scope back and get ready to pay through the nose to fix it.
So far I have had no issue my Hawke Sidewinder. I like the 30mm tube and the 56 mm front objective. The scope is very clear with no blurry areas. I plan to purchase the FX Boss around October and it will probably carry the same scope. Hawke Optics also has their own ballistic program, Chair Gun. I’ve used it a little, but then that’s another review for another time.
