Am I expecting too much from a new Hawke Sidewinder 30 8.5-25X42mm?

I can tell you my airmax 30 6-24x50 SF is very sharp/clear at 24X. I have read others post that their airmax was sharper than
their sidewinder but that may not be the norm. Im not surprised that your 20 power sidewinder is clearer tho. Both have 42mm objectives. If the 25 power sidewinder had a 50mm objective then you could compare apples to apples per say. The larger objective gives more resolving power. Is the 8.5-25 at 20 power just as clear as the 6.5-20 at 20 power? Either way.......sounds like your not satisfied.......so if you have a return window just return it. Maybe look at a larger objective scope for that power range your looking for.

I had the exact same scope, it was the last China scope I ever had. I too had similar problems, mine would not be clear or even Focus properly. No matter what I did you could not make it clear enough to Read text at 25m. I returned it. Just like the other SW 8-32 before it...

DirteNo the 25x is not as sharp as the 6.5-20 at any power.

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Damn.......I would definitely return it. I wish I had a clear answer for you. My next scope will be something else too. My 6-24 airmax is super clear and resolves well but the turrets are mushy just like every other china scope in this price bracket....and the side focus is stiff. Not a huge deals.....it holds zero. Im satisfied at the moment. Maybe a fixed high magnification swfa scope?......if you dont need the adjuatment range and are trying to stay around the same price.

sold all my hawke scopes after looking through a SWFA, good glass and lighter then the hawke

I, personally, have not had a lot of luck with the "proper" way to adjust the ocular on a scope. Instead of adjusting the eyepiece for best reticle focus on a blank field I will first adjust parallax to minimize reticle movement at highest magnification and then fine tune the ocular reticle focus on a sharp, parallax free bullseye. Then I will double check and fine tune parallax and then repeat the ocular adjustment until both reticle and target are in focus and parallax free. I will walk the two in together. I know that the adjustments should not be related, but I am able to adjust the ocular with greater precision using this method.
I hope this works on the 8.5-25 as I just picked up a new one at a very good price. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

I did take a look at my new 8.5-25 today and compared it to my 6.5x20:

1: The FOV of the 8.5x25 set at 17x equaled the FOV of the 6.5x20 set at 20x. Whether this indicates a lower actual maximum power on the 6.5x20 than specified I cannot say.

2: With both scopes set at a typical hunting magnification of 10x:
a. Eye placement was easier on the 6.5x20.
b. Resolution, brightness and contrast was equal.

3: With both scopes set at nominal 20x:
a. Resolution was about equal for both scopes.
b. Eye placement as far as distance and centering was more forgiving on the 6.5x20.
c. The 6.5x20 was brighter.
d. The 6.5x20 had better contrast.
e. There is no compromise using the 6.5x20 at its highest power. IQ remains great.

4: At 25x the 8.5x25 is usable, although the image appears washed out due to low brightness and contrast. Resolution remains good, but is difficult to take advantage of due to the limitations in critical eye placement, brightness and contrast.

Generally, I find the 6.5x20 to be a better scope. The image is overall easier to acquire and maintain, and crisper than the 8.5x25. If you need more than 20x the 8.5x25 is usable on paper targets, but not optimal.

I don't know what the Weaver 6-24x42 is like, but the 4-16x42 is a great little scope for a reasonable price. Both pop up on the used market pretty regularly. If you just need the high mag you might be better off with a fixed power.

Assuming you've checked the ocular and parallax, it appears that you have reason to return the scope. It costs more money to have high quality magnification scopes higher than 18/20x so the appearance of such on budget scopes will tend to mean poorer clarity than those of lower magnification. Magnifying optical "issues".

"Dirte"I received my third 8.5-25X42mm. It is about 10-20% better than the last one. BTW these are the older model that come in the hard case (no flip cover). The 20X still is much more sharper than the 25X (at any power). I can read the writing on the target with the 20X, but not the other. I may call Hawke out of curiosity on my findings. I'm just tired of mailing my scopes across the country.
I think I will go elsewhere next time. The 25X is only $25 more than the 20X. Maybe have to spend more money to get more scope.
It would be nice if I could handle before I buy. Most retail stores (America) only carry the normal center-fire orientated brands.
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Are you by any chance getting these from one of the dealers on Amazon ?

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"Dirte"

"fsa46"

"Dirte"I received my third 8.5-25X42mm. It is about 10-20% better than the last one. BTW these are the older model that come in the hard case (no flip cover). The 20X still is much more sharper than the 25X (at any power). I can read the writing on the target with the 20X, but not the other. I may call Hawke out of curiosity on my findings. I'm just tired of mailing my scopes across the country.
I think I will go elsewhere next time. The 25X is only $25 more than the 20X. Maybe have to spend more money to get more scope.
It would be nice if I could handle before I buy. Most retail stores (America) only carry the normal center-fire orientated brands.
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Are you by any chance getting these from one of the dealers on Amazon ?

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Optics planet. which also sells through Amazon. why?
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The reason I asked is because I've purchased things from Amazon ( premium member ) and on some things that were an awesome price had problems. I NEVER had a problem with the seller not making good for a replacement or refund, but always wondered if some of these sellers were sending seconds, returns or inferior items for such a good price.

The last item I purchased was a clipper for grooming my dog. When I received it, it had hair in the clipper, missing two parts and was definitely a used, returned item.

I love going on Amazon to review items because there are a lot of reviews on any item you're looking for.

Recently I've been going on to check out reviews on scopes . Many of the scopes considered very good have some bad reviews. I like to click on the unfavorable reviews to see what they didn't like. This is the reason I think some of the sellers are sending out returned or damaged items.

Even though I can get a great deal on a scope from a seller on Amazon, along with free shipping, I'm reluctant to go in that direction .Something I have to really think about.

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I have bought a few scopes off amazon in the past, two UTG scopes in particular that were returned/used scopes.
Return & replacement were effortless as usual with amazon....but still a PITA.

I have a sidewinder 30, and at 32x at a distance of 20 yards, it won't even resolve pellet holes clearly. I called Hawk, spoke with JR and he asked what I was comparing it to. I told him that I also shoot a similarly priced Bushnell 32x and the Hawke has always been a disappointment. A scope should be optically clear and have repeatable adjustments above all other features. For a scope in this price range, that is to be expected. He gave me an RMA number and I shipped it out yesterday. He seemed pretty good about it. I just hope they can clear it up to some degree. I also shoot two Leupold scopes, a 6.5-20x EFR that has a TMR reticle installed and an 8.5-25x ,MK4 with a focus adapter set into an old Butler Creek lens cover. I only bought the Hawke because it seemed more suited to airgunning than most scopes. We shall see. I also asked that if they find an issue, to swap in a scope with the half mil dot reticle, the SR Pro is just a bit cluttered for me.