Hawke Optics Sidewinder Tactical. Any thoughts?

[Joseytheoutlawwales]

Have nearly finished my Grendel build.

Looking for a long distance scope, mainly target training at 1000 yards, but will consider reaching out to touch larger game out beyond 600 yards.

Would love to be able to afford Nightforce, Zeiss, et al, but simply cannot.

I had been reading up a little on Hawke Optics, but there is truly very little in the way of functional reviews (excepting their Frontier line of optics).
I was specifically looking at their newer Sidewinder Tactical 30 model line.

Seems like a great price point for what will likely be a quality optic (although of course not to Nightforce, Zeiss, et al equivalents).

however, prior to buying, I'm hoping that somebody has any experience with these optics; good or bad, I'd love to hear it!

thanks.
JC

[MedicMan218]

Take a look at Vortex.
They make very affordable, quality scopes. You can usually find them for a good deal on amazon(where I got mine).
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/...ld-bdc-reticle
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/...lr-moa-reticle
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/...-1-moa-reticle
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/...-1-moa-reticle

[LRRPF52]

I'm really happy with Vortex, and I'm an optics snob. Midway partnered with them for an exclusive Midway model called the Vortex Viper HS Tactical, which is a 5-15x44 Mil Dot, .1 MRAD click, target turret, zero-stop, side focus scope in second focal plane. They were able to get the price way down on it by not including illumination, but they did include all the features people actually use, like side focus, zero stop, and variable magnification.

They are $499 right now, and Midway is running a St. Patrick's day special of $30 off any order over $300, so that will pay for the shipping and some.

I have a Viper PST 2.5-10x44 that I really like, and had a 6.5-20x44 Mil Dot Viper that a friend made on offer on that I couldn't pass up. I still wish I had it, to be honest.

The click quality on the Vipers with target or tactical style turrets is one of the best click feels for repeatability and tactile feel on the market, especially in the sub-$1k price range.

[Joseytheoutlawwales]

Thanks LRRPF52!
Great reply. I looked over the Viper HS Tactical this afternoon. That scope looks great and would likely work even beyond my needs.

I'm curious to hear what your review of the scope will hold. Since Midway almost always cranks out deals every few months, i figure I can pass up the St. Paddy's deal.
(plus I can always tack on a few extras from Midway to fill my cart... just so many choices)

thanks
JC

[biggdawg]

i just purchase a hawke sidewinder tach 30 in 8.5-25x4s and i think it is a nice scope for the money. i did a lot of reading and
decided to just try it. I haven't been disappointed yet. glass is clear adjustments are spot on and repeatable. i read the review here and he seems to know his stuff.

i plan on getting a vortex soon so i can compare them.

[Rambozo]

i just purchase a hawke sidewinder tach 30 in 8.5-25x4s and i think it is a nice scope for the money. i did a lot of reading and
decided to just try it. I haven't been disappointed yet. glass is clear adjustments are spot on and repeatable. i read the review here and he seems to know his stuff.

i plan on getting a vortex soon so i can compare them.

I had the first Sidewinder 30, not the tactical model. It was the 6-24x56, if I remember correctly. It was just as Koshkyn of Optics Thoughts had described it to be. I was disappointed. I would hope the newer tactical model is better. The older model had problems resolving, especially at distance. It did not have edge to edge clarity, so the image would blur as you adjusted out for range, and you just couldn't get rid of it. Parallax was bad, I couldn't get parallax out at anything but short ranges, I suspect that that's just how the parallax was tuned.

I get the impression that it was designed for the close range airgun field target, which it seems people like it for that. But for any kind of centerfire medium to long range shooting, it wasn't up to speed.

The scope was mechanically very solid though. I was very happy with the repeatability and the occular jam nut. I didn't like how it didn't have rotation counters though. But 15 minutes per rotation was pretty good on the turrets.

In the end, it didn't serve my purpose. It was horrible at distance. Parallax was extreme, and clarity was just as bad, especially at 1000. This was after I sent it back to Hawke for replacement. Their service was absolutely super, though it did require a receipt. I got the scope back within a day or two of sending the old on back. The replacement exhibited the same problems, so I don't regard it as a defect.

I think I would have a hard time buying another Hawke, even though the tactical model seems to have fixed the problems.

I am extremely happy with my Vortex, even though it exhibits a bit of occular wobble. Lense caps seem to do a decent enough job of fixing that though. Still, the jam nut like on the Hawke would be preferred.

[pawpaw1926]

I have had two Hawke sidewinder tactical scope' on my 6.8spc armalite AR. I blew out reticles on both scopes. Great viusal clarity but I could not understand how this could happen. Hawke replaced the first one and after the second one blew out they replaced it with one of theri huge spotting scopes. Finally replaced the 2nd blow out with a burris black diamond with tactical adjustments. Fantastic glass and durable as hell. Also a lifetime warranty regardless of the owner

[Joseytheoutlawwales]

I have had two Hawke sidewinder tactical scope' on my 6.8spc armalite AR. I blew out reticles on both scopes. Great viusal clarity but I could not understand how this could happen. Hawke replaced the first one and after the second one blew out they replaced it with one of theri huge spotting scopes. Finally replaced the 2nd blow out with a burris black diamond with tactical adjustments. Fantastic glass and durable as hell. Also a lifetime warranty regardless of the owner

After hearing back from LRRP, I instead decided to go with the 1/10 mildot Vortex Viper from Midway USA. It was on sale so i backordered one. Won't likely get it for several months, so i'll have to let the long grendel sit idle for now.

good thing, is in the meantime I'm starting to build another Grendel, this time in a 16" system.

[FiremanTx]

From what I've heard not only on this forum but many others as well, you will like the Vortex. Let us know how she handles when you do get it.

[Joseytheoutlawwales]

LRRP,
Finally my Vortex 1/10 mil-dot was shipped from Midway! Had it on backorder for something like 4 months.
But since I ordered it during their sale, I got it for only $399. $413 total shipped.

I'm excited to mount this optic on my 24" beast.

which brings me to another question, what is your preferred optic mount?
do you ever opt for quick-release on a dedicated long-range rifle?
This specific rifle will likely be target only, as it'd be quite unwieldy to heft on long hunts.
I'm building a separate 16" grendel upper to cart through the woods.

I'm actually desiring to see how repeatable the clicks are, as I'm going to potentially mount this scope on two separate grendels, and as long as I know the clicks i'd need to get back to zero on each, I thought 'no problem'... even if its not usual to switch thusly.

I'm really happy with Vortex, and I'm an optics snob. Midway partnered with them for an exclusive Midway model called the Vortex Viper HS Tactical, which is a 5-15x44 Mil Dot, .1 MRAD click, target turret, zero-stop, side focus scope in second focal plane. They were able to get the price way down on it by not including illumination, but they did include all the features people actually use, like side focus, zero stop, and variable magnification.

They are $499 right now, and Midway is running a St. Patrick's day special of $30 off any order over $300, so that will pay for the shipping and some.

I have a Viper PST 2.5-10x44 that I really like, and had a 6.5-20x44 Mil Dot Viper that a friend made on offer on that I couldn't pass up. I still wish I had it, to be honest.

The click quality on the Vipers with target or tactical style turrets is one of the best click feels for repeatability and tactile feel on the market, especially in the sub-$1k price range.