SCOPE REVIEW: BRAND NEW

Created on 14th May 2009

MARK CAMOCCIO checks out the Sidewinder 30 from Hawke - and finds it good value for money

THE HAWKE range of telescopic sights, distributed via Deben Group, has expanded in the last few years. With many dedicated models in the portfolio, the brand name has really established itself in the market place.

Largely synonymous with value for money, Hawke seems to have got the balance about right with regards to quality and features offered, all for a reasonable asking price.

The new Sidewinder 30 range of scopes is in keeping with this ethos, and comes complete with a few extras as standard. Sourcing these scopes from China is no surprise, and a sign of today's ultra competitive market. OK, you'll have to fork out for 30mm mounts, but not much else. One minor complaint concerns the instruction booklet enclosed, which happened to be Hawke's old edition. It nails some basics, yet doesn't even include a picture of the Sidewinder, or discuss the SR reticle. Maybe this was just an oversight, but new instructions are needed here, chaps.

Sidewinders are available with various magnification/reticle specs, and my test model was the 8x32SRIR. Let's decode the name for a start. Variable magnification from 8x up to 32 means this scope should be capable of range-finding for air rifle FT among other duties. The ‘SR' denotes ‘Specialised Reticle', more of which in a moment. Finally ‘IR' stands for Illuminated Reticle, so clearly quite a package is on offer here. That package comes beautifully presented too, with a large sidewheel, sun-shade, flip-up lens covers, and battery, all cosseted in foam.

Chunky, clearly marked target turrets are offered. These use the push-pull locking mechanism, and so at least dispense with the need for a screwdriver.

Click values are 1/4" at 100yd, with 64 clicks to a revolution (4" at 25yd), and three full revolutions of adjustment are possible, which is ample. The integrity of the internal adjustments were born out with the standard test. After an initial zero, so many clicks right, down, left, and finally up again completed the square, and returned to zero. Relief all round!

This style of scope relies upon side focussing, which is achieved by turning the third turret (parallax adjuster) on the left-hand side. Once the image becomes clear, the range is then simply read from the dial. The idea behind the large side-wheel, for those unfamiliar with these dark arts, is that once attached, the arc of adjustment is expanded. This increases the gaps between range markings, and in theory makes range-finding more accurate.

Attaching the sidewheel is fairly straightforward, as the rubber mounting is pushed over the side turret. Two small grub screws can then be tightened, and that is the fiddly bit!

The reticle on this Sidewinder is the SR12, which has been designed by former World FT champion, Nick Jenkinson. An internal ‘Christmas tree' design forms the central part of the stadia, while outer thick posts and a bracketing system towards the base of the image offer an abundance of aim/reference points.

This entire ‘Christmas tree' section illuminates (either red or green) at the twist of the dial. With five brightness settings on the rheostat, the Sidewinder is clearly packed with features.

As if this wasn't enough, free ballistic software is available on the web, specifically aimed at extracting the best from the Hawke ‘SR' system. It allows the user to input their chosen zero and calibres, and generate or play around with a variety of charts and graphs.

Second focal plane means this SR reticle will appear to expand as the scope's magnification is increased, and in turn this will increase the gaps between the stadia. Pre-determined trajectory calculations have been made which apply when the scope is set on its master mag of 12x, (hence SR12) although this is purely a guide at the end of the day.

In an FT (Field Target) scenario, this particular Sidewinder will spend most of its life on maximum 32x, since focal-based range-finding works best on high magnification.

My tests highlighted a slight shortcoming with regards to the sidewheel graduations, and at the uppermost FT ranges, targets read short by around 10yd. For example, a target placed at 55yd showed as 45yd on the dial. This in itself isn't a problem, since it is fairly common to have to re-calibrate sidewheels.

What is vital, though, is that readings come in the same time after time. I'm pleased to report that in this regard the Sidewinder worked a treat. 45, 50 and 55yd targets were clearly differentiated, which is where most errors will occur after all.

An extended session of focusing each range and marking off each graduation on the wheel with tape is par for the course with many scopes of this type, so expect to do your homework! The minimum focus range was around 13yd on this model despite the wheel stating 10yd, although I'm sure other examples will vary slightly. As previously stated, this can be common in scopes of this type.

On a note of clarity, the Sidewinder compared favourably to my old Burris Signature (same mag spec). With fair crispness to the edge of the image and no discernable aberrations, it starts to look like a lot of scope for the money.

On the top magnification of 32x, the addition of a rubber lens shroud or maximiser on the rear Ocular lens would pay dividends, sharpening up the image (hence range-finding capability) in poor light. Bright sunlight at the rear severely inhibits the focussing (a problem suffered by most scopes, my Burris included). In contrast, I've yet to be persuaded that a front sunshade has any serious part to play in enhancing a scope's performance, other than looking sleek and menacing. However, if you think otherwise, the push fit flip-up lens covers are easily shifted to the front of the shade once screwed into place (another surprisingly fiddly job given the micro
thread involved).

One final note: dial the Sidewinder's magnification right down to 8x, set the wheel/parallax to around the 25yd mark, and Hunter Field Target shooting would be possible, giving this scope some versatility into the bargain.

Sourcing those larger diameter 30mm mounts isn't the problem it once was either, and with mainstream manufacturers such as Sportsmatch producing specific sets to suit, £299 all in, for this Sidewinder 30 has to be worth a look.

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