Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

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Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 05 Jan 2022, 2:56 pm

Has anyone used this scope before? I'm thinking of getting one for a .22 LR rifle. The scope has a variant with a mil-dot reticle, but I think the 30/30 duplex reticle will be sufficient for my purposes.

https://au.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-3-9x40-ao-3030.html
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2022, 3:17 pm

jwai86 wrote:Has anyone used this scope before? I'm thinking of getting one for a .22 LR rifle. The scope has a variant with a mil-dot reticle, but I think the 30/30 duplex reticle will be sufficient for my purposes.

https://au.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-3-9x40-ao-3030.html


I would avoid all scopes with AO, an absolute pain to adjust while looking through the scope, get a side-focus scope.
For .22LR you want one that focuses right back to 10m.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by rc42 » 05 Jan 2022, 3:32 pm

Other than control layout preferences, the Hawke range of equipment is amongst the better of the entry level equipment.
I have a couple of their red dot units, no issues with them so far.

I've just ordered my first FFP scope, a 4-16x44 Nikko Stirling, only $329. It's going onto my 'plinking' 22LR rifle, I'm looking forward to the fixed holdover against the reticle at any zoom level. Illuminated is always a better choice when the light is fading, I don't think I'd consider a scope without that again.
http://www.nikkostirling.com/content/Pr ... 44HMD.html
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2022, 4:51 pm

For hunting I use minimum zoom when walking, and maximum when I'm settled in for shooting. For shooting paper and steel I stay on maximum. I think the only times I use anything in between is precisely to change the reticle measurements to give me a hold over that matches the distance.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 05 Jan 2022, 5:04 pm

bladeracer wrote:
jwai86 wrote:Has anyone used this scope before? I'm thinking of getting one for a .22 LR rifle. The scope has a variant with a mil-dot reticle, but I think the 30/30 duplex reticle will be sufficient for my purposes.

https://au.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-3-9x40-ao-3030.html


I would avoid all scopes with AO, an absolute pain to adjust while looking through the scope, get a side-focus scope.
For .22LR you want one that focuses right back to 10m.


I don't know of any side focus scopes that are in the 3-9x magnification range.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2022, 7:21 pm

jwai86 wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
jwai86 wrote:Has anyone used this scope before? I'm thinking of getting one for a .22 LR rifle. The scope has a variant with a mil-dot reticle, but I think the 30/30 duplex reticle will be sufficient for my purposes.

https://au.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-3-9x40-ao-3030.html


I would avoid all scopes with AO, an absolute pain to adjust while looking through the scope, get a side-focus scope.
For .22LR you want one that focuses right back to 10m.


I don't know of any side focus scopes that are in the 3-9x magnification range.


I'm pretty sure I've seen Bushnells but I haven't researched scopes in a while. Athlon does a 3-12x40, and a 4-12x40 with side focus back to 10m. There must be lots of others.

What is the purpose for the scope?
If you're only going to use it on ranges at fixed distances then AO is fine as you set it before you start shooting.
If you're just going to be plinking then you may be fine without parallax adjustment, though I wouldn't want a scope with fixed parallax.
For hunting or informal practice at targets at random distances though, you want to be able to quickly adjust the parallax to variable distances, which is easiest while looking through the scope.

3-9 is not a bad choice for general purpose use, 9-power is about minimum to see .22 caliber holes at 100m, but no further. I prefer having more scope, but there's no requirement to use it all. 3-power is very nice for snap-shooting moving targets at close range. For precise target shooting you'll want a lot more scope, 24x, 32x, or even more still, probably not variable.

I also hate capped turrets, I want to be able to make adjustments quickly and easily while looking through the scope. My scopes are Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40's. I know they do a 3-9x40 and a 3-12x40 in the AR Optics but I don't own any of those.
Last edited by bladeracer on 07 Jan 2022, 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 05 Jan 2022, 7:55 pm

bladeracer wrote:
jwai86 wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
jwai86 wrote:Has anyone used this scope before? I'm thinking of getting one for a .22 LR rifle. The scope has a variant with a mil-dot reticle, but I think the 30/30 duplex reticle will be sufficient for my purposes.

https://au.hawkeoptics.com/vantage-3-9x40-ao-3030.html


I would avoid all scopes with AO, an absolute pain to adjust while looking through the scope, get a side-focus scope.
For .22LR you want one that focuses right back to 10m.


I don't know of any side focus scopes that are in the 3-9x magnification range.


I'm pretty I've seen Bushnells but I haven't researched scopes in a while. Athlon does a 3-12x40, and a 4-12x40 with side focus back to 10m. There must be lots of others.

What is the purpose for the scope?
If you're only going to use it on ranges at fixed distances then AO is fine as you set it before you start shooting.
If you're just going to be plinking then you may be fine without parallax adjustment, though I wouldn't want a scope with fixed parallax.
For hunting or informal practice at targets at random distances though, you want to be able to quickly adjust the parallax to variable distances, which is easiest while looking through the scope.

3-9 is not a bad choice for general purpose use, 9-power is about minimum to see .22 caliber holes at 100m, but no further. I prefer having more scope, but there's no requirement to use it all. 3-power is very nice for snap-shooting moving targets at close range. For precise target shooting you'll want a lot more scope, 24x, 32x, or even more still, probably not variable.

I also hate capped turrets, I want to be able to make adjustments quickly and easily while looking through the scope. My scopes are Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40's. I know they do a 3-9x40 and a 3-12x40 in the AR Optics but I don't own any of those.


My most likely use for a .22 LR rifle would be at a range. The ones that I've been to so far haven't been longer than 50 metres. Slinging lead at rabbits is a very distant prospect but shouldn't be ruled out completely.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by northdude » 06 Jan 2022, 6:55 am

Ive used a few hawke scopes. Never had any problems with them. If thats what you can afford I think it will do what you want it to do. The budget scopes I use are the nikko stirlings
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 06 Jan 2022, 8:20 am

northdude wrote:Ive used a few hawke scopes. Never had any problems with them. If thats what you can afford I think it will do what you want it to do. The budget scopes I use are the nikko stirlings


I could potentially afford a more expensive scope, but I don't want to spend too much at first in case I find that I need something significantly different.

Have you noted any significant differences in quality between Hawke and Nikko Stirling scopes?
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 06 Jan 2022, 3:21 pm

jwai86 wrote:
northdude wrote:Ive used a few hawke scopes. Never had any problems with them. If thats what you can afford I think it will do what you want it to do. The budget scopes I use are the nikko stirlings


I could potentially afford a more expensive scope, but I don't want to spend too much at first in case I find that I need something significantly different.

Have you noted any significant differences in quality between Hawke and Nikko Stirling scopes?


I would agree, don't throw a grand at a scope until you get a feel for what works for you. All my scopes are sub-$400 I think. I haven't yet felt a need to spend any more, though I have used some nicer scopes. I also keep some cheap Chinese scopes on hand, very useful for testing or when waiting for a better scope to arrive.

I don't think I've used any modern Nikko-stirlings, but some of the older ones are Japanese and work very well. They were of the era before everything became variable and full of features, all we needed was clear glass and a crisp reticle, at a great price.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by womble » 06 Jan 2022, 5:07 pm

I have 2 Nikko Stirling nighteaters, a 3-9 and a 4-16.
Have lasted a long time, cant fault them, great scopes.

I think for the money op’s selection is a good choice. Good price for it, renown brand, warranty.
There’s a few that would compete in that price bracket and its certainly going to be on par with all of them.
Your other option from the circa 300 bucks range is a big price jump. Better to know what you really need before the big spend.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by womble » 06 Jan 2022, 5:19 pm

Actually I’d probably buy that over a comparable Bushnell or Vortex or Tasco whatever.
Because the market is flooded with counterfeits, copies of those.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 06 Jan 2022, 5:45 pm

bladeracer wrote:I don't think I've used any modern Nikko-stirlings, but some of the older ones are Japanese and work very well. They were of the era before everything became variable and full of features, all we needed was clear glass and a crisp reticle, at a great price.


I considered getting a fixed power scope at one point, but was advised against doing so because of the loss of flexibility and marginal economic savings over variable power scopes.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 06 Jan 2022, 6:36 pm

jwai86 wrote:
bladeracer wrote:I don't think I've used any modern Nikko-stirlings, but some of the older ones are Japanese and work very well. They were of the era before everything became variable and full of features, all we needed was clear glass and a crisp reticle, at a great price.


I considered getting a fixed power scope at one point, but was advised against doing so because of the loss of flexibility and marginal economic savings over variable power scopes.


I do get a kick out of using a fixed 4-power on a rifle, but I suspect it's more nostalgia than anything else. When I was a kid, getting to use any scope at all was a big step up from the iron sights I used every day, even my .222Rem came with iron sights. I don't think I even had any aperture sights back then. Younger shooters probably wouldn't have the same experience and would just find them lacking versatility. I would agree that a decent variable is far better bang for buck, especially while you are still discovered exactly what you want from a scope. A nice light compact 4x is still not a bad choice on a scrub stalking rifle where you don't want bulk or weight. A 1-6x or 2-7x is probably still better though, even 4-power can be a bit much in heavy bush when you're likely to be snap-shooting well under 100m.

Try to find time to visit your clubs and see what others are using, and ask what they think of them. If you get a look through a bunch that's even better.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 07 Jan 2022, 8:38 am

womble wrote:Actually I’d probably buy that over a comparable Bushnell or Vortex or Tasco whatever.
Because the market is flooded with counterfeits, copies of those.


Wouldn't you be able to avoid counterfeits by buying from a reputable dealer?
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by bladeracer » 07 Jan 2022, 9:29 am

jwai86 wrote:
womble wrote:Actually I’d probably buy that over a comparable Bushnell or Vortex or Tasco whatever.
Because the market is flooded with counterfeits, copies of those.


Wouldn't you be able to avoid counterfeits by buying from a reputable dealer?


Some fakes look quite different to the real item, some look virtually identical, both can be hard to identify if you don't have the genuine item for direct comparison, or if you don't already have intimate experience with it.

Other "fakes" are the same item, probably off the same machinery in the same factory, just without the branding. These can be identical items out of the same production run, or they can use lower quality components from the bins that were rejected for the branded product. These can be very difficult to identify as fakes, but can also be of equal quality. Like most products, all of the components are not manufactured to make that specific scope, many are generic items made to varying quality standards and bought in bulk, like springs, seals, fasteners and lenses.

Then you have lower-quality branded products that are genuine but made to lower price levels. These are not fakes, but sometimes are so much lower in quality than their higher-quality lines that they get "branded" as fakes by consumers anyway.

Price can be a give away, but sometimes people do try to sell fakes for similar prices to the genuine article. I don't think it's been a major issue in Australia though so the chance of being lumbered with a fake when buying new is still very low. I know at least some of the manufacturers will try to identify if a scope you own is genuine or not, which may not be much help after you've bought it.

I don't recall ever meeting somebody that has bought an actual fake scope, but there are lots of people that have bought genuine scopes and had quality issues with them, even the very expensive brands.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by womble » 07 Jan 2022, 1:29 pm

Very true, depends where you buy them from. Best to buy from a legitimate distributor or buy direct from manufacturer if you can.
eBay, amazon, alibaba, Allie express etc. not so trustworthy.
More common to find manufacturers selling direct to public nowadays to get around the sheer volume of chinese counterfeits comming in for warranty claims.
If you look at the top 10 scopes/ red dots selling on amazon or eBay, I guarantee you the chinese will be pumping out copies en masse. They have no effective regulations in manufacturing
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by northdude » 07 Jan 2022, 2:09 pm

jwai86 wrote:
northdude wrote:Ive used a few hawke scopes. Never had any problems with them. If thats what you can afford I think it will do what you want it to do. The budget scopes I use are the nikko stirlings


I could potentially afford a more expensive scope, but I don't want to spend too much at first in case I find that I need something significantly different.

Have you noted any significant differences in quality between Hawke and Nikko Stirling scopes?


I've found them pretty much the same. I put nikko stirlings on most of my rifles just to get up and running with the intention of replacing them as they crapped out. To date I haven't had to replace any and some of them have been on rifles for over 20 years.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 07 Jan 2022, 6:07 pm

northdude wrote:I've found them pretty much the same. I put nikko stirlings on most of my rifles just to get up and running with the intention of replacing them as they crapped out. To date I haven't had to replace any and some of them have been on rifles for over 20 years.


20 years and counting is a great innings for something that was intended to be replaced at the first opportunity.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by Wm.Traynor » 07 Jan 2022, 7:06 pm

jwai86 wrote:
northdude wrote:I've found them pretty much the same. I put nikko stirlings on most of my rifles just to get up and running with the intention of replacing them as they crapped out. To date I haven't had to replace any and some of them have been on rifles for over 20 years.


20 years and counting is a great innings for something that was intended to be replaced at the first opportunity.


That's what I'm thinking. I have cancelled an order for a Leupold LE175075 because it has not been
made in over a year, in favour of a smaller Leo. BUT a $300 Nikko whatever, lying round in the safe might be very handy for when the baby Leo dies.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 19 Apr 2022, 1:27 am

I ordered a Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO scope from the UK last week for ~$200 including postage.
Last edited by jwai86 on 23 Apr 2022, 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by jwai86 » 23 Apr 2022, 12:08 pm

My scope arrived in the mail yesterday.

Image

After unboxing the scope, I applied a tiny bit of oil to the threads securing the caps covering the MOA adjustment dials because they sounded very scratchy when I unscrewed them.
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by northdude » 25 Apr 2022, 10:30 am

Let us know how it goes..
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Re: Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO

Post by Rwd22 » 25 Apr 2022, 11:34 am

jwai86 wrote:My scope arrived in the mail yesterday.

Image

After unboxing the scope, I applied a tiny bit of oil to the threads securing the caps covering the MOA adjustment dials because they sounded very scratchy when I unscrewed them.


You'll have that with just about any aluminium fine pitch thread, especially in something that has also been partially coated/painted.

My nightforce nx8 also has a 'scratchy feel' when you unscrew the capped windage turret. She'll be fine, the hawke's are a more budget end scope, I own a couple of them. Stick it on a gun and shoot it :thumbsup:
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