Okay, so the Hawke came last week. Mounted it and did a rough basement boresight and then off to the range Saturday afternoon.
20km/h winds with the occasional gust to 30. Temp right around 0c. Damned chilly.
So...hung a target at 50yds and first shot was 2" low and a bit to the right...not bad. Got it zeroed and then put out a target at 100m.
First shot was about 1/2" low at 6 o'clock...perfect. Pumped in 2 clicks and the next shot was dead center.
The scope is very clear at the power I was shooting at, which was 14x. The etched reticle is a joy. The Hawke has replaced a Bushnell Banner 3-9X, worth about 1/4 what the Hawke costs. The Bushnell was not exactly bad, likely quite useable for hunting...but for attempting small groups at 100+ meters with the .22WMR it just wasn't cutting it. Firstly it was never what I would really call 'sharp'. Being in the photographic industry for 30 years I know that there is 'tack sharp' and 'acceptably sharp', and that there is big difference. The Bushnell definitely fell into the 'acceptable' range. Again, if I was pointing it at a coyote 100m away it would be fine...but pointing it at a 1" circle target was a whole other matter. So now I have 'tack sharp'...someday maybe I'll graduate to 'blazing sharp' (Night Force or US Optics)...but the paycheque will have to magically increase a whole lot more ;-)
Anyhoo...at 100m I was averaging 1.25"MOA with the Bushnell. I've read a lot of reviews of the WMR that say that if you really want accuracy go with the .17HMR...and that 1.5MOA isn't at all bad with the WMR...though with the proper gun it can do better.
I figured I fell right in the 'average' range.
The gun is a Savage heavy barrel with custom stock, Harris bi-pod and I use a rear bag...so I figured that the gun was probably shooting as good as it could (which is why I went scope hunting).
Well, the first 5 shot group was right around 1MOA. The second was .75 and then the following two were an inch each. So I've knocked 1/4" off my groups right out of the box, which delights me to no end.
The final test (it was beginning to fell damned cold by now) was repeatability. I had printed the traj tables for the Hornady Vmax I was using, so I cranked in minus 4 clicks and it was bang on at 25m. Added a couple of clicks and it nailed the target at 50m. Rest it to zero and right in the middle of the circle at 100m. I did this for a couple of mags...changing back and forth and it was bang on...the clicks were easy to set, but had a definite 'click' to them.
So my first impression was that it was a well spent $500 (scope with rings). Definitely has changed a somewhat frustrating 1.25MOA gun into what I think will be slightly sub 1MOA. And looking through the scope is a joy.
Unfortunately the snow is expected to fly soon here in Edmonton, so for the next few months most of our shooting will be in our basement range with our pellet guns, so any extended tests will have to wait till next spring.
. I have 2 now and they are absolutely worth it!
