Hawke 4-16x50 Nite Eye AO IR

[dan221081]

Well what can I say I was looking for a scope that offered bright optics / good light gathering capabilities, a wide Field Of View (FOV) and that was reasonably lightweight.

After carrying out research on several models this one looked like a good bet. I bought a Hawke Sport HD 3-9x40 for very little when I purchased my air rifle a couple of months ago just to get be by until I could look into what was available.

Compared to the HD 3-9x40 the Hawke 4-16x50 Nite Eye AO IR has from what I can see image quality that is not quite up to the same standard as the HD and definitely has significantly lower FOV. A lot of retailers don't list FOV in the specs but I really wish they would as for low light hunting or just for general hunting a large FOV is always helpful.

The site picture on the 3-9x40 is almost 40% larger than that of the Nite Eye. In my mind you buy a scope with a larger objective lens to get a better FOV and additional light gathering capabilities. This scope appears to have neither compared to a scope that costs less than half as much.

The dials and AO settings on this scope are very stiff making changes to the settings is very hard (although this might get easier over time) especially the IR adjustments.

Overall (as you may have guessed by now) I am not impressed with this scope and wouldn't recommend it. It seems that either technology for building scopes has far surpassed what was available when this scope was designed and put into production, or that Hawke have lost the plot and make budget scopes with better optics than their more expensive ones.

I will be returning mine and potentially looking at moving away from Hawke to try an edgar brothers scope or trying the Hawke
Sport HD 3-9x50 IR AO which will hopefully retain the large FOV of its siblings but add the larger lens for potentially better light gathering with PX.

[Amac]

Shame that you weren't impressed with your "Nite Eye". If I were you I would check the offerings from MTC and Nikon as well as the other distributors scope offerings you have already mentioned. Both of these manufacturers have good quality scopes within your budget.

Andy

[malk000]

i have a hawke eclipse 3-12x56 on a 223. and its spot on clear as a bell in the day, and just as good under the lamp.

i also have a nikon prostaff 3-9x50 on a 243. this scope is value for the money very clear a sharp. just a shame it doesnt have a little higher mag on it.

both scopes are just as clear as each other but the prostaff is just little bit more shaper.