I recently bought one of those Sidewinder 10 x 42’s which were on offer and it’s fair to say that I am pretty impressed with it by and large. The only negative is that it’s just a tad short of mag for what I need, not by much though.

I have been looking at maybe investing in the next mag up which would be the 6.5 - 20 x 42. The trouble is that I am seeing various incarnations from various sellers and at various prices. It seems that when this scope came out it was supplied in some sort of flight case, with one piece screw in lens caps, and the old Hawke logo. Then it came in a cardboard box with flip ups and still the old logo and now, finally, the current version with code number 17110 as seen on Hawkes website.

Would anyone happen to know if there has been any mechanical or optical changes along the way with this scope please. I am not a “latest model” type snob so I would be more than okay to have an older style model providing that the optics and mechanics are as good in previous versions as they are in current.

One last thing. I have a Vantage non illuminated side focus 44mm which goes to 24 however, beyond say 18 the image becomes what i would call a bit milky and less focused, beyond 22’ish it’s poor, but below 18 it’s all fine and dandy. Is this what is referred to as “whiteout”? and is it to be expected with scopes of the Vantage price point or is it to be expected with all, including the Sidewinder.

Thank You.