Hawke Panorama 5-15x50 AO 10x Half Mil Dot

It’s difficult not to be a fan of Hawke’s products, and their winning formula has come from mastering the art of offering capable kit, at reasonable prices. A revamp to the range in 2015 saw a new logo, more subtle styling, and streamlined product ranges; and the model on test here is the Panorama 5-15x50 AO 10x Half Mil Dot IR.

Specification

Let’s first crack the coded jargon. Firstly, magnification is 5 through to 15x, and that’s quite an unusual, but wholly useful mag range- well suited to hunters. View at 5x for larger prey, and relatively close range work, or dial right up to 15x, and benefit from a world of crisp detail on the target. It’s just reassuring to have that flexibility, and it gives the enthusiast plenty of options.

‘50’ in the model name refers to the front objective lens- being 50mm in diameter, and in conjunction with the Panorama spec, means more light getting through, and a larger field of view overall, which is a feature of the design. The optical system used is fully multi-coated, with 16 layers, maximizing light transmission and clarity. Low profile, finger-adjustable turrets, and a one inch mono-tube construction, are also welcome in the spec list. ‘AO’ denotes ‘Adjustable Objective’, and that refers to the parallax adjustment collar at the front.

 

Setting up

Whilst there’s been something of a trendy clamour for the wider 30mm body tubes over the last few years, I much prefer one inch designs. Invariably with lighter models, you still have a much greater choice of mounts to use and your sight line (the distance between the centre of the bore, and the centre of the scope); will be lower- keeping holdover to a minimum. Personal choice of course, but I’ve nailed my colours to the mast!

This Panorama is a one inch tube, and coupled with those sleek, screw cap, low profile turrets, proportions are kept in check. Remove the caps, and finger-friendly dials are revealed and easily operated without the need for a coin or screwdriver. Click values are a ¼” @ 100 yards with 60-clks per turn (4”) with four full rotations in elevation and 4 full rotations of elevation, and 5.5 in windage. Personally I can’t see why as I’d sooner have more up and down than left and right! Adjusting the magnification is a smooth operation, courtesy of that rubber armoured mag collar.

 

Uncluttered

The reticule fitted to this model is Hawke’s 10x Half Mil Dot IR design, and that means that true Mil Dot values are to be found, for those bothered, when shooting on 10x magnification. Personally, I wouldn’t get too hung up on MOA, and Mil Dots, despite an obsession in certain quarters for such detail. What really matters, and what it all comes down to, are proportional reference/ aim points, allowing for accurate trajectory tracking, and bracketing/ range calculationand there really is no substitute for just getting out and lying in a field and seeing where the pellet drops against the reticule, for each given distance.

This reticule, has all that, and is really neat; it’s a glass-etched design that appears to be floating in the shooter’s view. The result in use is a very slick, uncluttered image, with Half Mil dot aim points spread equidistant in an effective cross hair, and four equidistantly outer posts. Take a look at that reticule, and you’ll soon appreciate what’s on offer! Each bar of those hollow outer segments equates to .2 of a Mil Dot, so there’s plenty to play with. With one eye on Hunter Filed Target (HFT) use, viewing small HFT-sized kill areas quickly showed that this reticule is just about ideal. All that’s missing, if I’m to be critical, just a few very fine windage lines or floating dots, for some additional guidance, but as it stands, this Panorama performs really well!

 

Impressed?

What impresses, is just how fine the cross hair is-and the brightness and overall sharpness of the image itself. Edge-to-edge, with no discernible aberrations, is what we demand, and what we get here! The ‘IR’ in the model name refers to the illumination of the reticule, and that can be in either red or blue. This is done via the rheostat drum (battery supplied) on the left of the saddle, and brightness levels can be adjusted to suit. I’ve never bothered with illumination in all the years I’ve shot, but I knows some friends who do; so it’s here if you want it and two colours- well some say it’s an advantage!

For the record, minimum focus is marked at 10yds, and unlike some, actually adjusted down to the marked dial, and no further. My test model was crystal clear at that range when adjusted. With front parallax set to around 25yds, I found targets viewed at 45yds seemed amazingly clear, which would be useful for HFT- although a 50mm objective lens does increase the sight line, given the necessity for slightly higher mounts, which will not suit some. Where this scope scores is for hunting in my mind; given the brightness and light gathering qualitiesand again, the benefits of that excellent reticule are transferable to field use.

 

Aftercare

Hawke have for some while now, offered free software for users of their scopes, (primarily Chairgun) so that pellet trajectory can be plotted, and the proper value of the reticule can be utilized to the full. Their latest X-ACT software can be downloaded, and for full details, check out the company’s website at www.hawkeoptics.com

I’ve said this before, but as a rabidly competitive tournament shooter, I was always told to look out for what the winners are using kit wise, which obviously makes sense. Several big national HFT events have been won with very reasonably priced Hawke scopes- which pretty well says it all- whether you shoot competitively or not!