Hawke Vantage Red Dot 1 x 30

With a burgeoning number of bullpup airguns on the market, all vying for our attention, there’s perhaps never been a greater need for compact sighting systems, which can easily shoehorn into a tight spot. Compact scopes do exist but the humble red dot sight, so often overlooked, can be the answer.

I have always been a fan of this type of sight and Hawke now manufactures a whole range, so there is plenty of choice. There are six models in the Vantage line-up, with three different sizes of objective (20, 25, and 30mm) that can be specified as either Weaver-style or dovetail.

All are of aluminium construction and feature fully multi-coated lenses using a 25-layer process. All models are non-magnifying and the integral mounting rail is all part of the design. You basically select the model appropriate to the job.

On test here is the Hawke Vantage 1x30, where ‘1’ denotes effectively no magnification, and 30 is the size of the objective lens in mm. Inside the box, the Vantage comes supplied with a lens cloth, small elasticated lens covers and a honeycomb lens filter. The filter is designed to screw into the objective lens and to deal with bright sunlight, but I’m not quite sure how effective this is, to be honest.

Likely candidate

For my test period, I chose to bolt the Vantage onto my old Airmasters HW77, a modern device on a trusted old classic. Yet as a known quantity, the Weihrauch allows me to evaluate potential accuracy from the system. Basically, I know what the gun can do, so this helps to highlight the performance and usability of the red dot system.

Unlike fitting a conventional scope, eye relief is fairly irrelevant with this sight and I soon had it fixed to the dovetail rails, and firmly in position. Eye relief in this scenario is around 6”, but held at full stretch on a pistol, it would be much more. You get the idea. Flexible and versatile in equal measure, they are two words that keep cropping up, as this Vantage just lends itself to so many scenarios.

One slightly irritating detail is that the two hand bolts that tighten the rail obviously need nipping up after hand tightening, and the slot cut into them is just that bit too small, so a substantial Allen key cannot be located and used as a lever. Access for a coin would have been nice. Instead, a screwdriver thin enough needs to be sourced. No big deal, but as mentioned, an irritation.

Given the recoiling nature of the HW77, I also bolted a Sportsmatch arrestor block in place just behind the Vantage, to prevent any movement.

Illuminating

Look to the top of the unit and there are three turrets. The large numbered turret on the right side is the rheostat control, and the first job is to unscrew the cap and drop in the disc battery before replacing the cap. There are 11 stages of brightness, and one off stage. Alternate ‘off’ stages would have been preferable, but as it stands, it works well. Just snap the dial to the brightness required, and the action can begin. I set it to power number 7 in daylight and this gave a precise and bright dot, without glare. The dot size is 3MOA or 3/4” at 25 yards, and whilst this may sound clumsy, in use, it’s surprisingly precise.

The small turrets on the top and side are obviously elevation and windage, and just need the small metal screw caps to be removed for access. With the caps off, the screwdriver is required again in order to make careful adjustments for zero. There is actually a raised ridge on the top of the caps, which I believe is intended to be used to adjust the turrets, but on test, the ridge was just a bit too much of a snug fit in the slot, so the screwdriver was by far the easier option. The clicks are positive and audible, plus the click values are marked as 1” at 100 yards (1/4” at 25 yards).

In use

Zero was quickly achieved and the subsequent groupings were pretty impressive. Over 25 yards, aiming at a zone on the rat target (roughly the size of a 20p piece), the group was sub 3/4”, with most shots half that. Textbook stuff and seemingly easily achieved, with very matter-of-fact aiming. As with this type of sight, the both eyes open approach, combined with no parallax error, offers a liberating shooting experience, and for those still to dabble in the ways of the red dot, I would advise investing in one. Indeed, bolt one of these devices onto a reliable, yet straightforward plinking rifle and the pressure’s off. Tin can alley taken on with the red dot in place takes some beating for pure stress-free fun, and that does us all good once in a while. Fast target acquisition is what we are talking about here, and it’s that instinctive, ‘point and shoot’ approach which sets the red dot apart from more conventional glassware.

Verdict

As mentioned from the outset, the sheer compactness of these red dot sights makes them incredibly versatile. Many pistols sport a short run of dovetail rail up top and the fact that this Vantage is a mere 3.6” long, means it can be the go-to sight when the need arises. Satisfyingly simple in design, it just does what it sets out to, and at £119 currently, and coming with all the usual guarantees (nitrogen purged, fog proof, waterproof and shock proof), this stylish little sight is an easy recommendation.