Mike Morton on the Hawke Airmax 30 SF Compact

Posted on 27/04/2019 by towens — No Comments ↓

Mike Morton takes a look through the Hawke Airmax 30 SF Compact – a small scope with big features and personality

With advances in technology, the world is getting smaller – and that goes for airguns too.

More bullpups and carbines are being made today than before, and that’s created a need for scopes that save on weight and size without compromising on optics or ease of use – scopes just like the Hawke Airmax 30 SF Compact, for example.

The Compact is a new addition to the Airmax range. Seen here, the 3-12×40 is the smallest of the bunch, with an overall length of 277mm (10.9”) and a short eye relief of 76mm (3”).

And, weighing in at 589g (20.8oz), this scope really does live up to its definition of ‘compact’ – it may be small, but it’s certainly mighty.

The AMX IR glass-etched reticle has half-mildot spacing on the lower post to provide increased aim points for longer shots

It uses what Hawke calls a wide angle optical system, which extends the field of view, and features a side-focus control for parallax adjustment down to an airgun-friendly nine metres (10 yards). The glass-etched reticle has six levels of red illumination, with off positions in between each setting.

The resettable target turrets feature some purposeful-looking caps, and each click will adjust point of impact by 1/10 of a milliradian. The package also includes a fast-focus ocular ring, as well as a high-torque zoom ring.

You can get some additional precision when adjusting parallax if you choose to use the press-fit sidewheel that’s included in the package

Hawke has fitted its AMX IR reticle to this second focal plane scope, which not only offers multiple aim points – useful when shooting our normal sub-12 foot pound guns with loopy trajectories – but crucially uses the milliradian system, which matches the turret adjustments.

Whole mildots are represented by a dot on the crosshairs, while the horizontal bars are graduated at 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 mil spacing. The hollow posts are segmented into mil spacing, to be used for bracketing.

With its all-black build, shrouded turrets and restrained markings, there’s something elegant and stealthy about this particular scope.

It’s rather like a black panther, promising strong features and performance. Will it deliver in the field? Well, let me find out and I’ll report back in a future issue.

Key specs

Manufacturer: Hawke (www.uk.hawkeoptics.com)

Model: Airmax 30 SF Compact 3-12×40

Price: £259

Tube diameter: 30mm

Magnification range: 3-12

Objective lens: 40mm

Reticle: AMX IR

Illumination: Red, with six levels of illumination

Focus/parallax: Side focus: nine metres (10 yards) to infinity

Eye relief: 76mm (3”)

Length: 277mm (10.9”)