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Hawke Optics Eclipse Review

This is a Community Review of the Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope by Mike Koratich. The author of the following review are in no way affiliated with Airgun Depot. The views expressed below are personal opinion only.
Overall Reviewer Rating
  • Optics Clarity
  • Ergonomics
  • Accuracy
  • Build Quality
I’ve been through several different scopes looking for an acceptable solution for the Hunter Class of Field Target. My latest attempt is this Hawke Eclipse 30 SF 6-24x50mm that I received from Airgun Depot.
Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope
The scope is 30 mm tube with a 50 mm objective, side-focus (mine focused down to 9 yards), covered target turrets, and Mildot reticle with an illuminated target dot. The scope comes supplied with flip-up caps. The mounts shown in the picture are UTG high Weaver mounts and do not come with the scope. My first impression of the scope were that it was solidly constructed and while large (16 inches), it did not seem as heavy (27 oz) as I expected. All adjustment knobs were tight, but not excessively so and everything worked as it should. The supplied flip-up lens caps perform adequately, but you will likely want to replace them at some point. Following my initial inspection, I mounted the scope on my modified AR2079a field target/benchrest rifle (shown below) and proceed to sight the scope in.
Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope
Sighting in only took a few shots and things were running smooth. First test I ran was the box adjustment at 30 yards. From the zero setting I adjusted the scope 20 clicks Up and 20 clicks Left and shot. Then returned settings to zero and shot. Then 20 Up and 20 Right, return to zero. I then repeated doing 20 clicks down and the same right and left. The results are seen below.
Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope
The scope had reliable clicks and returned to zero every time. I repeated this test five times and results were very reproducible. Next I checked the range finding. At 24X the scope had very good ranging up to 40 yards and the markings on the side-focus were actually spot on up to 30 yards. In the pic below you can see two pencil marks I added indicating 35 and 40 yards.
Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope
At 12X magnification the scope still had very good ranging up to the same 30 yards. After 30 yards ranging was a bit more hit or miss. I would rate the ranging at 24x as very good for scope in this price range and still better than average at 12x. Now let’s look at the optics. I really like the glass-etched Mil Dot reticle. It has nice fine crosshairs and nicely sized dots. Also, the illuminated middle target dot is very nice. The glass is acceptable given the price range of the scope. Images are bright enough to see even in deep shadow and near dusk. Clarity is good and I noticed no drop off at the edges. Below is as good an image as I could capture looking through the scope. The fuzziness is entire my fault and is not reflective of the quality of the optics.
Hawke Optics Eclipse Scope
So how does the scope perform in the real world? I participate in the Gateway To Airguns forum (GTA) 30 yard Benchrest Competition and used the Hawke Eclipse on my AR2079a to shoot this week’s match. The fine crosshair and lighted target dot made this a real joy. I managed a 145 out of 150 and the shots missed were certainly not the scope’s fault (of course I have no idea who could possibly have pulled those shots out of ten ring). I also got to try the scope during our monthly Field Target match in Heflin, AL. As I mentioned before, I shoot Hunter Class and have been searching for a scope that will work well in this game. The Eclipse performed well, the shooter not so much. But seriously, the biggest limit in Hunter FT is that the scope can only be set at 12X max. At this magnification most scopes have a great deal of trouble ranging distances to the targets. In this real world test the Eclipse worked stunning great out to 20 yards, worked pretty well out to 30 yards, and was still acceptable in the 30 to 40 yard ranges. After 40 yards things became much more difficult. While this may not sound like a resounding endorsement, this is the first affordable scope that I’ve found that works well up to 40 yards as most that I’ve used really start to struggle after 30 yards. With a bit more practice with this scope I think I may actually be able to stop coming in last place. Overall, I think this scope is well worth the price and even competes with scopes costing several hundred dollars more. Clarity leaves a little to be desired, but at this price point is still good. Clicking accuracy is very good and the scope is built like a tank. Mike Koratich
July 17, 2012 Helpful Links: