Ultimate Optic?

In part two of this article the editor reports back from the field.

Last month, I gave you an overview of a new Hawke scope that I hope will at last give me the real-world hunting performance I’ve been searching for. On paper it looks right, but that means nothing until you take it out in tough conditions. Yes, I know there are lots of good scopes out there and that I’m often described as hard to please, but that’s a fair description of a man looking for equipment that meets his highest expectations.

The model on test is the Endurance SF 5-15 x 50 IR, which is a very versatile specification that should allow me to adjust it for any hunting scenario I might encounter. The SF designation tells us that it features side-focus parallax adjustment, which leaves the ocular bell (the front of the scope’s body) clean and tidy. Often, side focus can add a lot of weight to a scope with the extra mechanism and lenses needed compared to an objective-mounted one, but this weighs just 626 grammes, which I consider modest for such a technically advanced model.

Low profile

Windage and elevation adjustment drums are low, hunting types, rather than the more fashionable, tall ‘sniper’ turrets, which I don’t like. Once I have my zero perfected, I lock everything down and leave well alone. I make my corrections for range and the wind by eye, rather than ‘dialling’ for them.