Hawke Scopes

This young lady had no trouble hitting a 200 yard target with a Hwakeye Scope

Hawkeye Scopes

For over 30 years Hawke Sport Optics, the leading optics supplier in Europe, has been providing innovative, benefit rich products to sporting men and women in over 40 countries around the world. While still relatively new to the North American marketplace, Hawke has proven to have the staying power to become a force in sport optics in the United States and Canada. With their extensive product line coupled with good quality I see a winner here.
Hawke offers a complete line of sport optics. From rifle, crossbow, shotgun, black powder, and air gun scopes, to binoculars, spotting scopes, and accessories, Hawke is sure to have a product to suit your individual shooting, hunting, or viewing needs. For more info on their extensive line of fine products you can go to http://www.hawkeoptics.com/ You can buy their products through a local dealer or buy directly from them. You can go to their site to find a nearby dealer which will allow you to physically examine the product.


Shooting the 7 mm-08 with a Hawkeye Scope was a pleasure

I received two scopes for testing. One is a Deer Pass (point and shoot system) model HK 3254 a 3 X 9 X 40 EVIR. It is intended for a muzzle loading rifles or shotgun shooting slugs at the ranges expected from them. The optics are clear and all of the adjustments are easy to use. It has the usual up & down plus the left & right and a parallax adjustment. It also has a focus adjustment at the rear of the tube. There is an instruction booklet printed in several languages that gives good detail. The Deer Pass scope also comes with a pamphlet that helps you in determining the range that a deer might be at. They give 6 X as an example out to 225 yards. That would be an extreme range for most slugs and near the top range for an inline bullet. The pictures show how to judge the range using a typical shotgun slug. I would strongly suggest that you study this helpful chart prior to hunting. Any edge that a hunter can obtain is a good thing provided that it is legal and ethical. Most slugs have a curved trajectory especially past 100 yards so using this chart will enhance your chances of a good shot. You can also use it for muzzleloading projectiles. You can make the necessary adjustments according to the trajectory you are working with. To make Hawkeye scopes more attractive they offer BRC Ballistic Reticle Software free of charge. You can go to their website to download the software. Of course the scope can be used for other game such as a bear or wild hog.

Another young lady enjoyed shooting with the Hawkeye Scope


I have a Knight rifle which has two barrels a 45-70 and a 50 caliber inline muzzle loading barrel. I plan on using the scope on both barrels. I mounted the scope and started with the 45-70 using some Black Hills 405 grain lead bullets. I wanted mild loads to approximate the trajectory of a slug. After bore sighting I shot at 25 yards and had no trouble getting it on the target. The clarity was great once I adjusted the focus and parallax. At 100 yards the scope performed flawlessly as I would expect. Clarity was great once the adjustments were made. The Black Hills ammo also performed well and was consistent through the chronograph as well as being accurate. They make a lot of good quality ammo and you can check them out at http://www.black-hills.com/ for a complete list of their stock. I have fired a verity of their calibers and have always had good results. As I always do I had several people fire the gun with the Hawkeye scope to get feedback. Everyone commented on the clarity and the ease of adjustments. No one had anything negative to say about either scope.


Black Hills Ammo performed well in the Knight 45-70

The other scope is an Extreme View Riflescope model HK5160 IREV which is also a 3 X 9 X 40. It also has a red or blue reticule besides the usual black and they showed up very well against various backgrounds. That enables you have the best color for the shooting conditions you might encounter. I mounted it on a Winchester model 70 in 7 mm-08 which I was testing at the time. It is a nice light weight model and if you want more info you can go to http://www.winchesterguns.com/ to check out their extensive line of firearms. We took it up to the Rio Salado shooting range which I am a member to test both products. After adjusting the scope we started shooting 100 yard groups with various types of ammo. It was pretty windy but we were still able to shoot groups in the 1” range. The adjustments are easy to work with and clarity is great at all ranges tested. The 300 yard target showed up real well and as a result hitting the gong wasn’t much of a challenge. Despite the target blending in with the background the scope brought it up clearly. We took a second trip to the range and due to the good optics I was able to get the rifles full potential. I had a novice shooter try the rifle with the Extreme View scope and she really liked it. In fact she was able to hit a small rock at a measured 200 yards without much difficulty which spoke well of the rifle and scope. A couple of other shooters really liked it and stated that they would buy one when they need a scope on their next rifles.

Both the Hawkeye Scope and the Black Hills ammo performed very well in the Knight 45-70


My view on the Hawkeye scopes is two thumbs up. They are a quality product well worth the price. I would suggest anyone looking for a good scope or other optics to check them out on their website. I think that you will be impressed. I am looking forward to using them on some hunting trips.


A good look at the Hawkeye Scope on the Knight 45-70

Bulk Ammo

45 auto used in testing Fiocchi Ammo

Bulk Ammo
Recently I ran across a website that sells ammo. You might wonder what the big deal is as lots of sites do just that. They have a large selection of calibers and brands of all of the common calibers you might shoot. If you go to their website www.bulkammo.com you can get a list of their products. They also list how many of each item is on hand so you don’t get stuck with back orders. They have a nice selection of the common calibers as well as several leading brands. You will find that their pricing is quite attractive usually lower then some other retailers of bulk ammo.

They sent me a tin of Fiocchi ammo called Canned Heat, in 45 auto in 230 grain hard ball. The idea of ammo being stored in a tin is a novel one. For storage it should be ideal. I have shot Fiocchi ammo in various calibers and found it to be a quality product. The 45 ammo was no exception. Advertised velocity is 830 but mine chronographed at 892 and was very consistent. I used a 5” Rock Island 45 for the test. Accuracy was also good. By the way like some other brands they are going to small pistol primers. While they will work just fine you will have to look out for them when loading assorted 45 brass. They also have rifle ammo of various calibers so for the hunter or target shooter you might find a good source of ammo there. There is also some shotgun ammo available. Rimfire in the 17 and 22 calibers are also available. They also put various items on sale which changes every so often so it would behoove you to keep an eye out on their site. The already attractive pries are reduced more on the sale items.


New Fiocchi Canned Heat Bulk Ammo


Their website is easy to navigate which is important for me as I don’t like to spend a lot of time fooling with a hard to understand site. Their customer service is excellent as well something lacking in some other companies I have dealt with. You can set up your own account which will make it quicker and easier to order your ammo. If you are looking for good deals on bulk ammo I would strongly recommend that you give these guys a try.


Shooting Black Powder Rifle

If you want a real comprehensive reloading book that has a lot of info not found elsewhere look no further. Reloading From Another View ll is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as e-books. You need a kindle or nook to download it. It has a lot of info on antique guns and loads.

Webley & Scott Shotguns

Shooting the model 900 12 gauge Webley & Scott O/U







Webley & Scott Shotguns.

Webley and Scott is one of the oldest names in the UK gun industry having been started in 1790. They are responsible for almost two centuries of production of some of the most famous firearms the world has ever seen - the Webely revolver, shotguns, and Webley rifles. Webley was founded in the late 18th century by William Davies who originally made bullet moulds. In 1834 the company was taken over by his son-in-law, Philip Webley, and his brother James who began the production of percussion sporting guns. Two sons, Thomas and Henry, entered the family business during the 1860's. The Webley's manufactured several types of pistols over the subsequent years, including single and double action percussion revolvers as well as pin-fire and center-fire revolvers. It is for the production of handguns, that Webley became famous. Webley's production originally consisted of hand-crafted firearms, although mass-production was later introduced to supply police and military buyers.



This young lady enjoyed shooting the Webley & Scott O/U


Recently Webley & Scott started importing some of their fine products into the US. Besides O/U shotguns they offer semi auto shotguns and Airguns. To get an idea as to what they have you can go to www.webleyandscott.com to get a full listing of their products. Derick Cole, who I met at a dove shoot was kind enough to send me a model 900 or properly the 912 indicating that it is a 12 gauge sporting model. Like the other Webleys I saw, it is attractive and well balanced. It has the 5 chokes like all of the other models in O/U. The gun is light and well balanced for bird or trap shooting. The single trigger breaks cleanly and is consistent. The metal fitting is tight as you would expect a new gun to be. The fit and finish rate high and the stock is attractive with a dull finish which I prefer. The wood has a decent figure which enhances the looks of the gun. There is a standard 3 year warranty on the shotguns you just need to send in the warranty card. If you want a fancy model they have the Model 3000 side lock action available for $6500.00 MSRP


The Webley & Scott shotgun is packed in an attractive hard case


Shooting the model 900 was a pleasure. Its good balance and light weight allowed easy tracking of clays. The front sight, which is a red fiber optic, is very easy to pick up which is important in wing or trap shooting shooting. The trigger breaks cleanly and the auto ejectors kick out the empties with authority. I was able to shoot it well with no problems. My only regret was due to time constraints I couldn’t keep it for the late dove season. I have no doubt that I could have limited out due to its good shooting qualities. Time also didn’t allow me to test all of the available chokes but that will come in the future.


The specifications for the 12 gauge sporter model are
30” barrels with a 3” chamber 28” Tested
20 Gauge available in 26 or 28” barrels
All models proofed for steel shot
Auto ejectors
Gated barrel selector
5 screw in chokes & tool
Fiber optic sight
Single trigger
Manual safety
Heavy duty hammer spring
Oil finished stock
MSRP Model 900 K $1200.00

The receiver is machined from a single piece of steel by CNC machinery and parts will interchange with other Webleys of the same model. The barrels sport an attractive even high gloss finish. The fitting is very tight as you would expect in a quality gun. Their guns are also usable with steel shot a big plus for duck and goose hunting



Another shooter found that hitting clays is easy with the Webley & Scott


We shot some trap with it out in the desert. I gave several shooters a chance to try it to get some feedback. One friend couldn’t miss with it. He commented on the superior balance and the front sight. Another shooter also liked the balance and after a few misses he got used to it and started hitting the clays pretty well. He liked the light weight and looks as well. A third shooter commented on the balance and looks. A couple of other shooters made similar comments and no one had anything negative to say about it. My experiences mirror theirs. The only drawback might be the price for someone on a tight budget. If you shoot magnum loads the recoil will be a bit more brisk but for most of your shooting a 1 & 1/8oz load should be sufficient. Most of our shooting was done with 1 & 1/8oz of 7 &1/2 shot which performed well in this gun. I did a limited amount of pattern testing and they were even at 40 yards. Both barrels shot close to the point of aim at the same range.

If you are looking for an O/U in the $1200.00 price range I would highly recommend that you give this one a try.