Call me crazy....

Crossbow Hunting

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-StinkBait-
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:13 pm
Location: Omaha Nebraska

Call me crazy....

Post by -StinkBait- »

Well, have to throw a Hail Mary at the end of the game. Archery season opens in 15 days here in Nebraska and I'm in scramble mode. Recently purchased a Hawke XB-30 Pro and was SUPER excited about it. Mounted it up on my 308shorty and got to work. After 4 shooting sessions, here is my conclusion.... I'm not a fan. It was accurate. I shot <3" groups at 40yrds but man oh man was I not consistent. It was well built and seemed VERY sturdy. Loved the dust caps. I just could not wrap my head around the crosshair reticles! CALL ME CRAZY but I feel like I shoot better with the trusty ol' Dead Zone. Maybe its the familiarity of an Excal scope. Maybe I'm just a fan of the larger chevrons. Maybe the crosshairs were just to thin for my liking. Maybe I have terrible eyes (contacts). Or, maybe I'm just touched in the head. Either way, Amazon will have a new Twilight DLX on my doorstep come Tuesday. The XB30pro is a great scope. I'm glad I tried it. It just wasn't for me.
xcaliber
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Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 7:35 pm
Location: NW Indiana

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by xcaliber »

I never liked anything from Hawke personally. Just seems to me that I don’t get a good line up in them.
It’s not the way you rock, it’s the way that you roll!
-StinkBait-
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:13 pm
Location: Omaha Nebraska

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by -StinkBait- »

Just seems to me that I don’t get a good line up in them.----------------- Perfect way to put it! Just seemed "off" to me.
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Boo
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Re: Call me crazy....

Post by Boo »

You make a whole lot of sense when you say that you like larger chevrons and even more so for hunting.
The reality is and you know it by using the words Hail Mary, you should give yourself a shake for not being 100% ready well ahead of hunting season. Changing gear 2 weeks before hunting season? LOL! The good part is that you know better.
You would be wise to do a complete nut and bolt check, which everyone should do prior to hunting. If you don't find anything lose, try your old scope. Hawke isn't known to have really low failure rates.
Have you changed anything else?
Some people just like stepping on rakes
flightattendant100
Posts: 4795
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:06 pm
Location: Ft. Worth, Texas

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by flightattendant100 »

I like my Heavy Duplex from Leupold for hunting.....Simple reticle for a simple mind. :D
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Doe Master
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Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:57 am
Location: Baden , Ontario

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by Doe Master »

You know the reality of it now . Even if you don`t find anything wrong like Don suggested to do . You might not have 100% confidence in your gear until you change your scope . I suggest changing back to the Deadzone before spending extra money . You trust your deadzone so if you can sight in 100% with that then you know the rig is good . Then buy whatever scope you need .
Just my 2 cents . :)
Prone est ut nos es plurimus periculosus
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xpert1111
Posts: 124
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:43 am
Location: Monmouth County, NJ

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by xpert1111 »

I I love all my Hawke Scopes I wasn't a fan at first but you get used to it. I think you should give it some time and keep shooting
-StinkBait-
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:13 pm
Location: Omaha Nebraska

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by -StinkBait- »

Boo wrote:
Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:41 pm
You make a whole lot of sense when you say that you like larger chevrons and even more so for hunting.
The reality is and you know it by using the words Hail Mary, you should give yourself a shake for not being 100% ready well ahead of hunting season. Changing gear 2 weeks before hunting season? LOL! The good part is that you know better.
You would be wise to do a complete nut and bolt check, which everyone should do prior to hunting. If you don't find anything lose, try your old scope. Hawke isn't known to have really low failure rates.
Have you changed anything else?


Boo, you are quite correct sir! I hate changing the game plan at the last second. Now, while I truly believe that there was nothing wrong with the Hawke, I simply could not get used to the reticles. They seemed blurry to me sometimes at close ranges and hard to pick up at long ranges. One shoot in the middle of the day a couple of weeks ago, it felt like I could barley pick them up and see them clearly at any range. It maybe my eyes, but to me, the reticles seem very small, thin and hard to see. I think that is where my consistency problem comes in. It feels like it is easier for me to pick up on the larger reticles in a Excal scope. Last year I was hitting my block target lights out at 40 yards with the dead zone. A mature doe and an big 11pt split brow buck were my rewards by the end of the season. As far as checking nuts and bolts, I carry a set of allen keys with me any time I shoot. Every screw on my bow gets a "make sure its tight" check before and after. The only other changes to the bow have been a set of baby bumpers. As of now the game plan will be to put the dead zone back on and go shoot. I've ordered the DLX and will throw that on only if I'm back to my normal accuracy from last year. Like I said, I know how it sounds and believe me I even feel like a crazy person for swapping out this late in the game!
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Boo
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Location: Newtonville, Ontario, Canada
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Re: Call me crazy....

Post by Boo »

-StinkBait- wrote:
Sat Aug 17, 2019 5:16 pm
Boo wrote:
Sat Aug 17, 2019 4:41 pm
You make a whole lot of sense when you say that you like larger chevrons and even more so for hunting.
The reality is and you know it by using the words Hail Mary, you should give yourself a shake for not being 100% ready well ahead of hunting season. Changing gear 2 weeks before hunting season? LOL! The good part is that you know better.
You would be wise to do a complete nut and bolt check, which everyone should do prior to hunting. If you don't find anything lose, try your old scope. Hawke isn't known to have really low failure rates.
Have you changed anything else?


Boo, you are quite correct sir! I hate changing the game plan at the last second. Now, while I truly believe that there was nothing wrong with the Hawke, I simply could not get used to the reticles. They seemed blurry to me sometimes at close ranges and hard to pick up at long ranges. One shoot in the middle of the day a couple of weeks ago, it felt like I could barley pick them up and see them clearly at any range. It maybe my eyes, but to me, the reticles seem very small, thin and hard to see. I think that is where my consistency problem comes in. It feels like it is easier for me to pick up on the larger reticles in a Excal scope. Last year I was hitting my block target lights out at 40 yards with the dead zone. A mature doe and an big 11pt split brow buck were my rewards by the end of the season. As far as checking nuts and bolts, I carry a set of allen keys with me any time I shoot. Every screw on my bow gets a "make sure its tight" check before and after. The only other changes to the bow have been a set of baby bumpers. As of now the game plan will be to put the dead zone back on and go shoot. I've ordered the DLX and will throw that on only if I'm back to my normal accuracy from last year. Like I said, I know how it sounds and believe me I even feel like a crazy person for swapping out this late in the game!
It sounds like you have a lense element loose.
Some people just like stepping on rakes
gerald strine
Posts: 3421
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:41 pm
Location: Southern Michigan

Re: Call me crazy....

Post by gerald strine »

You will love the Twilight it is a nice upgrade from the dead zone .
I really like the triangle chevrons on Excal scopes easy to pick up and plenty precise for all my shooting needs and the yardage is etched next to each chevron.
Hunt eat sleep repeat.
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