Complete guide to the Hawke reticles of the Sidewinder, Frontier, Endurance, Vantage and Airmax riflescopes available at Planet Shooters, with official dimensioned drawings and instructions for use.
Hawke states in the reticle name the magnification at which the spacings are exact: "10x Half Mil" is calibrated at 10x, "20x Half Mil" at 20x. "FFP" reticles, on the other hand, are in the first focal plane and are valid at any magnification.
According to Hawke: 1 MRAD = 10 cm at 100 m, 5 cm at 50 m, 20 cm at 200 m, 30 cm at 300 m, 1 m at 1000 m.
Turret clicks
Mrad turrets: 1 click = 0.1 MRAD = 1 cm at 100 m, so 10 clicks = 1 mil. MOA turrets: 1 click = ¼ MOA ≈ 7 mm at 100 m.
SFP reticles
"Each reticle has its aiming points calibrated to a specific magnification" (Hawke manual). Away from that magnification the values change proportionally: at half magnification they are worth double.
FFP reticles
"Every 10 clicks of the turret correspond exactly to 1 mil… thanks to the first focal plane this applies at all magnifications" (FFP Half Mil booklet).
Which reticle does my Hawke have?
Model
Reticle
Focal plane / calibration
Click
Sidewinder 30 SF 4-16x50
10x Half Mil
SFP, exact at 10x
0.1 mrad
Sidewinder 30 SF 6-24x56 / 8-32x56
20x Half Mil
SFP, exact at 20x
0.1 mrad
Sidewinder 30 FFP 4-16x50 / 6-24x56
FFP Half Mil (16x / 24x)
FFP
0.1 mrad
Sidewinder 30 FFP 4-16x50 / 6-24x56 "FFP Mil IR"
FFP Mil (previous version)*
FFP
0.1 mrad
Sidewinder 30 SF 8-32x56 SR Pro
SR Pro / SR Pro II*
SFP, SR Pro II exact at 8x
0.1 mrad
Sidewinder 8.5-25x42 20x Half Mil Dot IR
Half Mil Dot calibrated at 20x
SFP, 20x
–
Frontier 30 FFP 3-15x50 / 5-25x56 Mil Ext
Mil Ext (now FFP Mil Pro Ext)*
FFP
0.1 mrad
Endurance 30 SF 6-24x50 223/308
.223/.308*
SFP
¼ MOA
Endurance SF 6-18x50 10x 1/2 Mil Dot
Half Mil Dot
SFP, exact at 10x
¼ MOA
Airmax 30 SF 8-32x50 AMX IR
AMX IR
SFP
0.1 mrad
Vantage 4x32 / 3-9x40 Mil Dot
Mil Dot
SFP, values exact at 10x (see note)
¼ MOA
Vantage 4x32 / 3-9x40 30/30
30/30 Duplex
SFP, 30" at 100 yd at 4x
¼ MOA
Vantage IR 4-12x50 .22 LR Subsonic
Rimfire .22 LR Subsonic (12x)
SFP, calibrated at 12x
¼ MOA
Sidewinder 30 ED 10-50x60 TMX IR
TMX*
–
–
* Reticles from previous series or no longer described on the Hawke website: check the reticle booklet included in the packaging. The Hawke Mil Dot is stated as exact at 10x: on optics that do not reach 10x (Vantage 4x32 and 3-9x40) the values must be rescaled to the magnification used.
Hawke reticle spec sheets
Hawke FFP Half Mil (16x / 24x)
Official Hawke Optics image
Unit MRAD
Focal plane FFP – values correct at every magnification
Illumination red, 6 levels
Turrets 0.1 mrad
Hash marks every half mil that continue beyond 5 mil in all directions. The crosses in the lower part are additional aiming points for wind and help in counting mils. The hollow outer posts are segmented every mil and 0.2 mil to frame the target and estimate its range.
How to use it: 10 clicks = 1 mil at any magnification. Measure the error on the reticle and dial the same value, or aim with the hash mark corresponding to the drop and with the crosses for wind.
Same design as the FFP Half Mil, in the second focal plane: half-mil hash marks beyond 5 mil, lower crosses for wind, posts segmented every 0.5 and 0.2 mil to frame the target. The dimensioned drawing shows references of 1, 0.8, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.2 mil.
How to use it: set the optic to the magnification stated in the name (10x or 20x) to measure and aim with exact values. On the 20x Half Mil at 10x each hash mark is worth double (1 mil instead of 0.5).
Focal plane SFP – exact at 10x (versions calibrated at 20x are indicated in the name)
A Mil Dot with a dash between each dot: dots at 1 mil (3.44 MOA) and dashes at half mil (1.72 MOA). The dimensioned drawing gives the vertical references at 1.72 / 3.44 / 5.16 / 6.88 / 8.59 / 10.31 / 12.03 / 13.75 / 15.47 MOA.
It has an illuminated center aiming point, holdover references with bars and wind dots, hollow posts that do not cover the target and references for framing it. The holdover intervals increase going down, because they follow the bullet's drop curve.
Hawke publishes matching tables for .223 Rem, .243 Win, .308 Win, .17 HMR, .22 LR and .22 and .177 airguns. The model listed as "SR Pro" without "II" has the previous version of the reticle.
Focal plane FFP – values correct at every magnification
Turrets 0.1 mrad
FFP Mil Pro: half-mil hash marks up to 10 mil of holdover, 1 / 0.5 / 0.25 mil references for framing the target and numbers every 2 mil. The 20x and 25x versions add ¼ mil dots near the center.
FFP Mil Pro Ext: hash marks at every mil up to 15 mil of holdover, 1 / 0.2 / 0.1 mil references and every mil numbered. The center dot measures 0.05 mrad.
The Mil Pro Ext is the evolution of the "Mil Ext" reticle of the Frontier 30 FFP.
It has 4 dots per direction, spaced 1 mil apart (3.44 MOA at 10x): 3.44 / 6.88 / 10.31 / 13.75 MOA. To measure the target and hold over, set the optic to 10x. On fixed 4x optics or those with a maximum magnification below 10x, the values must be rescaled (at 5x each dot is worth 2 mil).
Classic hunting Duplex. At 4x the gap between the post tips corresponds to 30" (about 76 cm) at 100 yd: if an animal of known size fills the gap, you can estimate its range.
Focal plane SFP – versions at 9x, 12x, 16x and 20x
Ballistic reticle for .223/5.56 and .308. Zero it at 100 yd at the calibration magnification (9x, 12x, 16x or 20x depending on the version) and the references correspond to 100 yd each, out to 700 yd.
Version
100 yd zero at
100 m zero and references in meters at
9x
9x
7.7x
12x
12x
10.3x
16x
16x
13.7x
20x
20x
20.5x
The ".223/308" reticle of the Endurance 30 is the previous version: check the booklet included with the optic.
Focal plane SFP – calibrated at 12x on the Vantage IR 4-12x50
Illumination 5 red/green levels
Designed for 38–40 gr subsonic .22 LR at about 1040–1090 fps (317–332 m/s). Zero at 50 yd at 12x: the references are every 25 yd out to 200 yd. For a 50 m zero with references in meters, Hawke specifies 10.5x. On the Vantage IR the parallax is fixed at 75 yd and the clicks are ¼ MOA.
Designed for air rifles, with very curved trajectories: horizontal bars at 0.5 / 1.5 / 2.5 / 3.5 / 4.5 mil, Half Mil Dot spacings on the lower post and hollow posts segmented every mil to frame the target. Hawke publishes tables for .177 and .22 airguns.
Values and tables come from the official documentation and apply to the ammunition and zeros stated: always verify the references at the range. In our workshop we mount, level and zero riflescopes and red dots.
