Hawke’s Vantage HD 30 6-24×50 SF (side-focus) has taken a full magazine verdict into the market at a recommended retail price of £299, and the reviewer rated its glass above scopes at twice the money. Writing in Airgun World, Nigel Allen said the series “proves you don’t need to spend big bucks to get a high-quality scope”, a line the counter will hear quoted back from now on.

What is the Vantage HD 30 proposition for the trade?

The series launched earlier this year as two side-focus bodies, a 4-16×50 at £279 and the 6-24×50 at £299, each offered with a choice of reticles that adds up to seven stock options across the range. The Mil Pro II (20x) model Allen tested carries 0.1 milliradian (MRAD) turret adjustment; the LR2 and .223/.308 Marksman versions sell at the same price, and the Marksman models carry ¼ minute of angle (MOA) turrets instead. For the dealer, that makes the qualifying question the customer’s turret preference rather than the budget.

HD stands for high-definition and 30 for the 30mm one-piece tube. The optics are Hawke’s H2 system, 11 fully multi-coated layers behind a 50mm objective with a wide-angle field of view, and the package comes with a lifetime warranty, clear lens covers, a 22mm screw-in zoom throw lever with a blanking plug, a cloth, the turret tools and a CR2032 battery.

The test scores behind the verdict

Airgun World rates optical performance at 25m against newspaper print and sets the reviewer’s expectation for the price and the brand alongside. The Vantage HD 30 scored 10 at 6x against an expectation of 7, 9 at 12x against 8, 9 at 20x against 7 and 8 at 24x against 7. “For a high-mag scope, the clarity of the sight picture was nothing short of exceptional; I’ve tested scopes costing twice as much that didn’t render such crisp image quality,” Allen wrote, adding that “even in the dim light of dawn and dusk, my test scope rendered an amazingly clear sight picture, often at a magnification setting that I wouldn’t normally think possible”.

Which customers does a 6-24×50 reach?

Allen’s own observation is the market signal. “It always amazes me how popular zoom scopes with a 6-24x magnification range are with hunters,” he wrote, tracing the demand from field target shooters who used the range to range-find, through to pest controllers who took up multi-stadia reticles and learned to range at 24x before winding down to between 7x and 10x for the shot. The Mil Pro II’s true milliradian subtends at 20x, its red or green illuminated centre at five intensities and the side-focus wheel from 9m to infinity serve both ends of that customer base, and he judged that “the new Vantage HD 30 will appeal to hunters”.

At 390mm and 745g without mounts, the scope is recoil-rated but “probably sits best on a recoilless PCP”, a pre-charged pneumatic rifle, Allen said, as it would “need plenty of anchoring down” on a springer. The target shooter who dials a new zero at each range gets a Zero-Stop on the elevation turret and a push-lock on the windage; the hunter can disengage the Zero-Stop and read the vernier instead.

The basket beyond the box

Mounts are not supplied, so every Vantage HD 30 leaves the shop with a pair of 30mm rings. Hawke lists a 100mm sidewheel extension at £42, a 100mm sunshade at £20, a honeycomb objective diffuser at £30, metal flip-up covers at £28 for the objective and £24 for the ocular, and a neoprene scope cover at £20. Allen’s one criticism points at a further line: eye relief of around 90mm that let his peripheral vision wander, for which he suggested “an aftermarket rubber ‘boot’ could be pushed over the 43mm diameter ocular bell”.

What happens next?

The prices above were the recommended retail prices at Airgun World’s publication on 17 October 2026 and may change. Airgun World is offering a Vantage HD 30 worth £299 as a competition prize through its competitions page, which will put the scope in front of its readers for a second time. Allen’s full test, with its range-finding and turret panels, is linked first below.

Useful links

Hawke Vantage HD 30 6-24×50 SF Mil Pro II review: a £299 high-magnification scope – Nigel Allen’s original review in Airgun World, where these words first appeared

Hawke Optics – the maker’s UK site, with the Vantage HD 30 range and its accessories

Frequently asked questions

What does the Hawke Vantage HD 30 retail for?

The 6-24×50 SF has a recommended retail price of £299 and the 4-16×50 of £279, each with a choice of reticles that gives seven options across the range. Mounts are not supplied.

Which reticles are offered on the Hawke Vantage HD 30?

The second focal plane Mil Pro II (20x), with 0.1MRAD turrets, and the LR2 and .223/.308 Marksman reticles at the same price, the Marksman versions with ¼MOA turrets.

Is the Hawke Vantage HD 30 recoil-rated?

Yes. Airgun World judged it best suited to a pre-charged pneumatic at 390mm and 745g, but said it will hold zero on a spring rifle with the right mounts.

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