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Pros - Perfect illumination - Fantastic circular reticles mark a 2' target at range - Excellent price Cons - A bit on the heavy side at 11 ounces

Welcome to our review of the Hawke 3×32 Illuminated Crossbow Scope. This scope is an excellent value, as you’ll read in this review, and I’ve come to rely on it for most of my hunting purposes when I’m not testing another scope for review purposes.

What Are the Dimensions of the Crossbow Scope?

The Hawke 3×32 crossbow scope measures 8.5 inches long, and comes in a 1′ tube. The scope is a bit heavier than most, at 11 ounces, but the value and quality of the scope more than make up for the heavier weight.

How Much Magnification Do I Get From the ?

This scope is a 3X scope, which is perfect for most deer hunting scenarios with a crossbow. It would be nice if it was a 4X scope, for just a tad bit more enlargement of the target, but the design of the optics and reticles makes the 3X magnification work out quite well.

How is the Optics Quality on the Crossbow Scope?

The optics on the Hawke 3×32 scope are fully multi-coated, and the scope provides a spectacularly clear, crisp image with plenty of contrast. The ballistic reticles provide aiming points for 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards at 300 FPS. Each ‘point’ is a circle that measures a 2′ spot at that particular distance, allowing you to confidently take shots that should hit a precise 2′ spot on your target, once you’ve got the scope fully sighted in.

The ocular lens housing of the scope features a fast focus thread that allows you to quickly focus the scope to make the reticle and target as sharp as possible for the range you’re shooting at.

What’s the Light Gathering Capability Like on the Scope?

This scope is the perfect accompaniment for low light hunting. The scope has fantastic light gathering capabilities, and the dual red/green illumination on the reticles is perfect at even the lowest setting. I’ve never failed to accurately bracket my target, even in heavily overcast dusk or dawn conditions, and the scope has helped me bag several trophy deer during the first few minutes of legal hunting.

How is the Battery Life?

The Hawke scope uses a single CR2032 battery, and it comes with a battery. I’ve been using this scope for 3 seasons now, and I’ve never had to replace the battery. As long as you use the lowest illumination setting necessary and turn the illumination off when you don’t need it, the battery should last quite a while.

How Wide is the Field of View?

From 100 yards, the field of view on this scope is 50.2 feet. This is ample field of view for just about any hunting purposes, whether you’re going after deer or smaller, quicker game.

How Easy is the Scope to Mount?

You don’t get any rings with this scope, so make sure you have a set of 1′ rings to mount the scope. Once you have the rings, though, the scope mounts in seconds and is then ready to sight in.

How Easy is the to Sight In?

Sighting in this scope was quick and easy, and I had it sighted in at 20 yards within a few shots. After that, you should calculate what the precise yardage is of the aiming points. The scope is designed for crossbows shooting faster than 300 FPS, and Hawke provides a free ballistic reticule calculator software to quickly and easily calculate what the actual range will be of each reticle. The software is available for PCs, Macs, and iPhones, and allows you to custom-configure your scope based on your crossbow’s actual shooting speed.

How Durable is the Scope?

This scope has been designed to be waterproof, shockproof, and fog proof. The scope tube is milled from a single piece of aircraft-grade aluminum, and the scope is covered by Hawke’s lifetime Worldwide Warranty.