i have the leapers mini swat on my 54 with a large sidewheel. the only thing is you need to buy the offset scope mount or you will find yourself having to move forward to see through it. the mini will not move back enough with regular mounts. the optics are clear and good and withstands the shock of the 54. i have heard great things about the hawke but do not own one so i cannot reply on it. i bought the leapers because of the side wheel focus and it was a mini scope that would not get in the way loading the gun. even with the sun shade on it, it is still quite small in length.
I just shot FT for the first time at the Nationals in KY last month and...
October 10 2008, 8:55 PM
I used that same hawke 4-12 scope on my little webley exocet carbine in the hunter class. It's really not that big of deal to adjust the parallax with the front objective. In fact when I got to the shooting lane, I could eyeball the distance and set the parallax good enough without even looking through the scope. 12x doesn't do much to range find except at very close ranges. Once you're out past 30 yds, it's really hard to find the correct focus. It's more of an estimate/guessing game in the hunter class in my opinion. Now if you were shooting in the other divisions where you could use a higher powered scope, I would definitely go with the sidewheel. Although one of the guys I shot with had a 36x nightforce scope (about $1500) and it focused with the objective bell (no sidewheel) and he did fine with it. What I do like about the hawke is the ballistic reticle...the lines are closer and more useful than mildots. I think it comes down to personal preference...I would go with the clearer glass. If you have the chance to look through both scopes side by side, go with the brighter, clearer one. Some of the lanes in the woods at the nationals were fairly dark and shady.
hth, Scott
because of the need for offset mounts on the short leapers. of course the other
3-12 leapers with illuminated milldot is not short and may be better. not sure yet.
The Leapers I have are exceptionally good at short ranges, from 10 to 35 yards. They loose some betwen 35 and 45 and are mostly non-informational beyond that.
TEST THEM before buying them, really, it is important that you get the best scope for you.
did not shoot myself because i broke the pull rod on my 52. what i was was a
preponderance of bushnell elete 4200 scopes. most of the springers were
TXs or hw97. there is no hunter class. just pcp and spring so that changes the ballgame a bit. not enough guys for a separate hunter class. some of those guns are impressive. i am glad i did not show up with my benjamin 317.
A good shooter will kick butt even with "standard" equipment.
I would understand if you decided to get a 54 for FT in 0.177" a yield of 18-19 ft-lbs is plenty enough to be on top of the game. MOF, if you are lucky enough to get a gun that shoots 8.44 grs. JSB Exacts accurately , you are probably one of the most competitive guys in the world as far as equipment, trajectory and impact energy are concerned at FT ranges (remember, Max is 55 yards).
If you do not want to get a new gun, you can still shoot. The .22" caliber will be more a challenge than anything else.
A good scope, like the MTC Viper will be more stable in a powerful Diana than the Leapers. And you will not need to "click", which is what is useful about the Bushnells. Just LEARN YOUR GUN!
52 in .177. i am currently shooting beeman double gold FTS. i will try the jsb exacts. i just ordered a macarri spring, piston seal and a new breach seal. also his lube kit. he was out of the full kit with guide. i will do a lube tune and debur and polish and some conservative trigger adjustments. i will see how that works out. this is just a start. i know that the macarri spring will slow the speed and reduce the recoil making it a smoother shooting gun. i don't hunt so don't need speed.
now that i know we don't have a hunter class here in so cal i need a bit more scope than a 4-12. i think i will get the hawk 6-24x50 eclips. kind of a big honking scope but i don't carry this thing in the field.
FWIW - I started shooting FT in May of this year. Until the last couple of weeks I was using a BSA 3-12x scope I got on clearance at Sportman's Warehouse. We had our stat championship last month and with that rig on my 52, I placed second in piston. There were not a lot of shooters in piston and I was definitely a couple of steps down from the winner, but I did beat out a couple of folks who have been doing this for quite a while. It took me about four months to 'master' the FT sitting position, but I feel quite comfortable now. The biggie in all this is to practice and get to know your equipment. I've now changed to a Hawke 8-32x scope but I've not finished the sighting in process due to cold and windy weather (still some snow on the ground from last weekend - it's up to about 42 degrees now, but promises to get warmer the next couple of days and we're looking for about 60 on Saturday for our next match). I think the Hawke scopes are the way to go on a cost benefit basis - really hard to beat. Good luck and keep us posted.
