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Hawke Frontier 34 SF ZS FFP FULL REVIEW

Hi everybody.  Today’s review is on the new flagship scope from Hawke…the Frontier 34 SF ZS FFP.  The acronyms stand for Side Focus, Zero Stop, and First Focal Plane.  The 34 stands for the massive 34 millimeter main tube.  The scope has all of these attributes, and many more.  With a price tag into the four digit arena, one would expect quite a lot from this scope.  Would they get it?  Let’s look into that.  Below is the link to the full length video that accompanies this written report.  I suggest taking them both in for the full story.

The new Frontier 34 is built around Hawke’s H7 optical system.  Hawke has to say about the H7 system, “Unparalleled Optical Performance…The ultimate optics contained in only our most advanced rifle scopes. The best.”  The lenses use crown glass and are 21 layer fully multi-coated for outstanding light transmission.  It uses an illuminated, glass etched reticle available in either a Mil Pro Ext version or an MOA Pro Ext version.  Whichever version you choose, you’ll find that the entire reticle illuminates…including all of the wind hold markers.  That’s an awesome feature that I wish more scopes had.

MOA Pro Ext Reticle at 20 yards on 5X on left and at 30X on right

As the name infers, it has a side focus style parallax adjustment.  I must say that while using my 5-30 MOA version of the scope, I found the parallax adjustment to be very good for ranging.  The minimum parallax distance is 15 yards, so unfortunately this wouldn’t be a good scope for field target competition.  This scope is for hunting and benchrest competition, and it excels at those tasks.

Both the magnification adjustment and parallax adjustment move buttery smooth.  The magnification ring utilizes a removable throw lever.  This is another feature I wish more scopes had.  Both the elevation and windage turrets lock and can be reset for zero.  What’s more is that the scope uses Hawke’s Patented Exposed Zero Lock ‘n’ Stop elevation turret.  Yes, it has a mechanical zero stop built in.  Are you ready for the amazing part?  The 5-30×56 version of this scope has 99 MOA of elevation traverse and 53 MOA of windage traverse.  That’s a ton!  But wait….the 3-18×50 version has 158 MOA of elevation traverse and 87 MOA of windage traverse.  That is INCREDIBLE!  The MOA versions have 1/4 MOA adjustments and the MRAD versions have 0.1 MRAD adjustments.

Hawke’s Patented Exposed Zero Lock ‘n’ Stop Turrets

The clicks on the turrets are very sure and obvious.  It also tracks very well.  Below you will see my tracking test.  I aimed at the center, took two shots, clicked down 30 clicks…took two shots…clicked right 30 clicks and took two shots, and continued until I returned to zero and had my box.  The scope returned to zero perfectly.  Pay no attention to the fact that it’s tilted.  Absolutely nothing was leveled for this test.

Tracking test results. The scope passed with flying colors.

The view through the Frontier 34 is wonderful.  It has long eye relief to suit high recoil from larger calibers, but long eye relief is always welcome for any gun.  There is no apparent spherical or chromatic aberration anywhere in the view from edge to edge.  Though not marketed as such, this scope does have a wide-angle field of view.  As with all high end Hawke optics, these scopes are shockproof, waterproof, nitrogen purged, and come with Hawke’s No Fault Lifetime Warranty.

I’ll be using the Frontier 34 5-30×56 with the MOA Pro Ext reticle on my 100 yard benchrest gun this season.  I’ll also be looking for a large side-wheel for the parallax adjustment.  As I said before, this scope ranges extremely well.  The addition of the large side-wheel might also make this my new preferred hunting scope.  Both the 3-18×50 and 5-30×56 versions of this scope are exceptional, and what you’d expect for a four digit price tag.  If you’re in the market for a  high end first focal plane scope, I highly suggest you take a look at them.

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