Reading these threads always interests me since it reveals the wide disparity between requirements, expectations, buying rationale and similar.
Personally I consider low light performance extremely important and, for that reason alone, I find Hawke scopes lacking. I've owned a couple of Panorama models which are among the best combination of clarity and brightness that Hawke offer but their high priced stuff certainly doesn't warrant the cost optically.
I've seen massive variation between same model/magnification Hawke scopes side by side.
I had a little Hawke Sport HD 4x40 mil dot which was a pretty good little scope, especially considering its asking price.
As previously stated, I get better low light performance from a 3-9x40 Nikon Prostaff than a x50 Hawke Panorama. The Hawke Panorama is a big step up from the Sport HD models in low light - most of the Hawke scopes I've tried have too thick a cross hair or too busy a ret. I'm not a fan of the floating half mil dot ret. The half and full mil dot markers are too washed out for my eyes.
In the lower price bracket you can't beat Nikon Prostaff. Throw a little more into the budget and Vortex Diamondback is the very best low light scope on the planet unless you almost double the asking price.
At half the Prostaff price or under its a crap shoot and a coin flip.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily knocking Hawke scopes. They can offer excellent value for money and they perform well enough under good conditions. I have a bit of an issue with their high priced stuff which isn't patch on products that often cost less from Nikon and Vortex, for example.
The little 2-7x32AO is a great little workhorse scope and a solid performer.
I prefer a plain ret scope if I'm going as small as x32 and just laser and click the vertical adjustment in on a .22LR
A Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 is a much better option, albeit it at a higher price. The Nikon BDC markers are circles rather than solid dots meaning each one offers three aim points (top of the circle where it bisects the vertical, centre of the circle and bottom of the circle where it bisects the vertical). This offers a great combination of low weight, outstanding clarity, excellent low-light performance and a ton of very useful and usable aim points. Vortex Diamondback is even better in low light than the Prostaff but it has solid dots on its BDC ret that are further apart, making it less flexible than the Prostaff.
I know this is an 'apples and oranges' comparison but until I find a better product than the Prostaff, that's what I will use.
MTC scopes are made in the same factory as Nikko using the same lenses (for the most part) but different tubes and internal parts. Most of them that I've tried suffer badly from flaring and white out under various light conditions.
Nothing wrong with the lower range of Hawke scopes IMHO provided you don't expect the same low light performance as other some other brands. Very useful scopes under good light or assisted light conditions.