Illuminated Reticles

[mjbskwim]

What did that light ever do to him?

 

[Boboclown]

30min before and after sunrise/sunset

That would be the simple answer. It also depends on location and weather. As evident by the photo above, even if its sunny out and its during daylight hours, you may need to use the illumination.

 

[eldbillbo]

I do get the speed thing with a red dot type optic, I have a tube style red dot that I have used in competition a few times and it really is fast. I don't use it more because it's only a fixed 1x and the dot is pretty big, 6moa. I was thinking more of the illuminated crosshair type reticles. The one in my Burris tac30 isn't bright enough to stand out during anything but low light situations. Couple that with color blindness, and the lit reticle actually washes out faster for me than simple crosshairs. For me, at dusk and dawn a black crosshair stands out just fine, I would rather just have a lighter scope with better glass than one with a gimmicky lit crosshair.

you kind of answered your own question there. If you can't make use of the illumination you really are better off without it. for those of us who can and have trained to use it it does give us an advantage especially if you train to shoot with both eyes open i can go through deep brush using a 3x9 trijicon accupoint and if a deer jumps up with only seconds to shoot i can put that dot on the deer and use it like a 1x red dot even at 3 power.

 

[eldbillbo]

like ritz said its not a recent trend they have been around for a log time the 1x4 and 1x6 are indeed very popular and thats because of the reasons noted. Fast target acquisition

 

[Roop]

ACOGs have an illuminated reticle and they are nothing new.

From a military and police stand point 1x-4x and 1x-6x variable powered scopes with illuminated reticles allow the user to run the scope at 1x to basically be the same as an Aimpoint, Eotech or other reddot sight for CQB but have the ability to crank up the magnification as needed to make longer range precision shots.

I feel like those are pretty specialized uses. I'm not doing much MOUT these days, so I'm not sure that justifies the popularity of illumination.

 

[erudne]

I am considering a Norden GRSC 1x6 for my carbine but I am wondering if the utility of its reticle will be canceled out by my fixed front sight? I have also considered a Vortex Strike Eagle but in the "in for a penny, in for a pound, buy now, cry now" vein I really like the Norden reviews.
Brutus Out

Depends on how old your eyeballs are.
I can point/shot out past 50 yards no problem; a red dot will take me past 100, after that I desperately need an optic in the 2.5 range to get to 200 yards!
All the result of sinful living I tell you!
Fortunately my foes are a bunch of inbred, dope shooting morans destined for the same pit they rose from!
The most important lesson I ever learned is how to turn a perceived detriment into an engineered advantage. So how can you turn your disadvantage into a force multiplier?

 

[Roop]

That is fine for you. But since when does a free market need justification? If someone wants the product, whether they "need" or not that is between them and their wallet.

I'm wondering what justification the market has for almost half of the optics being currently marketed as new models having illumination. I've been shopping in the $300 to $800 range and I have a hard time finding an optic that I like that doesn't have illumination. Is it really that popular? Or is it just hype that is being forced on us as consumers because the manufacturers think that it adds value, or?

Do you really go out of your way to shop for a scope that has illumination, or choose one over another because of said feature?

 

[jbett98]

You don't have to turn them on, but maybe someday you might need too.

 

[albin25]

try it...if you like illumination,use it....if you don't like then turn it off.
If you don't have it you don't have the option.
I'm told that sometimes it comes in handy when shooting into a rising or setting sun when everything is backlit.

(uhhh, is it just me? or do others get reminded to check when they had their last colonoscopy whenever they read this topic's title ??)

 

[Boboclown]

In that price range just get something from SWFA and live with the fact that it happens to have illumination. Great scope for the money (better than the price really).

 

[erudne]

argument gone doughnut shaped pretzel

 

[Roop]

If you can't find a non-illuminated scope in you price range you aren't looking very hard.
<broken link removed>

Found 3, starting with 142 or something. That pretty much made my point.

Here's what I searched for, power between 1-10, price between $300 and $900, bdc reticle, objective smaller than 39mm. Non-illuminated.

It came back with 7 scopes, 3 had illumination, 1 was a fixed power. So I am left with 3 choices. I run into the same thing when I go looking at Vortex optics too. And Burris, Weaver, Nikon, you get the idea.

I feel like I'm shopping for a car with a manual transmission, there is alot out there until I want just one specific thing.

And yeah, I could just take the battery out (I already have), but that isn't the point. I would be alot happier if the electronics weren't in the scope to begin with, and I wasn't paying for features I don't want.

 

[erudne]

Like I said; doughnut shaped pretzel: it's what follows a badly worded propositional statement. My old man was famous for them, always adding a 1st person dangling preposition, God how we hated them!

 

[mjbskwim]

Personally I would not get an illuminated scope if I didn't want an illuminated scope

Sounds good but this is what I found also.............
Well,at the price range I was looking at

It came back with 7 scopes, 3 had illumination, 1 was a fixed power. So I am left with 3 choices.

Seems all the higher end stuff is illuminated.And like you said,ask for one particular feature and then the choices go down.

 

[Boboclown]

Seems all the higher end stuff is illuminated.And like you said,ask for one particular feature and then the choices go down.

Its the nature of the beast. As you go up in price the more features and better glass there will be. You can have decent glass without all the features, especially under $700 (some Bushnell Elite Tactical scopes are non-illuminated), but as you go into the 1k territory it gets difficult to not get some features. Not impossible, just difficult. Its easier to just settle and get good glass at the same time. Plus, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I keep hearing that but rarely see people use it.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

I've been away from hunting and fishing longer than I'd like (keep on working toward retirement with that goal in mind). But I seem to recall that electrically illuminated reticles are a no-no for hunters in Washington. I guess that means the guy who can afford Trijicon has an advantage.

A while back, I picked up an inexpensive illuminated reticle scope for a takedown .22 rifle in the Get Home Bag in one of our cars. I see it as a poor man's low light option. It's not night vision, but if properly adjusted it helps you get onto a very poorly lit target and doesn't trash your vision.

So I'd say illuminated reticle has practical uses, if not all the legal uses I'd prefer.

 

[Vorpalis]

What I'm wondering is, do they fill a real need?

Yes.

Does anyone here use them on a regular basis? What scenario do you find yourself in that either requires, or benefits from having illumination in your scope?

The scope I primarily use has illumination. For me, it's a huge benefit any time my target is dark-colored or in shade. When I don't need it, I leave it turned off. It might be one of those things you have to use to grok the benefit of.

"Occasionally might be handy" is not a good enough reason to me to justify the expense, weight and complexity that illumination adds to a scope.

The expense for illumination can be substantial, but it can also be negligible, depending on the scope. There is practically no weight penalty. In good quality optics with modern electronics it isn't fragile. Most illumination controls I've seen aren't complicated to use.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

(uhhh, is it just me? or do others get reminded to check when they had their last colonoscopy whenever they read this topic's title ??)

Probably not just you but I wasn't.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

It's even more fun when they schedule the endoscopy and colonoscopy on the same day. I wonder if those scopes have illuminated reticles.

I still see it as a good option if it doesn't add much bulk or weight to the scope. Sure wish I had the disposable income for Trijicon, though.

My crystal ball is rather murky, but I think there may be times ahead when I will want to hit a target in very low light.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I have been using both types for years, both in the service, and retired! My old MK-1 eyeballs just don't see so good any more! I really love the lit reticle of my Nightforce NSX lightseekers with the 11 point light settings! How I ever did with out these I don't know. If you want a scope with this, then go for it, if your having trouble deciding, then maybe some one might be willing to let you go shooting with one so you can see for your self! The original idea was for the Military ( ACOG, and a few others) to have a rapid engagement scope that worked in all lighting conditions and would also work with N.O.D. so giving operators an additional sight option for night work! Trust me, Trit sights are great until every one in a squad has them, and it looks like a bunch of fireflys dancing all around, especially where there are no fireflys! Baddies can see them as well!