Author: Alan Robertson
Subject: Illuminated or not?
Posted: May/22/2015 at 15:10
I'd agree with Kickboxer that illumination is a worthwhile addition to a scope's capabilities- when it is executed correctly. "Executed correctly" is the rub. Until recently, many/most lower- priced illum. implementations were a waste of resources, except in higher- end, pr purpose- built optics, such as Aimpoint. There are exceptions to that statement: my experience with such scopes is limited.
The primary fault of most lit- reticle schemes is a bleed- out effect of the illumination from the reticle, over the entire viewable image. This effect becomes more pronounced as the brightness is turned up until one is left peering into a bright red/green image, completely unable to view any part of the target. In other words, you're looking into a light and the target is totally obscured. With the worst designs, even at the lowest power setting, for use in the darkest night, the effect is still there.
A secondary phenomenon of poorly executed designs is that the lit reticle (and any bleed- out into the image plane) is visible downrange, as the glow is visible if looking directly into the objective lens. That is completely unacceptable in a scope used as a CQB optic, for instance.
One additional benefit of illumination is its usefulness in broad daylight, as an aid in fast target acquisition. This is a very important aspect of scope use and should not be overlooked. The lit reticle is the first thing your eye sees as the rifle is brought into firing position and can instantly be brought onto target, with even a higher magnification than one might usually consider as a fast- action power setting.
I only have 2 scopes with illumination and neither is an Alpha level scope One doesn't carry a battery, as it's "lit part" works too poorly to bother with and the other is a mid- range Leupold. Leupold has developed illumination using fiber optic technology, called "FireDot" and the result is all anyone could ask for, with none of the usual faults, as mentioned above. Leupold builds this reticle into more than one model line, giving a broad price range to choose from. FireDot works, period. The only caveat is that Leupy does not currently give as good a warranty on the FireDot portion of their scopes as they do with the rest of the scope, so if it breaks beyond the warranty period, the owner pays. I suspect the short warranty is because there isn't a long enough history with FireDot to determine warranty amortization costs, included in purchase price, as with all scopes.
Subject: Illuminated or not?
Posted: May/22/2015 at 15:10
I'd agree with Kickboxer that illumination is a worthwhile addition to a scope's capabilities- when it is executed correctly. "Executed correctly" is the rub. Until recently, many/most lower- priced illum. implementations were a waste of resources, except in higher- end, pr purpose- built optics, such as Aimpoint. There are exceptions to that statement: my experience with such scopes is limited.
The primary fault of most lit- reticle schemes is a bleed- out effect of the illumination from the reticle, over the entire viewable image. This effect becomes more pronounced as the brightness is turned up until one is left peering into a bright red/green image, completely unable to view any part of the target. In other words, you're looking into a light and the target is totally obscured. With the worst designs, even at the lowest power setting, for use in the darkest night, the effect is still there.
A secondary phenomenon of poorly executed designs is that the lit reticle (and any bleed- out into the image plane) is visible downrange, as the glow is visible if looking directly into the objective lens. That is completely unacceptable in a scope used as a CQB optic, for instance.
One additional benefit of illumination is its usefulness in broad daylight, as an aid in fast target acquisition. This is a very important aspect of scope use and should not be overlooked. The lit reticle is the first thing your eye sees as the rifle is brought into firing position and can instantly be brought onto target, with even a higher magnification than one might usually consider as a fast- action power setting.
I only have 2 scopes with illumination and neither is an Alpha level scope One doesn't carry a battery, as it's "lit part" works too poorly to bother with and the other is a mid- range Leupold. Leupold has developed illumination using fiber optic technology, called "FireDot" and the result is all anyone could ask for, with none of the usual faults, as mentioned above. Leupold builds this reticle into more than one model line, giving a broad price range to choose from. FireDot works, period. The only caveat is that Leupy does not currently give as good a warranty on the FireDot portion of their scopes as they do with the rest of the scope, so if it breaks beyond the warranty period, the owner pays. I suspect the short warranty is because there isn't a long enough history with FireDot to determine warranty amortization costs, included in purchase price, as with all scopes.