Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Illuminated reticle

Fellows I can say that I have never hunted with an illuminated reticle. Never owned one. A few illuminated red dot scopes, but not a high power IR scope.

I am interested in hearing what you guys think about IR's in real word hunting situations??

Are they really helpful in low light hunting situations?? Or does the light just drown out the sight picture?? I truly do not know, and would like to know.

Please don't turn this into an anti-technology thread. I am really interested in hearing real world experiences with these type reticles. Thanks in advance. Tom.

i've used one only once at night. we where on a sendaro in south texas over looking a pile of corn where hogs pass through. we would periodically shine the spot light looking for eyes, during a couple of 'test' shines i tried the Illum ret and found it to drown out the spot light, and i could see the cross airs better w/o it on. i do not remember the make or model of scope. all i know is later that night i wacked a coon w/ my 30-06 simmons scope, and the next morning using the rifle w/ the ill ret(illum turned off) scope shot a yote in the face at 300 yds, then 6 hogs bolted from the bush 20 yds behind us.


in short i find the illum ret to blinding to use.

Ive not used an illuminated reticle either so keep that in mind

That said, in low light, i have qlways found the animal disappears before the crosshairs. In other words, if i could see the animal i could make the shot. If i couldnt see the animal an illuminated reticle wouldnt help

I could be convinced otherwise, but that is my inexperienced opinion

When it's not deer or elk season, I hunt feral hogs the remainder of the year. Here in TX, they're legal to hunt at night, year round, using any weapons and methods you wish. On nights with a bright moon, I can clearly see even solid black hogs at up to 100 yds or so through my better scopes, all night long.

I use scopes with illuminated reticles almost exclusively for hog hunting, and a non-lit reticle scope isn't even close to being as effective. Even if you can see hogs well enough to take a shot, it's easy to lose the center of the reticle against a solid black hog in low light. Illumination solves this problem. Just this past weekend, I killed a hog at 75 yards in the very last minute of usable light, and although I may have been able to make the shot without illumination, I seriously doubt I could have centered the reticle in the vitals very easily, much less make the brain shot I did.

The other advantage to illumination is you don't need as bold a reticle to clearly and quickly pick up your aiming point in low light. This allows you to use a reticle that subtends a minimal amount of the target so you have the best of both worlds -- extreme aiming precision in good light and reticle contrast in low light. Even in good light, an daylight compatible lit reticle helps your eye pick up the POA quickly, making the reticle very fast for rapid shot opportunities.

Yes, too much illumination is worse than no illumination. A well designed lit reticle system will allow you to control intensity to only what is needed for the light conditions. In low light, you will want only enough light intensity to see the center of the reticle, and no more. Too much light inside the scope will flare out the inside of the scope, overpower the target image, and cause your iris to contract, hindering your night vision.

The disadvantages to illumination is additional cost, having one more thing to possibly fail, the need for batteries, and the presence of another knob on your scope. However, if your batteries die, the wost that happens is you now have a conventional, non-illuminated scope, so you aren't out of commission (assuming it's a conventional scope and not a red dot reflex type sight). The Trijicon Accupoint series scopes are a great alternative to battery powered lit reticle scopes. They use tritium and fiber optics to power illumination, and they are always "on" so there's nothing to think about.

For big game hunting where you have defined legal shooting hours, a lit reticle scope has much more limited practical benefit, and you're nearly as well off by just selecting a reticle with bold outer bars, like a #4 or heavy duplex. However, even then, a lit reticle still makes aiming a little easier during those first and last minutes of legal light, especially if a deer is standing in the shadows.

Of course, make sure having a lit reticle is legal in your state to begin with. I'm pretty sure it isn't legal in all states.

HOGGHEAD,
I've been using illuminated reticles for years! The two scopes that I own that have them are both Leupold 3.5x10x50's. One is an older Vari-x III, the other is a newer VX-3. They both have rheostats on the IR's do you can dial them down to where you can just see the center illuminated crosshair. I've used the older one on deer crop damage permits, with no artificial light needed. The newer one is mounted on an AR that I use for hog hunting. On moonlit nights or snow covered ground, I shoot pigs with no lights out to 100yds, easily. You get what you pay for, and depending on your state's laws, they can be a very useful tool!

I do most of my hunting under low light conditions, well after sunset. Tried and own hordes of inexpensive ill. scopes. Stay away anything cheap(below about $1000). They all "bloom" under under poor light conditions even at the lowest setting.
A good quality illuminated scope, I find it useful in dynamic situations when you have to squeeze a shout out in a hurry.
Without illumination I have to move the reticle in and out of the target to find the center and it still wont be a well placed shot. For "the rest of my life" setup I'd want a decent scope with illumination and definitely with #4 reticle.
Please let us know what you have settled on and how it is working for you.

I have a Leupold VX-R 4 X 12 X 50 with the ballistic firedot which has found a new home on top of my 25-06. The firedot is a very small...I'd guess...0.25 MOA illuminated dot with a great rheostat that scales back the brightness low enough to see under those dark moonless nights without washing out the view. I like it because it also has a fine enough reticle for use during the daylight without blocking out your targets like many of the "heavy" reticles can do.

This is the most expensive of their curent VX-R line and this scope and the other configurations of this line are much less than $1000. Burris also has scopes in a similar configuration as the VX-R and the trijicon scopes can be found for under $1K.

Like Pigster said...I've found for "the rest of my life set up" a decent scope with illumination is a must for me.

Scott

I use the Trijicon Accupoints and love em.....last years moose season was very warm and I couldn't call a big bull out of the spruce. After the sun set, the air cooled and the bull responded to my call and the Trijicon reticle was very bright and clear against that black shoulder in near darkness. I like the green reticle.

I have two LR scopes. Both are low power variables. The Weaver Classic Extreme is a 1.5-4.5X 30mm, the Leupold a 1.5-5X 30mm.

Both are very clear and bright. I expected that with the Leupold, I was amazed that the Weaver is just as good.

Both brands feature a tiny red dot, that is controlled by a knob on the scope. With both, I find that in daylight, you can set the magnification to the lowest point, and use the dot almost like a red dot scope. It works great, for a very fast sight acquisition.
In low light is where they really perform. Those impossible sight pictures at dusk, with the cross hairs disappearing against the tree line are a thing of the past. If you can see the animal, you just put the dot where you want to go.

I am a big fan of illuminated scopes now.

I'm all for the Trijicon Accupoints, I have 2. No batteries needed. You can't really appreciate one unless you take it in the woods. Especially when you throw it up on a hog or any animal for that matter near dawn and dusk. They have adjustable brightness as well. I'd avoid the Leupy Illums myself. The glass on the Accupoints are comparable to the VX3 series.It's basically top of the line Japanese glass. My Kahles' have better glass, but the Accupoints are better hunting scopes period! alittle pricey, but worth it and in my opinion I'll only buy green dot models.