Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Illuminated Reticle vs. Heavy Duplex?

Oldelkhunter and SKane-

Those are great points from both of you. On Friday evening (8:57 and a full 41 minutes after legal sundown)), I took a hog at 170 yards using my 24"-barreled Contender in 6.5x30-30 AI. The scope is a Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56 with the illuminated #60 reticle. Visibility was all but gone, and while I possibility could have made the shot with a heavy and non-illuminated reticle, the small dot gave me a precise aiming point and allowed perfect shot placement under extremely difficult conditions. I used heavy reticles for years, and they definitely have a place in the hunting fields, but like others have said, once you try a GOOD illuminated system, you won't be going back.

Having successfully used a Leupold 6x42 Heavy Duplex for a number of years on my .30-06, I found myself having to back up a client last winter in really poor light. I had already told the hunter that I had lost the sight of my Heavy Duplex reticle and yet the hunter fired at a large hog anyway.

Had I been using my AR-15 with the Firedot-4 reticle, I could have easily put one or more rounds into that hog before it dove into the brush. I have since replaced the 6x42 Heavy Duplex with a VX-R 3-9x40 Firedot Duplex on my .30-06 as my primary backup rifle.

To me, the Firedot-4 is the best of both worlds, fast and certain in very low light. I can dial the light intensity way down so there is no "bloom" or even turn it off. There is no "on" switch, but a built-in accelerometer turns it on at the slightest movement and will automatically turn it off after several minutes of no motion. Leupold claims 40 hours of battery life (one CR-2032) but mine lasts for weeks of hunting as I tend to keep the brightness way down.

That's my $0.02.

Ed

And then there is the best illuminated reticle out there -- the Trijicon Accupoint, and especially the 2.5-12.5x42. It self-modulates its brightness, and there is no battery to ever run down.

my friend had a 10 year old trijicon scope he had bought used I am not sure of the model just the conversation. He told me it was still under warranty regards the radioactive illumination and he could not see it anymore. He sent it in to trijicon and they sent it back to him and said it was still fine. When he called them they told him they test them in a special dark room and if they could see it glowing then it was good to go. He told them he did not hunt in a special dark room, but no warranty work was ever done. He spoke with several people up the food chain and no one would help him, thus he was left with a bad taste in his mouth regards trijicon. I am a big fan of their night sights on pistols, but a #4 reticle would have saved my bud a world of trouble and he would still be hunting with it.

Like Mr. Tomack I have the victory but in 1.5-6 x 42 with the #60 as well, its as good an illumination system as you can get, and the batteries are easily replaceable. The VX6 is not as good as the dot is bigger but its a very reasonable IR, and kills stuff fine. The worst one I had was in an old NXS 1-4, awful, next worst is the swfa 1-4s but they do work if your using a weapon light at night, what do you expect for $300. The new NXS 2.5-10x42 does not appear to be daylight bright visible to my eyes, its a meah.

all of this is overthinking however as I have killed pigs with a green light on the gun and a #4 reticle, no scope is useful regardless of illumination of the reticle if its a dark night. You can kill stuff just fine with a good green or red light mounted on your weapon and a visible reticle. Wish I could afford to spend $5K on thermal but not in the cards.

12 year half-life....which exceeds most electronics warranties by about 11...:)

I bet you send a broken leupold IR in or Victory and they fix it at year 13

I don't know. In 13 years, I may not care.

Being a throwback and having an allergy to empowered hunting, my personal preference is a nice fat FFP #4 or the now extinct Zeiss #4 in a second plane reticle.

However, if the most precision for aiming in low light is desired, the illuminated scopes as described by Mr. Tomek, with the ability to dim down and having smaller sub-tensions are da cat's ass.

I used several Leupold 3-9 German #4 for over 20 years and they served me well...then went to a couple Leupold lighted never really like the idea of batteries and oddball sizes at that...they worked good in the last minutes of light for black bears on baits...

Now I've switched to Trijicons 3-9 tried, yellow, red duplex I like green the best...at night hunting coyotes on bait with snow on the ground no need for lights....black bears on bait they are the best scope I've ever used...also leopards....