|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
I am debating a new scope in the spring and have an idea of what I am going with...but I can't make my mind up on whether I want illumination or not. This would be my first illuminated scope. This is going on a dedicated green field rifle. No pigs in the area, so no night hunting...just deer during legal shooting hours but looking to squeeze out every potential minute possible. So, what is the consensus on illuminated reticles? Love em? No need for em? Don't care? Let's hear your thoughts, opinions and experiences.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,936
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,936 |
I can see it helping when hunting hardwoods or pines where it gets dark before 30 min after sunset. But not on a field.
You'll shoot your eye out
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,689
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 21,689 |
Admittedly, I find my best use for the Leupold Firedot Reticle in Texas, when hunting hogs. They are often black and shots come around first and last light. The red dot at the junction of the crosshairs, shows me exactly where the bullet will impact. If I read your post correctly, you are hunting whitetails only and not really concerned with first and last light. All that said, I still think you will find the fire dot feature to come in handy.
"The number one problem with America is, a whole lot of people need shot, and nobody is shooting them." -Master Chief Hershel Davis
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,475
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,475 |
My issue at dark isn’t seeing the reticle. I can see that fine. I give up when i cant see the Animal well enough, particularly when we are picky about the bucks we shoot and don’t want to shoot buttons when killing does
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
I can see it helping when hunting hardwoods or pines where it gets dark before 30 min after sunset. But not on a field. Let me clarify just a bit on the food plots...these are not the huge sprawling fields you see on the hunting show. These are maybe one acre plots carved out of pine / timber company land. Most are less than 100yds long but a few might be pushing 125.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
Admittedly, I find my best use for the Leupold Firedot Reticle in Texas, when hunting hogs. They are often black and shots come around first and last light. The red dot at the junction of the crosshairs, shows me exactly where the bullet will impact. If I read your post correctly, you are hunting whitetails only and not really concerned with first and last light. All that said, I still think you will find the fire dot feature to come in handy. Yes, whitetails only, but I AM concerned with first and last light.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,936
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,936 |
I can see it helping when hunting hardwoods or pines where it gets dark before 30 min after sunset. But not on a field. Let me clarify just a bit on the food plots...these are not the huge sprawling fields you see on the hunting show. These are maybe one acre plots carved out of pine / timber company land. Most are less than 100yds long but a few might be pushing 125. On my vx3's I feel like I lose the reticle before i lose neccessary light in the scope.... meaning i can see the deer in the scope bit have trouble seeing the reticle. I think the answer is to get a scope with a good low light reticle that stays visible. I've toying with the same notion you are. But I just dont think a lit dot is neccessary but would certainly be useful. My next scope will probably not be illuminated. Possibly a heavier duplex of some sort or maybe a #4
You'll shoot your eye out
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 14,115
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 14,115 |
I find the Nikon bdc works well at dark but there no longer made try a leupold heavy duplex that’s perfect
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,240
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,240 |
I never felt like I needed one.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,928
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,928 |
I'd rather have very sharp and clear optics as a first. Lit reticle comes second. Even with a lit reticle, to your point, you need to know exactly what your shooting at. Clear optics with great light gathering will provide that.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,756
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,756 |
I'm a southeast guy and I like illumination at first and last light if it's done right. It needs to be extremely dim/low so that it's barely visible in the low light. If it's to bright it can wash out the view a bit and makes it harder to see the target. The less of the reticle that's illuminated the better.....if it can be set really low you can get by with more of it being illuminated but I still prefer it to be a very small section illuminated.
Of course the better the glass, the larger the exit pupil (to a certain point), and the higher the power (at a use-able level) the better the view of the target will be. If a reticle is bold enough it can be used to subtend, especially at shorter ranges and in open fields.
I often play around with scopes sitting at last light viewing livestock through them as it gets dark in front of our house. 20 acre fenced area we run cattle and goats on. ~10 is pasture, ~10 is wooded. There's a huge difference in how well you can target something in low light between the open pasture with a solid background and the wooded area with a broken background. Illumination helps in both but more so on the wooded side as it gets hard to subtend with the cluttered background.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,226
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 17,226 |
I can see it helping when hunting hardwoods or pines where it gets dark before 30 min after sunset. But not on a field. Pretty much how I see it too. If your background and overhead canopy make things difficult, illumination can help. I've needed it and used it a few times. I certainly want it on a gun that also gets used for pig hunting, as I'll hang out a bit past legal deer shooting hours if pigs are evident. It's sometimes just a black silhouette when they do show.
Now with even more aplomb
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 24,179
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 24,179 |
Wet pine needles , in the shade on a dark overcast day first/last light you aren't going to be able to see a regular crosshair - period .
I've used a Leupold 4x12-50 VXR and knew when aiming at a deer/hog that without the illuminated reticle - no way I could make the shot .
PRESIDENT TRUMP 2024/2028 !!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Bristoe The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 150,970
Campfire Savant
|
Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 150,970 |
I can see during legal shooting hours just fine to shoot deer. It be nice on a dedicated pig rifle. You can shoot them as long as you can see them
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,165
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,165 |
I can highly recommend Trijicon Accupoint. No batteries.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 500
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 500 |
Illumination where you have single dot or small portion of the center reticle illuminated can be very useful, and if there’s the option snd my budget allows, I’d opt for it.
Illlimination where a monster reticle lights up like a Christmas tree is not great for hunting.
I think there’s also a trade off if budget is limited. Generally, at modest price points, I think getting an IR jeans a tease off somewhere else.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
Illumination where you have single dot or small portion of the center reticle illuminated can be very useful, and if there’s the option snd my budget allows, I’d opt for it.
Illlimination where a monster reticle lights up like a Christmas tree is not great for hunting.
I think there’s also a trade off if budget is limited. Generally, at modest price points, I think getting an IR jeans a tease off somewhere else. Agreed, I am not interested in a design that lights up the full reticle. If I went illuminated, it would be a small dot or center cross section of a #4 or similar heavy post / fine cross wire design.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,160
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,160 |
Sounds like a VX5HD 3x15x56 Leupold with the fire dot would be about perfect. It's very easy to use once you figure out how you want the brightness set.
Life is good live it while you can.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,704
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,704 |
You have some solid answers here. I like illum but it has to be adjustable period. Saying that, I have only shot maybe 3 deer with illum out of no telling how many. If its only a 100 dollar upgrade might as well have it in my opine.
Lowcountry Wildlife Management Knowing Wildlife Beyond Science [email protected]Genesis 9;2
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 429
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 429 |
I'm not a fan. I've not been in a field position where I couldn't make a shot 30 minutes after. I'm sure much of my bias coming from not wanting to shoot stuff I want to eat at zero dark thirty.
I do agree that I want one as dim as possible.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,311
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,311 |
I started mounting Bushnell Banner, Trophy and Elite scopes on my rifles about 6 years ago. All of a sudden, I could see well before and after legal hunting. Previously, I'd given up on all my older scopes and just figured I couldn't see for the first/last 10 minutes of legal hunting.
Prior to this, I'd played with illuminated reticles and other stuff, trying to get a shot. Here's the thing: if you illuminate the reticle, you're iris is going to close down a little and let in less light. I'm 62, and I've been having trouble seeing game since my mid-40's. I need my iris as open as possible to see the game.
In a more exaggerated example of this, I tried hog hunting with an early Aimpoint. I had the dot turned down as far as it would go, but the field was so dark, I couldn't see a darn thing after sundown. I've since removed it, and replaced it with a Bushnell Banner. The Aimpoint is now on a plinking gun that will never be shot except for fun during the day.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 7,843
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 7,843 |
I've never used an illuminated reticle, so I can't really comment on that. However, I've always found that using a 40mm scope, I can see better than with the naked eye. Early season when the leaves are still on the trees, it gets dark earlier than shooting time in the woods. My problem is seeing the deer, not so much the reticle. Now that the leaves are gone, I can see fine during first/last light especially if the moon is bright.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,341
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,341 |
War Eagle I hunt in much the same conditions. I found stepping up in glass has been a game changer. Zeiss and Meopta have been getting my funds the last few years. The #4 and the heavier crosshairs get me to legal hours with no problem. GreggH
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
Thanks everyone, for your responses.
Gregg, I am looking at Euro glass, so clarity and image quality should be a given.
Sitting on a field yesterday evening, I noted that I could see my reticle well after my ability to count / judge antler tines had passed (through my scope or Swaro binos).
Pretty sure that sealed the deal on the pre-requisite for a lit dot. Unless the upcharge is minimal or i find a deal, I will likely be going non-illuminated.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,341
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,341 |
War What are the legal hours there? Here it is 1 hour before/after official sunset. GreggH
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,943 |
30 minutes before official sunrise; after official sunset.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,756
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 13,756 |
Thanks everyone, for your responses.
Gregg, I am looking at Euro glass, so clarity and image quality should be a given.
Sitting on a field yesterday evening, I noted that I could see my reticle well after my ability to count / judge antler tines had passed (through my scope or Swaro binos).
Pretty sure that sealed the deal on the pre-requisite for a lit dot. Unless the upcharge is minimal or i find a deal, I will likely be going non-illuminated. Yeah, over a field with a solid colored background reduces the need for illumination (for me). Even if the finer inner plex can't be seen, the outer bars can be used to subtend very well in a lot of cases.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,061
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,061 |
I want illumination on a target type reticle due to the thin reticle and loosing it at last light. On normal hunting rifles I run Meopta’s #4 reticle sand have no trouble making it to 30before or after. Just my two cents
"If you got it, you got it!" In memory of Pops, gone but never forgotten
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,755 |
Sounds like a VX5HD 3x15x56 Leupold with the fire dot would be about perfect. It's very easy to use once you figure out how you want the brightness set. Do you use the top end powers when shooting at 125 yards max?
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.
- Albert Einstein
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 429
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 429 |
A German #1 is a bold reticle, I've lost my keys far more than I've ever lost it.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,248
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,248 |
This is why in SC I have used Swarovski with HEAVY Duplex reticles for 40 years. We can hunt for an HOUR after sunset legally... I've shot hogs much later than that (legally). I can judge my target (deer/hog) with binocs and then punch it with the rifle... Just get a Heavy duplex... almost any scope/reticle combo will work in good light. It's when it gets DARK that you separate the ALPHA glass from the others... spend the money and get the best.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went" Will Rogers
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 799
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 799 |
Get the VX5 with fire dot. After having several scopes with illuminated reticles, the fire dot is perfect. You can dim it down until it’s barely visible. Leupold really checked all the boxes with this scope.
I was up in a tall blind a couple of months back, and just as the light began to fade, out stepped a hog. From where he was, I knew it to be 300 yards. Dialed the CDS, clicked on the fire dot, and shot him. Till I got this scope, I didn’t have, and have never had, a scope that would have let me make that shot. Black hog, black crosshairs, could barely make out the hog in the dim light. That super tiny little red dot was what made the shot possible.
Last edited by 603Country; 11/23/20.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,160
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,160 |
Sounds like a VX5HD 3x15x56 Leupold with the fire dot would be about perfect. It's very easy to use once you figure out how you want the brightness set. Do you use the top end powers when shooting at 125 yards max? Yes, whenever possible. Always use less magnification on game that's close or moving.
Life is good live it while you can.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,817
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 17,817 |
Had a Trijicon w post and amber triangle. Was kinda neat. 3-9x though Think that reticle w fiberoptic, w a low of 1x would be pretty sweet in timber ( 1-5x ). Think they offer a newer style 1 -4x but maybe only 30mm ?
|
|
|
|
145 members (257wthbylover, 300_savage, 2ndwind, 17CalFan, 257_X_50, 21 invisible),
1,848
guests, and
988
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,190,599
Posts18,454,506
Members73,908
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|