Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Reliability of illuminated scopes?

I was noticing the recent trend of illuminated reticles amongst the various manufacturers and it got me to thinking. How reliable are they and what would the serviceable lifespan be? Many of us shoot with scopes that are 20- 30 years old or more. Would you expect that with an illuminated scope? If the illumination fails, is the scope still useable or is it now a paperweight? Anyone have one fail at a crappy time?

How about batteries leaking from sitting unused? I think most use the coin style batteries, so not sure if it's an issue with that type.

My only experience with an illuminated scope is the Trijicon Accupoint that uses fiber/tritium. I've had it about 10 years now and it's still bright, but I understand it's pricey to get them repowered. I just bought a second one in 1-6 x 24 and expect it to serve me just as well, but it got me to thinking about scopes with electronics.

Take out batteries when not in use.
Change batteries before hunting season.
Own 5, never a problem.
Try to spot a brown/gray Coyote against the sagebrush and you'll want one.

Haven’t had a leak, yet. Have left a couple on until the battery died, but the scope is still usable. When my Accupoints need a recharge, I’ll be happy to pay to do it, though as I’ve mentioned here a few times, the fiber optics do the real work as long as there’s any skylight.

All he lighted scopes I have or owned before are perfectly usable without the illumination. AFIK, only red dots that rely totally on the little light are rendered unusable. Prism sights also work with or without the juice.

Check the warranty of any illuminated optic you’re considering. Some makers limit the warranty period on the electronics.

How does the illumination make a coyote stand out from a background he blends with?

I have never had a coin type battery leak. Even after tossing bicycle lights into my attic where they sit for 5 years in extreme temperatures.

Reticle in my lighted scopes doesn't need electronics to make them visible. They look like a normal reticle until you put the power to em at which point they turn red or green.

I have them and use the illumination some when hog hunting close to dark, makes the crosshairs stick out against the black hog otherwise I don't see much advantage to them, maybe a little at the very few first or last minutes of daylight.

Have to run em on low at these times or they will be too bright to see the target.

Was thinking the same. Never hear about watch batteries or hearing aid batteries leaking.

My oldest scope that is illuminated is a red dot. It’s an Aimpoint I’ve had for about twenty years. It had the same batteries until two years ago. No leaking. Never removed the batteries.

FWIW, I've only had one scope issue that required warranty repair. It was a Zeiss HT and the problem was the illumination power rheostat.

I've used and use several different illuminated scopes, from cheap to high $. Never had the electronics give up the ghost but have seen dead batteries.

Illumination can be nice in low light if it's a small area with extremely dim settings....can ruin low light view if it's to bright or to much is illuminated. Daylight bright like the NX8 1-8 is very nice for quick shooting....sucks in low light. Pros and cons to everything. I think S&B's FlashDot is really nice in low light as well as their P3 illuminated inner plex.

I understand the OP's questioning. The more complicated something is the more chances it has to fail. I hate to rely on illumination. For a hunting scope I much prefer bold outer posts no more than 5 mils from the center...prefer 3.5 mils....measured tick on windage holds, with a fine center. Bracket in low light, don't have to hunt for it in sun/shadows or tangled backgrounds, and the inner plex is still fine enough for precision.

Take out the battery at the end of each hunting season.

Yeah. Everyone always asks if a reticle is “daylight bright”. That’s not as big a deal to me as being usable in dim light, not overwhelming. The Accupoints seem very usable so far, and honestly the tritium only appears when it’s pretty damn dark and there’s no skylight. Battery-powered units give more control, but I’ve seen a lot of complaints about ones that don’t go low enough.

Bobby Tomek is the resident guru on this stuff.

When I was living in the PNW I used scopes with illuminated dots quite often and it was easier to stay on a coyote moving through the brush and sage in the dimmer light there. Since my move to NM and hunting the ASW. I find myself gravitating to bold German #1's or #4's, heavy duplex without the illumination. Thinner cover, shorter period of half-light in the morning, less haze in the air, whatever. The fact that the areas are larger, more up and down and I cover more ground, a Leupold 1-4x20, 1.5-5x20 or other low power 1" scopes are considerably lighter.

Tritium!

Good quality illuminated scopes are pretty reliable in my experience. I use them mostly to shoot matches, where they get get banged around some, and I've had no problems. The batteries seem to last a long time.

I broke the hoop where my Key Fob connected to my keychain [hissy-fit] truck built in Sept. 97 F-150. It rode in my console for 20+ years, got it out last winter, still worked - original battery, obviously these type batteries don't corrode.

Have several Kahles/Swarovski/Zeiss/Leica with illuminated reticles. Most are over 20 years old, one is a first gen Kahles. Only had one illuminated adapter crap out (1st gen Swarovski). All the rest are going strong. Manufacturer makes a difference in my opinion.

Oddly the worst illuminated scope I've owned was Trijicon. Poor quality and it crashed a few times and I moved on from it.

Which model?

I have always been afraid of illuminated scopes. The illumination is not covered by warranty like the scope is. I hunt during very cold weather, and I stick with non-illuminated scopes. I always wanted to try the Trijicon, but not sure how long it would last.

If you mean the tritium, the half-life is 12.5 years. But as mentioned above, any time there’s skylight, the fiber optics carry the load. For better control of the illumination, get a battery-powered model. All of them are usable sans illumination, just select a reticle that is good for you both ways. The duplex in the 3-9 Accupoint is excellent, lit or not. The website has really detailed reticle illustrations for each model to help you pick. It’s important to check the specific model when you look because the dimensions vary a lot, even for the same reticle type.

I have never had an illuminated reticle scope. I had a friend who had one years ago, a Trijicon I think, that had a red dot in the center of the reticle and I was impressed with it. I ordered a new scope a few days ago from Tract. I had originally wanted an illuminated red dot in their T-Plex reticle 2.5-15x42 until I saw the price difference between that and the plain T-Plex reticle 3-15x42 - $440 more. Same glass, etc. in each. It's a nice feature, but I just could not see it (pun intended). Tract scopes are excellent quality and come with a lifetime, no paperwork needed, no cost warranty. No matter if you are the original owner or not. So, not an issue for me about the quality or any future maintenance expense, other than changing out a common CR2032 battery. Maybe this feature is cheaper on other scopes? I don't know. I was sold on wanting a Tract Toric and the illuminated feature just wasn't what I was willing to pay that much more for.

I change the Battery in my handgun scopes every month
I buy a 10- pack of Sony batteries and just change them religiously
. I change the batteries in my binocular and long guns annually. Never an issue

Henry, the light isn’t all you get for your $400. It also has a 30mm tube so has double the adjustment range of the 1” you (and I, BTW) bought. Makes a difference for some people’s use, plus likely adds some strength as well.

It also weighs 7oz more, one reason I’m still thinking about one. Trijicon has some lighter options. I don’t worry about the warranties of either, and since both are built by LOW, the durability either. The regular T-Plex is pretty good in dim light as well.

Sorry. That's ridiculous.

I have ~~50 illuminated scopes.
Trouble with the illimitation on one:
Burris FF II LRA 3x9x40, purchased 4-14-2004 from SWFA for $200
Problem: Batteries discharge when not in use.

i've been hunting and shooting illuminated scopes for years. swarovski, nightforce, vortex, aimpoint. every couple of years i'll change the battery to be safe, i usually keep a spare in my bag cause i like to be prepared.

Yeah.

The battery in my truck AR with a VX6 3-18 TMOA is going on a year having never been shut off.

The Leupold Fire Dot shuts down after 5 minutes of not moving and I set the illum level low enough it's only visable in low light.

It's a pretty slick system.

Any scope with an etched or wire reticle shouldn't care if the battery is installed or not - only the added feature of illumination.

As commented several times above, I've never seen a coin battery leak. I'm pretty sure the battery in my old Millet RDS is about 15 years old, and still worked last week when I checked it.

I didn't notice anyone above commenting on fully-illuminated vs. partially-illuminated reticles, but I have a STRONG preference for only having a center dot or small crosshair illuminated. Anything more tends to get distracting in the low-light conditions where they're most useful.

I've had no problems with my illuminated scopes. The batteries seem to last a long time (more than a year) and I really like an illuminated dot in the center for low light and densely wooded and/or brushy situations.

I have five illuminated scopes from HAWKE, Burris, and SIG, and just ordered another last night.

So yeah, Im a believer, especially for night predator hunting and hog hunting.

I like them, Nightforce and Schmidt and Bender.

I have a Sightron SIII 3.5-10 LRIMOA that has illumination. Most of the time I never even think about turning it on, but when it starts to get dark or I'm shooting against a dark back drop the little illuminated .25 MOA dot in the middle is very helpful because the reticle is so thin that without illumination sometimes I can't see it.