trijicon

[memphisjim]

im looking at reflex sites
let me see if i understand this correctly
with trijicons you need no batteries , but after 15 years it is useless in the dark?

 

[2WheelsGood]

True.

 

[memphisjim]

kinna strange seeing that the extra cost for a trijicon would probably cover the cost of batteries for an eotec or aimpoint for 15 years

 

[2WheelsGood]

Not really. There's a huge advantage not having to turn them on or off in an emergency. They're always glowing. And you know when batteries choose to die, right? Right when you need them.

 

[memphisjim]

i did see the tripower and it looks cool but its yet another price jump
i read (but couldnt find it on the website) that you can even get glowsticks to stick in it in the event that all 3 powersources fail

 

[cavemandave1975]

true but can you say the eotech would even last 15 years either

 

[steven58]

the trijicon is not quite "useless" after 15 years.

First, the ambient light illumination feature would still work in from all daylight situations down to late dusk. If you can see the target then the fiber optic will illuminate the sight 95% of the time. Only in near full darkness will the tritium feature be necessary or even visible.

Second, the tritium "lamp" is designed to be replaced. Just send it in to Trijicon and it's back in about 10 days.


In 15 years, YMMV

 

[cavemandave1975]

i have a trijicon on my AR and i love it

 

[hso]

steven58 has pointed out an important fact, the tritium source is intended to be replaced when it gets dim. Instead of replacing batteries every year, you send the trijicon in around year 12-14. Compare the replacement cost of the H3 capsule once a decade to the cumulative battery cost of the equivalent systems.

 

[Uneasy Rider]

Are you guys saying that they replace the tritium for free? If not what does it cost?

 

[2WheelsGood]

Compare the replacement cost of the H3 capsule once a decade to the cumulative battery cost of the equivalent systems.

And I think there's an even more important consideration when talking about a weapon you may use to defend your life. You also have a decade of reliability. There's nothing to fail. No batteries, no moving parts, no electronics. It will work when you need it.

 

[steven58]

In my opinion, the least of the issues with reflex sights is the battery v. no battery argument. A good red dot sight such as an Aimpoint will be more reliable than a reflex sight. Here's why:

While there is a chance of an Aimpoint failing it is infinitesimally small. They are built that well. Battery life is about 4 years with a T-1 and over 5 with an M-4 if left constantly on at setting 7 out of 12. The batteries are small and light. the hermetically sealed AA module for the Magpul MOA pistol grip will hold 4 CR2032 batteries in their sealed blister packs. That's 20 years of battery backup on tap for a T-1.

Since it relies on ambient light for illumination, A reflex sight will have the reticle disappear or "washout" if you are in a dark enough area looking into a light enough area. As it is best not to fight fair in war I can imagine many situations where you might be in a dark place shooting at targets exposed in the light. Or in a home defense/ PD situation you are in the dark and shine a powerful weapon light on an intruder/suspect the reticle will be washout and be hard or impossible to see.

This leads to many more practical situations where the reflex sight will, for practical purposes, "fail" as in fail to produce a usable reticle image when having one is conducive to survival.

On a red dot you can crank up the power to meet the need of your environment, on a reflex you don't have that option. Also, when you increase the brightness on the red dot, it makes the dot look larger as well. So for precision you turn your 2 moa dot down to just visible and crisp. For fast and close crank it way up and it looks like a 4 moa big n bright.

Additional considerations are:

Reflex sights tend to be bulkier and heavier than RD sights.

Reflex sights, like the Trijicon RX-30, can have complex suspension/mounting systems that can hide more gremlins than a comparable red dot mount.

Open reflex sights like the C-More and the Trijicon have an emitter hole about 2mm in diameter on the top rear deck area where the light shines out to project the reticle on the lens. If any debris gets in there the sight will not function until that small orifice is cleared. If any mud or debris gets on a red dot it's usually fairly easy to wipe or rinse it off.

For me I chose a Trijicon TA-33 ACOG (even if no fiber optic illumination the black reticle is still there) for my recee build and an Aimpoint T-1 with fixed irons for my KISS CQB to 300 m. build.