Illuminated reticle

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Reticle illumination is getting more common in modern rifle scopes. There are, however, two groups of illuminated reticles, meant for two different uses. In both cases, illumination of the reticle substantially increases effectiveness of such rifle scopes. Reticle illumination systems are divided to:

Twilight illuminated reticles
Daytime illuminated reticles

Twilight illumination is used for better reticle recognition in low light situations, when non-illuminated reticle would be hard to see. Such illumination systems must offer fine adjustable intensity, since over illumination of the reticle will cause problems seeing the target behind it. This is especially important when hunting in low light, where fine-tuning of illumination intensity level is one of the main parameters on which rifle scopes are judged. Preferably, such rifle scopes have only the central dot in the reticle illuminated. Some have their entire range of intensity adjustment so dim that illumination cannot be seen during the daytime.

Daytime illumination of reticle serves a different purpose than twilight illumination, and in such rifle scopes, high intensity levels are a necessity. In such rifle scopes, the illumination of the reticle is meant for rapid target acquisition, since a bright red dot is the best possible aiming point. Shooters’ eyes are instinctively drawn to a bright red dot in the center of the field of view. Such strong illumination is feasible only in rifle scopes with magnification lower than 1.5x or ideally 1.0x. Such wide-angle rifle scopes with a real 1.0x magnification and daytime bright illumination of the reticle can even be used with both eyes open, similar to reflex/red dot sights.

Since almost all illuminated reticles are battery powered, an automatic switch off is a usable feature that can significantly prolong battery life and operation time of such systems. Most advance reticle illumination systems even include a motion sensor that turns off the illumination (and saves battery life), when the scope is in non-shooting position (90 degrees sideways or in vertical position).

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Leupold Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24

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General properties of Tactical Rifle scopes

Tactical rifle scopes are meant for tactical situations where the importance of the first shot hitting the target is much higher than consistent pinpoint accuracy. Tactical - scope also offers the possibility of range estimation or shifting of the aim point in the reticle to compensate for bullet drop or wind drift.

The most common features of tactical scope are:

Tactical (uncapped) turrets
Tactical reticles (Mil-Dot, etc.)
Tube mounting (30mm, 34mm, 35mm, 36,mm or 40mm)
Minimal magnification from 1x to 6x
Maximal magnification from 12x to 30x
Bigger click values (usually 1cm/100m)
FFP reticle configuration is frequent

A special case of Tactical - scope is also MIL/MIL scope, which could be described also as fully tactical - scope.

Tactical rifle scope- Delta Stryker scope with illuminated reticle

Delta Optical Stryker HD 4.5-30x56 Tactical rifle scope

What makes a scope tactical?

The tactical scope is a scope that features tactical (exposed) turrets, which is the one basic criterion. But there are more.

The optics is tactical if it meets the following requirements:

a magnification between 5x to 25x,
uncapped turrets on the riflescope,
an illuminated reticle,
one-centimeter clicks,
riflescope with the reticle in the first focal plane, and
on more expensive models, a zero stop.

What is the difference between a tactical scope and a hunting scope?

Hunting riflescope is, of course, meant to be used for hunting, whereas a tactical scope is intended to be used in all tactical situations. A hunting scope features a lower magnification range, so hunters can also use a scope in poor light conditions. A tactical scope, however, features a magnification that is on the upper side of the medium range.

Reticle position and turrets on tactical- rifle scope and hunting scope

Hunting scope is also the only type of scope that can be mounted with rails. The reticle is in the second focal plane, which is not the case with tactical scope, as they have a first focal plane reticle.

The turrets on hunting scope are capped low-profile hunting turrets, whereas tactical scope features uncapped turrets.

Tactical scope Kahles

Kahles K318i 3.5-18x50 tactical rifle scope

What is the difference between a tactical - scope and a target scope?

As mentioned, the purpose of the tactical scope is to be used in all tactical situations. Target scope, on the other hand, is meant for precision shooting. Compared to tactical scopes’ 5x to 25x magnification, target ones have an extremely high one, which is up to 55x.

Reticle position in Tactical scope and Target scope

The tactical scope features a first focal plane reticle, and target scope a second focal plane reticle. What is more, with a target scope, if the user has enough knowledge and experience, they can also use it for hunting.

The characteristics of tactical riflescope (the main one being the FFP reticle), make them suitable only for tactical shooting purposes.

Illuminated reticle

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