Illuminated reticle

Illuminated reticles


Q: Recently, I bought a secondhand Swarovski 2.5-10×56 with an illuminated reticle. The optics are impressively bright with excellent resolution and contrast.

It also features an illuminated reticle – an orange circle with a dot which stands out boldly in poor light.

I used it set on 4x to drop a sambar stag when it was so close to dark that the unlit reticle was hard to see. It is no surprise then that I am completely sold on this type of reticle.

But it also got me to thinking how long illuminated reticles have been available. Enquiries at several gunshops drew blank stares, but most guessed at about 30 or 40 years or so. Is this correct?

– James Wright

A: Illuminated reticles have become widely available and very popular in recent years, but they are nothing new.

I’ve traced them back 100 years to 1921 when Carl Zeiss introduced two new models of riflescopes: the Zeldovier 1+4 20 and the Zeildosechs 1+6 31, both of which featured dual magnification settings and, as an option, illuminated reticles.

These scopes may well have been the forerunners of variable power scopes.

Illuminated reticles saw widespread use by the military in different countries in the early 1960s but it was only during the last four decades that illuminated reticles became available in hunting scopes.

 

 

 


Like it? Share with your friends!

What's Your Reaction?

super super
17
super
fail fail
10
fail
fun fun
8
fun
bad bad
6
bad
hate hate
4
hate
lol lol
2
lol
love love
20
love
omg omg
16
omg
Nick Harvey

The late Nick Harvey (1931-2024) was one of the world's most experienced and knowledgeable gun writers, a true legend of the business. He wrote about firearms and hunting for about 70 years, published many books and uncounted articles, and travelled the world to hunt and shoot. His reloading manuals are highly sought after, and his knowledge of the subject was unmatched. He was Sporting Shooter's Technical Editor for almost 50 years. His work lives on here as part of his legacy to us all.

0 Comments