I just got a TA-11H and am wondering how bright (relatively speaking) the reticle should appear in total darkness. The reticle doesn’t seem to have nearly the same level of apparent brightness as say the nightsights I just put on my CZ.
I can only see the Chevron in my TA31 in total darkness. I can only see the BDC if there is light reflecting off of something.
Same concept on my TA11 H, I can only see the horseshoe/dot in total darkness, but I am wondering how bright, relatively speaking, the illuminated part of the reticle should appear in total darkness. In my unqualified, and inexperienced opinion it doesn’t approach anywhere near the relative brightness during daylight(relative to the brightness of the surroundings)
Unfortunately I am having trouble coming up with a benchmark from which to compare the unassisted luminosity of the tritium illuminated reticle.
It’s significantly dimmer than in daylight with fiberoptic, but it should be clearly visible even without any moonlight on a cloudy night. Brightness is somewhat subjective, but I wouldn’t say mine at 2.5 years old is as bright as new night sights I got about four months ago.
How old is the lamp? You can call Trijicon with the serial number and find out a bit more.
Mine has been like that ever since I bought it new so I think they are supposed to be that way.
The TA-11D (red donut) that I once owned (bought new) was visibly distinct in near total darkness, with dark adapted eyes.
Apart from those circumstances, the red donut was not very distinct when viewed in dim light.
ACOG reticles need to be viewed at night with eyes that have been ADJUSTED to the night,i,e, 20-30 mins. That’s one of the issues with an ACOG. They are not bright like a RDS electro-optical sight.
Don’t expect to go from bright outdoor sunlight to a dark interior basement and see the reticle JUMP out at you. If you read the owners manual (you DID read it…didnt you) you will see the part that explains how you need to adjust your eyes to the darkness.
That’s one of my issues with the ACOG . . .
I’m not going to be able to wait for my eyes to adjust when going from a bright environment into a darkened environment. No time outs when going after bad guys.
And then, to threat discriminate, use white light, which makes the reticle even less visible that it was before.
The TR24 triangle reticle may be bright enough to overcome this, but none of the ACOGs that I’ve ever owned or played with have.
Adding a small offset mounted RDS is, IMO, a great solution to this problem and gives you speed on close targets in full light, as well.
Yes I did read the part about letting your eyes be night adapted. I just wanted to make sure what I was seeing was typical of the acog, or something I needed to contact Trijicon about.
After further experimentation with the scope, and under more realistic conditions the brightness of the reticle appears to be more than adequate for nighttime use, especially considering here in the burbs, it’s never pitchblack at night.
The ACOG isnt designed specifically for CQB operations, its a jack of all trades. If your in that kind of enviornment you choose the best tool for the job which would be an RDS/holographic sight.
If you know you need to go light/dark in short timespans bring some cyalume sticks and tape one to your fiber optic.
Thanks for the tip about the cyalum sticks. I got the ACOG because it is a jack of all trades, and that there were no electronics to mess with. If i later feel the need for a dedicated CQB sight, i will probably put a MRDS at the 1:30 position on my VTac rail.
The only other question I have is about any specific info on the horseshoe reticle and how to best use it, as trijicon seems to be slow to publish tech data on thier new stuff. I’m basically looking for a breakdown on how to most effectively use all the various elements of the Hdot reticle and estimating range with it as well as using the windage aspect of the reticle aswell.
I found this a little while ago.
What difference does it make if you can’t see it in total darkness? You won’t be able to determine what you’re shooting at either.
When you light 'em up with white light, you won’t be able to see the reticule either as you’ll get enough splash from the light to make it useless. If, (big bunch of if’s) you were in total darkness, if there was a bad guy, if you lit him up with white, put the bugger in the view of your aiming device… and if you have good form to begin with, you’ll be on target at close ranges. That’s a whole lotta if!
(Side note: I read somewhere once that Pirates didn’t wear an eyepatch because they didn’t have an eye, but to keep one eye dark ready at all times. Don’t know if that’s true, but maybe we should make a run of “tactical eyepatches” 
JUUUUUST KIDDING)
Here’s a tip: go in your bathroom after 2100 hours with your rifle and ACOG, turn off the light, look through your ACOG. There’s your answer!
The reticle will be MUCH dimmer than when you have direct light coming into it.
Remember that it takes 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to darkness. So taking your ACOG into the closet and looking at it, won’t give you an accurate idea of how bright it is.
C4
First your eyes adjust automatically as darkness progresses, the “30 minutes” or whatever is the time it takes from being in a brightly lit indoors and then going outside in low-light/night.
Second it doesn’t really matter which optic you use, your eyes still have to adjust to reach their maximum effectiveness.
No there aren’t any timeouts but allowing your eyes to adjust isn’t specific to the ACOG. Seeing the reticle is all well and good but if you can’t see the bad guy what difference does an RDS make?
Using a 3X-4X ACOG for home defense/CQB is really not a good choice. If you are using this optic on your “Go To Gun” then learn how to point shoot.
C4
Just an observation…in the dark the TA31FG is much brighter than the TA31F. You can see the fiber optic very lightly “glowing” in the dark.
I have heard from more than one military person that the soldiers point shot their M4s up close because they have the TA31s.
Thats kinda the idea behind the bindon aiming concept. As for home defense, thats what the shotgun is for.
As stated earlier I am thinking about placing a mini red dot at the 1:30 position on my fore rail, which will take care of the cqb stuff
In all reality though the Acog is going to be perfect for hunting coyote, squirrel, and racoons in the wooded North Georgia forests, rarely do you get a shot over 200 yards, if even 100 yds round here.