ILL Recticles on Leupold worth it?

East Bay

Is investing in a illuminated reticle for a Leupold scope worth that extra money & weight? I was interested in a 4.5-14 Var X III. Is this more of a toy or a really useful option?

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will270win

I had one of those. Didn't weigh a whole lot more and I never used the illumination for anything but showin' off. I carried that rifle on a every huntin' trip to see if I would ever use that "light", never did. If I could do it again, I would spend the extra dough on beer and pizza.

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Eat healthy, exercise, avoid smoking........Die anyway. will270win@aol.com ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~

DaRoosta

I purchased a Leupold 3.5x10x50 Illuminated Mil-dot scope to put on a new hunting rifle earlier this year. Although it was kind of "showing off" at first, I learned it has an absolutely tremendous advantage to it. It draws my focus directly to the illuminated crosshairs, which are then easily aligned with the target. Simply put, it's easier for me to align my zero point with my target and do it much more quickly and effeciently. Many times in the field, you need to get your zero on an animal immediately. It's my opinion that this is the advantage to the illuminated reticle.

JustC

I started using illum's about three hunting seasons ago, best thing I ever did. The majority of my shots come after 5 o'clock when it is hard to even see the deer in the field. If I played by all the rules, I wouldn't have much meat. The illum's are a great advantage for the late or early shots when the standard crosshair is non-existent. I pulled a shot at 5:35 last week at a black shape in the dark field in front of me, I knew it was a deer but without the illumination I would have opted to not take the shot it the spirit of ethical hunting. However, the dot in my scope allowed me to get the perfect heart shot and the meat. I will probably replace most of my MEAT GUN scopes with the illum's.

He Dog

DaRoosta, that is an interesting point. Do you use the illum reticle throughout the day to help focus or just in low light?JustC the point you make raises the question in my mind of how you knew that dark shape was not only a deer, but a legal deer. If I could not be sure it was legal I would not shoot.

JustC

HEDOG, in MD during rifle season, everything is a legal deer. I could see it in the scope clearly but was unable to distinguish crosshairs. Some people would put it in the middle and pull the trigger, not me. I think of my shot placement as an extension of my practice and ability. I don't take the "in the middle of the scope" shots, I like to place them. I find the front leg, follow it up to the briskit (sp?) move rearward several inches and 2 small pounds later BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!! Bye the way, the dot is so accurate under these conditions, I found a piece of the heart laying in the field at the point of impact. God Bless the 7mm rem mag 150gr nosler balistic exiting a contour 6 fluted bull bbl!!! Accuracy problems are none but my own, the gun is perfect. I leave nothing to excuses but my own skill.I do not take bad shots!!!!! I have respect for my quarry, That's why I am on the bench and off-hand all year long. Practice Practice Practice.

He Dog

Thanks for the come back JustC. I wish NM had that situation, I could fill my permit the first two hours. Buck (at least 1 fork) here except very rare exceptions. Do you find that the dot is useful at all during the day to focus your concentration, or do you use it purely for low light? See ya on the range!

JustC

HEDOG...I like the dot for paper killin. It does give you a better perception of center bull. I find that the bullseye can often be the wrong color, or the black spot in the middle makes it hard to determine if you are exactly dead center etc. I have started to use both eyes in the last several years and I beleive it does help you to focus on dead center better. The dot takes away the up and down, left and right crosshair factor. This can allow you to see the center of the dot-on-target comparison. I know most people feel that if you can shave a 1/10 or 1/20 inch at 100yds it is not worth $500-$1000 worth of scope and or gunsmithing, but to me, that is only the beginning. I want to group at 500 and 600yds some day. By that I mean good groups, like 3-4 inches. I use a benchrest bull bag (15") for the front and a set of leather rabbit ears for the rear. I like the combination, it allows me to use one hand to shoot, two hands if you have to feel like your holding something. Often I will put my non-trigger hand on the pistol grip just in front of my cheek. It helps to settle the gun in the bag and gives the feeling you are still holding the gun. It will also stop the scope-eye cuts if the caliber gets away from you as your hand will contact your face as the rearward motion progresses. I should probably explain;... my non-trigger hand is placed on the top side of the rifle's grip just behind the trigger hand and slightly grasping the rear section of the trigger hand and covering the webb. try that at the range, i like it.So your rules say only a forked buck? We can shoot 2 buck and 2 doe for each of the 3 weapons. this is provided they are in the correct order. Also, sika deer are counted seperately. I feel the dot helps to give a more accurate picture of the point of impact at the longer ranges too, it puts your concentration on the center, not the crosshairs. You can easily see them during the day as well. My buddy has the leupold and I have a Burris. They are both fine scopes but I feel that the Burris is a better deal. I took a 4.5-14x50 Leupold off of my Sendero when I got the Burris. Check out an illum at the store, ask if you can take it outside and put it on the rest. They are nice features to have in a scope. Hope any of this helps you guys..

He Dog

Thanks JustC interesting. I make look at that for the .308 I am building. Yup, 1 buck at least one fork per hunter per season. Both the mule deer and white tail (Cous) are marginal in NM and heavily impacted by climate. We have had several years of drought, but we saw a lot of does with fat healthy fawns during our elk hunt a couple of weeks ago so they are picking back up.

DaRoosta

He Dog - To answer your question, I generally use the illumination whenever I'm not hunting in open country. I guess you could say I use it almost all the time. Batteries aren't very expensive, but sometimes hard to find (they're 3-volt in both of mine). I just think it's a good habit for the picture to look the same every time I look through the scope.As for price, I actually only paid the same amount as what the non-illuminated Leupolds were going for. I got a steal of a deal and have never looked back. Good deals are to be had, but you have to be patient. It's just like waiting for that monster buck. I probably would have never known of the benefits if I hadn't stumbled on such a deal. My opinion, even though I didn't spend any extra, is it's definitely worth spending the extra money for the illuminated reticle. As we all know, you don't want to second guess anything when squeezing the trigger.