Swarovski illuminated vs non illuminated

[Short Track]

I have the Z6i & Z8i. Thinking about it, I have never used the i. Not even once. The scope is amazing in low light without the illumination.
I would rather save the weight. Too bad the Z8 isn't available without illumination. I know the Z5 and probably Z6 come without illumination.

Gotta be an oz or 2 of electronics to illuminate.
Anyone ever really need the illumination feature of any scope?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I have the Z6i & Z8i. Thinking about it, I have never used the i. Not even once. The scope is amazing in low light without the illumination.
I would rather save the weight. Too bad the Z8 isn't available without illumination. I know the Z5 and probably Z6 come without illumination.

Gotta be an oz or 2 of electronics to illuminate.
Anyone ever really need the illumination feature of any scope?

I have a red dot Trijicon on a double. I can say the red dot against the black of a buffalo was well worth having. For a leopard hunt, especially if at night, I think it would also have its place.

Day time against an impalaca, kudu or whatever else, maybe not so much.

 

[375Fox]

Your observations are very different than mine. I never thought I needed illumination from a Leupold scope because I thought the crosshairs draw a good contrast. Swarovski may have better glass but without illumination I don’t think I could have made many shots I have near dark hunting roe deer. I have a difficult time with Swarovski crosshairs against a dark background.

 

[Rare Breed]

I have the Z6i & Z8i. Thinking about it, I have never used the i. Not even once. The scope is amazing in low light without the illumination.
I would rather save the weight. Too bad the Z8 isn't available without illumination. I know the Z5 and probably Z6 come without illumination.

Gotta be an oz or 2 of electronics to illuminate.
Anyone ever really need the illumination feature of any scope?

Yes, twice. My largest buff in the shadows beneath a tree and my elephant in shadow in deep jess. The key word is shadow not just at dusk or daylight

 

[RR 314]

I may not need it, but I utilize it almost every time I fire my rifles on a hunt. Morning, mid day or dusk. Only time I do not is if I do not have time to turn illumination on. If I had scope failure, I would be fine shooting without it, but I certainly have gotten accustomed to using illumination no matter the time of day/conditions.

 

[AimSmall]

Have made the shot with the Z6i illuminated reticle when other hunters were packing it in due to lack of optics.

 

[WAB]

I have more Swarovski scopes than I care to admit, both illuminated and conventional. At thirty minutes past sunset on a clear night, the illumination is not needed. Throw in heavy cloud cover and a light rain and all bets are off. At forty five minutes past sunset the illumination, at its lowest possible setting, is mandatory.

 

[wolfhunter]

I started out with a leupold hunting coyotes at night then a nightforce and a leica they all work great .average 20 to 25 per year.

 

[Green Chile]

I have used the illumination MANY times in the past several years…buff in low light…T10 under the bushes…night critters, bush pigs, etc…many deer hunts in low light…black bears at last light…headshots on impala for bait in tall grass…leopard hunting…lion in tall grass…most of my hunts honestly.

 

[R eight]

I have the Z6i & Z8i. Thinking about it, I have never used the i. Not even once. The scope is amazing in low light without the illumination.
I would rather save the weight. Too bad the Z8 isn't available without illumination. I know the Z5 and probably Z6 come without illumination.

Gotta be an oz or 2 of electronics to illuminate.
Anyone ever really need the illumination feature of any scope?

I was never a fan of illuminated reticules. Always thought of it as a gimmick. Then a few years ago I bought an Aimpoint H1 when I brought my first R8. I really liked the red dot. But still wasn’t a fan of an illuminated scope. Then I started using a mates R8 which was wearing a B2. I really liked it…so much so that I bought one. I use it on my R8 PH with the 375 H&H barrel.
Yesterday I shot my local club big game rifle competition with the PH and B2.
Anyway, I’ve convinced myself that I’m shooting better with the nice little red dot to focus on.
In yesterday’s competition I shot the 100 and 50 meters kind of okay.
But I impressed myself with the 25 meter target. Course of fire at 25 meters is. 2 shots in 10 seconds from the standing unsupported position. Repeated 3 times. Target is the standard 50 meter pistol target. Below is the target. I’m yet to hunt the rifle and B2.
Ammunition is PPU factory. Scope set on 3X. I’ve only fired around 30 rounds through this rifle/scope. I think I’m going to love it.

 

[mdwest]

I’ve got a handful of illuminated optics.. mostly leupold… but I honestly forget they’re illuminated most of the time and fail to turn them on..

I’ve just hunted most of my life without illuminated, so it never occurs to me to use it…

 

[Safari Dave]

Who would want a battery in a scope?...

Not me.

 

[R eight]

Who would want a battery in a scope?...

Not me.

You sound much like me…..up until recently .

 

[ldmay375]

I have more Swarovski scopes than I care to admit, both illuminated and conventional. At thirty minutes past sunset on a clear night, the illumination is not needed. Throw in heavy cloud cover and a light rain and all bets are off. At forty five minutes past sunset the illumination, at its lowest possible setting, is mandatory.

I agree. There are certainly low light and environmental conditions which make an illuminated aiming point very handy.

I was somewhat forced into the illumination when I could not easily obtain the scopes I wanted with the heavier 1st focal reticles.
I have a few 1st focal #4's with illumination. When the light is really low, the illumination seems a positive, even with these.

 

[MontanaPat]

I never had illuminated reticles until recently with a few Leupolds and a Zeiss Conquest. I won’t buy a scope now without illumination for all of the reasons others have mentioned about low light and shadows or dark backgrounds. I find I use it all of the time, turn it on in the morning and leave it on all day. The illumination turns itself off when not using but the movement of pulling the rifle to your shoulder turns itself off right back on and makes it very easy to quickly acquire the target and get on target ready to fire. Maybe it is older eyes, but I would bet anyone over 50-60 years of age would find they are an advantage

 

[Philip Glass]

I have the Z6i & Z8i. Thinking about it, I have never used the i. Not even once. The scope is amazing in low light without the illumination.
I would rather save the weight. Too bad the Z8 isn't available without illumination. I know the Z5 and probably Z6 come without illumination.

Gotta be an oz or 2 of electronics to illuminate.
Anyone ever really need the illumination feature of any scope?

I would not own any scope today that is not illuminated.

 

[Short Track]

We have 1/2 hour past sunset. After that, it's not legal to shoot.

 

[Beck]

I find illuminated reticles to be very useful, but they do have their downsides. If you're not careful the red dot will be so bright that it will engulf your entire target. I check the intensity of the dot every couple of minutes as the sun goes down. You might want the brightest dot possible during the day, but as you lose light you'll need to use a lower setting.

 

[375Fox]

We have 1/2 hour past sunset. After that, it's not legal to shoot.

You’re not considering hunting outside the lower 48 then. A salmon bear hunt in Alaska, boars in Europe, leopard in Africa would really show the value for an illuminated scope. I’ve done fine without illumination but when seconds matter and you need a perfect shot it adds a lot of value. I’ve pulled crosshairs above and below to shoot bushpigs and hyena in dark, but I wouldn’t consider that type of shot on a leopard where someone could get seriously injured on the follow up.

 

[Green Chile]

I would not own any scope today that is not illuminated.

I agree 100%. Every scope I've bought in the last 3 years has been illuminated. Dark reticles on dark animals like buff, bears, etc are so easy with an illuminated reticle. To the point being made about brightness, I prefer a scope like Swaro which when switched the left is on the low light setting...to the right on the day time setting. Each can be adjusted easily. Hand to God, the illuminated reticle has helped me take some of my best trophies in poor lighting conditions.

I've never had the battery wear out but even if it did, the reticle is still there. Replace them every year or two and I've never had an issue. Saying you don't want a battery there (with the current technology) is like saying you don't want a rangefinder in your binos. Why not? It's great technology. Even if I was hunting with iron sights, I would still want to know the distance...especially with irons. If you haven't tried the lighted reticle, give it a try sometime. It is very helpful and truly helps make better shooting in poor conditions, which can happen any day on a hunt.