Trijicon Scopes

When I used to shoot Field Target (FT) competitions many years ago, I was always drawn to high magnification scopes, as this type of optic is vital to be able to tell the distance to the target. The magnification of FT scopes seemed to have peaked at a whopping x80 mag but who knows what mega optics competitors will be using in the future?

My FT days are a distant memory however and I get my competitive fix these days shooting the NRA Civilian Service Rifle (CSR) winter league down at Bisley. There are two optics classes; Practical Optic and Service Optic. The former is pretty much unlimited as to the magnification but too high a mag can be a real pain for the shorter distance and standing shots. Service has a maximum magnification of x4.5 and this is the class I usually shoot in; I’m therefore more interested in fairly low mag, tactical-type scopes these days. Since 2012 I’ve been using an old Hakko-made 2.5-10 X 50 scope, set on 4.5 and I turn it down to 2.5 for the standing stages. This has been a very reliable optic but that fat front lens adds a load of weight that I could well do without. The chunky target turrets are very good but they don’t really need to be quite so big and they too add excess weight. My rifle now sports a slimmed down barrel but the scope/ rifle combo is still pretty weighty.

Trijicon

At this last British Shooting Show I happened to be looking at selection of ACOG combat sights on the Beechwood Equipment stand, when I noticed the Trijicon range of scopes. I must admit to being unaware that they even made conventional optics! The scopes in question looked absolutely perfect for a spot of CSR and I made contact with Ryan Sammons who was kind enough to drop off a couple of tasty examples - he even bought doughnuts as well! Good man! The scopes in question were an AccuPower 1-4 X 24 and an AccuPoint 1-6 X 24; both have 30mm, aircraft-grade, one-piece alloy tubes, a 2nd focal plane (SFP) reticule and low profile, capped adjusters with ¼ MOA clicks. The eyepiece is of the fast focus variety and all internal lenses are multi-coated for enhanced light transmission. The zoom rings have raised levers built in, so changing the power can be done quickly and efficiently. The 24mm objective lenses ensure a sleek look and the overall fit and finish is good, with flawless, matte black anodising. The scopes are waterproof to a depth of 10 feet (handy for a spot of shallow sniping!) so should keep the excesses of British weather at bay when shooting on Century range in the winter! That’s the similarities sorted, so how do these scopes differ apart from the magnification range?

Accupower 1-4 x 24

This is the simpler of the two models and I must admit it’s right up my (CSR) street! The AccuPower is available with 4 differing ‘tactical’ reticules and the model on test had a Duplex-style with an illuminated centre.

Illumination is taken care of by a rheostat drum on the left of the saddle; power is from a single CR2032 battery housed inside, you get the choice of red or red in 11-increments. The elevation and windage turrets can be re-set very simply by pulling them up, setting them in the required position and then pushing them down again. The click values are ¼ MOA @ 100 yards, with a total of 100 MOA travel and 24 MOA per turn.

Accupoint 1-6 x 24

The feature that really sets the AcuPoint apart from its stable mate is the battery-free illumination. A fibre optic automatically adjusts the reticule brightness (in this example’s case a central dot) and ensures that it is clear in all lighting conditions. In really low light conditions, an integral tritium phosphor lamp sorts out the illumination if there’s very little or in fact no light at all. There’s also a manual override dial to adjust the reticule if required. It looks a little like a windmill within a disc and you simply turn it to give the required level. The turrets have a total of 110 MOA adjustment, more than enough for any situation!

Bisley-bound

I mounted the AccuPower 1-4 on my Southern Gun Company Speedmaster straight-pull AR15 and the 1-6 AccuPoint on my FAL. I used a one-piece mount on the AR and a set of Sportsmatch mounts on the FAL. Both scopes looked very good once on board and were ideal companions for the rifles. At 100 yards I soon had them both zeroed and the sight picture was bright and clear with a good edge-to-edge image.

I worked my way back to 600 yards and I was as impressed at 600 as I was at 100. A couple of rather scope-fussy mates also liked them and I really think that these models will do well in this competitive market. I didn’t actually need to illuminate the reticule, as the day was sunny and bright but I may need the feature in the winter months. Both optics look bombproof and Trijicon certainly know their stuff!