foreveryoung001

My buddy and I were out at the range last weekend with are AR's. We had been at a gun show the previous weekend and we both found a good deal on red dot scopes and wanted to get them sighted in.

Well, its still winter here in Northern Michigan, and in the cold temps, we both had battery problems. His were worse than mine (Different brands?) but even my first battery went dead after only 15 mintues or so... maybe not even that long. But it got me wondering if the thing was worth the money.

I went to my local gun dealer and mentioned the problem, and he said the small lithium batteries tended to have problems in cold weather, and started telling me about Trijicon. I played with a couple of them there in the store and was pretty impressed. So that would solve the battery issue, but I'm wondering about durability.

The one I really liked was almost $600 (a little over 3 times what I paid at the gun show for mine) and I'm just wondering how they hold up. Anyone own a trijicon and willing to share your thoughts?

Also, how well do they work in very dark situations? As one of my preferred home defense weapons, I bought the red dot with the mind set that I would have a better advantage over a BG late at night. But if the dot, or in this case, little triangle thingy, doesn't show up, then I'd be in the same boat as finding out I had a dead battery when I really needed it.

Just looking for some thoughts.

On a side note, I had to mount mine on my carry handle since it is not removable, and I noticed that the make-shift rail that I bought to screw on to the handle would keep coming loose after 15 rounds or so. I thought about something like Lock-tight or threadlocker, but I also like using my iron sights, and want to be able to remove it easily. Any thoughts on that too?

Thanks for your help.

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When the messenger arrives and says 'Don't shoot the messenger,' it's a good idea to be prepared to shoot the messenger, just in case.

SIXTO

First step is to understand what these type of sight do and dont. They dont help much in low light situations, in fact they hinder without the target being illuminated at least slightly. I dont know where it all started that these things are the cats backside for low light... it just isnt true without the other half being present.

Trij... top quality stuff. If you can afford it, buy it. Its pricey, but top shelf equipment almost always is.

EOtechs are popular, and are very nice as well. They can be had for a lot less less the Trij stuff if you look around.

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Rob99VMI04

I've got a trijicon Tri-Power (Do not Recommend)
I've got a Trijicon Reflex sight, dot glows very well in low light due to the heavy fiber optics in the front of the site. However, If you can't see the target you have this glowing UFO in front of you, and also since its a bright yellow dot shooting in high light can be challenging. There only about 400.

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Rock and Glock

Lithium batteries are more resistant to freezing than alkaline or others IIRC - I'm am truly curious now - does anyone here have a lot of battery knowledge to help us less fortunate? I thought Lithium were the choice for sub-zero applications.

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Richard

NRA Life Member

"This world is not a playground where children at play are pampered by friendly nannies," Wendelin Wiedeking

matiki

15 year R/C pilot here, I've been flying electric the entire time.

This site is the best primer for the information you want I've ever found:

Welcome to Battery University

As far as lipo's being the choice for low temp... that's mostly myth.

Lipo's have greater energy density... they weigh less and provide more current, faster, than other common technology. But they stop being capable of peak output at around 10 degrees C, vs. slightly less than 1 degree C for NiCad or Nimh.

So... they are a better battery in regards to peak current, life cycle (# of charges - in the case of rechargeable's), low self-discharge and capacity - by a great deal - but they are not at any advantage in cold temperatures.

A possible way of viewing them as advantageous in cold temperatures, is that in said cold temperatures, the longer battery life reduces the risk of frostbite from changing batteries.

Chuck R.

Which version TriPower do you have?

I've got the second version and after a trip back to Trijicon for dim tritium I really like it. They sent me back a completely new sight with a different (redesigned) bell housing. I think the chevron is a great reticle and after close to 3 years I'm still on the same batteries.

Here's a picture on the newer version:



This is a picture of the reticle at 200 meters on one of my swingers. The target is well lit, but my bench is in the shade.



Chuck

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Rock and Glock

Matiki: Thank You!

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Richard

NRA Life Member

"This world is not a playground where children at play are pampered by friendly nannies," Wendelin Wiedeking

foreveryoung001

Chuck R,

That's the one I was thinking about. Sounds like you like it quite a bit.

__________________
When the messenger arrives and says 'Don't shoot the messenger,' it's a good idea to be prepared to shoot the messenger, just in case.

Chuck R.

Yes I like it more than the Aimpoint I used to have. The biggest thing for me is the chevron, which I find very fast to use close and at the same time allows for some precision at distance.

At first the Tritium was about useless. When I called their CS (excellent support BTW) they said they had a new objective lens that did better with the Tritium. When i got mine back I received a brand new sight in a new Pelican case. Now the tritium works great and is usable at night.

Under certain circumstances the reticle can/will washout when aiming into a well lighted area from a dark area. Hit the power and its fixed. I've never managed to have mine washout completely yet, it can still be seen just not bright. I had similar with my Aimpoint when I had the dot turned to low for the change in ambient light. Another cool feature with the fiber optic is it self regulates to your available light.

Just make sure you get the newer version with the metal body not plastic. Also my original second version had a rounded bell housing instead of the flattened version in my picture.

Chuck

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