Trijicon is probably one of the most recognized makers of optics and gun sights in the industry. From the ACOG combat optic to tritium-based night sights, Trijicon has made a reputation for making durable, useful, and high quality sighting systems that are trusted by law enforcement, military, and civilian operators around the world. With the growth of battle rifles’ use of and customer demand for the ability to have a variable power optic that can operate in some senses like a reflex sight as well as a magnified optic depending on the situation, Trijicon has once again stepped up to the plate, and their Accupoint series of optics continues to provide what users of the Trijicon brand have come to expect.
Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy shooting a lot, and am very sensitive to the equipment I use. I found that, while using a standard red dot sight with a flip-aside magnifier was acceptable for some tasks, it never worked quite as well as I would’ve liked when going for the longer range shots, especially in cases where keeping my prescription glasses on and between me and the scope was not easily accomplished, leaving the laser-projected dot less of a dot and more of a hazy fog of light. The first thing that drew me to the Accupoint was it reticle. Unlike all of the laser sights I’ve used, the illuminated, non-reflected reticle remained clear and focused, easily discernible even without my glasses.
Another feature I enjoyed was the option to select color and type of crosshair, depending on which scope I happen to choose. This made a lot more sense and enabled me to choose what worked best for me. Given that I was about to embark on serious 3-gun competition, I opted to go with their Delta Point reticle, as I found it faster to acquire and sight with, and users of the ACOG optics will be comfortable transitioning to this type of scope as it presents nearly the same sight picture.
Finally, I must say I was stunned by the quality of the glass used. Without turning this into a long discussion of the quality of optics and what defines quality, I found that the Trijicon easily earned its price tag simply in the bright, clear sight picture that boasted little distortion.
A Truly Useful Variable
When buying variable powered optics, especially in the 1-4x range, it’s easy to forget one key point: no variable optic is ever truly 1x like a simple clear piece of glass. All optics will have some distortion when magnification comes into play. Most of the variable-power optics on the market that claim to be 1-4x are better described as 1.1-4x, given that enough distortion and shifting occurs at the lowest setting as to make true reflex sighting difficult. It was for this reason that I burned through a lot of variable-power optics before I got to the Trijicon, including some very expensive options.
How they did it, I don’t know. Suffice it to say, however, I found the Trijicon to have very little distortion, if any, at 1x. Also, with an extremely generous eye relief, the scope truly made snap shooting without an additional reflex optic no problem whatsoever. With the higher magnification, too, I retained a nice, wide sight picture, easy acquisition, and clarity of the target. When it came time to run through a 3-gun match, I was duly impressed. With an add-on magnification dial ring that was easier to hit with the thumb, I found i could shoot the entire course, including 400-yard targets, without having to switch out optics or change positions of the rifle to shift from a magnified optic to a reflex, which also meant that developing skill for changing cheek weld and shooting position didn’t need to happen.
Accuracy For All Ranges
Setting aside all the ooing and ahing about the clarity and the usefulness as a reflex optic, I’m going to air a major gripe about a fair few number of reflex optics out there: Trying to adjust for wind or elevation on the fly is one major pain in the ass. Some red dots for rifles offer decent turrets for adjusting, but a vast majority of the compact versions offered today for ready use on rifles, smgs, and pistols aren’t so accommodating.
With this 1-4x line, though, Trijicon brought to the table large, easily-adjusted turrets boasting quarter-moa-per-click adjustments. For anyone used to making quick adjustments on the fly, while it’s not as nice as having a return-to-zero target-style turret, they work quite well and are easily reached without coming off the rifle or needing to fumble a lot.
Bottom Line
Even this wonderful optic has a few drawbacks. Chief among these drawbacks, in my opinion, is size. While extremely durable, the optic is easily as large as many traditional-powered scopes (though most in this class of optics are, to be fair), meaning it will take up a LOT of real estate on your rifle, and invariably add weight. Another drawback to this optic compared to its ACOG brethren is lack of mildots or other types of ranging and bullet drop compensation devices. This isn’t a bad thing per se, however when using this optic as a magnified optic and not simply a reflex optic, it would be nice to have these features.
Beyond those downsides, which are minor enough to be relegated to this part of the column, I have to give this optic a solid A. If you’re going for three-gun, shorter-range hunting or tactical use that requires a variability of magnifications useful at ranges within the envelope most urban operators are used to, it’s hard to pass this optic by. And, at the $750 price point (average), it comes in at roughly half the cost of the truly high-end options that I feel are the closest equal in quality. Stay Safe and Shoot Straight.
