Swarovski illuminated vs non illuminated

[Kevin Peacocke]

I have an illuminated and also a non-illuminated Swarovski scopes. I use the illumination a lot and way prefer it to the non-illuminated.
For my last buff I used a Trijicon red dot, perfect!

 

[Green Chile]

I've noticed that Boddington is using more illuminated reticles also on buff, etc and asked him about it. He told me it helped as his eyes get older and he is using them more on double rifles also versus irons.

 

[VertigoBE]

For the few grammes of difference and having to change the battery every -years, I really don’t see the downside for having the illuminated option available.

If you don’t need it, don’t use it, but when you do need it… there is no real substitute either. As hunters we all know that it is often in golden hour where the magic happens, so having a little more confidence when light is failing is worth the slightly bigger and heavier scope

Come to think of it, the difference in weight between the illuminated and non illuminated version is likely equal to one or two rounds of ammo anyway. So it is a non issue.

 

[rookhawk]

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'm a z6 and z8 straight-tube fanboy and I've owned a lot of them: illuminated, non-illuminated, EEs, etc. 95% of the optics I've owned in the past 20 years have been these models.

For non-DG, I had no issues with the non-illuminated options. I used them on many small bore rifles and the clarity and light gathering were fantastic for my purposes when I was in my mid-30s. As I age, my maximum pupil dilation continues to decline so the limitation continues to be the light gathering of my eyes in low-light more so than the optics themself. For deer, elk, plains game and bear you don't need illumination.

For leopard from a blind or for fast shots on dangerous game inside of 80 yards, you really ought to have illumination to direct your eye to the target quickly whether in low light or for an instant shot.

All of this is a waste of time if you don't have these optics in low or ultra low rings where you can make an instantaneous shot without having to creep around on the scope. But yes, in a proper scope mount your illuminated is just an RMR with more versatility. People omit this last part and it unravels the whole point of the illumination for speedy, accurate shots.