There has been significant reader interest in Trijicon riflescopes and we've never taken a close look at one, until now. Hopefully, this Guns and Shooting Online review will rectify the oversight. The tested scope is a Trijicon Accu-Point 3-9x40mm with an amber dot model TR20-1 (Duplex type) reticle.

The primary area of interest in Trijicon scopes is the self-illuminating amber dot in the center of the reticle that is augmented by a fiber optic array in daylight use. In addition, the Accu-Point features a European style fast focusing eyepiece, multi-coated lenses, 1/4 MOA windage and elevation adjustments and a tactile bump on the zoom ring. Lens caps are included. The aluminum alloy tube wears an anodized matte black finish. The scope itself has fairly conventional specifications for a one inch main tube hunting scope with a 40mm objective lens.

Specifications

• Magnification: 3x-9x
• Objective diameter: 40mm
• Length: 12.4 in.
• Weight: 13.4 oz.
• Illumination source: Fiber Optics & Tritium
• Reticle pattern: Standard Duplex Crosshair
• Day reticle color: Amber
• Night reticle color: Amber
• Eye relief: 3.6" to 3.2"
• Exit pupil: 13.3mm to 4.4mm
• Field of view (degrees): 6.45 to 2.15
• Field of view @ 100 yards: 33.8' to 11.3'
• Adjustments: ¼ MOA
• Adjustment Range: ± 25 MOA (± 7.4 mils) minimum
• Tube diameter: 1 in.
• Housing Material: 6061-T6 aluminum
• Finish: Hard coat anodized per MIL-A-8625, Type III, Class 2 dull & non reflective
• 2012 MSRP: $900

The tritium lamp is warranted to glow for fifteen years from date of purchase, then it can be replaced by Trijicon. My understanding is that a 20-25 year lifespan on the original tritium element is typical.

Most Trijicon product is manufactured in Michigan, but this Accu-Point scope is fundamentally a Japanese product. Final assembly and packaging, including the installing the fiber optic/tritium illumination module and setting the parallax, is performed at their plant in Michigan.

The huge advantage of the Trijicon Accu-Point is the lack of batteries. Not only is it impossible to have the illuminated reticle feature fail due to dead batteries, eliminating the battery housing and associated parts means a substantially lighter scope. No buttons to push, nothing to turn on in low light, the amber dot is automatically there when you need it.

In daylight, the amber dot is as visible as you choose to make it. There is an easy to use integral shroud that lets you control the fiber optic brightness. Looking at the fiber optic under artificial lighting does not do it justice. Outdoors, it is extremely bright and clear. Although my test scope has the amber dot, you have your choice of other reticles, including a green dot, triangle reticle, or a Mil-Dot crosshair with illuminated center dot.

An issue with many scopes isn't the reticle, it's that you can't see the reticle before you run out of legal shooting light. That's the magic of the Accu-Point's tritium illuminated center dot, along with its freedom from batteries.

A further problem with some rheostat illuminated reticle scopes, is that the reticle is too bright and cannot be turned down to a non-blinding level. That, thankfully, isn't the problem here. In low-light or even at night, you have all the dot you need to precisely place a shot without it ever becoming distracting, much less overwhelming.

While hardly an entry-level scope at something like $900 full retail and $750 or so discount price, it is extremely well-made, has excellent image quality and works exactly as promised. Unique among magnified optics, the lighter weight and lack of relying on batteries give it considerable appeal compared to the more common LED illuminated reticle scopes. If instant target acquisition is important to you in dingy, low-light, low contrast conditions, this Trijicon Accu-Point is worthy of your consideration.