TA11-GH Summary and Judgement
The reticle center in the ACOG is lit by Tritium at night and through the light pipe during the day. Since the amount of light going into the light pipe depends on ambient lighting, it is self-adjusting: in brighter light, the reticle center gets brighter. This is normally OK, however, practical shooters have learned that a very bright reticle appears larger and will obscure more of a target behind it. It has become standard to mask off some of the light pipe to adjust the reticle brightness. I have used a simple piece of bicycle innertube cut and put over the ACOG for the last five years. It works very well. The way it is used is that for close and short/medium-range engagements, the pipe is uncovered so the reticle is at maximum brightness (to pick up the reticle as fast as possible). For medium-range to long-range engagements or for small, precise targets, the light pipe is covered up almost completely to dim the reticle center to a dull red/green or even black to provide the most crisp reticle in the sight picture. After spending some time with the TA11-GH, here's what I think: it works great, just like the original TA11. The horse-shoe dot in the TA11-GH is better for 200-400-yard targets than the donut: it provides a more open, precise sight picture. I did not have the opportunity to evaluate it on short, fast, CQB style engagements; however, I believe it would be approximately as good. I do prefer a red reticle over green - I believe it is more noticable and faster, and provides better target contrast in most situations. The new knobs work great. Overall, the TA11-GH has mostly good changes. The new reticle will work great at mid-range distances.
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