Anyone hands on with a TA-110 ACOG yet? (Edit: Bought one, reviews going up)

[BrigandTwoFour]

I've been looking to add the TA-11 to my collection for a couple years, but I noticed that Trijicon came out with the battery powered variant (TA-110) (https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product3.php?pid=TA110-D-100493). I had always figured I wanted the simplicity of a dual illuminated ACOG (FO/tritium) since it was no-nonsense. But the increasing cost of recharging the tritium vials and the known issues with blooming in bright sun have always somewhat worried me.

My positive experience with the battery powered ELCAN SpecterOS 4x are tempting me to stick with batteries for the ACOG as well.

Does anyone have any experience with the new battery powered version of the TA-11?

For context, the rifle I plan to mount it to is a 20" BCM gov't with floated barrel and collapsable stock. It is my primary marksmanship practice rifle, and spends most of its time outdoors in full to moderate sun (depending on overcast conditions).

[BrigandTwoFour]

Bumping this one up for quick access. I just ordered one of these, and will post some impressions once it arrives.

I purchased it from Eurooptic, and got the green LED .308 horseshoe dot reticle.

[Furbyballer]

Bumping this one up for quick access. I just ordered one of these, and will post some impressions once it arrives.

I purchased it from Eurooptic, and got the green LED .308 horseshoe dot reticle.

I can't wait to hear your impressions. I have an astigmatism and normal acogs are a no go for me, but the led powered models should work. One of these is on my short list of optics to grab this year.

[BrigandTwoFour]

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/ta110rightside.jpg

I recently picked one of these up. There is almost no information out there about them, so I figured I would write something. The TA-110 is essentially a battery powered TA-11, which has been among the most popular ACOG models in the competition world due to its longer eye relief compared to the 4x models without sacrificing the field of view found in the 3x TA-33 models.

I had originally planned on picking up a dual illuminated fiber optic model, the TA-11. I recommended that optic to a friend, and I was suitably impressed with it on his rifle. However, the more I thought about my uses in the real world (and not TEOTWAKI zombie apocalypse), I decided that I find more utility in user controllable battery illumination. This allows me to turn off the illumination when I need more precision (as opposed to the notable blooming of the fiber optic in full sun), and also lets me keep good illumination when lighting is poor.

Of note, I purchased the green horseshoe-dot reticle calibrated for .308. The .308 BDC is actually a closer match to 77gr SMK and 75gr TAP than the standard 5.56 reticle in the TA-11. That's not to say that it's perfect, and some work will have to be done to determine actual holdover points, but it is closer. Using the .308 reticle also gives me the interesting option of mounting the optic on my M1A or .308 AR.

These are the specs found on Trijicon's web site:



Magnification
3.5x


Objective Size (mm)
35mm


Bullet Drop Compensator
Yes


Length (in)
8.0 in.


Weight (oz)
16.8 oz. w/out Mount


Illumination Source
LED


Reticle Pattern
Horseshoe Dot


Day Reticle Color
Green


Night Reticle Color
Green


Calibration
.308


Bindon Aiming Concept
Yes


Eye Relief (in)
2.4 in. / 61.0mm


Exit Pupil (mm)
0.39 in. / 10.0mm


Field of View (Degrees)
5.5


Field of View @ 100 yards (ft)
28.9


Housing Material
Forged Aluminum


Batteries
Single AA Lithium or Alkaline Battery


Battery Life
Over 12,000 hours on setting #4 at 21ºC (70ºF)


Adjustment Increments (Range to Target)
2 click per in. @ 100m


Adjustment Range
40 MOA Total Travel


Illumination Settings
6


Dimensions (LxWxH)
8.0 x 3.0 x 2.6 in, 203 x 76 x 66mm






These are almost identical to the TA11, with the notable exception of using AA Lithium (or Alkaline) batteries, which last around 12,000 hours (about 500 days) on setting #4. That setting appears to be a great general purpose illumination for overcast days and evenings. Setting #6 is daylight bright in full sun, and blooms quite a lot indoors.

Upon opening the case, my immediate gut reaction was, "Ooooohhhhh Niiiiiice." That immediate positive feeling was admittedly lacking when I first received my ELCAN.

The TA-110 weights two ounces more than the TA-11 due to the battery and battery housing. Trijicon supplied an Energizer AA Lithium with the optic. Including the TA-51 mount, the total package weights 21.35 ounces. It's no lightweight by any means, even edging out my TR-24 with ADM Scout mount by an ounce. For comparison, my ELCAN SpecterOS 4x weighs 18.85 ounces.

Size wise, the TA-110 is quite a bit larger than my ELCAN.

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/elcanta11sideby.jpg?w=584&h=391

Notably, with the deletion of the fiber optic housing from the TA-110's body, Trijicon has added a second forward position to mount a miniature red dot like the RMR.

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/ta110leftside.jpg?w=1000&h=&crop=1

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/ta110leftrear.jpg?w=700&h=&crop=1


When it comes to illumination, the TA-110 is very bright at maximum level (#6). There an off position between each illumination setting. The TA-110's knob is about as wide, but is narrower than the ELCAN's. I do not think I could change the settings on the TA-110 as quickly as I can the SpecterOS (which has a huge knob). I find the illumination on the TA-110 to be brighter than the ELCAN, and the green reticle jumps out at me much better than the smaller red center crosshair of the SpecterOS. The picture below was taken at 11:45 on my patio with the sun overhead. There is a bit of glare, which affected the camera (Nikon D3000).

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/throughta110.jpg?w=700&h=&crop=1

Optically, the TA-110 appears clearer than the ELCAN. This surprised me a lot. I always thought the ELCAN was optically magnificent. Perhaps I need to clean the lenses, as they have built up some dust from field use. I took some comparison photos at 4:45 PM when the sun was lower on the horizon and the optic were behind some shade.The illumination on both is still at full strength, and I used my iPhone 6s for these. The lack of sun glare helped quite a bit, but the ACOG does still appear brighter and clearer.

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/ta110dusk.jpg?w=700&h=&crop=1

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/specterosdusk.jpg?w=700&h=&crop=1

You will notice that the field of view on the SpecterOS is slightly wider than the TA-110. That was expected, as the two optics have a FOV of 34.2 and 28.9 feet at 100 yards, respectively. The difference probably isn't enough to worry about. Something I haven't quite figured out is why the photos through the ACOG to be more magnified than the ones taken through the SpecterOS, since the ACOG is 3.5x and the ELCAN is 4x. It is probably my own lack of skill with taking such pictures.

I will take the optic out to a few range trips and report back with more information. Overall, though, I would expect it to perform as well as all ACOGs historically have. I think the battery powered LED is a great solution, since it lets me control when and how much illumination I need without resorting to bicycle tubing, tape, mini glow sticks, or other methods typically used to control the brightness on the dual illuminated models.

[jstalford]

Thanks for the review. I think I want one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nimdabew]

I wish they made a battery powered TA33. Something light and good FOV. I get the short eye relief of the 31's, but damn that FOV was nice.

[mkmckinley]

Thanks for the excellent review. You're right, there's not much out there on these so it's nice to have someone post up some first-hand experience. I've been thinking of getting one of these myself. It's nice to have an optic that can be used in daylight even with the illumination off.

[BrigandTwoFour]

Thanks for the excellent review. You're right, there's not much out there on these so it's nice to have someone post up some first-hand experience. I've been thinking of getting one of these myself. It's nice to have an optic that can be used in daylight even with the illumination off.

I got out to the range with it today. The optic performed great, as expected, and I found it very helpful to be able to turn the illumination completely off and us a nice crisp black reticle for zeroing. Once I turned it back on, it was bright enough to quickly draw the eye. I think the LED ACOGs are winners.


I wish they made a battery powered TA33. Something light and good FOV. I get the short eye relief of the 31's, but damn that FOV was nice.

I wouldn't be surprised if a battery powered TA-33 is in the works. If I recall, the the most popular ACOG models are (in order) the TA-31, TA-11, and TA-33, then the rest. It would make sense to put development priority for LED models in line with that popularity. They might not put it out this year, since there was a few year gap between the TA02 and the TA110, but I'm sure it's on the radar.

[Talon167]

Thanks for the review. I’ve had my eye on one of these for a long time. I really like the battery idea due to the reasons you expressed, in addition to never having to ‘worry’ about sending it back to Trijicon to have the fiber optic replaced.

One of my buddies has an ACOG (though I don’t recall which, it is a 4x) that the relief is pretty poor, IMO. You have to be right up on that thing. So you think the relief on this one is quite noticeably better than the 4x models?

[BrigandTwoFour]

Thanks for the review. I’ve had my eye on one of these for a long time. I really like the battery idea due to the reasons you expressed, in addition to never having to ‘worry’ about sending it back to Trijicon to have the fiber optic replaced.

One of my buddies has an ACOG (though I don’t recall which, it is a 4x) that the relief is pretty poor, IMO. You have to be right up on that thing. So you think the relief on this one is quite noticeably better than the 4x models?

The eye relief is absolutely better. It's been a known fact for years that the TA11 (3.5x) models were much more forgiving than the TA31 (4x) models. The specs show the eye relief as one inch more but, like the TA33, in actual use it is even better. The sacrifice is increased weight and decreased FOV. Optically, the TA11 and TA110 should be identical, it's just a question of illumination source.

The whole problem of tritium refresh was on my mind as well. It apparently used to be free, but the cost continues to rise every year. It is apparently now about half the cost of the optic. Tritium is a fickle resource because the only location that produces it has a primary job of keeping the US nuclear weapons program supplied. With all the activity lately surrounding nuclear weapons reinvigoration, I imagine the supply available to the commercial market will begin dwindling.

[BrigandTwoFour]

For scale, this is the rifle it is currently riding on.

BCM 20" Gov't upper with DD Omega 12 and AFAB mini comp
A5 Emod Kit
Geissele SD-E

Once the UBR 2.0 is released, I will swap out lowers for one using the new UBR. I also ordered a GDI mount to replace the stock TA-51.

https://everydaymarksman.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/ta110mounted.jpg

[uniform64]

Thanks for the review. Interested as well. Always wondered how the green and red differed.