Etched vs. Wire reticles

I've been hearing alot about etched reticles lately, could someone tell me the advantages an etched reticle has over conventional wire reticles.

The biggest advantage is that an etched reticle can't break. 

 

ranburr

Can't break, won't rust, dosen't "change colors'' when the sun hits it. 

change colors?? Is a Nikon Prostaff a wire??

Lets look @ what scopes have etched reticles.
Zeiss, Schmidt & Bender(all variable powers), Swarovski PH but only in the TDS reticle and Barrett 50. cal scope, Nightforce, Leupold MARK 4 ONLY, US OPTICS, Unertl, and thats all i can think of.
All these scopes are expensive!
WHy do they use etched? I am assuming since alot of the above brands are tactical scopes that they are more durable and they dont change colors either. Obviously wire is cheaper and your tasco's, bushnell's, leupold'd, nikons etc all use wire..THe leupold LPS and swarovski A-Lines use wire as well and the conquest is the only scope i can think of under 1000 dollars that uses etched reticle? even Fixed power schmidt & Benders use wire reticle except the tactical models i believe.

Add Nikon Tactical to the list that has a etched reticle.

IOR models too?

 

Wire reticles are inferior to laser etched.

ANOTHER advantage is that the design is not restricted to dots and lines.You can have posts that go nowhere, circles etc. Lines can be made VERY fine without risk of breaking.

 

I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER WIRE RETICLE SCOPE - but it does not mean (always) high cost. Most cheepo russian and belo-russian scopes have etched reticles - they're easier to illuminate.

 

ONE tiny disadvantage - you can get some rainbowing along the edge unde certain light conditions - but it normally indicates you eye is not 100% aligned anyway. One-off wire reticles are cheap to make - so folk like PREMIER wont be going away.

Don't forget about the Super Sniper as an Etched reticle.