Wire vs. Etched glass recticle

Etched is the strongest.

But as all glasssurfaces steals ligth, a glass reticle steals with the best coatings availible 0,5% light and with no coating 8% light.

0,5% is in my opinion not visiable, but 8% is for sure.

Many years ago one of the magazines here had a test betwen various of the best 8x56 scopes to see wish one was the brigthest, they was both looked thorugh and measured.

Swarovski loosed by fairly big margin and that was explained mostly due to their glass reticle, but that can't be only that, as the percentage differed to much.

Regards Technika

"But as all glasssurfaces steals ligth, a glass reticle steals with the best coatings availible 0,5% light and with no coating 8% light."

^^^^Yuh know that makes sense. Losing 8% light of the combined with other variables in the field could make an etched reticle an undesirable feature. This is why we buy optics with better coatings and stronger features (etched glass)  

Happy Shooting!!                                                           

 I have seen too many broken wires in my day to think them anything but inferior to etched glass. Didn't know that bit about etched reticle systems robbing light, though. Is this true simply because it requires an additional lens in a given system? 

Yes all lens to air surfaces steals light.

and the one air to lens surface uncoated steals 4% and Zeiss best coated lens steals 0.25%.

To that should also be added the light that dissapears when the light is passing trough the lens, but that is far less.

I like etched reticles, but I don't mind metal reticles eiter, depends on the reticle type.

I have for example never seen my favorite metal retilcle collapsing in any scope, the German no1.

Regards Technika