How to read that Trijicon ACOG style Chevron Reticle Thingy…
I first came across this weird looking reticle when I purchased my Lucid HD7 red dot sight. My initial thought when I saw it was “well that’s weird” then I immediately swapped it over to the T with the do
ts under it and forgot about the chevron style for a while. Then I saw almost the same exact reticle associated with one of Trijicon’s ACOG sights. “That’s odd”, I thought, “it seems that more than one company uses that weird reticle”. Curiosity got the better of me and I finally looked in to what the heck this reticle is for and how to use it.
Side note: While a bit embarassing to admit, I always thought “Chevron” was just a gas company’s name until I started flying. It was then that I learned that a “chevron” refers to the pointy triangle shape. As it turns out, there are chevron symbols used all through the aviation world from landing strip makers to pilot rank indicators. Live and learn.
First off, the “why”. This is designed to be a combat reticle. The concept, as it seems, is to allow you to use it for close combat up to 200 meters then use it as a somewhat accurate “scope” style past 200 meters. There are other styles that do the same thing so, ultimately, it comes down to personal preference. Still, you never know when someone is going to hand you a carbine outfitted with a Trijicon sight or similar style while zombies are trying to smash down your front door so knowing how they work ahead of time is a good thing.
As far as the “how” goes, it goes a bit like this. The tip of the big triangle is what you would use for the vast majority of your work and, according to Trijicon, you would use this point up to 100 meters. If your target is between 100 and 200 meters, then you would use the inside point. When you’re between 200 and 300 meters, you would move the aim to the pointy tip of the vertical post (or the bottom flat areas of the chevron, if you prefer). Each horizontal line below that typically adds another 100 meters to the range. So, for example, if your target is 400 meters away, you’d line it up with the top horizontal line (coincidentally with the giant 4 next to it, in the illustration).
I know what you’re thinking: “So do I need to start carrying a laser range finder with me as well to know which of these things I need to line up to?” While that would be awesome to have as an attachment to a gun, no. You’ll notice that the length of the horizontal lines change as it goes down the sight. This is another neat trick that Trijicon has added. According to them, the lines are calibrated to a width of 19 inches at the given range (including the points at the bottom of the chevron). Why 19 inches? As it turns out, that’s the average width of a man’s shoulders. So all you have to do is quickly line up the width of the line to the shoulders and that will give you a rough range. If the shoulders are turned or not visible, well, you might have to estimate. Art class tells us that the average shoulder width should be equal to 3 head widths so that might help you there.
In the end, just knowing how it works helps a little but it doesn’t help nearly as much as practicing.
Images courtest of Trijicon, Inc.
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