The reticle is a circle dot, with a 23 MOA circle and 2 MOA dot in the center, and a black post below the circle. The reticle is available in red (shown here), amber and green. The reticle is lit by the fiber optic on top of the scope body, and tritium (in the dark). Under bright ambient conditions, the circle dot glows bright red. At night, the circle dot is lit by the tritium. When looking out from a dark environment into a very bright one (like sunlight), the reticle is black. Reticle "washout" can happen under some lighting conditions; when there's not enough ambient light to light up the reticle, and the target is brighter than the dull glow, but not bright enough to provide a lot of contrast so it appears black. The reticle is always there, but can be much harder to see under those conditions than a red dot with which you can control the brightness level. I shot under both sunny and overcast conditions outdoors, and the reticle was plenty bright enough. I have not shot indoors - just looked through it to see how well I could see the reticle. Moving through a house during the day or night, I find the red dot of my T-1 much easier to make out.
I had no problems using the 1.5x at very close distances (under 5 yds). I found that while a red dot with no magnification might be less confusing for the eye, the larger circle of the TA44 was also very easy to pick up and place on the target. I have bad eyesight and astigmatism, so I never see my red dots as well defined as reticles. Comparing it to my favourite red dot, the Aimpoint T-1, I don't find the TA44 to be noticeably faster or slower. The circle dot reticle does give me additional hold-over aiming references which I've found useful. From 25 yards to 50 and beyond, I do find that the TA44 helps me be a little more accurate, due to the 1.5x helping me see the target just that much better, and also the more defined reticle (for my eyes). I kept both eyes open for all the shooting with the TA44. The Trijicon glass is like my other ACOG - crystal clear, no visible tint, and targets are crisp and defined. When shooting from different positions where a good cheek weld may not be possible, the long eye relief of the TA44 was very forgiving - I don't think I ever needed to hold it so far away from me where finding the reticle was a problem. It doesn't have unlimited eye relief like a non-magnified RDS, but for most practical purposes, it's pretty close.
With today's red dots having incredible battery life, the tritium vs. battery really isn't an issue for me. Ruggedness is probably a wash, too - between the Aimpoint T-1, M4 and the TA44. All of them are good, robust products. One thing that the TA44 might have over red dots is that there's nothing electronic to fail. Even if the tritium dies or the fiber optic illumination somehow craps out, the reticle is still there and functions just like a regular scope. I've had Eotechs and older Aimpoints (Comp M and ML) fail on me, and I'm just a civvie shooter, not in the military or even a competitive shooter, so it's made me aware that electronics can fail. My current T-1s and M4 have been going strong, though, with the much improved switches over the older Aimpoints. Where the red dots like the T-1 have the edge (in my opinion), is the ability to control the brightness of the dot. I do not discount the importance of having this ability, because even with some red dot sights that adjust automatically (like the Docter or Fastfire), there are conditions under which the dot is too faint to see, just like the reticle on the TA44 (and other fiber optic lit reticles). I'd love to see a TA44 with an electronically lit reticle and brightness control.
