I have a Trijicon TR21 scope. I am thinking of taking it on my trip to Zim and South Africa as a back up scope. The question is, since it has radium in it and it does give off a nuclear signature, and I will be going through U.S. as well as the above countries security, what would be the problems in getting it through security?
I am asking this because a friend of mine and I were coming back from Canada and we were detained for several hours over a Viet Nahm era compass that has the same kind of material in the compass as this scope has in it. Yes, we set off the nuclear detectors, had about 12 border guards surround us etc.. U.S. customs might not be too big of a problem with some explanations, but I don't want any problems in foreign countries or to be forced to hand over the scope.
I have seen Boddington using a Trijicon scope somehwere in Africa, but he has some notariety, I don't.

I have gone to Zim with two Trijicon scopes on rifles, no problems encountered. They use tritium (or hydrogen 3) which only gives off a weak beta.

Your compass would have probably used radium on its dial, and you get alpha emission and other particles. They are very different from the Trijicon.

So they don't use teh same radioactives, and I don't think you will have any problem.

jim