New Primary Arms 1-8x24 scope...

[texas skeeter]

Anyone played with one of these yet? Any good pros or cons? Thoughts?

 

[BCGlocker]

Good review from Mrgunsngear Channel

 

[4x4kayak2112]

I personally dont like the BDC reticle. Its designed for one load (grains, velocity, temp, ect) so any change is that variable will change your POI.

So if you honestly trust the reticle one day, and it hits the target, wait for another day or a different load and it might be off by several feet.

Personally, in that price range I would choose a SWFA 10×44 scope (amazing glass) or the Athlon 6-24x50 (also very good glass)

But the BIGGEST draw back with the PA 1-8 is the secound focal plane (SFP) me personally (as well as any other scope enthusiasts) will tell ya the First Focal Plane (FFP) is what you wanna have in order for the POI/POA/Reticle to be accurate when at "lower power".

Note: this is all based on if you actually want to use the BDC reticle for anything over 200 yards.


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[texas skeeter]

Primary Arms put out a second one for 379$. Though I'm not sure of the differences vs cheaper price.

 

[4x4kayak2112]

Im not sure which one your talking about. Maybe provide a link. But the "R Grid" is their top choice in reticles

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[Mike_from_Texas]

I bought one a while back. While it was leaps and bounds better than the Vortex Strike Eagle, it did have some fish eye at 1x and fuzz at the edges throughout the magnification range.

However, for a sub $400 1-8 scope I think it's pretty good. Had I not run across a smoking deal on a Leupold VX6 1-6 multigun, I would have kept the PA scope.


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[texas skeeter]

Thx Mike yeah I think I'm gonna get one a take it for a spin.

 

[TAZ]

Have one of their 1-6 units and it's surprisingly good. I've run Leupold Mk4's and a couple of IOR Tacticals on other rifles. The glass is nowhere near as clear as either of those brands, but it's very good. At 1x I get VERY little fish eye. Have to actually be looking for it. Never noticed it during shooting. The reticle, is also superb. Yes it's a BDC so you're not going to go and shoot it the same as a Mil-Dot or other precision scope. Not the intended purpose. You will get minute of COM with most loads. They also publish the mil or moa equivalent so you can make your own dope cards. FFP vs SFP is a personal choice. I have a 2.5-10 in FFP and can tell you the reticle subtentions are pretty useless at the low end. FFP in a large magnification range is a harsh balance between a thick glob at the high end and too thin on the low end. Some of the high $$ makers have this figured pretty well. Others not so much. FFP also has an illumination challenge. Again some high $$ units have it sorted. Others not so much. On 1-4 or 6 scopes IMO SPF is fine. Most distance shooting will be at max magnification anyway. Most of these types of scopes are used as 1x or 6x.

 

[texas skeeter]

Thx Taz. I want/need something for quick close shooting but can see the target somewhat clearly at 100-200 yds on my AR. My eyes are getting older by the day. Lol

 

[TheDan]

Someone needs to bring one to the next event formerly known as Hicksville so that I can take a peek through it.

 

[texas skeeter]

HV is too far for me. If yer ever up this way you can take mine soon to be for a test drive.

 

[Se7en62]

I personally dont like the BDC reticle. Its designed for one load (grains, velocity, temp, ect) so any change is that variable will change your POI.

So if you honestly trust the reticle one day, and it hits the target, wait for another day or a different load and it might be off by several feet.

Personally, in that price range I would choose a SWFA 10×44 scope (amazing glass) or the Athlon 6-24x50 (also very good glass)

But the BIGGEST draw back with the PA 1-8 is the secound focal plane (SFP) me personally (as well as any other scope enthusiasts) will tell ya the First Focal Plane (FFP) is what you wanna have in order for the POI/POA/Reticle to be accurate when at "lower power".

Note: this is all based on if you actually want to use the BDC reticle for anything over 200 yards.

That's a bit of an overstatement since it looks like he's planning to use this on an AR and at close range. He'll probably be shooting 55gr or 62r, which have almost identical exterior ballistics to far-beyond the 200 yards or so he's planning to shoot.

Also, for a man who's saying his eye's aren't what they used to be, shooting a 1-8x optic at low magnifications with an FFP scope would make the reticle mighty hard to see, given his vision.

A FFP scope is useful for long-range precision shooting if you're wanting your calculations to be independent of your scope's magnification. Beyond that, for brush hunting or close range target shooting purposes, a thicker, easier to see reticle is always going to be my choice.

That said, Skeeter, I'd recommend the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x over the Primary Arms 1-8x. The reason: Vortex's warranty, their proven clarity of glass, and the cost is even slightly less, retailing for $369 pretty much anywhere.

 

[TacMac]

Here’s the truth. This entry level Primary Arms scope http://www.mountsplus.com/AR-15_Accessories/AR-15_Scope_Mounts/Primary-Arms-Scopes.html is outstanding, and as state of the art as it gets. Clearly, some thought went into making it. The optics are strong and display a vibrant, transparent picture below 3x. While the picture stays vibrant right through to 8x, it does get moderately out of focus past 3x at shorter a range such as 25 yards. It appears focused up to the point where you notice read script, bullet holes, discern details, and the like. That’s when the lower end glass becomes apparent. However, it remains ideally usable for what it’s intended for. It gets clearer past 50 to 60 yards, though, and I am able to see car license tags up to approximately 150 yards. Anything smaller than that is illegible. You can read up to approximately a 40-yard distance or over a magnification of over 3x. It is visible enough that you can take pictures of it, but not discern any details or read it properly. Perhaps that is expecting too much from a budget optic. Picture quality is enhanced at an extended range and I can read approximately 4" high copy from about 150 yards or more easily. Unless you’re shooting within an indoor range, there isn’t a reason to utilize 8x at shorter distances. In fact, the picture quality is superb even a 3x or below. You’ll have no trouble with this optic unless you contrast it to more expensive hunting/target scopes, such as a Leupold or Zeiss. However, they won’t contain all the aspects this scope comes with. The glass is great, but the ACSS reticle…not so much. You get what you pay for (and then some) with this scope, and the glass is well worth the price. The glass shocked me until I attempted to focus in on tiny objects at closer range. You won’t be able to see small print or tiny objects in a tight group until 60 yards, give or take, as it is. It is visible but just not clearly. That said, for a quick and precise combat sighting system, it’s terrific. The reticle stays completely transparent all through the magnification range and it’s as close to an actual 1x as possible. It’s amazing at 1x to 3x. At lower power settings, there’s a minor portion of “fisheye” effect and spherical aberration around the perimeter. The bottom line, though, is that the glass is exceptional for this price range.

I love the ACSS 2nd focal plane reticle! It is quite efficient at offering quick and on-point ballistic solutions to approximately 400 and 500 yards and further. In fact, it’s gone as far as 800 yards! The precision of the BDC ranging reticle to your specific barrel and load for MOA target shots is contingent on several important aspects, but it is efficient in offering gong ringing precision in just about every way. Keeping in mind that it isn’t a target scope, it will permit small and narrow clusters out to about 200 yards.
This reticle is awesome! The aiming point on the new chevron has vastly improved. The ranging scale is good, but only practical from 400 to 800 yards on standing targets and on 18" wide objects from 200 yards. The instructions do explain how to achieve this. I am eager to see an expansion of ranging ability that covers from 200 yards out with greater adaptability for the size of the object. Ultimately, it is very useful and I can’t complain.

Illumination is great. It offers 11 settings and the initial couple is compatible with night vision. The rest offer an abundance of light for just about everything except targets in direct sunlight. You can see them just fine though if you turn off the reticle illumination in such conditions.

Just the Chevron and Horseshoe were illuminated and I would have liked to see the BDC illuminated too for shooting and low light ranging. For $400 though, you still get your money’s worth.
With the illumination set on high and a 1x, the sight operates as a reflex/red dot type sight with impressive ability. It is fast and quite accurate. Optics are very easy to see and vibrant at close range up to 3x. Wonderful!

The turrets are easy to access and cap. Elevation and windage modifications are accurate, simple, and easy to repeat. There are minor tactile and audible clicks. Each click equates to .5 MOA. Both present 100 MOA of clicks. After sight-in, the turrets can be zeroed. Ideally, a slightly bigger turret adjustment ring with coarser clicks would be better, but this is just as good. Under the windage cap, there is an extra battery. The flip-up scope covers are suitable. The ocular cover can easily come off when opened but that’s nothing some tape can’t fix.

I’ve attached the piece to my FN AR-15 rifle with the American Defense Manufacturing AD-recon 30 STD quick detach mount. Now I can shoot sub-1/8" groups from 25 yards away, sub 3/4" groups from 100 yards away, and tear up the gongs out past 400 to 500 yards. Sensational!

I’m quite happy with this scope. It is somewhat bulky but it was developed to be solid and heavy duty. Personally, I would make the glass clearer past 3x for indoor range shooting at closer ranges and examinations of close targets. I would be happy to fork over between $600 and $700 for that. I am aware that they have the one-of-a-kind Platinum version of this scope, but that costs over a grand. I’m sure you would get your money’s worth on such a purchase, but there’s a big market gap between this scope and that one which could be filled by installing upgraded glass. Until they do, this scope will do. For plinkers, 3-gunners, and home defense shooters, this scope will be sufficient. You’ll love all that it comes with except the close-range glass clarity past a magnification of 3x.

 

[orbitup]

TL;DR

 

[Dawico]

TL;DR

No shit!

 

[Vaquero]

TL;DR

He likes it for the price.
More money might not bring better optics.
Then again, it might.

That's what I got from reading it.