Primary Arms 1-8 Platinum Series review

[colt933]

I have not tired the 1-8.5 Bushnell but I have tried the 1-6.5 and did not like the fact the reticle was so dim and not daylight bright.
Pat

I should have clarified that the version of the Bushnell that I have is daylight visible. I have read that this was changed at some point as users complained of this on the early production models.

Thank you for your excellent review and I look forward to part 2.

[RussellAthletic]

Great review. I'll certainly keep an eye on this as a great all around optic choice.

[Alaskapopo]

Product Review Primary Arms 1-8 Platinum Series Mil Scope part 2.
Date 9-14-15
Long range testing:
This part of the test was pretty simple. I confirmed zero at 100 yards and then dialed .5 mil for 200 yards and 1.5 mils for 300 and 2.5 for 400 and everything hit like it should. I was shooting at steel targets.
Short range CQB testing.

Myself and my shooting buddy Greg took part in these drills. 3 USPSA targets were used at a range of 12 yards and they were spaced about 4 yards apart. Scoring was a IDPA time plus system. .5 seconds were given for a C zone hit and 1.5 seconds for a D zone hit. Neither of us missed. Scope magnification was set to 1x.
Drill 1.
Shooter starts at low ready at the sound of the buzzer he shoots target 1 one with one round center mass. Time is recorded and then drill is repeated on target 2 and then on target 3. This drill was done twice. Once with the illumination on the scope off and the next set was done with the illumination on. The point of this drill was to see how fast a shooter could acquire the target and scope reticle and fire.
Results
Time
Greg Illumination off average time for all 3 targets was 1.26 seconds.
Greg Illumination on average 1.11
Pat Illumination off average time for all 3 targets was 1.16 seconds.
Pat Illumination on average 1.12
I tallied up the accuracy at the end of all the drills looking back I should have done it as I went. Read ahead. Greg shot a bit more accurately than me and as a result I had to buy him lunch.
Drill 2.
Shooter starts at the low ready and at the sound of the buzzer he engages targets 1-3 with one round each. The drill was repeated 3 times. Illumination was left on for both shooters on the scope.
Greg’s Average 2.87
Pat’s Average 3.02
Drill 3
Shooter performs a failure to stop drill from the low ready on target 2. We just did this once.
Greg’s time 2.40
Pat’s time 2.66
Drill 4.
Shooter starts in Low ready and performs 1 head shot on target one. Time is recorded and then shooter repeats on target 3. (that gave us each 20 rounds total fired)
Greg’s average 1.45
Pat’s average 1.50
Accuracy
Greg had 17 A hits and 3 C hits
Pat had 13 A hits and 7 C hits. ( I know sloppy)
Gregs total score was 22.46 seconds once penalties were added in and mine was 24.99. Loser had to buy lunch.
I shot Drill’s 1 and 2 again with my rifles off set red dot sight to give a comparison. My hits were worse with me scoring 6 C hits and 1 D hit.
Times are as follows.
Drill one Average 1.05 Compared to 1.12 with the scope set on 1x with the illumination on.
Drill 2 Average was 2.67 Compared to the scope at 3.02. The dot was faster on raw time but the scope won over all due to the penalties from poor hits. I shot sloppier with the dot.
CONCLUSION:
This scope was very easy to use up close. The eye relief was never a problem and the reticle was easy to find even with the illumination off. I will keep giving my impressions of the scope as time goes on but as of now I am a satisfied customer.

[Gabriel556]

Thank you for this review. I know some people love and some people don't care for PA, but this looks like a good value(bang for the buck) optic for this type of application. I'm interested to see how it does as you expose it to harsh winter environments and more use but I don't expect to see you throw it off a cliff to see how it holds zero. Not everyone can afford high end optics and not all people need them, but this looks like a good setup and I'm glad PA is able to continue developing new products like this.

[marsh1]

Just a quick update on the warranty. We have come to terms with the factory on a program so we can now offer a lifetime warranty on these.

[Draxanoth]

CONCLUSION:
This scope was very easy to use up close. The eye relief was never a problem and the reticle was easy to find even with the illumination off. I will keep giving my impressions of the scope as time goes on but as of now I am a satisfied customer.

Alaska can you give us an idea of what the eyebox is like and how the illumination responds to motion? It looked like the eyebox was fairly forgiving in the YouTube video PA posted, but I'm not sure if they mounted the scope in front of the camera or were just holding it there.

And is the illumination steady as you traverse the eyebox? I hate how the Mark 6 line from Leupold flickers if you're not perfectly still, it kind of defeats the purpose of using it similar to a red dot at 1x if it flickers while you advance.

I've been hunting a 1-6x like this for years, and while I was really hoping to avoid the extra 8 ounces the 2 extra power brings, I might not be able to resist this one.

[Spring-Diver]

Just a quick update on the warranty. We have come to terms with the factory on a program so we can now offer a lifetime warranty on these.

That is excellent news!!! Now I'm just deciding between this or your ACSS ACOG.

Cheers
Shannon

[pyzik]

Nice.

[Alaskapopo]

No reticle flickering. Very forgiving


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JoePike]

Thanks for the review. I have a similar set up and am running a PA 1-6 and a Weaver 3-10 both on ADM QD mounts. Been thinking about streamlining to a 1-8.