PRIMARY ARMS 1-8 SFP..... First budget 1-8??

[misfit47]

I've got the 1-6 and it's not bad. Noticeable fisheye at 1x but disappears at 2x and higher. Glass is about what you'd expect on a budget scope. If this one is the same or better I would get one. It's not a bad price point, won't disappoint as long as you know what to expect.

[B Cart]

I've run the PA 1-6 ACSS gen 1 and Gen 2 pretty hard over the last few years, and really liked their glass, durability, and reticle for the price. I have one of these new 1-8 versions on the way and curious to see how it is, but i'm sure it will be similar in quality/features/glass etc to their Gen 2 1-6 ACSS, just with more magnification. Considering most 1-8 optics are well over $1,000, this might be a winner for a more affordable option.

And I don't disagree that you get what you pay for, however i have been really impressed with the durability and glass of the Primary Arms 1-6 scopes for their cost. I've run my hard in classes, dropped it, banged it up on long bumpy 4 wheeler rides, and abused it pretty good, and it has held zero and stayed consistent out to 800 yards. Unlike most 'budget' optics, you actually get a lot of value with these from my experience. I'm excited to see how these new 1-8s are.

[turnburglar]

According to usps mine should be here Friday.

First variable, but I'm really excited that it can replace 3 other optics.

[TAZ]

Shoot some pics through the scope if you are able. Would love to see what the thing actually looks like.

[yrch21]

Per TAZ's request:
Just some quick indoor shots with iphone at night. Still waiting for levels to arrive, so the reticle isn't leveled.

[TAZ]

Per TAZ's request:
Just some quick indoor shots with iphone at night. Still waiting for levels to arrive, so the reticle isn't leveled.

Looks pretty good to my eyes. Thanks for the pics. Looks like this may go on my short list.

[turnburglar]

Just got mine yesterday, and leaving for the range in a few to zero it.

First impressions are good.

Reticle:

Being one of the first ACSS owners (4x prism), they made good changes in illumination to this 1-8. I like that the horse shoe is only illuminated instead of the entire BDC. My other complaint with the old ACSS was that even on brightness 1, the reticle was too bright in actual darkness to be useful. On this new 1-8 setting 1 is actually pretty dim, and makes setting 2-6 useable for home defense. The cool thing about the reticle being etched is when you fire up 650 lumens: the reticle is sharp black in contrast. This is great if you ever played the balance game with the RDS between "too bright when it dark" too "can't see the dot with the WML". No longer have this issue.

When using the illumination in the daylight: the horse shoe is actually a solid red on most but the brightest whites or sky. Whenever the reticle crosses from a extreme bright to a more normally colored object the red lum becomes very apparent. Obviously though with an etched reticle you don't need the lum to make contrast on bright objects. you need it for contrast on the dark ones. This does that candidly. I just like how on most low end scopes in the past the illumination knob was kind of a gimmick: now its actually useful in multiple environments. Good job PA.


Glass:

It's pretty good, especially when you consider that its nearest competition is $900 away and most are even $2000+ more expensive. Of course those more expensive optics probably have less fish eye, or edge blur,a slightly more forgiving eye box, or they have a BDC thats always useful (FFP). I can maintain an exact cheek weld and from 1 power all the way too 8 power. Thats impressive for the price. As to the clarity of the glass- its good when you understand what exactly it is. 8 times magnification through that tiny 24mm aperture means you loose a lot of color and sharpness. Along with world sourced production quality lenses and its acceptable at 8 power. The eye box gets more sensitive at the top end of magnification, but its still good for any 8 power optic.

Overall I think its a great variable scope especially for the price. I'll defiantly report back with any durability issues, but I gave it a good look over and Im using an Aero UL mount so I don't expect any problems.

[Caeser25]

I believe it has a 30mm Tube and 24mm objective. I am actually in the process of selling some other optics right now, to be one of the first testers for this 1-8. I'll report back if I end up getting my hands on one.

My buddy has a 1-6 and I thought the eyebox on that was horrible. I can only imagine what this is like.

[klawson]

Well I decided to pick one up more so to try out the reticle more than anything else. Mine should be here wednesday. Hopefully it doesn't have an overly sensitive eyebox. That's my biggest concern at this point.

[Hammar]

For the price, I think it's worth giving a try.