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Doing my normal thing and watching the reviews of a recent purchase after I've made the purchase and played around with it.
Something that comes up many times about the Primary Arms SLx 1x Cyclops Gen 2 (which I call MicroPrism) is that it's not a red dot.
That's got implications that they even explain most of the time.
The big one, and it was a major selling point for me, is that red dots are red smears to someone with astigmatism. Etched glass means I get a clear aiming point.
This is not insignificant if you've a real astigmatism issue. It's hard to aim when your aiming point looks like an exaggerated photon torpedo from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
For me if the dot is small enough in MOA, my glasses can compensate and it's all good. My, very expensive, Aimpoint M4S has such a dot and I can still use it.
Big dots like the StrikeFire II and MD-RGBII tend to wash out and get bloomy.
But since I very rarely stretch past 100 yards with guns intended for home defense, it had not been a problem. Until the other day with the StrikeFire when it REALLY bothered me.
That led the the experiment with the MicroPrism.
After you get past the "it's not a red dot" there seems to be a lot of commenting about how you can get it bright enough to use in the day time.
Guys. I know you go shooting on 2-gun ranges all the time and expend thousands of rounds more than I do, but...
One of the advantages of an etched glass reticle is that it's visible in the day in black. It doesn't need to be red at noon if you can see the black!
I've been using Primary Arms 5x ACSS scopes for a while and doing the outside ranges too. You don't even need to turn it on during the day except for rare occasions where the target is against a dark background and then your night setting is working fine again and you see the illumination.
I think they're just not accustomed to shooting with an illuminated etched reticle.
I can't think of many until fairly recently and with the rising popularity of low power variable optics, we're going to see them more often.
I also have a slight astigmatism and have the same problem with red dots. I don't like them for another reason as well.
ReplyDeleteAny sight that needs a battery and has to be switched on is fine for the range or hunting but is a no go on a defensive weapon, especially if I have to make sure it's on the right setting to be usable.
While looking for an alternative I found SeeAll Sights. It's a short range sight that, after a short learning curve, is very quick to deploy and use. It can be used with one or both eyes open. The tritium illuminated version works great in light or dark.
I like it so much I now own 4 of them.
SeeAll looks interesting, but vulnerable to damage.
DeleteI tend to be down on ambient illumination supplemented with tritium based on ACOG experiences. Worse, tritium replacement is either a substantial percentage of the cost of a new sight or unavailable at all. SeeAll doesn't list it among their services.
I'm no longer leery of batteries on optics because battery life is routinely measured in years for many optics. Especially after watching numerous torture tests with people beating the shit out of cheap-ass red dots that keep working.
The crap doesn't is for Airsoft anymore.
the 3x is also etched i believe so you don't "need" to have it on...it is...from the primary arms description...___Because the SLx 3x MicroPrism uses an etched reticle with adjustable diopter, the user will always have a clear, crisp reticle image, even if they have severe astigmatism. When set to max illumination, the MicroPrism reticle is fully daylight bright. For low-light, this optic offers 3 different NV-compatible settings, accommodating any ambient light level. Paired with our AutoLive® motion-sensing illumination technology, this optic provides an exceptionally long runtime at any brightness setting_____...damn, i need to get to the range and shoot the damn thing...maybe i can do it at work soon...panzer guy...
ReplyDelete