optic

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Primary Arms SLx 3-18x50 Gen 2

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  Quality optics have become affordable for most shooters in the last few years. One no longer needs to spend $1000, or more, to get a clear quality optic. Primary Arms has been aiding us shooters with these types of optics. Their new Gen 2 SLx 3-18x50 FFP is one of those. This optic has features that should make it cost twice the price. 

  The Gen 2 SLx 3-18 is packed with features. Coming in first is its First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle. Yes, this $500 optic has a FFP Christmas tree style reticle. So when you zoom in, all the reticle’s MIL marks stay the same. This allows you to hold over for bullet drops, or wind, at any reticle setting. This particular optic uses Primary Arms’ ACSS Athena BPR Mil reticle. I won’t go much into the reticle’s design as it uses MIL’s in a very useful pattern. But, the reticle is illuminated to help one see better in low light. It’s pretty bright for this size of optic. This ACSS reticle also uses a small center chevron, think triangle, for aiming. Most optics like this just use a small dot. The top point of the chevron can be used for very precise shots, more so than if one were to use an optic with a small center dot. The other nice aspect to this reticle is its built in ranging ladder. The ladder is in the upper right hand portion of the optic. This puts it out in the part of the reticle that is seldom used. I really like how Primary Arms designed the ACSS Athena reticle. It is easy to use, even for someone like me that is used to using a MOA reticle. I even mentioned to Primary Arms that they were starting to convert me to MIL reticle scopes. Part of that comment was due to the SLx 3-18x50.

At 18x, Tower Light is approximately 350 yds away. Light is also 15” wide for ranging purposes.

  Since I was talking about the reticle, let's go into the optics themselves. This SLx 3-18 gen 2 is exceptionally clear. This is why I say it far exceeds its class. I had zero problems with the clarity, even at its full magnification of 18x. I could easily make out 17 HMR holes in targets at 100yds. The crispness of the glass is also really good, though I did find it to drop off a little at longer ranges and at higher magnification, but it never caused any problems. I did find the parallax adjustment to be a little touchy. At least when focusing the parallax adjustment on targets between 200-400 yards. They were the hardest to get focused. Other ranges didn’t seem to be as touchy, even the lower ranges like 15-100 yds. I will give the SLx credit for having a parallax adjustment that goes from 10 yds to infinity. Other than those minor issues, the SLx 3-18 gen 2 has great glass for the money.

  The function of the SLx 3-18x50 gen 2 has some outstanding features also. My absolute favorite is that this optic has a true zero stop on the elevation turret. Once you find out where your zero is, just set the stop and you will never have problems finding your zero again. No matter where you adjust to, just turn the back down until it stops, you are now at your zero setting. The turrets have been upgraded over the first gen SLx 3-18. They are larger so you can get a better feel on them. This also makes them easier to turn. These turrets also have fairly good clicks to them. You can feel and hear them. The elevation turret is a target style and not capped. The windage turret is capped….unless you want it to be a target style turret. Primary Arms includes a target style turret that you can replace the capped one with. So essentially you have the best of both worlds. I typically don’t dial for windage, so I left the turret in the capped version. One other feature, that Primary Arms added to the SLx 3-18 gen 2, is their changeable throw lever for the magnification ring. Instead of being stuck with whatever the optic company gives you, Primary Arms gives you options. The throw lever, that comes installed, is fairly tall and makes it easy to adjust magnification. But, if it’s not your thing, just take it off, or get one of the other throw lever options.

  I installed the SLx 3-18x50 gen 2 on my semi-precision 243. Being that the 243 is not your standard 1000 yd cartridge, more of a 800 yd one, I thought this magnification range would be a perfect fit for it. All I can say is that it worked out great on this rifle. Don’t get me wrong, the SLx 3-18 gen 2 is perfectly capable of going out to 1000 yds clearly. My eyes are old and like a little more magnification when reaching out farther. A while back, 10x was adequate for 1000 yds. I view a 3-18 as more of a mid to long range optic. If I was looking for something in the longer range category, I’d look into the Primary Arms 5-25x56.

  Primary Arms did a great job designing the SLx 3-18x50 FFP gen 2. Basically it reaches above its pay grade and into the realm of optics that cost twice its price. It has good optical clarity and a top notch reticle. The SLx 3-18 gen 2 also functions extremely well with those large turrets and zero stop. It is a little on the heavy side, but for $500 you can’t go wrong. So if you think you might need a top notch, value priced optic, in the 3-18 power range, do yourself a favor and check out the SLx 3-18x50 gen 2 from Primary Arms

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

First Focal Plane mid-power optic with a great feature set

Target Market:

Precision shooters and hunters

Features & Benefits of this product:

  • CR2032 3V Lithium Battery

  • Eye Relief: Low: 3.5in. / High: 3.9in.

  • Field View at 100: Low: 35ft. / High: 5.9ft.

  • First Focal Plane

  • Red Illuminated Reticle with 6 brightness levels

  • Length: 13.6 in.

  • Magnification: 3X - 18X

  • ACSS ATHENA BPR MIL Reticle

  • 0.1 Mil Click Adjustment Value

  • Total Elevation Adjustment: 100 MOA

  • Total Windage Adjustment: 64 MOA

  • 30mm Tube Diameter

  • Weight: 32.04 oz

  • Zero Stop Elevation Adjustment

  • Lifetime Warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Apollo 6.5cr/224v and 308/6.5g reticles     

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Hunt Fish Shoot on YouTube  

Price point:

MSRP = $499.99

Retail = Same

I need it now! Availability:

Primary Arms

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Clear Glass

  • Price

  • Zero Stop

  • Larger Turrets

  • Extra Dial Turret for Windage

Cons:

  • Parallax adjustment is touchy

  • Heavy

Score:  8.00 Great

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Primary Arms SLx 4-16x44 FFP

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  Recently Primary Arms updated the SLx 4-16x44. This update gave the feature rich, SLx 4-16 some new reticles. One of those is the ARC-2 MOA, a simple, yet effective, illuminated reticle. I was excited to put this optic through its paces and it did not disappoint. Primary Arms’ SLx line is what I like to call performance packed optics at a price everyone can afford.

  To put it simply, the SLx 4-16x44 FFP has magnification of 4x to 16x. It has a 44mm objective lens and a 30mm tube to help gather as much light as possible. Magnification is adjusted with a ring back by the eyepiece. The ring has a raised “fin” that can be removed if you don’t like it. It has a side parallax adjustment that goes from 20 yds to infinity. On the end, of said parallax adjustment, is the illumination ring. It has 11 values to illuminate the ARC-2 reticle. The lowest 2 settings are night vision compatible. The highest setting is “daylight” bright. I can actually see a little bit of red illumination in bright sunlight, something I can’t always say when things are “daylight bright”. The adjustment turrets on the SLx are of the tactical style. They are not capped, nor can they be. They have a pretty good tactile feel for the 1/4 MOA clicks, but are not very audible, if at all. These turrets are resettable to zero with the supplied allen wrench. No zero stop, but I can’t knock a $300 scope for that.

  Now that you have a general rundown of the optic, it’s time for more. I’ll start with the glass. For this being in the SLx line, the glass clarity is great, even at full 16x magnification. I could make out a wire fence at around 500 yds, see picture. The fast focus eyepiece gets the reticle super clear and the parallax adjustment gets the image spot on at all different ranges. I really am amazed at how clear the glass is for a $300 scope. The only real downfall of looking through the optic is its eye relief. Primary Arms specs the eye relief at 3.6 - 3.9”. So you really have to be in that 0.3” range to get a good eye box picture. Especially at those higher magnifications. I’m not using this on fast moving targets, so it doesn’t bother me much.

  The Primary Arms 4-16x44 FFP has a few different reticle options. Some are their ACSS style, but I’ll be focusing on the ARC-2 reticle of this particular scope. I chose the ARC-2 MOA reticle because it is not cluttered up with stuff, like so many “christmas tree reticles” are. First off, the reticle is in minutes of angle, which is what I prefer. Second, it’s a first focal plane (FFP) reticle. So all the subdivisions, or hash marks, stay the same size throughout the magnification range. The reticle grows as you increase the magnification. This is so those marks in the reticle stay the same, and are usable for windage and elevation holdovers, at any magnification. On that note, Primary Arms did a nice job with this reticle. Almost all of the MOA marks are visible when at 16x. I’ve seen FFP optics that, a big portion of, the reticle disappears when at full magnification. The reticle itself is essentially just a crosshair with little marks spaced every 2 MOA apart. Every 10 MOA, there is a larger mark and a number, at least on the elevation portion of the reticle. Windage is a little different, with 2 MOA marks for the first 10 MOA, and then marks every 5 MOA past that. See the reticle picture for values. This reticle is very clean. It’s kind of old school mil-dot meets new school technology. Did I mention that the grid portion of the reticle is illuminated? Well it is, in red, with 11 brightness settings. I really like the style of simple and useful reticles like the ARC-2.

  The ARC-2 is such a great reticle, but adjusting your scope is still very important. That brings us to the target style turrets on the 4-16x44. If you are into dialing your scope for windage and elevation adjustments, you want good target turrets. I found these to be repeatable, at least in my testing. If I dialed up 15 MOA, and then back down 15 MOA, it shot where I expected it to. I didn’t do a tracking test, But this isn’t a $1000+ scope, so I didn’t see any need for me to do that. The clicks on the turrets feel really good but you can’t really hear them. I prefer feel over hearing them anyway. They also have a little resistance to them, which is nice, so they don’t move if you bump them in the field. Each turret adjusts in 0.25 MOA/click and 15 MOA per 1 revolution of the turret. It has over 85 MOA of total adjustment, or about 6 full turns of the turret. L/R and UP are marked next to or under the turret, depending on which one it is. There is also a little mark to use for setting zero. The SLx 4-16 has the ability to set the turret dials to zero, after you have sighted it in. There’s 3 tiny set screws at the turret's top, loosen them and rotate the knob to zero. Tighten them back up and your zero is now set. 

  I have the Primary Arms SLx 4-16x44 mounted on a “varmint style” AR. The scope weighs in at 25 ounces. But in this case, it is the perfect scope for this particular rifle. The SLx has performed super well for me. It’s super clear for a scope in this price range. It’s easily adjusted, if needed. It has an illuminated reticle for low light use. A parallax adjustment that goes super low, so if I wanted to use it on something like a .22lr, I could. I wouldn’t hesitate to take this hunting in the brush. I think it would make an excellent hunting scope as the ARC-2 reticle doesn’t take up a lot of room in the scope. The magnification range is also great for this AR’s use case.

  If you're in the market for a feature rich FFP optic, the Primary Arms SLx 4-16x44 ARC-2 might be it. I just can’t get over all the options you get in this optic, and at an incredible price. It performed better than my expectations for sure. The updated SLx scopes from Primary Arms are definitely worth checking out.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality low priced FFP optic

Target Market:

Those wanting excellent quality in a mid range optic, but at a reasonable price

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • First Focal Plane ARC-2 MOA reticle

  • Partial Red Reticle Illumination, Visible in Sunlight

  • 11 brightness adjustments, including 2 that are Night Vision compatible 

  • Side Parallax adjustment

  • Click Value: 0.25 MOA

  • FOV @ 4x / 100 yd : 26.6 ft

  • FOV @ 16x / 100 yd : 6.5 ft

  • Total Windage and Elevation Adjustment: > 85 MOA

  • Zero resettable turrets  

  • Weight (with Battery, without Lens Covers): 25.4 oz

  • Tube Diameter: 30 mm

  • Eye Relief: 3.6 – 3.9 in

  • Fast Focus Eyepiece

  • Fog Resistant

  • Fully Nitrogen Purged, IP67 Waterproof Standard and Dust Proof

  • 6063 Aluminum with Anodized Matte Black

  • Flip-up Lens Covers Included

  • Uses one CR2032 Battery (Included)

  • Lifetime Warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Tons in the SLx line    

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of this review

Link to other reviews:

Same - nothing found

Price point:

MSRP = $299.99

Retail = Same, but Primary Arms always has sales going on

I need it now! Availability:

Primary Arms or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Price

  • First Focal Plane reticle

  • Reticle options

  • Good Illumination

  • Clear field of view

Cons:

  • Non-forgiving eye box

Score: 8.50 Great

Favorite Link:  SLx 1x Prism

Primary Arms is an advertiser on the Gun & Gear Review podcast. This does not give them a better review than any other company. 

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Primary Arms GLx 1-6x24 FFP ACSS Raptor

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  When I opened the box with the Primary Arms GLx 1-6x24, I was super excited. The GLx 1-6x24 is one of Primary Arms’ mid-tier optics. So it falls, price and feature wise, in between their SLx and PLx lines. This particular GLX 1-6x24 has an ACSS-Raptor reticle and is a first focal plane (FFP) optic. This low power variable optic (LPVO) is packed with features.

  Since the reticle is such an important part of your optic, let's start with the ACSS Raptor M6 reticle. The Raptor M6 Advanced Combined Sighting System, or ACSS, is a range estimating and bullet drop compensating reticle. Being that it is a FFP optic, the ranging and estimation properties stay the same throughout the magnification range. This is a big plus as one doesn’t have to recalculate anything at different magnification ranges. The Raptor M6 reticle is calibrated for these cartridges: 5.56 NATO, 5.45x39, .308 Win, 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC. Give or take a few differences in actual ballistics. I mounted it on a 5.56 AR with a 16” barrel and the drop estimations seemed to work well, at least for the ranges I could test. 

1x - targets at 50, 100, & 200 yds. Full reticle illumination

6x - 200 yd targets. Full reticle illumination

  A description of the Raptor M6 reticle is probably in order. The Raptor is a horseshoe style reticle. So there's a larger circle around a chevron aiming point (think triangle). The circle is missing the bottom portion, hence the “horseshoe” name. Then the Raptor has a vertical line, with short horizontal lines on it, to compensate for bullet drops at various ranges. There’s also some dots for wind holds, if needed. On the right and left side of the chevron are MIL ranging lines. These are to quickly assess the range of a 5’ 10” target. The middle chevron aiming point is where precision comes into play. Use the top point of the chevron for accurate aiming. Or just put the chevron over something for quicker shots. The bottom triangle point will be your 200 yard holdover, and then the bottom of the chevron will be your 300 yard holdover. All of this is in Primary Arms’ manuals, I’m just trying to give you a quick summary. Now, if you turn the GLx 1-6 down to its true 1x, the reticle gets pretty small. Don’t fret, this is actually very useful. Now you can use it for super quick shots up close. Very similar to a circle dot reticle in a red dot. Even with both eyes open. Oh, did I mention the chevron is illuminated? It is, but it and the horseshoe are the only parts that are illuminated, the rest of the reticle stays black. 

  Primary Arms also stuck their “Autolive” on/off into the GLx 1-6. The autolive turns the reticle off after 3 minutes of no physical movement, then quickly turns it back on when a tiny bit of movement happens. I love the autolive function and in the case of the GLx, it gives around 600 hrs of battery life. They say it is a daylight bright reticle, but in direct sunlight, the red illumination is pretty non existent. Any time besides direct sun, the reticle’s illumination is easy to see and brightly lit up. It has 10 brightness levels, with and off between each one. I like that there's an “off” between each “on.”

  Now that the long winded reticle explanation is done, we can focus on the glass in the GLx 1-6. Primary Arms uses low-dispersion glass that is multi coated. Why do you care? Because it makes everything look super clear and bright. Yes, the glass is really that clear. The magnification ranges are true to the numbers, so 1x is really no magnification, and 6x is really 6 times normal. I really appreciate the true 1x for running close targets at the range. The 6x makes it pretty easy to hit targets at various ranges also. The field of view is pretty decent, specs are below if you're interested. The eye relief is pretty forgiving at 1x, it’s around 3 to 3.5 inches, but you don’t need to be perfect with it. At 6x that’s a different story, you really need to be in the scopes sweet spot. The clarity of the glass really does rival some of the higher end 1-6’s

  If you are not using the GLx’s Raptor reticle for bullet drop compensation, it has some pretty nice turrets to use instead. The GLx 1-6 comes from the factory with capped turrets. But hold on, there’s something more in the box. Also included is a single exposed turret. Yes, you can replace the elevation turret with a non-capped one. I suppose you could put it on the windage turret also, but why.  Now you can dial in the adjustments as necessary without having to take the cap off. I get that if you are running around in the woods, or doing secret squirrel stuff, you might want the advantage of having capped turrets. But for me, I instantly installed the tactical, non-capped turret. Adjustments are the same either way and adjust in increments of 0.1 MIL’s. These adjustments also use a steel on steel mechanism. This means you’ll have consistent adjustments and repeatability for a lifetime. The GLx 1-6 does have some physically large turrets. This makes it much easier to adjust with gloves, or just in general. The clicks are fairly decent and audible. They feel a tad bit mushy to me, but that’s probably due to the sealing that keeps water and dust out. In all, the turrets adjust well. These turrets can also be loosened up and set to zero. Not a zero stop, but at least you’ll have a zero point to adjust from. 

  There are a few other notable aspects of the Primary Arms GLx 1-6. One is the throw lever. The throw lever makes it easier and quicker to adjust the magnification ring. The ring adjustment operates smoothly, but having the throw lever is really nice. It sticks up about ½” above the ring. So it isn’t really in the way, but is still large enough to matter. Primary Arms also made the lever removable and changeable. It is screwed onto a tiny dovetail. Just unscrew it and slide it off to change it to a larger one, a folding one, or just to leave it off. This next aspect is its weight. It weighs in at 21 ounces. This is a few more ounces than some others in this mid-tier. When I say a few more, it’s like 3 ounces difference, so not much. But on the plus size of the weight, the GLx 1-6 is built like a tank. It is solid. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this LPVO harshly.

  If you are in the market for a top quality LPVO, but don’t want to pay top-tier pricing, the Primary Arms GLx 1-6x24 might be everything you need. The glass is super clear, it has a very useful FFP reticle, is pretty much indestructible, can range objects on the fly, and turns on and off automatically. What more could you want? I’d definitely look into one of these if you intend on running your stuff hard. You can check the GLX 1-6x24 ACSS Raptor M6 out at Primary Arms, as well as all the other products they have over there.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Mid-tier low power variable optic (LPVO) with first focal plane reticle (FFP)

Target Market:

Those wanting a quality mid grade LPVO

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • 1-6x Magnification

  • 24mm objective

  • 3.3" - 3.5" of eye relief

  • FOV: 104 ft at 1x, 18 ft at 6x

  • 30mm main tube

  • High strength one-piece 6061-T6 aluminum body

  • 10.25" long

  • Weighs 21.3 Oz

  • Premium grade glass

  • Steel-on-Steel precision adjustments

  • Tactile and audible 1/10 MIL click value

  • Turrets are user configurable between Tactical or Capped

  • Movable and replaceable magnification ring fin

  • Partial reticle illumination - Inner part only

  • First Focal Plane ACSS Raptor M6 Reticle

  • Autolive motion activated illumination

  • 10 total brightness settings, 2 of which are night vision compatible 

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Griffin M6 reticle   

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars at Primary Arms

EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED

Using this for an old m1a, as a red dot and magnifier don't really work for that platform. The glass is very clear and good eye relief, I zeroed and used out to 400 yards. Impact at 200 and 300 worked well on the bdc reticle, but I had to hold about 450 to hit the 400. I have access to longer range but haven't had chance to try it out yet. I let my friend shoot it and he was very impressed by the glass. Great scope for the price, it is bright on 11 but not like an aimpoint when shooting in the sunlight

Link to other reviews:

Thin Line Defense on YouTube it’s the Griffin reticle, but close enough 

Price point:

MSRP = $599.99

Retail = Same, but Primary Arms runs sales all the time

I need it now! Availability:

Primary Arms

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Super clear glass

  • Ranging reticle

  • Large capped turrets

  • Optional Elevation turret that replaces capped one

  • Autolive motion activation

  • Removable Throw lever

Cons:

  • Reticle is not daylight bright

  • Heavy-ish

Score:  8.00 Great

Favorite Link:  Walker Defense Research

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Lucid Optics "Litl Mo"

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  Lucid Optics has released their Micro Red Dot. It is designated the “Litl Mo”. Having used some of Lucid Optics' other products, I was excited to get one for review. Once received, I mounted it up on my slide with an adapter plate. This little red dot is getting to be a favorite for range use and competition.

  Lucid’s Litl Mo has a lot of features packed in it’s small package. It has a 3 MOA dot. A good compromise for either pistol or rifle use. The Litl Mo uses a Venom/Viper/Doctor footprint. This gives it the capability to be used on a lot of different mounts. It is NOT an RMR footprint, which I personally would have liked, and is, in my opinion, the other industry standard. It also includes a picatinny rail mount for even more mounting options. One fantastic feature of the Lucid, is its side battery tray. It uses a CR1632 battery, which just rests in the little tray, and slides in. There are no screws to hold it in, just some friction magic. I could not get the tray to open on its own, and trust me, I tried. This side battery tray allows the user to change the battery without removing the optic, thus leaving your zero alone. The physical size is 45mm Long x 25mm Wide x 30mm high. Of course, the Litl Mo is also shockproof and waterproof.

  There are a few more features of the Litl Mo too. Using it’s 19mm x 28 mm window allows for a great sight picture. This larger sized window really makes the Litl Mo shine. It is so easy to find the red dot. This, of course, allows for fast first shots on target and faster follow up shots. There is a 2 hour auto off on this optic. This would be fine if it had an auto on feature, but it doesn’t. Not to worry, the next generation will not have the auto off. Instead, it will be on, when you turn it on, and off, when you turn it off. Along those lines, the Litl Mo has 8 brightness settings. To turn it on, off, or adjust brightness, just hit either the “+” or “-” button on the left side of the optic. To turn it off, just hold one of the buttons down for around 3 seconds. Because of the auto off function, this optic lends itself to range use only. Which disappoints me, since I would like to use it on a carry gun. The Litl Mo uses a slotted type screw adjustment for windage and elevation, but has no “clicks”. I had no problem zeroing the red dot. Plus, it never lost zero for me.

  Micro red dots are becoming the new normal for handgun sights. I mounted the Litl Mo on a Glockish Polymer 80 build. So the Litl Mo got banged around pretty good. I was just about ready to write my review, and the red dot started having problems. The dot would disappear when the slide went forward. I will say it was after around 1200 rounds. I contacted Lucid, they sent a call tag and a new Litl Mo. Of course, I was the first to have a problem. After they looked at it, it was a battery terminal problem. I was informed that they “tweaked” the design a little to prevent it in the future. Customer service was awesome, so no complaints there. Since this is not a “life on the line” optic, it didn’t bother me too much. I have not had any problems with the replacement Litl Mo. 

  The Lucid Optics Litl Mo is a good micro red dot. I was expecting a little more from a $350 micro red dot. It is built well, has good useability, and good functionality. The lack of staying on, or “waking” up, doesn’t lend itself to the price range it is in. On the plus side, the Litl Mo is a quality built product. 


Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Micro Red dot

Target Market:

Those wanting a quality micro red dot

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • 3 MOA dot

  • Side battery tray

  • Uses a CR1632 battery

  • Vortex Venom/Viper, Docter optic mounting footprint

  • Picatinny rail mount included

  • Shockproof up to .458 SOCOM

  • ½ MOA adjustments, no clicks

  • IPX7 waterproof

  • 2 hour auto off - next version will not have this

  • 19mm x 28mm window

  • 8 brightness settings

  • 45mm Length x 25mm Width x 30mm height

  • Weight - 1 ounce

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None

What others are saying?:

Too New - nothing found

Link to other reviews:

Gear-Report

Price point:

MSRP = $349.99

Retail = $289.95 at Primary Arms

I need it now! Availability:

Lucid Optics or Primary Arms

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Good Window size

  • Side battery tray

  • Dot size

  • Lifetime warranty 

Cons:

  • No shake awake or stay awake mode

  • 2 hr Auto off

  • Not an RMR footprint

  • Price

Score: 6.00 Okay

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Favorite Link:   Gun & Gear Cult

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Meprolight Foresight

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  Meprolight has come out with an Augmented holographic style sight. It is called the Foresight. Along with the Foresight, is a downloadable app to work in conjunction with the optic. The Foresight is really unique in how it gives information to the user. When we first talked about it on the Gun & Gear Review podcast, I was so intrigued that I asked for a Test & Evaluation unit.

  This brings us to the actual Foresight, a 1x optic. It is not a small sight, coming in at 4.6” x 2.35” x 2.68”’. Think Eotech size. It does however come with quick mount levers, built into it’s picatinny mount. It also does not have a removable battery. The battery is rechargeable using a USB-C connector. A short USB cord is provided, but not a charger. I just used my phone charger and it worked fine. The viewing window is extremely large at 1.3” x 0.79”. Operational buttons are mounted on the top front of the sight, in front of the window. The whole unit weighs 9.9 ounces.

  Let’s get into the features of the Foresight. It uses a green projected information and sighting display, not your typical red. But that’s not all. In conjunction with the APP, you have a choice of 20 different reticle options! One downside, you can only upload 5 at a time to be used in the sight. That does however give you 5 different sight in the optic itself. All of which are zeroed to the same point of impact. To cycle through the 5 in-sight reticles, just press the left or right arrow on the control pad. 

  Along with the different reticles, other information is also displayed. The Foresight has a built in level displayed on the left side of the screen. The level is 6 lines with a triangle pointer in between. There is another pointer just to the right. When the 2 pointers line up, the sight is level. Otherwise the right pointer moves, up or down, as you tilt the sight left or right. Right moves it down, Left moves it up. The level really helps when sighting in a rifle. I found it useful without being too much in the way. Another feature of the heads up display, is the built in compass. The compass displays in the upper left corner. It reads in degrees from 0 to 359. North is 0, South is 180, etc. 

  When first turning on the Foresight, or cycling buttons, even more information is displayed. This information is only displayed for 3 seconds and then disappears. In this info, is battery capacity, brightness level, and bluetooth. The battery display is in the upper right hand corner. It has both a battery percentage and battery icon. However, it does not tell you how much time is remaining at the current setting. Below the battery indicator is the bluetooth symbol. If you see it, the bluetooth is on, if not, then it is off. The Foresight uses bluetooth to communicate with the app. Last up is the current brightness setting, from 0-9. This is displayed on the right of the window. Brightness is adjusted by using the up/down keys on the control pad. Since we are discussing brightness, the Foresight also has an auto adjust brightness setting. To enter the auto brightness mode, just hold down the up, or front arrow, on the control pad for 3 seconds. The number on the right will disappear when in auto brightness mode. Auto brightness will also turn off if you cycle the sight off and then on again. If all the displayed information is too much, you can put the sight into “low power mode” by pushing the middle button on the control panel. In low power mode, only the reticle is displayed. However, auto brightness does not work in the low power mode.

  Lastly, there is a control menu in the display. Push the center control button twice to access it. Here you can also turn off all the on screen displays, except the reticle. This is also where bluetooth can be turned on or off. You can also calibrate the compass here. Or factory reset the optic. But more importantly, this is where you can adjust the sights zero. Access the “zeroing” option, then you can adjust the zero by moving the sight left or right, displayed as “Y” and “Z” axis. Each number is a movement of 1 MOA. I would have liked finer adjustments, but it is only a 1x optic. You can also adjust zero from the APP.

  The APP has a bunch of different abilities. For the app to work, it must be in range of the Foresight. As mentioned previously, you can zero the optic in the APP also. It pretty much works the same way, select the proper profile, click “Zeroing”, then adjust zero with the arrows. Once done, it will sync with the sight. The APP allows the creation of 10 different profiles. Thes can be different firearms, or different shooters. Each profile has its own individual zero and reticle choices. So if I take the Foresight off of one firearm, install it on another, I can just upload the new profile to the foresight. It will be zeroed and have the 5 chosen reticles for the new firearm. This of course only works if your new firearm profile has been previously zeroed. I love the ability to do this. Especially when installing a .22lr conversion kit. Just bring up the 22lr profile, and it’s zeroed and has the 5 reticles I want for that firearm. In each profile, you can also choose the 5 reticles that you want in the actual Foresight. There are a total of 20 to choose from. Some are courser than others, with the 1 moa dot probably being the finest. 

  Meprolight has impressed me with this sight. It is durable. It may have bounced off of some concrete once or twice. When switching between firearms, it has held zero. At least from what I can tell with a 1x sight. The quick mount thumb levers are a nice touch, especially if you do want to move the sight from firearm to firearm. The sight window is huge and easily picked up. I could live without the compass. But for military applications, it probably can be useful. The angle indicator is pretty awesome, it would really be more useful with a magnifier attached. The Foresight is supposed to have an auto off, shake awake. Either this one doesn’t, or it doesn’t work. It will auto off after hours of non use, but won’t turn on when moved. I tried contacting Meprolight twice, by email, about this, without any luck. I was also curious about stated battery life. So much for tech support. My favorite aspect of the sight is the different reticles. Not just the 20 available, but having 5 options in the sight is amazing. Supposedly a shot counter is in the works. I’d really like to see how that would work.

  I would hold the Meprolight Foresight up against other top tier 1x optics. It would look, function, and be geographically correct on an IWI product. The Foresight worked extremely well for me. If you are interested in an optic like this, definitely look into Foresight.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Holographic Augmented sight with different reticles, level indicator, auto brightness, different zero’s, and an APP

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a feature rich holographic sight

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

Sight:

  • 1x magnification

  • Window size - 33x20mm

  • 4.6″ legth  x 2.35″width  x 2.68″ height

  • 9.9 ounces

  • Quick detach mount built in

  • Holographic sight picture

  • 5 preset reticles

  • Built in compass

  • Built in level indicator

  • Digital Zeroing 

  • USB-C Rechargeable

  • Bluetooth (for App)

  • 10 brightness levels (displayed on screen)

  • Auto Brightness

  • Low Power Mode

APP

  • 20 different reticles (5 transferable to sight at one time)

  • 10 different Weapon profiles and zero’s

  • Zero firearm from app also

  • Choose between sight or app data

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None

What others are saying?:

Nothing found

Link to other reviews:

None found

Price point:

MSRP = $714

Retail = $649 at Midway

I need it now! Availability:

Midway USA

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Multiple reticles

  • Level indicator

  • Auto Brightness

  • Quick detach mount

  • APP profiles

  • Durability

  • Window size

  • Innovation

Cons:

  • Price

  • Tech Support

  • Shake awake doesn’t work like other manufacturer’s 

Score:  7.5 Good

Sight - 8.5

Tech support - 5.5

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Favorite Link:   Gun And Gear Cult

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Axeon Optics 4-12x40 rifle scope

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 Axeon optics is a newer company with some interesting optic products, but they also make normal scopes. They sent me one of their 4-12x40 scopes for review. Axeon is distributed by Umarex USA. I thought this would be great to try on my .17hmr rifle. So off I went to mount it up.

 I first want to mention that this is a budget scope, so I am comparing it to other budget scopes that I have used. The Axeon has the old standby Plex reticle. I personally think plex style reticles are fine, but I prefer some sort of ranging reticle. The reticle is in the second focal plane, so it stays the same visual size throughout the magnification spectrum. As stated, this is a variable 4-12 power scope with a 40mm objective lens. It also uses a 1” main tube. It does not have a fast focus eyepiece. I tend to set the focus and leave it alone anyhow.

 The Axeon scope does have some decent features. It comes with fully coated “green” optics. The green is the actual color of the coatings. The coating seemed to give really good light transmission through the scope, even at 12 power. Clarity was nice and sharp also. So much so that I could see the little 17 caliber holes at 100yds. Axeon also throws in a set of flip covers, and they aren’t so bad that you want to toss them away. The magnification adjustment knob is also really smooth. This makes it really nice to switch magnification while looking through the scope.

Taken at 4x - Target board is 100yds

Taken at 12x - Target board is 100yds

 For windage and elevation adjustments, Axeon uses capped turrets. The caps screw on and off easily. Underneath the caps are the actual ¼ MOA adjustment knobs. The knobs are plastic, but have a decent grip to them, this made turning the knob easy. Now for the really bad part. The click adjustments are terrible. They can barely be felt. So much so that I couldn’t really tell if I went one click or four. Even with this, the scope held it’s zero every time I used it.

 The rest of the specifications are down below, so I won’t bore you with them here.

 If you are in the market for a budget scope, go at least look at Axeon. If the adjustments were better, it would be a good little scope. It has some decent features. it just needs a little refinement.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Inexpensive quality scope

Target Market:

Those wanting an entry level optic

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • 4-12 power magnification

  • Plex reticle

  • Multi coated Green optics

  • 40mm Objective lens

  • 1” main tube

  • 13.25 ounces

  • 11.875” in length

  • 3.5”-4” eye relief

  • Field of View - 25f eet @ 4x, 8.3 feet at 12x

  • ¼ moa adjustments

  • 30 moa windage and elevation adjustments

  • Waterproof

  • Shockproof

  • Fogproof

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

2-7x32 and 3-9x40

What others are saying?:

Nothing found

Link to other reviews:

None found

Price point:

MSRP = $138.99

Retail =$118.67 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Axeon or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Large field of view

  • Flip caps included

  • Good light transmission

Cons:

  • Duplex reticle

  • Non-positive clicks on adjustments

  • Made in China

Score: 6.5 Okay

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Favorite Link:   Thor Targets

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