Primary Arms
SLx 4.5-27x56 FFP Review
Inexpensive, high quality long range optics are starting to become more prevalent in today's market. Primary Arms Optics recently released their SLx 4.5-27x56 first focal plane scope. This thing is a beast, in a good way. It is available with two different ACSS reticles: the Athena BPR MIL Reticle and the Deka G2 Reticle. I received the Deka reticle, which was the one I would have chosen anyways.
The SLx line of optics from Primary Arms is what I call their “value” line. What that means for the customer is that you get a ton of features for a reasonable price. For instance on this SLx 4.5-27x56 you get an illuminated first focal plane reticle, 34mm tube, finger adjustable turrets, fast focus eye piece, a throw lever, and a zero stop. This line also has some good glass. Because the 4.5-27 is in the SLx line, you do get a scope that might weigh a little more than Primary Arms’ GLx or PLx line, but I expect that in a value line product.
Primary Arms Optics SLX 4.5-27x56 is loaded with options. I mentioned a few before, but let us get into them more. The 34 mm tube and 56 mm objective lens help to allow more light through the lenses. At lower power, this is not really a problem, but as the magnification increases, light going through the scope to your eye can diminish. So you get a brighter picture than say a 30mm scope with a 50mm objective lens. Another advantage of the 34mm tube is that it allows more elevation and windage adjustments. In the SLx’s case, it allows for 32 MIL’s of adjustment at 100 meters, or about 115 inches.
The ACSS DEKA G2 reticle is nice. The Deka is a MIL reticle that has a bunch of features, including ranging. First, it is a crosshair style reticle, no “Christmas tree” style here. I really like this style of reticle because it doesn’t clutter up the viewing space, allowing one to see their target more clearly. The inner part of the reticle has tiny marks every 0.1 MIL. Slightly larger ones at 0.5 MIL’s, and bracketed “T” marks every MIL. Then every 2 MIL mark has a number out to 10 MIL’s. So 2,4,6,8, and 10 are marked with those numbers. This applies to both windage and elevation. This marked portion of the reticle is the illuminated section, including the center 0.1 MIL aiming dot. The center dot gives you a really accurate aiming point. If you want to only see the illuminated part of the reticle, you are limited to about 15x magnification. At the full 27x, you see about 14 MIL’s of the reticle, 7 on each side of the aiming dot. After the 10 MIL mark, you get a solid line with 20, 30, and 40 MIL marks. This outer portion is not illuminated. The top portion of the reticle has some ranging lines, which are also illuminated. These are used to determine the approximate range of a 5 foot 7 inch tall, and/or a 19 inch wide target. The ranging marks start at 300 meters and go out to 1000 meters. I have one minor complaint about the reticle, I would like the stadia line, that has the marks on it, to be smaller than 0.1 MIL. Maybe something like 0.05 MILs. Mainly because this line just holds the markings, which are 0.1 MIL wide. Other than that, I really do like the configuration of the ACSS DEKA reticle.
Since the reticle just was explained, now maybe we should adjust it to our rifle. The turrets on the SLx 4.5-27 are fairly large and nicely textured. This makes them easy to adjust with or without gloves. The clicks are quite good for being in the SLx line. They are positive with very little “mush” to them. These turrets also adjust the optic in 0.1 MIL increments. The windage turret is capped, but it can be set to a zero after sighting in the rifle. This windage turret also has right and left markings on it. So once you set the zero, if you need the bullet to go left 1 MIL’s, you just turn it to “1L”, or “1R” if needing to move the impact to the right. The elevation turret is one place the SLx really shines. It is a large target style with an adjustable zero stop. Having that zero stop makes it super easy to adjust the optic back to its base zero. One revolution on the elevation knob is also 10 MIL’s of adjustment, making range adjustments easier to calculate. If you don’t like the target style elevation turret, Primary Arms also supplies a standard height turret. Both of these turrets have markings on them, neither one is capped. On the left side of the optic are the parallax and brightness knobs. Both have decent texturing. The parallax knob turns easily, even if it is harder to get clear at longer ranges. The brightness knob turns harder, but has positive detents for the 6 brightness settings. It also has “off” positions in between each numbered “on” position. Brightness is really good, but it is not daylight bright illumination. Unless it was a really dark day, I didn’t really use the illumination.
I was impressed with the SLx 4.5-27’s clarity. At lower power levels, up to about 20x, it is super clear and bright. Okay, it is pretty bright all through the magnification range. When you get up to about 25x, the clarity seems to drop a tiny bit. It is still usable at 27x, you just notice it. I was still able to see, and hit targets at 1000 yards without any problems. Okay, seeing them yes, hitting them was more of a challenge. But that was not the optics fault. Part of the reason the clarity drops off at long range is due to the touchy parallax adjustment. It adjusts fine at 100-500 yards, but as the magnification and range increases, it is harder to adjust to get a clear picture. It can be adjusted for a clear picture, it just takes very small movements. Don’t let these complaints scare you off, the SLx 4.5-27 is still a very capable optic out to 1000 yards and beyond.
Stump is approximately 1100 yards, Optic is at maximum power (27x)
I ended up mounting the SLx 4.5-27x56 on my Bergara .308, which sits in an MDT chassis. The rifle already has a 20 MOA rail to mount an optic on. This gives me extra adjustment to use. Because of this, with the SLx 4.5-27, I get a full 20 MILs of “up” elevation adjustment. This lets me dial out to a range of about 1400 yards, which is about 200 more than I will ever shoot this rifle. I shot this optic out to 1100 yards. That is how I know that the parallax adjustment gets really touchy. It takes a bit to get a clear picture at that range, but it is doable. The turret adjustments are nice and make it easy to adjust to whatever range you are shooting at. The SLx 4.5-27 would make a great entry level PRS or long range scope. It did everything I needed it to and more.
If you are looking for that affordable, quality, long range optic, the Primary Arms SLx-4.5-27x56 would be a good choice. It has decent clarity and exceptional brightness. Once it is adjusted, it can easily see targets at 1000 yards and beyond. It also has 2 different reticle options, a Christmas tree style and the DEKA reviewed here, so you can get the style you want. If you are looking at getting into long range shooting, or just need a good high power magnified optic, go check out the SLx 4.5-27x56.
Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points
Claim to Fame:
Quality long range optic at value price
Target Market:
Those wanting a long range, clear optic that doesn’t beat you up on price. Also entry level long range shooters
Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:
Battery Type: CR2032 3V Lithium Coin
Click Value: 0.1 Mil
Focal Plane: First Focal Plane
Illuminated: Partial Red Illumination
Magnification: 4.5X - 27X
Mount Compatibility: 34mm
Reticle: ACSS DEKA G2 Mil
Total Elevation Adjustment: 32 MIL
Turret Features: Tactical / Target Profile, Finger Adjustable
Lifetime Warranty
Reticle stop
Field Of View @ 100yds: Low: 26.69 ft. / High: 4.46 ft.
Length: 13.78 in
Eye Relief: 4 in
Weight: 32.6 oz.
What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?
What others are saying?:
5 out 5 star from Texan at OpticsPlanet.com
Scope is super clear. A great value for the money. My second scope of this line.
Link to other reviews:
Nothing found as of publishing
Price point:
MSRP = $549.99
Retail = Same
I need it now! Availability:
Primary Arms, Optics Planet, or your local gun store
Our Rating:
Pros:
Reticle choice
Clear and bright glass
Target turrets
Illuminated reticle
Zero stop
Price
Cons:
Parallax adjustment is touchy
Heavy
Score: 8.00 Great
Favorite Link: Primary Arms GLx MD-21 Review
