Chad Wallace

May 17, 2026

Optics, review

Primary Arms PLx 1-8x24 RDB

Chad Wallace

May 17, 2026

Optics, review

Primary Arms PLxC

1-8x24 RDB LPVO Review

The PLx series from Primary Arms Optics is their top tier “premier” optic line. Recently they updated their PLx Low Power Variable Optics (LPVO) with “Red Dot Bright” illuminated reticles, or RDB as they call it. They sent over one of the PLx 1-8x24 RDB with the ACSS Raptor G2 reticle. This is their first focal plane (FFP) reticle for 5.56/308 that has ranging capabilities. Is it perfect? No, but it does have some fantastic features.

When you first see the Primary Arms PLx 1-8 you notice it. The lines are very sleek. It is not a target scope with huge turrets. Which is what you would expect from a LPVO. It is compact when compared to some other FFP optics in this tier. It is also fairly lightweight. All the controls are easy to get to and function better than expected. Then there is the super clear glass.

First, I am jumping right into the reticle. The PLx 1-8 has 2 different reticle options: The ACSS Griffin MIL G2 and the ACSS Raptor 5.56/.308 Yard G2. I opted for the ACSS Raptor reticle, the Griffin is more of a standard MIL reticle and I wanted something where I didn’t have to think too much for bullet drop. Both are FFP reticles and get larger when you zoom in. This is because all markings on the reticles stay the same actual size for ranging and bullet drop compensation.

The ACSS (Advanced Combined Sighting System) Raptor reticle was designed primarily for 223/5.56 rifles, but it also will work on 308 rifles. I will explain it for 5.56. The Raptor is a Bullet Drop Compensating (BDC) reticle that also does range estimation and has MIL markings. Pointing toward the center reticle are 3 solid lines, these can only be seen between 1x and 2x. When zoomed in past that, you only see the inner reticles. There are then MIL marked lines toward the inner most BDC reticle. The inner BDC reticle is where all the magic happens.

The Raptor BDC part of the reticle allows one to range targets and adapt for wind. In the very center is the horseshoe chevron reticle. The horseshoe is roughly 2.5 MIL’s in diameter and then has a small center chevron (open triangle). You sight in at the top point of the chevron. This gives a very precise aiming point. The BDC marks are then below the chevron marked with 4,6, & 8. These numbers are in yards for bullet drop. The bottom of the chevron would be 200 yards and the top vertical stadia mark would be 300. This mark is also at the bottom of the horseshoe. There are wind holds, or lead dots, for 5, 10, & 15 MPH at the BDC ranges. Horizontal to the horseshoe are 3 more dots. These are for leading a target also, but they are 3, 6, & 9 MPH which corresponds to a human's walk, jog, and run.

Simplified ranging can also be done with the ACSS Raptor reticle. In the reticle, on each side going toward the outside, are vertical lines. These lines get larger as you move toward the outside of the reticle. There are 5 lines with a number on every other one. The numbers designate a range in hundreds, so the #6 represents 600 yards. These lines fit an average height person. So if the person fits perfectly in the #4 line, you know they are at approximately 400 yards. To take the ranging one step farther in the Raptor reticle, there are also width ranging lines that run down the vertical BDC marks. These horizontal small lines are used to measure a 18 inch wide target, like a USPSA one. Or the average width of a human torso. Essentially you use it the same way as the height ones. Fit the target in the proper line, say the #6 line, and you know the target is at approximately 600 yards. The ranging is actually pretty easy, once you get the hang of it.

Now that you know about the reticle, let’s adjust it. The PLx comes with capped turrets. This helps with the low profile of the 1-8. The turret covers are about 1.5 inches in diameter and have pretty sharp knurling on them. So it is easy to unscrew them, even with thick gloves on. Inside those covers are the turrets themselves. They are about 1.375 inches in diameter with aggressive texture on the top to aid in adjustment. Both windage and elevation turrets adjust in 0.1 MIL increments.and go 10 MIL’s per complete revolution. The windage knob has numbers with both and R & L so you know which way you went. Of course the elevation knob has numbers 0-9, the 10 being the zero again. Both knobs have 3 tiny screws that hold the knobs in place. Once you have sighted in the optic, loosen the screws on the turrets and adjust it to the zero position, then re-tighten the screws. Primary Arms also includes a target style elevation turret. So if you want an adjustable turret without having to take off the cap, you can install it. I say target style because there is no cap, the target turret is still low profile in design. The actual adjustment clicks on the PLx are fantastic. Not only are they solid, but there is very little play when turning them from click to click. They aren’t as audible as you might think, but since they are super tactile, I do not care. The turret adjustments are steel on steel gears. This is one thing that sets higher tier optics above the cheaper ones. Plus they don’t wear out as quickly and return to zero with no error.

The PLx 1-8’s red illumination is bright. That is why it has the RDB label, it stands for “red dot bright”. I can attest that with the new technology Primary Arms is using, this reticle is super bright. Yes, it can be seen in direct sunlight, easily. With the reticle at 1x, it really can be used as a red dot and even kind of looks like one, because the horseshoe ends up looking like a bright red dot. When you zoom in to 8x, it is still just as bright, but does have some problems. If you look at all the info on the RDB, it shows only the horseshoe and chevron being illuminated. The problem with high brightness and magnification is that the small lines and numbers become tiny illuminated dots. It muddies up the reticle in my opinion. Turning down the reticle's brightness does help. I have a non RDB Primary Arms LPVO that does this a little bit also, so it’s not just the PLx line. Along with the illumination, the PLx 1-8 also has Primary Arms’ Autolive feature. This is their shake away auto on/off for the reticle. It helps save battery life and works fantastic. The battery is housed inside the brightness knob. There are 10 brightness settings with an off position between each one. Each setting has a positive detent to keep it in place.

How clear is the PLx 1-8? I'd say near perfect thanks to the Japanese ED glass that is used. Light transmission is also fantastic. The clarity is where you really notice the quality of the glass. I can't really explain it, it's just clear with no edge distortion. Eye relief is pretty decent and forgiving, even at 8x. I can look through this optic without the eye strain I get from lower tiered optics.

The PLx 1-8 also has a nice magnification adjuster. It is nicely knurled and super smooth to adjust. It also comes with a removable throw lever. These throw levers can be swapped for shorter, taller, or folding ones, but they have to be purchased separately. Either way, the throw lever on the magnification ring works nice and is the perfect height.

I ended up installing the PLx 1-8 RDB on a Flat Dark Earth 16 inch AR build. This AR has a bunch of high quality parts on and in it, so I figured it would be a great host for the PLx. Also having the 16 inch barrel puts the optic in its sweet spot for the BDC. Primary Arms also sent one of their 2.04 PLx mounts for the scope. I wasn’t sure if I would like the 2.04 mount at first, but it is kind of nice. Okay, back to the PLx 1-8. I do like that this optic is made in Japan and not China. Japan has some of the clearest optic glass around and it really shows in the clarity of the PLx. I also really liked that the PLx weighs just over a pound. It would be nice if the PLx 1-8 could have a zero stop in the turret. It may not be that “type” of scope, but a zero stop would be a good addition. The anodizing color is close to FDE, but looks more bronze colored to me. This is just another reason why we have 50 shades of FDE. The bullet drops from the Raptor reticle seemed close enough for me. This is more of a fighting optic for me, not a precision one, which is why I like the ACSS Raptor reticle. Of course, having the autolive illumination makes the LPVO ready whenever you are. The Primary Arms PLx 1-8 is a fantastic optic with a very useable magnification range.

If you are looking for a LPVO that really does it all, check out the Primary Arms PLxC 1-8x24 FFP RDB scope. There is a good reason this thing is in Primary Arms’ Premier line of optics. It has fantastic clarity, a sunny daylight bright reticle, and can be used both as a red dot and something for distance. If you are interested, head over to Primary Arms and take a look at the PLx 1-8x24 RDB with the ACSS Raptor G2 reticle.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Top tier LPVO

Target Market:

Those needing a rugged, precise, super clear LPVO with useable features

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Red Dot Bright Diffractive Reticle technology
ACSS Raptor 5.56/.308 Yard G2 Reticle
Premium grade Japanese ED glass with enhanced clarity and light transmission
First focal plane reticles stay true at every magnification
High strength 30mm tube
Easy to swap dovetail throw lever
1-8x magnification range is red dot fast in close quarters and accurate at medium range
AutoLive Motion-Sensing illumination technology
Steel On Steel (SOS®) Adjustable turrets
Adjustable illumination from Daylight bright to night vision compatible
Water proof, shock resistant, and fog resistant
Durable hardcoat anodized flat dark earth finish
Made in Japan
Battery Type: CR2032 3V Lithium
Click Value: 0.1 Mil
Exit Pupil Diameter: Low: 8mm / High: 3mm
Eye Relief: Low: 3.2 in / High: 3.7 in
Field View 100: Low: 121 ft / High: 14.6 ft
Length: 9.28 in.
Night Vision Compatible
Objective Diameter: 24mm
Total Elevation Adjustment: 100 MOA
Total Windage Adjustment: 100 MOA
Capped Turrets
Weight: 16.95 oz.
Lifetime warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Griffin Mil G2 reticle in black or FDE

What others are saying?:

5 out 5 stars on Optic Planet

As good as it gets

Got this on a sale and paid just under 1500 after tax and shipping. For the price, you won't find a better LPVO. This thing rocks. Got the ACSS Raptor reticle as I'm running this on a 14.5 super duty and prefer the 50yd zero and ballistic drop reticle over the Griffin. Glass clarity is superb all through magnification range. And yes, this thing is absolutely red dot bright even on 7/10 setting. Maybe at high noon on a glacier you would need to go higher than 8/10 on the illumination setting. Don't bother getting scope rings with this as you will do away with the near invisible scope feature when you're at the lower magnification settings. That is also an amazing thing about this scope: at 1x, with both eyes open, the scope itself is barely perceptible when looking at your targets. Once you get the diopter adjusted to your eye (both eyes open!) there is no noticeable shift in your view when taking turns closing each eye to see the shift.

Link to other reviews:

C_Does on YouTube

Price point:

MSRP = $1749.99

Retail = Same

I need it now! Availability:

Primary Arms, Midway USA, or your local shop

Our Rating:

Pros:

Red dot bright reticle
Ranging reticle
Super clear on 1x or 8x
Lightweight
Edge clarity
Smooth power adjustment

Cons:

FDE is more bronze’ish colored
No zero stop

Score: 9.00 Amazing

Favorite Link: Primary Arms SLx RS-10R Review

Chad Wallace

February 28, 2026

Optics, Review

Primary Arms SLx 4.5-27x56

Chad Wallace

February 28, 2026

Optics, Review

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.