Product Review Primary Arms SLX Prism Sight

[Caleb]

I have astigmatism in my eyes so, I have been trying to find a “red dot” that doesn’t look like a red sun. I read that prism (etched reticles ) scopes are the way to go for this. I bought the PA SLX 1X prism scope on sale a few months ago and finally was able to mount and zero it. First impression is that it looks and feels like a quality item even though it was made in China. The turret clicks are a little mushy but if you take your time you can feel them “click” into place. I have to mention that the reticle is so small that the chevron is hardly recognizable as a chevron, looks more like a misshaped dot when the illumination is on. I ended up using the outer circle to line up my POA. That worked well for me. I placed the target at 25yds to get on paper and work the adjustments into center. Moved it to 50 and zero’ed it there as that was my goal. Shot 30 rounds dead center with only two flyers that were my fault. The glass is nice and clear and I’m sure the reticle is too for those with normal eyes. I’m still seeing starbursting with illumination turned on but, it is no where near as bad as with standard red dots or holographic sights. I’m happy with it for its intended use.

 

[CECannonJr]

Prism scopes are great for us with astigmatism. You can't go wrong with Primary Arms products. I've had my eye on them for a new build. I have an older Vortex Spitfire 1X prism that I have really enjoyed owning, but I don't really like their new models. Thanks for the review.

 

[Racer88]

You shot a nice target at 50 yards with it, too!

 

[Alex]

Another PA prism fan here. I have found their green illuminated scopes are more visible with my astigmatism, you might want to look at one of those for your next 1x. Also for your consideration is that same scope with the 9mm Gemini reticle. It adds a couple of holdover dots for lower velocity firearms like 300 BO subsonic, shotgun slugs and yes, 9mm PCCs.

I also have the GLx version of the scope, it uses pushbuttons instead of knobs so there is less scope body in my field of view. That is the one on my tactical shotgun. I shoot clays with it as it is more natural for me to shoot with both eyes open with a scope vs a bead sight.

 

[Bobster]

I don't use the illumination in my Raven 1.5x. I may not even have a battery installed! Used it both yesterday and today.

 

[bkbrno]

I bought a different brand 1x prism. Some of the reviews commented that the chevron was tiny and it seemed to be .5x. A scope that makes things smaller doesn't make sense. Out of the box, the image did look smaller than the naked eye and the reticle was tough to make out.

What I found was that the focus ring was all the way in. Once focused the reticle was more readable and the image was normal size. Being 1x, the eye can adjust for a lot of off focus.

Pointed at a featureless background at infinity distance, the sky, turn ring until best focus.

 

[Caleb]

I did notice that the target “looked” smalller through the reticle. When you open and close each eye separately you can see the difference (minor but still there).

 

[bkbrno]

On my Athlon, the focus was buried to the bottom. It took a lot of turns to focus it. Very fine thread pitch I guess. Since many come from the same china factory, the PA may be similar. The target size now looks the same both eyes. Before I focused it, the sizes were different. And, the reticle is a lot clearer.

Try the focus, it will be worth your time and effort.

 

[Alex]

Try the focus, it will be worth your time and effort.

I'm pretty sure that is step 1 in the manual of every scope with a diopter adjustment.

 

[bkbrno]

I'm pretty sure that is step 1 in the manual of every scope with a diopter adjustment.

The issue is, with a 1x, you see everything clearly because your eye does the focusing. I looked through mine, could see the reticle, downrange was in focus. I wasn't expecting the focus to change the image size. Magnified optics are fuzzy until focused. 1x optics seem to change the image size much more than the fuzzy/not fuzzy . The reticle was usable unfocused. It did get really clear when focused but nothing triggered my brain that it was out of focus.