One scope to rule them all! - Primary Arms 1-8 x 24mm LPVO Rifle Scope

I've been researching LVPOs for a multi-function scope for months so bear with me on this review. The criteria I used to narrow my options were clarity, forgiving eye box, light transfer, price, place of manufacture, magnification (>4x), warranty, durability, daylight bright illum., near 1x magnification, company reputation, and reticle type. This list allowed me to focus on optics by Sig, Vortex, Leupold, Trijicon, Steiner, Aimpoint, and this fella. I compared all to what folks consider to be the "gold standard" in this category - the Vortex Razor HD Gen II. I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant to place Primary Arms onto this list. Don't get me wrong, their budget line is pretty great from what I hear but the extra $1k forced me to really scrutinize their Platinum offering. Luckily, several prominent online gear & tactic reviewers played a crucial role in my decision to place this scope onto my short list. I’ll tell you that after my analysis was complete, I felt good when I finally made the decision to spend what I consider to be a sizeable chunk of money on the Primary Arms Platinum 1-6 ACSS.

So, now that I own it, here’s why I chose this scope. The light transfer is unbelievable. This is largely due to the huge 34mm tube. The edges are crisp at low power and even at 8x there is minimal fisheye. This is about as close to 1x as possible, which makes for lighting fast target acquisition (with or without illum.). As this is a FFP scope, the reticle changes from a “donut/horseshoe of death” at low power to a full-on precision/ranging reticle at higher powers. Although, I wasn’t originally concerned with FFP vs. SFP, the ability to have more than a low or high power only option means a lot. Sometimes the situation doesn’t call for full power. That’s where a FFP reticle comes into play as holdovers are consistent throughout the power settings.

This brings me to PA’s proprietary ACSS reticle (check out https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=acss+reticle). The ACSS reticle is simply amazing (and amazingly simple). So amazing that a version of it is now used in some ACOGs. Here’s a little secret from my research, this scope is made in the same Japanese factory that cranks out other really high-dollar scopes (like $3+k models). Finally, the transferable, limited lifetime warranty on this bad boy actually covers normal wear and tear! This type of guarantee will not be found on most (if any) of the other options on my original list.

Granted, this thing is a tank at 26 ounces (about the same as the Razor, btw). Tanks are pretty darn resilient to the weight is there for a reason. Weight shouldn’t be a big deal unless you have to hump a Platinum/Razor equipped rifle around the bush for days on end. For most of us, this shouldn’t be an issue. Heck, it may even be motivation to work out more.

On a separate note, for those of you who may not want to give up over a grand for a scope with the ACSS reticle or one of its variants, check out their $300 (SFP) or $400 (FFP) 1-6x offerings. I own high dollar Leupolds and ACOGs and I will tell you with absolute certainty that PA will be at the top of my lust for my future purchases; other manufacturers will have to prove to me that they need to take that spot.

I can’t leave out Optics Planet’s world-class customer service and low pricing from this review. I made few calls before ordering and each time, the reps were professional, knowledgeable, and willing to work with me on discounts.