REVIEW: Primary Arms PLX 1-8×24 LPVO

High-end optics at an acceptable price? That's the Japan Porsche from Texas that we already briefly introduced to you, but now we want to take a detailed look at everything.

Scope of delivery and appearance

The PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter from PRIMARY ARMS comes in a large, very high-quality box with a lot of padding to ensure that your new optics arrive safely on their journey through the world. Included are two instruction manuals. One for the optic housing and its adjustment options, and one specifically for the reticle. You'll need it, as the ACSS Raptor M8 reticle offers you a lot of aim points and ranging aids.

In addition to the two manuals, you will receive a sunshade cover, an adjustment turret cover, and of course replacement set screws and a matching battery (both not pictured).

The second adjustment turret cover is designed for the precision shooters among you.

This one is screwed on instead of the cover and the inner scale. Then you can move the reticle up or down in 0.1 MIL increments.

The side adjustment also occurs in 0.1 MIL increments. When you turn it, you can already feel the high quality of this optic. Every click is clean and without any additional play on the adjustment dial.

Opposite the side adjustment is the battery compartment with a rotary switch for the red reticle illumination. You have 10 illumination levels available, and after each level there is always an "Off" position (the white dot). The first two are intended for passive aiming with night vision devices. They only light up very faintly.

At the rear end, the ocular, there is a diopter adjustment and the magnification adjustment ring. The small lever can also be unscrewed if you prefer not to have it.

The lever is foldable, which we think is extremely good. This way, it is not in the way, and if needed, it can be quickly unfolded to make adjusting the magnification with gloves child's play.

Technical data

Here are all the technical specifications for those who want to know exactly:

• Length 23.57 cm
• Weight approx. 480 g
• Tube diameter 30 mm
• Lens diameter 24 mm
• Magnification 1X - 8X
• Field of view @100 Yards (approx. 91 m) 1x: 121 feet (approx. 37 m) / 8x: 14.6 feet (4.45 m)
• Exit pupil diameter 1x: 8 mm / 8x: 3 mm
• Eye relief Low: 3.2 inches (approx. 8 centimeters) / High: 3.7 inches (9.4 centimeters)
• Total elevation adjustment 100 MOA/29.1 MIL
• Total windage adjustment 100 MOA/29.1 MIL
• Click value 0.1 Mil
• Reticle color Red
• Battery type CR2032 3V lithium button cell

Mounting

To mount the PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter on the weapon, you need 30 mm mounting rings or a one-piece mount with 30 mm. We opted for the FAST LPVO Mount from Unity Tactical. A more than worthy mount for this high-quality optic.

The installation itself is simple. Looks pretty nice, doesn't it?

We wanted to test the PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter in combination with a Micro Red Dot, as this combination is very popular.

Everything fits well together and all the adjustment turrets on both optics are easy to use.

Even the magnification lever fits perfectly. At 8x magnification, it does cover part of the Red Dot, but the dot is still usable without any problems.

Mounting it on the weapon itself is not a big deal either.

Optical Quality

Externally, the PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter is top-notch and high-quality, but what you're really paying for is the lens quality. So let's take a look through. What is noticeable is that the 1x magnification delivers what it promises.

The distortions at the edges at 1x magnification are very minimal. Some slight distortion is normal in all LPVOs and is due to physics. Fun with lens refraction and all that. By the way, the reticle illumination in the image is on the highest setting. Not as bright as a Red Dot, but very bright for an LPVO, and usable even in daylight.

At 4x magnification, everything is completely sharp to the edge and a joy to look through. The reticle is extremely clear and sharp. You can already see the first aiming points of the reticle now, as it enlarges or shrinks. At 4x magnification, the brightness of the image is still very good.

Why do we point this out? Because at higher magnification, the image becomes darker by the same factor. Here we have 8x magnification. The image has become noticeably darker, but all details are still visible, whether it's the target itself or the aiming points.

Here again without reticle illumination. The "target," in this case a tree marking, is a good 50 meters away.

We have also positioned a second target at just over 100 meters. It is barely visible at 1x magnification.

At 4x magnification, it is already slightly better.

With 8x magnification, the warning vest on the tree is clearly visible.

Incidentally, target number two is already visible in the first image. 100 meters is indeed quite far away for a small target at 1x magnification.

Reticle

Since it is very difficult to take a sharp photo of the reticle, we are using the drawn images instead. You can see this at 1x magnification on the PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter. A fine little horseshoe. The small roof in the center is barely visible.

At 8x magnification, the roof is clearly visible. You can also see all the holding and estimating marks. When you look at this complex reticle, you understand why there is a separate manual for it.

CONCLUSION: The PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter offers you top quality at a relatively cheap price. Both in terms of appearance and optical quality, Primary Arms delivers top-notch products here. Optics with comparable optical quality cost a few hundred euros more.

The reticle on the PLx-C 1-8×24 FFP Raptor M8-Meter is very complex, but it offers a lot of useful information. For those who say they don't need that, the PLx-C 1-8×24 is also available with other reticles.

The PLx Compact 1-8x LPVO is available directly from Ferkinghoff International starting at 1,925 EUR.

PRIMARY ARMS online

FERKINGHOFF online