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PRIMARY ARMS Review thread (Page 3 of 3)
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I just got a Primary Arms Micro Dot with fixed base, model MD-07. Primary Arms was very helpful over the phone, and shipped lightning fast. It took one day to get my optic.
The optic is nicely, simply packaged. It comes with an allen wrench to loosen and tighten the integrated base, and the CR-2032 battery is included. The fit and finish of the optic are beyond what I expected; it looks like a pretty tough optic. It's extremely bright, and the dot is completely clear. The glass has the same light greenish-blue tint that my Aimpoint T1 has. Windage and elevation covers seem like fairly cheap plastic, but they lock in very well, and I have no worries about this optic getting a little water or mud on it. The only complaint I have is that the brightness knob seems excessively stiff, but that might loosen up a little as I use it more. It's not a big deal, but my metric to judge this optic against is a much more expensive T1 which obviously has more finesse. The MD-07 is great on top of my AAC Handi-Rifle, adding only a few ounces and staying very compact. The height of the optic is perfect, just like the Primary Arms employee told me it would be over the phone. This optic seems well worth the price I paid (they could honestly charge more for it), and I've seen nothing but good things from the company and its employees. I wouldn't use the MD-07 as a duty optic, but it seems like an excellent range optic. 
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That's like keeping an empty beer can in the fridge, I keep mine loaded 24/7 - TheMercenary
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Micro Green dot reflex sight - Purchased a little over a year ago and have liked it in operation a 12ga shotgun. Quick sight picture to bring up especially in low light conditions and so far seems to hold up to magnum and regular loads just fine.
Only two issues I have found with it. The first is minor in that as others have said its a pain to adjust with the sensitive tiny screws and little screwdriver. However once adjusted it stays adjusted so no big deal in the long run. The other issue I just confirmed today is that the light sensor that is supposed to turn off the light when the cover is placed on only dims it so that the battery runs down while its stored. I thought maybe the first battery was just a dude maybe as I used it after installing and then once more shortly after before storing that gun for a year. But after testing today with a new battery and the sight unmounted its obvious it just gets very dim when the sensor is covered. I have contacted Primary Arms for suggestions on how to proceed so I'll update later with the response. |
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Originally Posted By smcclain:
Micro Green dot reflex sight - Purchased a little over a year ago and have liked it in operation a 12ga shotgun. Quick sight picture to bring up especially in low light conditions and so far seems to hold up to magnum and regular loads just fine. Only two issues I have found with it. The first is minor in that as others have said its a pain to adjust with the sensitive tiny screws and little screwdriver. However once adjusted it stays adjusted so no big deal in the long run. The other issue I just confirmed today is that the light sensor that is supposed to turn off the light when the cover is placed on only dims it so that the battery runs down while its stored. I thought maybe the first battery was just a dude maybe as I used it after installing and then once more shortly after before storing that gun for a year. But after testing today with a new battery and the sight unmounted its obvious it just gets very dim when the sensor is covered. I have contacted Primary Arms for suggestions on how to proceed so I'll update later with the response. It is not supposed to cut complete off. It is working as designed. Most similar models on the market work the same way. That said it has been discontinued and a replacement with a on off switch is in the works. |
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Well I give them credit for a quick response. Within 30mins I got a reply:
It is operation normally. The photocell is not able to turn it completely off. Thanks! The Primary Arms Team Primary Arms, LLC. This does not seem to be normal operation to me as it drains the battery, so that months later when you pull your firearm out you have a dead sight. I'll have to look at soldering a switch or better sensor in place of the one there I guess. Edit: Can you at least give me an estimate of how long the battery will last in the stored configuration? 1 month, 3 months, 2 weeks? |
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Originally Posted By smcclain:
Well I give them credit for a quick response. Within 30mins I got a reply: It is operation normally. The photocell is not able to turn it completely off. Thanks! The Primary Arms Team Primary Arms, LLC. This does not seem to be normal operation to me as it drains the battery, so that months later when you pull your firearm out you have a dead sight. I'll have to look at soldering a switch or better sensor in place of the one there I guess. Edit: Can you at least give me an estimate of how long the battery will last in the stored configuration? 1 month, 3 months, 2 weeks? I will look that up but most in this price range and some much higher work thus way. If it is not working out for you I am glad to offer a full refund. The norm is either a switch with a few settings or auto adjust. I am trying to do both and keep the price close to this one. Marshall Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Thanks Marshall, like I said the sight works great otherwise, but if the battery won't last very long in a stored position then it won't work on a home defense gun. If the battery is expected to last a few years stored I would be ok with this, but the last time used it was about 8-9 months ago and I found it was dead this morning. I like the idea of the brightness auto adjusting on light conditions, but it needs to either be off or last a couple of years stored to be a viable solution.
Thanks again for the quick replies, Scott McClain |
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Originally Posted By smcclain:
Thanks Marshall, like I said the sight works great otherwise, but if the battery won't last very long in a stored position then it won't work on a home defense gun. If the battery is expected to last a few years stored I would be ok with this, but the last time used it was about 8-9 months ago and I found it was dead this morning. I like the idea of the brightness auto adjusting on light conditions, but it needs to either be off or last a couple of years stored to be a viable solution. Thanks again for the quick replies, Scott McClain For a home defense red dot I only recommend an EOtech ( it has auto shutoff), Aimpoint or Trijion SRS. |
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Originally Posted By skifast:
Just got a Gen 3 3X magnifier. How do I adjust the magnifier to center the dot? Thanks There are two turrets. You remove the caps and adjust. Walk the dot to the center adjusting each a little at a time. |
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Originally Posted By skifast:
The magnifier has turrets? Yes. I am out this week but call the shop and they can walk you through it. |
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I didn't realize this thread existed. That said, I ordered a flashlight and mount on Saturday. It arrived USPS Priority Mail MONDAY!
Thanks Marshall |
People may or may not get the government they deserve but they will get the worst government they will tolerate.
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Reviews come in on many different threads but I will try and keep this one current. Here is a thread in our industry forum with 4.14X feedback
LINK |
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Got the one I put on my Adcor BEAR all dialed in. Seems pretty much dead on. Wish I could say the same for my BUIS.
Only took a few minutes to zero it. Anyway... great product. Glad I have it!!! |
"White people? You don't eat white people. I don't make the rules."
- Daniel Tosh on ethnicity flavored cannibalism
- Daniel Tosh on ethnicity flavored cannibalism
| I know I'm new to this forum. Have lurked a long time till I finally got an email that I could register with. But primary arms shipping is amazing. I ordered a rail from them and received it in 2 days. Last night I ordered my aimpoint pro from them. Cannot wait! Then gonna save up for a pa magnifier to go along with it |
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Originally Posted By bcauz3y:
3 day course 1000 rounds of HARD FUCKING USE.
Everyone in the class was impressed.
I put that optic through absolute hell. https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1013403_537495142963964_762802454_n.jpg Unpossible. The experts in AR Discussions have told me that you need an Aimpoint, Eotech, or Trijicon to survive a carbine course. |
I have to return some videos.
The 2nd Amendment doesn't say "...unless some guy with spiders in his brain shoots up a school."
The 2nd Amendment doesn't say "...unless some guy with spiders in his brain shoots up a school."
| I bought a Primary Arms 2.5X Compact AR15 Scope with CQB ACSS Reticle . The glass looks clear and the reticle looks interesting... but I never did get it out to the range. The eye relief on this optic is VERY unforgiving and there always seems to be some of the square housing obstructing the FOV no matter what way you try to view through it. This is one Primary Arms product I have been dissatisfied with. |
The left supports war as long as it can have the welfare state, and the right supports the welfare state as long as it can have war. Garet Garrett "The Peoples Pottage"
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Originally Posted By Brutus2:
I bought a Primary Arms 2.5X Compact AR15 Scope with CQB ACSS Reticle . The glass looks clear and the reticle looks interesting... but I never did get it out to the range. The eye relief on this optic is VERY unforgiving and there always seems to be some of the square housing obstructing the FOV no matter what way you try to view through it. This is one Primary Arms product I have been dissatisfied with. Sure sounds like you need to get closer to it. We made the base push it as far back as possible so you can get close enough. That should eliminate what you are describing. Sure would like to see you try it at the range but if you are not happy with it I want to take it back |
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Wife nabbed me a 4x compact prism with the ACSS reticle on it for fathers day. Came in a few days early so I took it to the range Saturday. I've never shot with an aimpoint or an eotech, but I'm very satisfied with the PA offering. Installation was quick and easy, although I'll consider swapping the factory screw mount for a QD in the near future. I didn't have any problems with the factory mount, but for ease of swapping and practice with irons I'll move to a QD eventually. Reticle illuminates like a champ. Easy to see, even in the direct sunlight in Oklahoma. That said, I shot with it during the day with the illumination off. Held zero all day, through roughly 400 rounds of various hand loads and all around performed admirably. ACSS reticle was dead on with the loads I prepped for it, according to PA. I was tossing up between the 2.5 and 4x for my AR15. As it's my only AR at this time and serves many purposes (plinking, courses, backup HD, SHTF) I wanted something flexible. 4x with the ACSS reticle provides quick enough targetting for HD if I needed it but allows me to stretch out further than my irons and with more ease than I could have expected. Build quality seems excellent, although again I don't have anything to compare it to, but just from my uses this weekend I wouldn't think twice about having to make a shot with this thing. |
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Originally Posted By MARSH1:
Sure sounds like you need to get closer to it. We made the base push it as far back as possible so you can get close enough. That should eliminate what you are describing. Sure would like to see you try it at the range but if you are not happy with it I want to take it back Originally Posted By MARSH1:
Originally Posted By Brutus2:
I bought a Primary Arms 2.5X Compact AR15 Scope with CQB ACSS Reticle . The glass looks clear and the reticle looks interesting... but I never did get it out to the range. The eye relief on this optic is VERY unforgiving and there always seems to be some of the square housing obstructing the FOV no matter what way you try to view through it. This is one Primary Arms product I have been dissatisfied with. Sure sounds like you need to get closer to it. We made the base push it as far back as possible so you can get close enough. That should eliminate what you are describing. Sure would like to see you try it at the range but if you are not happy with it I want to take it back Marsh I mounted it and tried to bore sight it. I can't line up square behind the optic and see much but sidewall. If position myself off to the side I can see 90% unobstructed view but I still get a straight black side on one side of the FOV. |
The left supports war as long as it can have the welfare state, and the right supports the welfare state as long as it can have war. Garet Garrett "The Peoples Pottage"
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Originally Posted By Brutus2:
Marsh I mounted it and tried to bore sight it. I can't line up square behind the optic and see much but sidewall. If position myself off to the side I can see 90% unobstructed view but I still get a straight black side on one side of the FOV. Originally Posted By Brutus2:
Originally Posted By MARSH1:
Originally Posted By Brutus2:
I bought a Primary Arms 2.5X Compact AR15 Scope with CQB ACSS Reticle . The glass looks clear and the reticle looks interesting... but I never did get it out to the range. The eye relief on this optic is VERY unforgiving and there always seems to be some of the square housing obstructing the FOV no matter what way you try to view through it. This is one Primary Arms product I have been dissatisfied with. Sure sounds like you need to get closer to it. We made the base push it as far back as possible so you can get close enough. That should eliminate what you are describing. Sure would like to see you try it at the range but if you are not happy with it I want to take it back Marsh I mounted it and tried to bore sight it. I can't line up square behind the optic and see much but sidewall. If position myself off to the side I can see 90% unobstructed view but I still get a straight black side on one side of the FOV. Something is not right. PM or email me. Let me send you a pre paid return label. Could be a bad one or just that a prism scope is not going to work for you. With a prism scope the reticle is actually off to the side. Your eye can get drawn to it but for most that just makes the reticle look slightly canted until they focus on the target. |
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Just chiming in that I've had a removable base PA Micro Red Dot for about a year now. Most of it's life was on a little 22/45, but recently, it's been annexed to my first AR build. Picked up a 3x magnifier for good measure.
The sight has performed flawlessly. It has proven to hold zero consistently and - while not abused much - has withstood everything I've asked of it. The MD is a steal for the money and a great low cost option. Currently investigating more powerful sighting choices and the red dot has been so good, I've included PA in that search as well. |
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Originally Posted By artardedd:
Will your micro dots withstand firing from an 870? Love your products by the way. All the Micros are shotgun rated. |
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Here's an MD-SP with the QD mount it came with. It's got a 3 MOA dot with 11 brightness settings. It's great in low light to the brightest daylight and all lighting conditions in between.
A friend and I bought the very last two Marshall had in stock as closeouts a little while back for $59.97 each(with the QD mount!) It's lower 1/3 cowitnessed. We bought the killflashes for them for $19.99 extra each which was the reason we bought them to begin with because we both had MD06s that didn't have threads for a killflash (I guess we thought we were commandos and didn't want to alert the enemy of our presence at the shooting range). 
They both have held a zero incredibly well even after being put on and pulled off many times. The QD mount works great and was easy to get the tension just right. I believe some reviewers of it didn't really know how to adjust the tension nut from what I read and gave the mount some negative marks. They couldn't figure out that you had to slide a little button back to work QD the lever and wrote "you have to loosen the nut to get the mount off so it"s not really a QD mount". That cracked me up because it was so obvious of how it worked by just looking at it. The battery lasts long enough to make me happy. I turn it on the whole day I'm shooting and just about everyday I'm at home handling it and I haven't changed the battery in months. I wouldn't mind a 50,000 hour battery life version with a 2 MOA dot but this one works so great it doesn't make sense upgrading just yet. If I could get this mount off without destroying it (the description said it's permanently screwed on, red loctite I guess), I would probably get the newer version, but that and a good QD mount in addition is not budgeted on my must have list. If someone would turn the links to pics I would appreciate it. Thanks 
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| Hell, I forgot I also have a Primary Arms 1-4X24 scope with their Deluxe mount(non-QD). Good optics and it holds a zero INCREDIBLY well compared to anything I have used on an AR for under $150. I know that's not much money for a good scope but I have had so many "good for the money" scopes have wandering groups, but never this one. It also goes on and off the rifle with no loss of zero, and that's with just tightening the two nuts by feel. |
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I've got the new advanced red dot. I also have a T1. Now that I got the PA, I'm putting them on all of my other rifles instead of buying more t1's. Enough said!
Oh, and PA is the ONLY place I'll order stuff from unless they don't carry it or are OOS. Nobody beats thier customers service or shipping speed. PA absolutely cannot be beat! |
Had a Microdot on a PSA rifle (since got rid of the rifle and the optic). The optic was bomb proof. I forgot what gen it was, but it worked flawlessly. The gent that bought the rifle from me, kept it as is and actually ran a carbine course with it. He said it held up - with the same battery that I got with the red dot! Holds zero, dot was clearly visible during the day. Easy to sight in. I'm building a rifle for my dad now and you can bet your ass it will have one of those Advanced Red dots on it. p.s. Forgot to mention PA ships like a scalded dog. I swear it couldn't have been 3 days from order to arrival. |
| Have a PA micro md06 mounted to a 9mm carbine AR. Sent you guys an email earlier, I bought it off one of your Ebay scratch and dent sales, said may have an extra halo on the emitter or something on the sale page. Friday had it out at the range, ran a few mags through it and the Micro was turning off and on between and after shots, checked the power settings, tried different settings and the same thing, turned off and on throughout my range trip. I bought this on june or july 30 and have maybe 2 hours through it. Anything I should check for? Loose connection internally? This is probly my 7th Micro from PA and the first time Ive ever had an issue with any of them. |
| Ran the MD-ADS a few times since I got it a couple weeks back. Can't speak for the durability, but the construction seems solid and the tangodown cover fits perfectly... Which was funny as I had the cover on it and let a buddy shoot it. Said buddy is an optics nut and hasn't run anything cheaper than a vortex razor, has more money in nightforce and US optics than I have in my car and all my guns combined, he thought it was a t-1. The dot is crisp, adjustments were accurate. For the money it's the best thing out there IMHO. |
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Originally Posted By Hooch33:
Have a PA micro md06 mounted to a 9mm carbine AR. Sent you guys an email earlier, I bought it off one of your Ebay scratch and dent sales, said may have an extra halo on the emitter or something on the sale page. Friday had it out at the range, ran a few mags through it and the Micro was turning off and on between and after shots, checked the power settings, tried different settings and the same thing, turned off and on throughout my range trip. I bought this on june or july 30 and have maybe 2 hours through it. Anything I should check for? Loose connection internally? This is probly my 7th Micro from PA and the first time Ive ever had an issue with any of them. Some models have a o-ring that holds the battery in place. See if it is intact. PM me if you need a replacement or if that is not the issue. Will send a return label to get in in for repair. |
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PRIMARY ARMS Review thread (Page 3 of 3)
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