First Look: Primary Arms New SLx MD-25 ACSS Gen II Red Dot Sight

1. Unfortunately for me, because of astigmatism, this class of item tend to be red smear sights. Hopefully people keep doing interesting things with prism sights.

   • I have to have eyes on because of my glasses. Some are super sharp and some ghost. I have to eye it before I buy it.

   • polarized lense helps with that. you can make them from polarized flim material found on the internet. aimpoint used to sell one for their red dots but they discontinued them, don’t know why but it really helped. no one sells one now but you can make your own.

2. What the heck! I think this is an excellent looking optic but made in China? That’s a big no for me. Why can’t these companies build here? Add 50 bucks for made in the USA and I’m in.

   • The sad part is that now things aren’t any cheaper that _before_ they were Made in China…

   • All red dots are made in China basically. everyone of them on the market uses parts made in China, even the ones that say made in USA.

     its a loop hole in the law. if they get the components from a US supplier that imported them from China they can claim made in USA. the parts only have to be sourced in the US not made in the US to claim made in USA.

     • I get it, just venting. Our toolboxes at work say made in the USA with parts sourced from other countries. I’m not an isolationist but it’s well past time to stop funding our enemies.

       • China is the best communist country that America imports from, how could it be an enemy?
         Bad on you muckraker
         Wrong Think. Wrong Think.

     • There isn’t much that actually is made in the USA anymore.

       • Reliable body armor and some night vision……..but yeah not that much else.

     • Then they should just say “Assembled n USA.” Still, Primary Arms makes a decent optic at a good price. I might upgrade to the ACSS reticle and pass my Bushnell red dot along to my daughter.

3. Everything is made in china and everything needs a battery.

4. Really nothing impressive compared to a holson of the same price. Same battery life and everything. The cqb reticle is ok, but not for me. I prefer the smaller MOA dots.

   • Yeah, I’m the same way.

5. A cqb reticle on a red dot for home defense, I have no doubt it can be justified.

   But the thing is, and I think something a lot of people miss, is in actual CQB encounters against ‘hostiles’ in home defense in that second a person may have its really extremely rare that people actually aim or even notice the red dot reticle. Average far distance for in home defense CQB is 7 – 10 yards and average close distance is about 3 – 5 yards, when the average home defender starts engaging the target. For man sized targets for any red dot sight with a housing all you need to do is put the target largest part (e.g. center mass) framed closely/roughly centered in the glass and your going to hit the target. Might not be exactly on a specific point like you were taking your time in target shooting but you are going to hit the target if you have even the most basic correct shooting skills. That red dot frame, its also one big ‘ghost ring’ type of sight.

   Its very rare that in actual home defense CQB distances in actual CQB in that second you may have to act that one actually aims, its more of just naturally lining up ‘geometric’ shapes relationships which the human eye-brain combo is pretty good at doing automatically and very quickly and actually more quickly than a person can focus on a reticle/dot in a red dot. You do this every waking moment everyday of your life automatically without realizing it, literally millions of times daily, and you don’t even know it. Even now looking at your phone or computer screen reading this you are doing it and don’t even notice it its happening so fast and so natural.

   I’m not saying its a zen like “Luke, use the force” moment, but it is a reality.

   Most ‘home defense’ focused people would justify the CQB reticle as ‘needed for home defense’, and that’s ok. But the truth is at ‘home defense’ CQB distances for a hostile man/human sized target anything that draws your eye to the rough center of the red dot frame glass, even just a single dot (or smear/burst for people with astigmatism) or even just framing a man sized target in the red dot frame is going to let you put rounds in the target – its one big ‘ghost ring’.

   You can try it yourself – set up a man sized target at say 8 yards (which is actually far for an average home defense CQB encounter) and turn off your red dot and then using just the frame of the red dot closely/roughly center the largest part of the man sized target in the red dot frame (e.g. tube or rectangle or square – what ever the red dot has). If you have basic correct shooting skills, and even if you are a beginner, you will put rounds on target and heck even if you jerk the trigger you are still likely to put rounds on target as long as that man sized target is framed in closely/roughly center of the red dot frame. You want head shots? Yep, you can do those too just practice a little with putting that head in closely/roughly center of the red dot frame.

   So what if your red dot dies right when you start to engage that hostile target at that home defense CQB distance? Look, despite what anyone tells you, despite what ever features your fancy red dot has, despite the claims of ‘battle tested’ or the manufacturers claims or claims of others – red dots have and do suddenly quit working and its more common than you might think.

   Sure, overall quality red dots are pretty reliable and tough and basically all ya gotta do is make sure the batteries are good and not do something that will break it and take care of it. Well, your car is pretty reliable too (hopefully 😁) and all ya gotta do is put gas in it and not do something that will break it (e.g. car accident) and take care of it. But thousands of cars across the country with gas and not having something done to them that break them and well taken care of break down and quit working every day – and they have also been developed with the latest in technology and science available for the time they were manufactured. So don’t think for a second that your red dot can’t quit working when you need it most.

   Sure, you can train yourself to use the cqb reticle or the dot for home defense distances, and it can be justified for such. But what if its suddenly not there any longer when you need it for home defense?

6. Being a cheap SOB, I bought the prior model with ACSS last night for $120. Not enough new features to justify an extra $80.

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