The Primary Arms Cyclops Gen 2 is a compact, microprism optic with 1X magnification. While the Gen 1 unit was similar in size to the Vortex Spitfire AR 1X (review here), the Gen 2 unit is much more compact and lighter. At around $300 CDN ($250 USD), it’s a very affordable option for up-close action.
PA SLX 1X Gen 2 Specs
- 1X Magnification
- 8 mounting height options and uses ACOG mini mounts if you want something different
- 3 night vision and 10 regular light settings
- 26,000 hours (3 years) on CR2032 battery at medium brightness
- Adjustment clicks: 1MOA
- Max elevation/windage adjustment: 120 MOA
- Weight: 7 oz (200 grams) without lens covers
- Field of view: 76.5 feet at 100 yard
1X Prism vs red dot
Why get a 1X prism instead of a red dot? The primary reason is astigmatism. Because of how they’re constructed, red dots appear bloomed out or oddly shaped to people with astigmatism and it can be hard to use them with any precision. 1X prisms are basically a miniature scope, so their reticles don’t suffer the same issue. The adjustable diopter will also help for people with crap eyesight.
The etched reticle on prism scopes don’t rely on power, so they can be used even if the battery for the illuminated reticle is dead. This used to be a big deal, because illuminated reticles would kill batteries dead in a short period of time, but the times. . .they are a changin’. A basic 2032 battery can last 26,000 hours at mid-power in this optic: 3 years!
Cyclops Gen 2 special features
There are a few things that make the Cyclops gen 2 interesting:
Mounting options for 8 different heights are included in the box, offering a ton of flexibility on how you want the optic mounted. Co-witness with BUIS (BackUp Iron Sights), mount it low on a slug shotgun, or give yourself a nice tight cheek weld.
Eye relief is best at 3.7″. They market a large eye relief range for the optic: so large it seems to be too good to be true. And it is: yeah, you can use it from 2-7″, but it sucks. That said, it sucks far less than trying to do the same thing with a LVPO scope.
The eye box is super forgiving and it makes it get behind and get the correct spot.
The ACSS reticle they use on the Cyclops Gen 2 is interesting. The aiming point is a chevron with an upside down horseshoe around it. There’s some hold over points on the chevron to get you out to 400 yards with 223.
The horseshoe thing represents the spread pattern of 00 buckshot at 25 yards with a cylinder choke. I have no idea who’d use it for that and it sounds dumb: why run a 1x prism on a home defense shotgun when the bead will do for close in? At best, it acts as a coarse sight to help you see whether you’re on target.
I think some of those features may be handy to use in a Limited, 1X optic division in 3 gun. I’d be real tempted to use this optic on a slug shotgun too just because of how nice and compact it is.
There’s also a range estimating thing at the bottom of the reticle that I will never use.
Lifetime warranty is nice.
The illumination on the reticle has 11 settings, including a few night vision ones if you’re into that. If you’ve got night vision money, you can probably afford something better.
It uses an “Autolive feature” to automatically turn on if it detects movement, or turn off if there’s lots of time without movement. This helps with battery life, which is fantastic on this optic.
The little “bikini” rubber lens cover is fitted perfectly for the optic and is super slick.
PA Cyclops Gen 2 Cons
Adjustments are 1 MOA per click, yuk. I could make do with 1/2 MOA clicks, but 1 MOA clicks is pretty fucking coarse. Movement is also very small, so you can skip 2 clicks pretty easily. Adjustments are done through flush, coin-adjustable/cartridge rim adjustment points so no quick adjustments either.
With other prism 1X optics, the optic disappears fairly well. With this one, there’s more hardware outside of the optic that occludes your view. Not a super big deal, since you can shoot with both eyes open. I’d imagine this is a compromise from going with such a compact optical design.
Summary
Close up hunting: between a red dot, iron sights, or a micro prism 1X optic like this, I’d rather use a micro prism like this for hunting. The point of the chevron is very precise and it’d work fine in -40 weather, which some red dots and batteries don’t love. I’m really tempted to put this on a slug shotgun for hunting at up to 100 yards.
I’m going to try this one for 3 gun in 2022, and will report back if it goes well or poorly. Straight up: I don’t think it’ll be better than my Aimpoint PRO red dot. The Aimpoint doesn’t care about eye relief, it’s got a simple dot, and it looks more durable. That said, the PA Cyclops has holdovers for distance and a finer aim point that may help with long range accuracy. We’ll see if that translates to any performance difference.
