Primary Arms is a name that is very recognizable inside of the firearms industry. If you have spent any time searching for affordable optics, chances are you have come across them in your searches. Most people know them for their high quality glass, and great customer service. Let’s see how they stack up, this is what you need to know before you buy.
What does Primary Arms specialize in?
As a company, they specialize in high quality affordable rifle and pistol optics. They are most known for their red dot optics, but they also produce high quality variable zoom optics and a variety of mounting accessories. Here’s what we think.
Primary Arms Optics.
If you are searching for high quality optics at affordable prices, this is the place to begin. There is a wide variety of optics to choose from, ranging from red dots, to variable zoom scopes created with your AR platform in mind.
The prices of these optics can vary based on what you are looking for, and the cheapest item we found direct from the company is a Gen II micro red dot that came in just under 90 dollars. If you’re searching for a new optic, we suggest starting here.
Red Dot Optics.
There is a large selection of red dot optics to choose from at Primary Arms. For example, the Primary Arms Silver Series Advanced Push Button Microdot Red Dot Sight which comes in just under $130 while it is on sale.
Towards the bottom of each item inside of the store is a comprehensive listing of the specifications for each device. The Primary Arms Silver Series Advanced Push Button Microdot Red Dot Sight for example, boasts the following specifications.
- Battery Life – 50,000 Hours
- Battery Type – CR2032 3V Lithium Coin
- Brand – Primary Arms
- Brightness – 12 Settings
- Click Value – 1/2 MOA
- Finish- Hardcoat Anodized
- Manufacturer – Primary Arms
- Material – Aluminum
- Night Vision Compatible – Yes
- Reticle – 2 MOA Dot
- Reticle Color – Red
- Size – Microdot
- Warranty – 3 years
- Weight 4.2 Oz
If you’re interested in a full review of the red dot optic mentioned above, you can watch this video put together by Sootch00 Fun Gun Reviews. To clarify, Sootch00 pulls no punches and gets right down to the nuts and screws in his 13-minute-long review. In the end, he gives the device a great review.
On top of having their own wide selection of red dot optics for sale, you can find many other solid brands on the site as well. For example, brands such as Trijicon, Vortex, and Holosun are all listed in the store with a number of their products. In short, we recommend using Primary Arms to find red dot optics of all types.
Rifle Scopes
When it comes to rifle scopes, this company is known for one of the most innovative reticles in the industry. The Advanced Combined Sighting System, otherwise known as the ACSS reticle, is a two-part reticle that allows you to be very fast from 0 to 300 yards, and very accurate from 400 to 800 yards.
Optics with this reticle are found easily on their web page, and the reticle itself has been reviewed in-depth by a number of Full30 Content Creators. For example, the Primary Arms 1-6x And 1-8x SFP Scopes both have reviews by MrGunsNGear. You can get his full opinion and review of those rifle optics with the ACSS reticle in the video below.
On top of this proprietary rifle scope reticle, Primary Arms also has a large selection of ACOGs and variable zoom optics listed. There are currently 7,906 different items on the Primary Arms web page, and that number is consistently being added to by the company. They don’t only sell optics either, you can find just about anything you might need on the Primary Arms web page. In short, it is an all around great place to go searching for a wide variety of rifle scopes or even rifle parts for whatever platform you may have.
Primary Arms Sales, Coupons, and Giveaways.
Another plus that we found while doing this review is the massive amount of sales, coupons, and giveaways accessible at Primary Arms. On a daily basis, these deals are easy to spot. On top of these sales, the company also offers a military and first responder discount to all customers who serve.
In order to qualify for the first responder discount and military discount, all you need to do is fill out a brief form. Once you have been verified by the company, you immediately rate the discount.
These are all the sales we were able to locate just from the homepage at the time of this writing. Sales or coupons from the reviewed webpage may not be functional at the time of your reading.
- 12 dollars off all purchases over 100 dollars.
- 36 dollars off all purchases over 300 dollars.
- 60 dollars off all purchases over 500 dollars.
- 120 dollars off all purchases over 1,000 dollars.
- 180 dollars off all purchases over 1,500 dollars.
- Over 15 items were listed on clearance, with savings up to $600 available on some items.
On top of these deals, there is also a lot of giveaways that happen on the webpage. Currently, Primary Arms is giving away a lightweight AR-15. It’s easy enough to enter the giveaway as well, with requirements as easy as sending out a tweet, referring a friend to the webpage, or visiting them on Instagram.
If you’re in the market for some killer deals, discounts, and giveaways, you should definitely be giving Primary Arms a look.
Primary Arms vs Cheaper Than Dirt
When it comes to shopping online, customer service and selection are king. Everyone who has been in the space of buying firearms and firearms accessories online has heard of Cheaper Than Dirt. They are a company that is known as the go-to military surplus store on the internet. On their webpage, you can find a large variety of items ranging from Magpul Polymer rifle magazines to surplus camping equipment.
A lot of the items found on Cheaper Than Dirt can also be found and purchased on Primary Arms. For example, many of the accessories for mounting rifle optics to even general picatinny and m-lock accessories can be found in both places. Prices vary from location to location on who has the better price at any given time, but in the short-term we can look immediately to customer reviews to see who has the better customer experience.
The following images are from the two company’s review sites on reseller rating, an independent webpage for consumers to leave feedback on online retail stores.
It’s clear that Cheaper Than Dirt hasn’t received as many reviews as Primary Arms. That said, a trend is clearly present.
Things You Don’t Know Primary Arms Offers.
A Comprehensive Test and Evaluation Program for Military/Law Enforcement.
If you work for a local or federal government agency, Primary Arms wants to work with you. They have a full-blown military and law enforcement test and evaluation program that allows departments to test products on the range and in the field before they make a full commitment to purchasing.
On top of this, Primary Arms also states that they will reach out on your behalf to third party manufacturers. This allows departments and agencies to use Primary Arms as a tool to help them acquire the things they need to succeed in the field.
You can read more about the Test and Evaluation Program here.
Outstanding Department Trade-in Program
Another little known service that Primary Arms provides is a Department Trade-in Program. Through this program, government agencies and local law enforcement departments are able to trade-up or trade-in surplus equipment through Primary Arms.
They list the following items as surplus equipment they are ready to trade or buy from departments.
- Rifles : Bushmaster, Colt, H&K, Knight’s Armament, Rock River Arms, Smith & Wesson, Etc.
- Handguns : Colt, Glock, H&K, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, Etc.
- Shotguns : Benelli, Mossberg, Remington
- Optics : Aimpoint, EOTech, Leupold, NightForce, Trijicon, Vortex, Etc.
They also clearly state that these are just examples, and they are willing to discuss the terms with departments on an individual basis. You can find more information about this program here.
Final Thoughts
From the above, you can see that Primary Arms is a diverse company. With American roots, they aim to provide high quality optics and firearms accessories at affordable prices. They place their money where their mouths are day in and day out to provide a solid customer service experience while still managing to hand out a lot of killer deals. We highly recommend you give their shop a look the next time you are in the market for an optic or other firearms accessories. In the rare occurrence where Primary Arms doesn’t have exactly what you’re looking for, you can find a great list of alternatives here.