Scopes have come a long way in recents years…
You no longer have to spend over a thousand bucks to get a decent 1-8 scope because more and more optics companies are coming out with affordable low power variable scopes…
Now two of the most popular options out there right now are:
- The Primary Arms 1-8 (Get Best Pricing Here!)
- The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 (Get Best Pricing Here!)
And in this Primary Arms 1-8 Vs Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 comparison, we’re going to examine how these two scopes stack up against each other in the following categories…
- Lens Clarity And Reticle
- Magnification And Illumination
- Durability And Toughness
- Size Comparison
- Extra Accessories Included With The Scope
- Price Comparison
In the end, I’ll tell you which of these two opticss I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which scope will work best for you…
Let’s get started!
Lens Clarity And Reticle…
Primary Arms 1-8
The Primary Arms 1-8 has pretty good lens clarity. Keeping in mind that this is a budget scope, you get a nice, clean sight picture when looking through the optic.
There is a little bit of blurring on the edges of the lens, but overall the lens is pretty clear. In addition to that, the field of view on this scope is pretty good…
At 100 yards, your field of view is around 110 feet when the scope is on 1x and around 14 1/2 feet when the scope is on 8x. You’re able to see a lot of what’s going on around your target, which is always a good thing.
In addition to that, the eye relief on this scope is pretty generous. On 1x you have 3 1/2 inches of eye relief and on 8x, 3.3 inches.
Generous eye relief like this is important because it allows you to still see through your scope clearly even if you’re shooting from awkward positions such as under a car or around the corner.
Now the reticle on the Primary Arms 1-8 is actually pretty famous. It’s called the ACSS reticle which stands for Advanced Combined Sighting System, and it’s their version of a BDC (Bullet Drop Compensator).
I’m a huge fan of the ACSS reticle because within the reticle you have a Bullet Drop Compensator (out to 800 yards), a range estimator, and a wind hold.
Also, the center of the reticle is a small chevron which allows for very precise aiming, and it’s surrounded by a large horseshoe that draws in your eye when you need to make a fast shot.
Again, I love this set up because you can range out to 800 yards without having to spin any dials on your scope, and it’s also fairly fast when shooting on 1 power up close…
Like I said before, the ACSS reticle is pretty popular at this point, and even other companies are asking for permission from Primary Arms to use it in their optics.
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 also has pretty good lens clarity. Again the sight picture is very clean when you look through the optic, but you do get a little bit of blurring around the edges.
This is something you’re going to find on pretty much all budget scopes, and the only way to get rid of it is to purchase something in a higher price bracket.
I don’t find it too distracting though, and it’s still easy to get a good sight picture.
Now the field of view through the Strike Eagle is 109 feet on 1x at 100 yards and 14.4 feet on 8x at 100 yards. Again this is good because it allows you to see much of what is surrounding your actual target.
The eye relief on the Strike Eagle is also pretty good. It’s 3.5 inches which, again, is fairly generous, and it allows you to shoot from awkward angles and positions.
Now the reticle on the Strike Eagle is called the AR-BDC3. I’m a fan of this reticle because in a lot of ways it’s similar to the Primary Arms ACSS reticle…
It includes a Bullet Drop Compensator (out to 650 yards), a range estimator, and a wind hold…
The center of the reticle is a 1 MOA dot (which allows you to be fairly precise), and it’s surrounded by a 3-piece horseshoe which draws your eye in quickly when you need to make a fast shot up close…
Like I said, it’s very similar to the ACSS reticle, and if you practice with it, it will be just as good.
Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…
So in this category, we have a lot of similarities between these two scopes…
Both have pretty good lens clarity with a little bit of blurring around the edges, and they also have similar field of view and eye relief…
The major difference is the Primary Arms has the ACSS reticle and the Vortex Strike Eagle has the AR-BDC3 reticle…
Now like I said, both reticles are similar and I like both, but I’m going to give the slight edge to the ACSS reticle for two reasons…
I like the chevron in the center because it gives you a little bit more precision than a 1 MOA dot, and it’s BDC ranges out to 800 yards rather than 650 (both tough shots if we’re being honest haha)…
So in the end, I’m going to give the very slight win in this category to the Primary Arms.
Winner: Primary Arms 1-8
Magnification And Illumination…
Primary Arms 1-8
The magnification on the Primary Arms is 1x through 8x. This is a very cool range in the low powered variable optic category of scopes because it gives you more capabilities than something like a 1-4 or 1-6 scope.
It is a second focal plane scope which means your reticle is going to remain the same size no matter what magnification level you’re on (the BDC can only be used on 8x), but this is typical of scopes within the budget level price bracket.
The Primary Arms also has an illuminated reticle. It’s powered by one CR2032 battery, and you have 12 brightness settings to choose from.
The higher brightness settings are visible during the day, but the illumination is going to be most helpful to you in low light shooting conditions…
During the day, I usually don’t find myself using the illumination at all since you have the black reticle etched into the glass.
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
This version of the Strike Eagle is a 1x through 8x scope. Again, I like this magnification range and I prefer it over a 1-6 or a 1-4…
The Strike Eagle, just like the Primary Arms, has illumination and is powered by one CR2032 battery…
Now with this scope, you have 11 brightness settings, and just as with the Primary Arms, the higher brightness settings are visible during the day.
Once again the reticle is etched so you’ll certainly be able to use the scope during day time without the illumination.
Magnification And Illumination Conclusions…
Ok so in this category we have a lot of similarities… Both scopes are 1-8 which is a good thing, and both have illumination that’s powered by a CR2032 battery…
The Primary Arms does have 1 more brightness setting than the Strike Eagle, but I don’t really consider this to be an advantage because their brightness levels are pretty much the same…
All in all, the two scopes are so close in this category that I have no choice but to call it a draw.
Winner: DRAW
Durability And Toughness…
Primary Arms 1-8
The Primary Arms 1-8 is a pretty tough little scope. First of all, the body of the scope is made from aircraft grade aluminum…
In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are low profile and capped, so they can’t be easily bumped or spun accidentally.
The scope is also waterproof and fog proof, so it can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…
…and it’s also shockproof, so I can handle the recoil from 5.56 rifles or .308 rifles without any problems at all.
All in all, I think it’s a very durable scope and Primary Arms does offer it with a limited lifetime warranty.
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 is also a very tough scope…
Just as with the Primary Arms, it uses aircraft-grade aluminum and the turrets are low profile and capped which prevents them from being spun accidentally or easily bumped.
It’s also waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof, so it can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions and the recoil from high-powered rifles.
Again, I think it’s a very durable scope, and Vortex has one of the best warranties in the business. They call it the VIP Warranty, and basically, they’ll repair or replace your optic if it gets damaged for any reason at all.
Durability And Toughness Conclusions…
So in this category, we once again have a lot of similarities… Both scopes are made from aircraft-grade aluminum, and both are waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof…
The major difference here is that Vortex has the VIP Warranty, which is pretty fantastic and better than the Primary Arms Warranty.
So because of the VIP Warranty, I’m going to give the slight edge to the Vortex Strike Eagle in this category.
Winner: Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
Size Comparison…
Primary Arms 1-8x Scope
The Primary Arms 1-8 is a 30mm scope, and it’s 10 inches long. In addition to that, it has a 24mm objective lens which is typical for this style of scope and it only weighs 16.9 ounces…
That’s fairly light for a low powered variable optic (with illumination), and it’s something I particularly like because I’m always trying to keep the weight down on my guns.
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
Just as with the Primary Arms, the Strike Eagle 1-8 is a 30mm scope and it’s 10 inches long. It also has a 24mm objective lens, but its weight comes in at 17.6 ounces…
That’s a little bit heavier than the primary arms but not so much that it really concerns me. Again compared to other low powered variable optics it’s pretty lightweight.
Size Comparison Conclusions…
So both of these scopes have 30mm tubes, 24mm objective lenses, and they’re both 10 inches long… The only real difference is that the Primary Arms is 16.9 ounces…
…whereas the Vortex Strike Eagle is 17.6 ounces. Again, that’s not a huge difference, but because of that, the slight winner in this category is the Primary Arms 1-8.
Winner: Primary Arms 1-8
Extra Accessories Included With The Scope…
Primary Arms 1-8x Scope
The Primary Arms 1-8 does come with some cool accessories. First of all, you get a lens cloth and a CR2032 battery so your illumination will be ready to go right out of the box…
But in addition to that, you also get flip up lens caps. I like the included caps because they give you a little bit of added durability…
…and they seem to fit the scope pretty well. Now you will need to get a 30mm scope mount to go with the Primary Arms or the Vortex Strike Eagle…
There are a lot of options out there to choose from, but I personally like the Aero Precision Ultralight Mount and it’s what I use for all my 30mm scopes.
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 also comes with some pretty cool accessories. Once again you get the included lens cloth and a CR2032 battery in the box…
You also get flip up lens caps that fit the scope very well, but in addition to all that, with the newest version of the Vortex Strike Eagle, you get a thread-in throw lever included in the box.
To me this is a very exciting included accessory. I love throw levers because they allow you to move from zero magnification to a lot of magnification (and back again) very quickly and without much effort.
Usually you would have to take a lot of time to find a throw lever that will fit your scope and then spend money on it and then mount it, which is just an additional hassle along with an additional cost.
But with the Strike Eagle you get a very useful throw lever included, and all you have to do is screw it into your scope to use it.
Again, I think this is a great addition, and I would like to see all low power variable scopes come with a throw lever like this.
Extra Accessories Conclusions…
Ok so both scopes come with a lens cloth, a battery, and flip up lens caps that fit pretty snuggly… The major difference here is that the Strike Eagle comes with a thread-in throw lever…
The inclusion of the throw lever is an awesome addition, and I would like to see more companies offering the same thing out of the box…
So because the throw lever is such a useful accessory, the Vortex Strike Eagle is the clear winner in this category.
Winner: Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these scopes are changing all the time.
That being said, these two scopes are intended to be competitors in the marketplace. So because of that, they’re pretty evenly priced…
In fact, their prices are usually very close to each other, and sometimes they are priced exactly the same.
There really isn’t much that separates them in this category. So again, I’m going to have to call it a draw.
Winner: DRAW
Primary Arms 1-8 Vs Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 – Final Thoughts
So to sum it all up, in the Lens Clarity and Reticle category I gave the slight win to the Primary Arms because of the chevron and range on the ACSS reticle…
In the Magnification and Illumination category, the scopes were so similar I had to call it a draw…
In the Durability and Toughness category, I gave the edge to the Strike Eagle because of the awesome Warranty that Vortex offers…
In the Size comparison, the Primary Amrs edged out the Strike Eagle by being just a few ounces lighter…
In the Extra Accessories category, I gave the win to the Strike Eagle because it includes a thread-in throw lever…
And last, in the Price Comparison, I had to call it a draw again because these two scopes are very similarly priced…
So which of these scopes do I prefer? I prefer the Vortex Strike Eagle…
Click The Button Below To Learn More About The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8x Scope:
I prefer the Strike Eagle because I like that they include a throw lever in the box, which is something that’s very useful when you have targets at various distances…
I also love the VIP Warranty offered by Vortex, and even though I’m more used to the ACSS reticle, I think that with practice the AR-BDC3 reticle on the Strike Eagle is just as good…
Now if you don’t care about the throw lever and you prefer the ACSS reticle, then feel free to go with the Primary Arms because it’s still an awesome scope…
Click The Button Below To Learn More About The Primary Arms 1-8x Scope:
Either way, I hope this comparison was able to show you the major differences between these two great low power variable scopes!