It feels like every other day, a new red dot comes out. The pistol red dot market is massive, and that’s a good thing for me. We get more options at lower price points. Primary Arms is a master of budget optics, and the difference between budget and cheap is what you get for the money. Primary Arms recently released its latest full-sized red dot, the SLx RS-10.
The SLx RS-10 falls into the category of pistol optics. It’s small enough for a handgun, but it is a full-sized handgun optic. It’s designed for weapons like the Glock 19, 17, and similarly sized pistols. With a price point of $209.99, the optic won’t break the bank. However, can we break the SLx RS-10?
Primary Arms SLx RS-10
Primary Arms made an interesting decision to use the Docter/Noblex footprint. That’s a bit of an odd choice in a market where the RMR and RMSc footprint rule. Primary Arms includes a Glock MOS adapter plate and a Picatinny adapter plate right out of the box.
The RS-10 is made entirely from metal; it’s 7075 aluminum, which is a nice touch and helps it score high in the reliability department. Primary Arms also uses a recessed lens that sits fairly far in the body of the optic. This provides excellent protection to the front lens.
The battery inserts from the side. We don’t need to remove the optic to swap batteries. The battery uses a small, removable panel secured by two screws. It’s similar to Holosun’s design and tends to work well, but it can be easily snapped, so be sure to treat it with care.
The buttons are tiny and rubberized. Since they sit side by side, they can be a pain to adjust rapidly. Lord forbid you have to amp up the brightness to deal with a weapon light. Tiny buttons are fine, but putting one on each side would be better. The downside to having one on each side is increased complexity and price.
The battery is a CR2032 and lasts somewhere between 25,001 and 50,000 hours according to Primary Arms. That’s likely representative of the brightest battery life and dimmest battery life. The RS-10 features Primary Arms AutoLive technology, which automatically shuts off the optic after three minutes of stillness but springs back to life when movement is detected.
Through the RS-10 Lens
Budget optics typically use budget emitters, and to make your dot bright enough to see, you have a fairly dark lens coating. This is a notch filter that reflects the light from your emitter. That’s not the problem here. The notch filter isn’t super dark and not distracting. It’s light, and in bright daylight, I can’t even see the notch filter.
It’s a clear view that’s quite nice and crisp. The dot still appears nice and bright. In fact, it gets insanely bright. In Florida, in the middle of the day, I don’t need to use the brightest setting. I shoot against a mostly white berm, and it’s still easy to see and extremely visible.
After the sun set, I took the RS-10 out with a modern turbo-powered light. This Nightstick features 1,100 lumens and 85,000 candela, making it extremely bright and powerful. The RS-10 produces enough light to work with, even in the brightest conditions, both indoors and out. Even indoors, where the light has plenty of surfaces to reflect off of, I can see the red dot.
The dot is 3 MOA and crisp. It’s not a perfect dot, but it’s close. As far as budget optics go, the dot is surprisingly clear, round, and crisp. The refresh rate appears to be high, and the dot moves in a solid blur during recoil. It doesn’t stutter, and you can easily track the dot between shots and drive it from target to target.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Primary Arms - SLx SFP Gen IV - 1-6x24mm - ACSS NOVA Reticle - Black - Red Dot LPVO Rifle Scope | True Shot Ammo | $ 349.99 |
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Primary Arms - SLx MicroPrism - 3x - ACSS Cyclops Reticle - Black - Red Dot Prism Rifle Scope | True Shot Ammo | $ 335.99 |
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Primary Arms - SLx MicroPrism - 1x - ACSS Cyclops Reticle - Black - Red Dot Prism Rifle Optic | True Shot Ammo | $ 264.99 |
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Primary Arms - SLx MicroPrism Gen II - 1x - ACSS Cyclops Reticle - Black - Green Dot Prism Rifle Optic | True Shot Ammo | $ 264.99 |
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At the Range
Zeroing was simple, and the dot moves 1 MOA per click with a total adjustment range of 100 MOA. You get solid feedback with each click, and the adjustments are accurate. I zeroed the RS10 on a JAKL 9mm and did so at 25 yards. Each click was a quarter of an inch, so measuring was simple.
With the dot zeroed, I ran my usual drills. I’m partial to the Bill Drill, and with a red dot and the JAKL 9, it’s almost like cheating. I could get the easily visible dot on target and send rounds right where I wanted them. The bright dot and big window make it easy to track the dot throughout the recoil impulse, so you know exactly when it’s going to come back on target.
At distances of 100 yards and even further, the 3 MOA dot is small enough to be precise. It doesn’t obscure much of the target and makes it easy to hit those far targets. 3 MOA seems to be the right-sized dot for most applications, and the RS-10 provides a crisp, bright dot in the 3 MOA category.
It holds zero, and I even gave it a couple of drops from chest height to the ground. The ground is made of sand and grass, so nothing is particularly destructive. I dropped it on both sides and the top, grabbed it, and shot a group at 50 yards without any noticeable loss of zero.
Budget Worthy
The Primary Arms SLx RS-10 packs a lot of optic for a tidy sum. At $209.99, it won’t break the bank, but it does offer you a tough, precise, and clear optic with an excellent emitter. It scores high everywhere I need it to. I wish the buttons were bigger, but that’s a small complaint to make.
Harrington & Richardson 635 10.5″ Pistol | PSA Retro Lineup Lands
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.
in a split second encounter the guy with an optic on his pistol will be shot by a guy without one