Review: Primary Arms Aimpoint M3 Clone

[Nick_Fury]

Ok, so I've been looking to equip my AR family with some optics.  I've been watching various auction sites and boards looking to pick up a used Aimpoint or Eotech or two, but even the used ones have been out of my budget.  I was researching the new Burris AR-332 3x compact scope when I came across the Primary Arms M3 clone, with a 4 MOA dot (red only).  It's a Chinese Aimpoint copy, but it has gotten good reviews, so I gambled and ordered one.

First off, Primary Arms ships FAST.  I ordered it on a sunday evening and Monday morning at 10:00am I had a order shipped email.  I received it in a couple of days.

It comes in a nice box with lots of foam padding, and they included an extra set of batteries, which is a nice touch.  The fit and finish on the optic were nice, not like the usual Chinese crap you see.  I ordered it with a high mount for 1/3 cowitness with the iron sites.  They also offer a cantilever mount, but they were out of stock on them.  The mount is sturdy, and a step up from the pot metal cheesy ones you see on Ebay.

I do have to say that the flip up covers are adequate, but only just.  They are kind of flimsy.  I'll probably get some Butler Creek ones in the future.

I mounted it on a 9mm midlength AR flattop.  I purposely did NOT loctite the mounting screws, to check if it loosens up.  I took it to the range this morning to zero it in.  The windage and elevation adjustments were ok, you got a positive click feel to them, but they weren't what you find on high end optics.  It only took about 10 rounds to sight it in at 25 yards.  The dot is nice and crisp, and it doesn't get washed out in full sun.  It has seven levels of brightness, but I only had it on 5, which was perfectly visible.  The glass is surprisingly clear, much better than the comparable Ncstar or tasco offerings.

I put about 300 rounds through the rifle this morning (A 9mm AR is a blast to shoot, but that's another story).  The red dot was right on target and I didn't have any movement or drift.  Offhand shooting with both eyes open was easily accomplished, and there weren't any parallax issues (you wouldn't expect any from a unmagnified optic anyway).

I removed the optic when i broke the rifle down for cleaning.  The mounting screw was still tight, I didn't observe any loosening.  After cleaning, I remounted in the same spot, we will see how well it holds zero next weekend.

Conclusion:  The Primary Arms M3 clone gets a thumbs up from me.  If it holds zero after remounting, i"ll give it two thumbs up.  Is it as good as an Aimpoint?  Nope, but it doesn't pretend to be.  As a matter of fact the owner of Primary Arms makes it a point to state that this is NOT an Aimpoint.  But for the price point, it seems to be a heckuva lot better than the other stuff out there.  So for those of us that can't afford to drop $500-$700 on an Aimpoint or Eotech, this is a pretty good alternative.

I'll update with pictures once the batteries charge up...

Primary Arms Aimpoint M3 clone:  $69.00 with standard low mount, $10.00 extra for the high mount.  cantilever mounts and magnifiers are available as well.

http://www.primaryarms.com/product.sc?productId=18&categoryId=5

Here are some long overdue pictures:

[Onepoint]

Great review. A few years ago I bought one similar, if not the same from another dealer on arfcom. The only problem I have ever had was every once in a while the battery cap would loosen and cause the dot to flicker under recoil.  I just tighten it and its good to go again.  Its not an Aimpoint, but sure has been worth the money.

I want to try one of Primary arms scopes sometime.

[Hodgie]

Thanks for the review
I am going to be in the market for a optic for the AR build I just completed. This will be in one of the contenders.

[Nick_Fury]

Finally added some pics of the sight to the original post.  Sorry it took so long.

[sks winger]

Great review, let us know how it does at further distances with the 4 moa dot.  I have to lighten up the dot on my bushnell holo at 100 yds or more for smaller targets.  Kinda makes them a little more transparent when the smaller target is covered by the dot.

[recklessdriver]

i picked up their 3x mag for my real aim point cco for 70 buck on ebay.  It works great and looks works and is the same exact damn thing as the guy who bought a real aim point 3x mag.  I dont have complaints for it.  The 300m target never looked so big before.

[Nick_Fury]

Great review, let us know how it does at further distances with the 4 moa dot.  I have to lighten up the dot on my bushnell holo at 100 yds or more for smaller targets.  Kinda makes them a little more transparent when the smaller target is covered by the dot.

You're right the 4 MOA dot does tend to cover up smaller targets, especially at 200 yards.  I figured that would be the case when i bought it.  However since it's on a 9mm rifle, it's not really a problem.  While I can lob the round out there at 200, it's really only effective out to 100 yards, so the 4 MOA dot works for me.

If I were to put it on something else, I'd definitely go with the 2 MOA style sight.

[Onepoint]

That is one reason one of my favorite reticles is the one like Eotech, a large ring surrounding a 1MOA dot.   The circle catches the eye which automatically centers it, the dot is still small enough for more precise shooting on small targets.

[recklessdriver]

Great review, let us know how it does at further distances with the 4 moa dot.  I have to lighten up the dot on my bushnell holo at 100 yds or more for smaller targets.  Kinda makes them a little more transparent when the smaller target is covered by the dot.

You're right the 4 MOA dot does tend to cover up smaller targets, especially at 200 yards.  I figured that would be the case when i bought it.  However since it's on a 9mm rifle, it's not really a problem.  While I can lob the round out there at 200, it's really only effective out to 100 yards, so the 4 MOA dot works for me.

If I were to put it on something else, I'd definitely go with the 2 MOA style sight.

Our aimpoint has quite a bit of brightening, we just set it to the lightest setting you can do.

[Nick_Fury]

That is one reason one of my favorite reticles is the one like Eotech, a large ring surrounding a 1MOA dot.   The circle catches the eye which automatically centers it, the dot is still small enough for more precise shooting on small targets.

I agree.  To be honest, I much prefer the Eotech style reticle, as well as having a wider field of view.  However, all the research I've done leads me to the conclusion that there aren't any Eotech clones out there that are worth a darn.  My goal was to keep this a budget build as much as possible.

Primary Arms does have 2 other versions that have the multiple reticles, including the circle and dot (2 MOA dot), but they were out of stock. 

[Danjal]

That is one reason one of my favorite reticles is the one like Eotech, a large ring surrounding a 1MOA dot.   The circle catches the eye which automatically centers it, the dot is still small enough for more precise shooting on small targets.

I agree.  To be honest, I much prefer the Eotech style reticle, as well as having a wider field of view.  However, all the research I've done leads me to the conclusion that there aren't any Eotech clones out there that are worth a darn.  My goal was to keep this a budget build as much as possible.

Primary Arms does have 2 other versions that have the multiple reticles, including the circle and dot (2 MOA dot), but they were out of stock. 

Ive heard that theres several EOtech clones out there that are fairly decent. In fact I have one on the way for my .22. I'll post a review after I take it out a few times and get familliar with it.

[Nick_Fury]

I'll be interested to see how it works for you.  If I could find a decent Eotech clone, I'd find a home for one or two of them.

[sks winger]

I have the bushnell which is made by eotech and it's a great little holo.  It has the same reticle as the eotech. Like I said for longer distance over a 100 yds I do have to lighten the dot a little for a better picture.  I got it a few months ago and it was 268 dollars, I'm very happy with it.  It holds zero well. I wish I had bought 2 of them because I see the prices are going up on them, around 300 now. I tried it on my tantal first and wanted something a little more military for it, so the holo found a home on the sks sporter with the t6.

Let us know about the eotech clone because I would love to throw one in front of one of my scopes.  You can use the scope for a multiplier and once everything is sighted in you have a good co-witness with the crosshairs.  This worked great until the cheap holo(reflex)took a crap
This isn't the sporter or the bushnell

[Ceddie]

So, how is the sight holding up?

[Nick_Fury]

It's holding up great.  I had it out last Saturday.  I have since rezeroed it for 50 yards, and I have had no problems with it at all.  The only thing I've noticed is that in certain light conditions, the dot will bloom a little.  But I am pretty sure that's due to my eyes.  When that happened, I had a buddy check the sight picture and it was fine for him.

I haven't banged it around, but it seems to be pretty sturdy.  All in all, I am very pleased with both the price and the quality.