Rifle Scopes questions about updated 2012-2013 PREMIER 1-8X4 and other 1-8 options.

[kenndapp]

i have been searching with no avail for info on the premier 1-8x24 since its updates in 2012 from the original 1.1-8x24. i believe they got a true 1x, shortened the scope up a little and maybe a few minor minor changes. i have seen pictures of the original mounted......its very large for what it is............ have they got it to a reasonable size? does anyone have one of the new ones? how is it? i am particularly interested in its 1x flash dot performance. i believe that most, if not all 1-8x scopes out there are great on the high end.....with the performance in the low end being what would set them apart from each other. is the new premier worth a look when selecting a 1-8? or should i be looking at other options such as the uso 1-8, cqbss, and sb short dot?

any info on the premier would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BigJimFish]

The Premier has been "postponed indefinitely." Yes it looked good at Shot last year but it was not present this year and the word is that there is not currently a plan to make it anytime in the foreseeable future. In short, it is not worth looking at because it does not exist.

 

[kenndapp]

that is terrible news............

 

[One-Eyed Jack]

Just a wild guess: Production costs going up, but price of the Leupold CQBSS going down => Less profitable scope for Premier/Optika/ATI due to recession and competition.

 

[BigJimFish]

Just a wild guess: Production costs going up, but price of the Leupold CQBSS going down => Less profitable scope for Premier/Optika/ATI due to recession and competition.

Well, sort of. It is not that the production cost is going up. The production cost of these is simply high. The companies doing 1-8x scopes have emphasized to me that due to the high tolerances required to make a 1-8x look good as well as the difficulty of lining up the beam splitter illumination system just, so they are absurdly expensive to make. If my memory serves from two years ago the PR guys said that it takes more than twice as long to assemble a 1-8x than a 5-25x because you have to fiddle with it endlessly to get it right.

Last year PR was quite uncertain as to whether they thought there was enough market to support as many really high cost 1-8x scopes as were already slated at that time. I remember them saying that they thought there would be an initial surge of buyers but that they did not expect the long term prospects to be good. AR buyers are not known for their willingness to put high end glass on their rifles. I think it is sad to say but my personal experiences do confirm this. I encounter a lot of AR's at the range and few of the high end guns even sport something as expensive as a real Aimpoint. Most AR's have $50-$100 low sighting systems. AR owners are not, on average, near as well educated as precision rifle owners. I am not sure how many $2k+ optics the AR market can support and the price for the PR was looking close to $4k. It looked good, but I don't think it would be competitive at that price and if that's the price they have to charge they are better off not selling it. Now, if they could reduce the price that would be another story but the company is small and young. Bringing a manufacturing process to scale generally takes a large volume to accomplish. Given how much PR has on their plates with the moving, new ownership, and keeping up with their existing scope line up demand, I think that putting the 1-8x on the back burner was a good move though I hate to admit to it.

 

[pmclaine]

Waiting on my USO 1-8 reticle/day light dot to mount on an LMT CQB. Ordered in Jan expecting in April. Looks like it will be fun.

I was looking at ACOG ECOS than they bumped price and I could justify the extra cost for going USO. I think I was lucky Trijicon wanted more money.

 

[One-Eyed Jack]

Well, sort of. It is not that the production cost is going up. The production cost of these is simply high. The companies doing 1-8x scopes have emphasized to me that due to the high tolerances required to make a 1-8x look good as well as the difficulty of lining up the beam splitter illumination system just, so they are absurdly expensive to make. If my memory serves from two years ago the PR guys said that it takes more than twice as long to assemble a 1-8x than a 5-25x because you have to fiddle with it endlessly to get it right.

I should have said "projected production costs". The price on both the PR and S&B rose $800+ as they figured out there were production issues and subsequently increased the projected cost of making them. Apparently Leupold and USO have figured out how to make a 1-8X at a reasonable cost (you can find a Leupold at a reasonable price from discounting dealers now, I suspect the puffed up price was a strategy for pricing military orders).

I bought a used CQBSS H27D as I didn't want to wait for the USO with a daylight-visible SFP dot.

 

[dcjs]

Bad news ist, there will be no Premier 1-8x24.

Good news is, the rights to the design belong to Optronika and the scope will be made under the Optronika name. A modfied version with cosmetic design changes as well as sligthly reduced OAL (now 288mm), new low-profile turrets (locking in the zero position) and new reticles has been presented at IWA trade show. Plans are that the scope will be available through ATI.

 

[CSTactical]

The Premier 1-8x24mm is a very nice looking scope I was hopping to see them come to market. Time will tell.

Here is a video we did on the 1-8x Premier at the 2012 SHOT SHOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vQg7GL76zs

Mike @ CST

 

[BigJimFish]

Bad news ist, there will be no Premier 1-8x24.

Good news is, the rights to the design belong to Optronika and the scope will be made under the Optronika name. A modfied version with cosmetic design changes as well as sligthly reduced OAL (now 288mm), new low-profile turrets (locking in the zero position) and new reticles has been presented at IWA trade show. Plans are that the scope will be available through ATI.

Well that is very interesting isn't it.

 

[dcjs]

 

[VKC]

any update on the premier 1-8x24?

 

[hk dave]

Yes, it's been discontinued infinitely. If costs more to produce than they can sell it for. You will never ever see it again.

When they had first come out they were revolutionary because such a thing was unheard of and ridiculous.

That boat sailed... it is no longer ridiculous and technology has caught up.