Here we have, for review, The Black Raptor Dagger from CobraTec. A knife company that I have just absolutely fallen in love with. The company, as you can see, is CobraTec. On the Gun & Gear Review podcast we discussed one of their knives, and before the show even started I bought the knife and had it on the way to me. That particular knife is the Trapper model with the hidden open switch. Since then I have ordered and paid for 3 more of their knives, plus I have given a few away as door prizes and gifts to friends. Some went to Tony Simon over at his Diversity Shoot. So needless to say, I have been digging these knives pretty well. The knife review today was sent to me by CobraTec, after I reached out to them. They were more than happy to send me this Black Raptor dagger.

So what we have here is a knife that is an OTF (out the front) knife, it has a side fire switch made out of aluminum with nice knurling on it to get a good thumb purchase. The handles or case of the knife is CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum. This is what a lot of firearms and lower receivers are made out of. The blade of the knife is D2 tool steel and is a dagger point that is sharpened on both sides and is very sharp from the factory. The action of this knife is smooth and the lock up is nice and tight. I have used more expensive OTF knives that have rattled once the blades were deployed, but not this one.

Here are the factory specs on the knife and then I will get into some more details of what I like and maybe what I don't.

Specifications:

Weight: 3 oz
Overall Length: 7.63"
Blade Length: 3.13"
Handle Length: 4.5"
Blade Material: D2 Steel Blade
Aluminum Switch

Most everyone knows that I love D2 tool steel, it is an amazing steel for blades. It is not the sharpest steel out, the most expensive, but in my opinion it is one of the best all around steels for durability, ease of taking care of, sharpening and longevity of a blade. I think they did a fantastic job of picking this steel for their knives.

CobraTec Is an American company based in Meridian, Texas, they have their blades manufactured overseas to meet their specifications. Then once they are imported back to Texas, a group of technicians assemble the knives and do a quality control on them. This ensures that the end user is getting a quality built, reliable knife with a lifetime warranty. All of the blades are sent out to a metallurgical research laboratory for testing. Now that is quality control right there people.

The Raptor came packaged in a great hard plastic case with a foam insert that held the knife in place. It also had a card with the person who assembled and inspected the knife. There was also a warranty card in the box as well. All you have to do is follow the directions and go to the website and put the code in. Your knife will be warrantied to you for a lifetime.

With the Raptor being a dagger style blade I did not get to do my usual type of skinning or typical EDC fingernail cleaning with it. What I can tell you is that it is sharp. It will puncture through just about any normal thing you want to stab with it, within reason. I did sharpen the D2 blades on both sides, I didn't have to but I did, it was already sharp enough.

One good thing about their OTF knives is that you can order different style blades for them at a reasonable price. They have tanto, drop point, and the dagger style. This blade style is not one I myself like, because I like a blade that I can use to work with everyday. My opinion on this doesn't take away from what the knife was intended for. This is a defensive knife and a damn good one at that. So if you're looking for a EDC OTF knife for self defense look at the CobraTec Raptor, it will not disappoint at all. CobraTec also has many options, styles and price points for everyone.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Quality Out the Front knife at a decent price. American owned company, assembled and quality inspected by a single person.

Target Market:

Someone looking for quality without breaking the bank

Self defense

Knife collectors

Average Joe

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

Weight: 3 oz
Overall Length: 7.63"
Blade Length: 3.13"
Handle Length: 4.5"
Blade Material: D2 Steel
Aluminum Switch
American Owned company
Sharp out of the box
Great packaging
Locks up tight
Lifetime warranty

Retail = Same but use code “GGR10” at CobraTec and get 10% off

I need it now! Availability:

CobraTec

Our Rating:

Pros:

Sharp
Great lock up
Quality machining
Quality materials

Cons:

I am not a fan of the dagger blade

Score: 7.5 Good

When I opened the box with the Primary Arms GLx 1-6x24, I was super excited. The GLx 1-6x24 is one of Primary Arms’ mid-tier optics. So it falls, price and feature wise, in between their SLx and PLx lines. This particular GLX 1-6x24 has an ACSS-Raptor reticle and is a first focal plane (FFP) optic. This low power variable optic (LPVO) is packed with features.

Since the reticle is such an important part of your optic, let's start with the ACSS Raptor M6 reticle. The Raptor M6 Advanced Combined Sighting System, or ACSS, is a range estimating and bullet drop compensating reticle. Being that it is a FFP optic, the ranging and estimation properties stay the same throughout the magnification range. This is a big plus as one doesn’t have to recalculate anything at different magnification ranges. The Raptor M6 reticle is calibrated for these cartridges: 5.56 NATO, 5.45x39, .308 Win, 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC. Give or take a few differences in actual ballistics. I mounted it on a 5.56 AR with a 16” barrel and the drop estimations seemed to work well, at least for the ranges I could test.

1x - targets at 50, 100, & 200 yds. Full reticle illumination

6x - 200 yd targets. Full reticle illumination

A description of the Raptor M6 reticle is probably in order. The Raptor is a horseshoe style reticle. So there's a larger circle around a chevron aiming point (think triangle). The circle is missing the bottom portion, hence the “horseshoe” name. Then the Raptor has a vertical line, with short horizontal lines on it, to compensate for bullet drops at various ranges. There’s also some dots for wind holds, if needed. On the right and left side of the chevron are MIL ranging lines. These are to quickly assess the range of a 5’ 10” target. The middle chevron aiming point is where precision comes into play. Use the top point of the chevron for accurate aiming. Or just put the chevron over something for quicker shots. The bottom triangle point will be your 200 yard holdover, and then the bottom of the chevron will be your 300 yard holdover. All of this is in Primary Arms’ manuals, I’m just trying to give you a quick summary. Now, if you turn the GLx 1-6 down to its true 1x, the reticle gets pretty small. Don’t fret, this is actually very useful. Now you can use it for super quick shots up close. Very similar to a circle dot reticle in a red dot. Even with both eyes open. Oh, did I mention the chevron is illuminated? It is, but it and the horseshoe are the only parts that are illuminated, the rest of the reticle stays black.

Primary Arms also stuck their “Autolive” on/off into the GLx 1-6. The autolive turns the reticle off after 3 minutes of no physical movement, then quickly turns it back on when a tiny bit of movement happens. I love the autolive function and in the case of the GLx, it gives around 600 hrs of battery life. They say it is a daylight bright reticle, but in direct sunlight, the red illumination is pretty non existent. Any time besides direct sun, the reticle’s illumination is easy to see and brightly lit up. It has 10 brightness levels, with and off between each one. I like that there's an “off” between each “on.”

Now that the long winded reticle explanation is done, we can focus on the glass in the GLx 1-6. Primary Arms uses low-dispersion glass that is multi coated. Why do you care? Because it makes everything look super clear and bright. Yes, the glass is really that clear. The magnification ranges are true to the numbers, so 1x is really no magnification, and 6x is really 6 times normal. I really appreciate the true 1x for running close targets at the range. The 6x makes it pretty easy to hit targets at various ranges also. The field of view is pretty decent, specs are below if you're interested. The eye relief is pretty forgiving at 1x, it’s around 3 to 3.5 inches, but you don’t need to be perfect with it. At 6x that’s a different story, you really need to be in the scopes sweet spot. The clarity of the glass really does rival some of the higher end 1-6’s

If you are not using the GLx’s Raptor reticle for bullet drop compensation, it has some pretty nice turrets to use instead. The GLx 1-6 comes from the factory with capped turrets. But hold on, there’s something more in the box. Also included is a single exposed turret. Yes, you can replace the elevation turret with a non-capped one. I suppose you could put it on the windage turret also, but why. Now you can dial in the adjustments as necessary without having to take the cap off. I get that if you are running around in the woods, or doing secret squirrel stuff, you might want the advantage of having capped turrets. But for me, I instantly installed the tactical, non-capped turret. Adjustments are the same either way and adjust in increments of 0.1 MIL’s. These adjustments also use a steel on steel mechanism. This means you’ll have consistent adjustments and repeatability for a lifetime. The GLx 1-6 does have some physically large turrets. This makes it much easier to adjust with gloves, or just in general. The clicks are fairly decent and audible. They feel a tad bit mushy to me, but that’s probably due to the sealing that keeps water and dust out. In all, the turrets adjust well. These turrets can also be loosened up and set to zero. Not a zero stop, but at least you’ll have a zero point to adjust from.

There are a few other notable aspects of the Primary Arms GLx 1-6. One is the throw lever. The throw lever makes it easier and quicker to adjust the magnification ring. The ring adjustment operates smoothly, but having the throw lever is really nice. It sticks up about ½” above the ring. So it isn’t really in the way, but is still large enough to matter. Primary Arms also made the lever removable and changeable. It is screwed onto a tiny dovetail. Just unscrew it and slide it off to change it to a larger one, a folding one, or just to leave it off. This next aspect is its weight. It weighs in at 21 ounces. This is a few more ounces than some others in this mid-tier. When I say a few more, it’s like 3 ounces difference, so not much. But on the plus size of the weight, the GLx 1-6 is built like a tank. It is solid. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this LPVO harshly.

If you are in the market for a top quality LPVO, but don’t want to pay top-tier pricing, the Primary Arms GLx 1-6x24 might be everything you need. The glass is super clear, it has a very useful FFP reticle, is pretty much indestructible, can range objects on the fly, and turns on and off automatically. What more could you want? I’d definitely look into one of these if you intend on running your stuff hard. You can check the GLX 1-6x24 ACSS Raptor M6 out at Primary Arms, as well as all the other products they have over there.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Mid-tier low power variable optic (LPVO) with first focal plane reticle (FFP)

Target Market:

Those wanting a quality mid grade LPVO

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

1-6x Magnification
24mm objective
3.3" - 3.5" of eye relief
FOV: 104 ft at 1x, 18 ft at 6x
30mm main tube
High strength one-piece 6061-T6 aluminum body
10.25" long
Weighs 21.3 Oz
Premium grade glass
Steel-on-Steel precision adjustments
Tactile and audible 1/10 MIL click value
Turrets are user configurable between Tactical or Capped
Movable and replaceable magnification ring fin
Partial reticle illumination - Inner part only
First Focal Plane ACSS Raptor M6 Reticle
Autolive motion activated illumination
10 total brightness settings, 2 of which are night vision compatible

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Griffin M6 reticle

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars at Primary Arms

EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED

Using this for an old m1a, as a red dot and magnifier don't really work for that platform. The glass is very clear and good eye relief, I zeroed and used out to 400 yards. Impact at 200 and 300 worked well on the bdc reticle, but I had to hold about 450 to hit the 400. I have access to longer range but haven't had chance to try it out yet. I let my friend shoot it and he was very impressed by the glass. Great scope for the price, it is bright on 11 but not like an aimpoint when shooting in the sunlight