Yeah, it’s an ACOG clone. Most ACOG clones are Alibaba/Wish crap trying to pose as an ACOG. The Cosmic Tactical Saturn 4×32 has clear ACOG vibes but still stands out with its angular design. Honestly, they have a bit of marketing showing Lara Croft from Tomb Raider from the PS1 era when she was all angles, and it caught my attention. They were willing to send one out for me to test and review alongside their new quick detachable optics mount.
I was drawn to the optic’s angular shape and ACOG-like capability. Like an ACOG, it boasts fiber optics power, has 4X magnification and allows you to easily mount a backup red dot. The shape and size are roughly the same, and I was admittedly curious to see how well a $250 optic performed.
The Saturn 4×32 – Proper Expectations
You know how certain groups of people can be small in nature but seemingly loud enough to convince the world there are tons of them? I call it the Twitter effect. In the gun world, or more specifically, the optics world, two loud voices hold minority opinions.
The first states that everything needs to be professional grade, high-end and expensive. The second voice is the opposite and proclaims everything is just as good even when it’s labeled Feyachi. In reality, most of us are in a middle ground. There is a time and place for every type of optic.
The Cosmic Tactical Saturn 4×32, with its $250 price point, falls into a hobbyist-style optic that can do most of what you need it to do. If you need to do a HAHO jump, underwater insertion or survive a trip up and down the mountains of some forgotten country where we are waging a forever war, then you should spend the $1,000+ on an ACOG.
If you need an optic for the range, hunting, pest elimination or just for fun, Saturn has you covered. When we get into this price tier, we have to accept that it’s not an optic designed to take falls down mountains and be exposed to deep submersion.
The product page doesn’t list any waterproof ratings or operational temperatures. It does list that it was max recoil tested on a .300 Win. Mag.
The Cosmic Tactical Saturn – What’s In The Box
The box the optic comes in is nice. It’s plastic rather than cardboard and has a little foam to protect the optic. Inside the box, we get the optic and manual. It’s ready out of the box to be tossed on a rifle and go. Like the ACOG, it has an illuminated chevron with a bullet drop compensator.
Sadly, the manual doesn’t mention the appropriate velocity the BDC is set to or even the barrel length and ammo type. It does mention the need to zero at 100 yards. I scrounged around the website and found the BDC explained more in-depth. The BDC is tuned for a 62-grain projectile out of a 16-inch barrel. So, M855 and a carbine. It’s the most common ammo with the most common barrel length for ARs in the states.
The Saturn also has a small Picatinny rail mount for attaching a micro red dot as an alternative aiming option. The rail can be swapped for a dedicated RMR plate Cosmic Tactical sells. It comes with a standard bolt mount, but Cosmic Tactical included the quick detach mount with my optic. There is also an optional kill flash available.
To The Range
With the Cosmic Tactical Saturn mounted to a PSA Saber rifle, I hit the ground running. Zeroing took me longer than I’d like to admit. The optic’s initial setting put the weapon way high and right. Enough that I had to get a full-size FBI Q Target and start at 50 yards to get on paper. A few rounds later, I was snapped in enough to trot back to 100 yards and finish the zeroing process.
The turrets provide an audible click most of the time, but sometimes I couldn’t hear it, even with my ear pro removed. Luckily, I could feel the clicks. Each adjustment is .5 MOA. After zeroing, I moved the reticle three inches right, fired a group, returned to zero, and moved left three inches and fired a group.
Upon inspecting the target, I found the left and right groups within 3-inches of the zero group. There is some buffer due to my own abilities and the cheap ammo I’m using. Still, it seems like the adjustments are accurate.
I did realize I need a more appropriate zeroing setup for the new range, but that’s a concern for tomorrow. The Saturn surprised me with its clarity. I didn’t expect much from a fairly inexpensive optic. It delivered a crisp and nice picture. The reticle is also easy to see, and the fiber optics illuminate it well.
Since the sun goes down at 1630 where I live, it’s easy to get some low light shooting in. Even with the sun setting behind me, I could see the white of the FBI Q Target against the sandy white berm at 100 yards.
Blasting Away
I noticed it doesn’t get as bright as an ACOG in bright light. I’ll never need to put duct tape over the fiber optic to reduce the brightness of the reticle. It doesn’t reach those ACOG levels, and when light is mostly gone it doesn’t seem to ignite at all. I shot in the late evening and it had only a glimmer of brightness to it.
This isn’t a big problem. It becomes a bit tougher to use an occluded shooting style when you get up close to the target and try to use the Marine Corps classic 4X at bad breath-distance tactic.
The Saturn has a tight 2.05-inch eye relief. Just like in the old days, I put my nose on the charging handle. This time, I didn’t have to wrestle around an M16A4 length stock to do it. The eye box isn’t super generous, and if you haven’t shot much with prism sights, you might feel underwhelmed. It’s the nature of the beast with these optics.
The field of view is 31.5 feet at 100 yards. That’s fairly small for a 4X prism. The ACOG has a 36.8-foot field of view at 100 yards as a comparison.
I went as far as 200 yards with the Saturn, which is as far as my range allows. Assuming a good-rested position, I could consistently put shots into the chest of the FBI Q Target, with a couple breaking the line at worst. (But I admit, I need to shoot rifles more.)
Tough Enough
Just for fun, I subjected the Saturn to a little beating. I dropped it from chest height onto the ground a few times, leaned the rifle against something and gave it a gentle pushover. I then reloaded and fired a few shots to test the zero. It held on and didn’t fail a few drops.
The Saturn got dirty with its drops and falls, so I needed to wash it. I sprayed it off with the hose from the front, rear and both sides. The fiber optics still fire up, and I don’t see any water penetration. Neither of these tests is particularly brutal, but they show that the Saturn can take a few falls and a light rain.
I like the Saturn for its ACOG-like features without costing over a grand and without it being a cheap piece of crap. However, I think it faces stiff competition from the prism market even at this price point. Primary Arms has an excellent line of proven budget prisms for not much more price-wise. The Swampfox Trihawk costs about the same and is a solid optic. I’m all for more options and hope they succeed, but it’s tough being the new guy in a crowded market. Even so, this optic, and company, deserves a look.
Specifications
Magnification – 4X
Objective Lens – 32MM
Eye Relief – 2.05 in.
Field Of View – 31.5 ft. at 100 Yards
Adjustment Value – 1/2 MOA
Weight – 16.54 lbs.
MSRP – $299
Where To Buy
Clarity – *** (And a Half)
The clarity allows you to see out to 200 yards, and in lower light, I could identify targets with ease at 100 yards. It’s surprisingly clear, but I do find the field of view to be a little lacking in its category.
Reticle – ****
They cloned the ACOG reticle, which is a proven performer that’s easy to use and understand. It doesn’t get overcomplicated for a 4X reticle, which is a complaint I often have with other similar price-point options. The one downside is that it doesn’t get ACOG bright.
Ergonomics – ****
Thanks to the auto-adjusting reticle and fiber optics, there are no buttons to press. The optics mount easily and provide backup red dot mounting. The one downside is the weight. This is one hefty optic at 16 ounces and some change.
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