Burris FastFire III - review

[tuj]

quick summary: POS.

detailed summary:

I have a lot of red dot sights; they are primarily all made by Ultradot and include the regular 1" 4MOA tube sight and the 30mm 2-to-8MOA Matchdot sight. I have 7 Ultradots and have also owned some cheaper reflex sights, like a Mueller Optics Quickshot and another brand very similar in design.

The reflex sights I have used wouldn't hold zero and would not stand up to .45ACP reduced power loads in a frame-mount configuration. The Burris was no exception.

I mounted it on a bridge-frame mount on my Pardini GT-45 which is a very accurate, high-end pistol. The Burris did have enough adjustment to get it zeroed, but after a couple magazines of reduced power .45ACP, it started to turn itself off, and finally wouldn't turn on at all.

I'm going back to my tube-style Ultradots as they are highly reliable even on my 45's. Thumbs down on the Burris Fastfire 3; big disappointment.

 

[TAKtical]

Did you try new batteries? Send it in for warranty work? These are rated for shotguns like my benelli supernova. Ive never had a problem with my fastfire two or three and Ive run them on shotguns, AKs, M1As... You ran it on a bridge mount? Ive seen these mounted on glock slides.

 

[gunner69]

I run a Fastfire II on my 1886 Winchester 45-70. I run stout loads and have never had a problem. Like the man said check the batteries and if that doesn't work send it back for repair.

 

[cpirtle]

While no first hand experience with the Burris, this is one of the few negative review's I've seen. Sounds to me like a dud and, assuming the platform meets your needs, you should ask for an exchange or send it in for repair.

I just ordered the FastFire III for my PC S&W 44 mag Stealth Hunter.. I can report back once I get some rounds down range with it.

 

[1KPerDay]

Sorry to hear that... But burris customer service will take care of you. I like my Fastfire II a lot. I haven't tried it on a pistol yet, but it works fine on a Garand.

 

[XTrooper]

My guess is this is operator error and that you don't have the battery cover screwed down tight enough. The reason I say this is because the same thing happened to me.

As far as durability is concerned, I have two of them. They are both mounted on tactical shotguns (a Remington 870 and a Benelli M4), and they have both survived the recoil of hundreds of 12 gauge shells with no ill effects. The FastFire III I have on my M4 was previously on a Mossberg 930 SPX and I attended a rather intense tactical shotgun school with it and the FastFire III performed admirably.

So, in my experience with two different examples, the FastFire III is definitely NOT a POS, but the battery compartment IS a PITA to tighten properly. It's my only complaint with the sight.