Bushnell First Strike Red Dot Review Part II

[plouffedaddy]

As many of you may remember I tested the Bushnell First Strike about a month ago on my 12gauge 870 and the product failed to live up to its' published specs. Well, Bushnell was great to deal with and they paid shipping both ways and I had a replacement unit within 2 weeks. The reps at Bushnell assured me the product could hold up to the recoil of the 12 gauge and that I probably had a bad unit.

Well, I went out yesterday to see how the replacement would hold up. After only 25 rounds, it started to crack again. I'll be calling Bushnell again tomorrow but at this point I have to say that the First Strike just can't stand up to the 12ga recoil; the proof is in the video below:

Strike Fire Review Video

 

[Skribs]

I've always been wary of cheap red dots. Then I went and bought a $40 sight for my supernova...I hope it holds up better than yours!

I wonder if they tested it using light loads or a bench or something that would reduce the recoil?

 

[snakeman]

that really sucks

 

[plouffedaddy]

I wonder if they tested it using light loads or a bench or something that would reduce the recoil?

I have no clue but they insisted it would hold up--didn't happen. I really wanted to like this red dot too, clear dot, auto-on feature worked well, ect... but it just can't hang.

 

[kcshooter]

After hundreds of rounds, I'm confident stating that the Bushnell TRS-25 will hold up to 12ga recoil, so you may want to consider that option. Maybe they will offer trade value against that one?

The TRS should mount a little lower, too.

 

[plouffedaddy]

I have a couple TRS 25s kicking around but I bought this red dot for the auto on/off feature. I'm a fan of Aimpoints/Deltapoints/ect... since they're always on. I have a XS night sight on the front so I'd probably just run it with no optic over one that has to be turned on. We'll see....

 

[Rob62]

Wow, that really does suck. Two bad units in a row, that sure seems like its a design or manufacturing defect.

On the bright side I am glad to hear about the good customer service. But now matter how good that service is, if they are selling a bad product it doesn't matter.

I hope you do another follow up.

Regards,
Rob