Awhile back GunTech agreed to ship me a Burris FastFire to test out on my new Ultimak rail on my SAR-1 (Romanian AK clone). I already had a Aimpoint Comp2 on there, and what had prompted the swap was a statement that an Aimpoint on a low ring mount is about as low to the rail as you can get. GunTech was curious if the Burris was lower, so we found out.
The reason this is so critical is because the stock sights on an AK sit very low over the rail and/or gas tube. It's not like on an AR where you have a whole lot of wiggle room between the top of the rail and the sight plane. On an AK you have about 1/4" and that's it. If you want sights to co-witness, you need a low sight. The other option is to throw the sight on a QD mount and cease to care about whether or not the optic is low enough.
The Short Version:
The Aimpoint is lower and I prefer that setup to the Burris, assuming you want to cowitness the sights or use the irons through the optic. However, the Burris takes up a lot less real estate in your FOV, and if you were to put it on a QD mount, it would probably be quite good.
The Long Version:
The Burris has some pros and cons. So does the Aimpoint.
Burris Pro
Small
Light
Blocks less of your FOV
Inexpensive
Burris Con
Has a teeny tiny on-off switch
Has one brightness setting
Doesn't look like it can handle being banged around much (but I wasn't willing to test that hypothesis )
You must dismount it to change the battery
Fairly limited field of view through the optic when put on a scout-style mount
You can barely see the top of the AK's front post above the bottom of the optic, when viewed through the rear sight notch. Can you see it? yes. Can you use it? Well...at the range? Probably. In a gun game or a real-deal shooting? Probably not.
Aimpoint Pro
Much more robust
Water resistant to a greater depth than I ever plan to take my gun
Multiple brightness settings and easy to adjust in a hurry
Larger FOV through the optic at distance
Aimpoint Con
More expensive
Blocks more of your FOV
Weighs more
The Aimpoint is clearly the better of the two for a "combat optic". However, for range use, gun games or hunting, I think the Burris FastFire would work just fine. You can add a little cost and weight and put the Burris on a QD mount and still be able to use back-up irons. Another advantage of that setup is that it would put the Burris slightly higher up, and might improve its already good FOV. Ok, it won't make it any larger, but it would put the "sightable area" in a slightly more useful position.
What I mean by this is that the Aimpoint has a circular viewing area. At the very bottom are the rifle's stock iron sights. Above that the FOV widens out in a circle, and you have that whole area in which to see your red dot. The Burris is like a widescreen TV with a semi-circular top, and the whole FOV is smaller. The iron sights are baaaarely above the bottom, and you tend to lose the red dot off the top of the sight if you're not careful. Moving the sight higher would lose the irons out the bottom (but that's OK, since you're presumably using a QD mount) but allow you more "headspace" at the top.
Would I buy a Burris to put on my Ultimak-equipped AK? No, since I'm using it as a "serious" rifle. Would I buy a Burris FastFire to put on a sporting/gaming gun? Yep.
Thanks again to GunTech for loaning me the sight. Pics forthcoming.
Mike
The reason this is so critical is because the stock sights on an AK sit very low over the rail and/or gas tube. It's not like on an AR where you have a whole lot of wiggle room between the top of the rail and the sight plane. On an AK you have about 1/4" and that's it. If you want sights to co-witness, you need a low sight. The other option is to throw the sight on a QD mount and cease to care about whether or not the optic is low enough.
The Short Version:
The Aimpoint is lower and I prefer that setup to the Burris, assuming you want to cowitness the sights or use the irons through the optic. However, the Burris takes up a lot less real estate in your FOV, and if you were to put it on a QD mount, it would probably be quite good.
The Long Version:
The Burris has some pros and cons. So does the Aimpoint.
Burris Pro
Small
Light
Blocks less of your FOV
Inexpensive
Burris Con
Has a teeny tiny on-off switch
Has one brightness setting
Doesn't look like it can handle being banged around much (but I wasn't willing to test that hypothesis )
You must dismount it to change the battery
Fairly limited field of view through the optic when put on a scout-style mount
You can barely see the top of the AK's front post above the bottom of the optic, when viewed through the rear sight notch. Can you see it? yes. Can you use it? Well...at the range? Probably. In a gun game or a real-deal shooting? Probably not.
Aimpoint Pro
Much more robust
Water resistant to a greater depth than I ever plan to take my gun
Multiple brightness settings and easy to adjust in a hurry
Larger FOV through the optic at distance
Aimpoint Con
More expensive
Blocks more of your FOV
Weighs more
The Aimpoint is clearly the better of the two for a "combat optic". However, for range use, gun games or hunting, I think the Burris FastFire would work just fine. You can add a little cost and weight and put the Burris on a QD mount and still be able to use back-up irons. Another advantage of that setup is that it would put the Burris slightly higher up, and might improve its already good FOV. Ok, it won't make it any larger, but it would put the "sightable area" in a slightly more useful position.
What I mean by this is that the Aimpoint has a circular viewing area. At the very bottom are the rifle's stock iron sights. Above that the FOV widens out in a circle, and you have that whole area in which to see your red dot. The Burris is like a widescreen TV with a semi-circular top, and the whole FOV is smaller. The iron sights are baaaarely above the bottom, and you tend to lose the red dot off the top of the sight if you're not careful. Moving the sight higher would lose the irons out the bottom (but that's OK, since you're presumably using a QD mount) but allow you more "headspace" at the top.
Would I buy a Burris to put on my Ultimak-equipped AK? No, since I'm using it as a "serious" rifle. Would I buy a Burris FastFire to put on a sporting/gaming gun? Yep.
Thanks again to GunTech for loaning me the sight. Pics forthcoming.
Mike