CS Tactical lent me a Burris FastFire red dot sight for an unrelated project. Since I had the sight in possession, I thought I’d take some pretty pictures and write a small overview of it. I discovered that the Burris Fastfire RD sight is a nifty piece of hardware.
I don’t compete; therefore, I can’t relate my experience from the perspective of a competitor. Of course, it doesn’t take one to understand why a RD has its’ advantages over iron sights – it significantly reduces the time required to align the sights to the target. For the casual shooters like myself, a reflex sight is just another nifty toy to shoot steel with.
The RD is small and light weight – it’s likely you wouldn’t notice the difference on Ruger Mark III 22/45. According to the project description, Burris states that the unit is waterproof. The manual instead states, “Although not completely waterproof, the FastFire is water-resistant and is usable even when exposed to moisture.”
The FastFire II I borrowed already had the picatinny mount assembled, so installation on my Ruger Mark III 22/45 only involved screwing down the scope base and locking in the picatinny mount screw. A sight adjustment disc, flat head screwdriver and Torx wrench key were also included.
I didn’t bother with the disc; the screwdriver doesn’t fit. Though it was difficult, sighting didn’t take long. There are two locking screws on the backside of the sight. Be sure to loosen those screws before making windage and elevation adjustments. It would not be a good idea to strip the screws’ heads. If you’re used to scope clicks, beware. Adjustment doesn’t require a lot, so refer to the adjustment disc to get an idea on how much to turn the screws.
Looking through the optic, there’s a subtle blue tint with minor distortion on the outer perimeter of the glass. Depending on the distance, the position of your head relative to the sight and the nature of the target, you may not even notice. There was no perceived distortion through the center of the sight.
I’ve read reports where some individuals needed to cant the pistol forward to see the dot. For me, acquiring the 4 MOA dot was fast and natural. Sight picture didn’t feel any different.
I tried to play with the light sensor, but couldn’t get it to reliably dim or brighten with ambient light. Suffice it to say; however, the dot never appeared to be too bright or too dim. If it’s too bright to you, one individual used a non-permanent marker to shade the FastFire II sensor.
I had a lot of fun with this sight. For just under $200.00, you can’t go wrong. The FastFire is probably one of the least expensive, reliable and lightweight sights on the market boasting a respectable level of quality. If I were to buy a red dot that I don’t plan on tossing around, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a FastFire. Its’ more expensive equivalents appear to be the Doctor RD sight, C-More STS, Safariland SOPS RD, and J-Point.
How do you think this would hold up on a .308 M1A SOCOM?
I think it would hold up just fine with a .308. You just need to make sure to screw down the base followed with some loktite. Same for the screw for the picatinny mount. I know how you can be with those scope rings =P. The locks for the windage/elevation are small, but seem to hold well.
I don’t care for the fast fire or J-point, the lens distortion, and those bleeping lock screws are so delicate. I’d spend more money for the C-More or my favorite, the EoTech. Sure, it’s bigger and heavier but the glass is not plastic and the housing is metal, not plastic. The 1-minute dot with the 65 minute circle gets you on target quickly and won’t cover up distant targets. The outer edge of the circle can give you lead on a running coyote, or frame the edges of an IPSC target. On a close critter, just bracket it inside the circle and pull the trigger. I did a comparison with 4 min. dot sight, 8 min. dot and EoTech and practice is more important than dot size or sight design, in my humble opinion.
I’ve got a Burris FF mounted to my 16″ Saiga .308 conversion. Works great. Haven’t had any issues with it coming loose and with just being bore-sighted is very close to POA.
I’m glad you like to Burris Fast Fire. Its an awesome site, I have it on a .40 an love it.
Would a Fastfire site work on the Ruger .44 cal mag. Carbine. What mounts are needed also.
I bought one for my Ruger 22/45. There is no instruction on where it should be mounted on the rail. As a long time hunter, Rifle and shotgun, I am confident mounting and zeroing scopes. I am fairly new to handguns and currently not a very good shot. Not many things need to be explained to me like I am a 2 year old. But this is one. I guess I was looking for direction like do this then this, then leave the zeroing up to me. I am sure the mounting location on the rail matters correct? Any help with this would be great.
Gary
If I recall correctly, the rail is mounted in one direction and should have the pre-drilled holes lined up to the tapped threads.