Hunting & Fishing Burris Fast Fire III Pro's/Con's?

[Gunfighter14e2]

Looking at 2 of these for lever guns, pro's/con's.
How is battery life an how close to rezero after removing to change battery?
Does the dot wash out in bright light?
Or should I be looking at a pair of Trijicon's?

 

[bigdaddydmd]

The FFIII battery compartment is top accessible so you don't have to remove the sight from your mount so changing batteries should not effect zero.

The dot doesn't wash out in bright light on the brightest setting but it does "starburst" on the highest setting (at least to my eye). It is not an etched reticle. It has 4 settings total. low, med, high, and auto. I find the auto feature is a little slow on response time and not very sensitive so I generally keep it set to med or high.

Battery life has been good, but I do not use it daily so cannot comment on total run time.

On a lever gun it should work well. I find on my pistol with a suppressor I get gunshot/powder residue on the lens that need to be periodically cleaned. It does not feel as robust as the trijicon nor does it have the auto on motion feature that the Leupold dealtpoint pro has. If you go with the Burris FFIII I would recommend getting the mounting platform with metal ears that help protect the rds, especially on a lever gun that will be used as a work rifle/truck gun.

*edit* The screws to set elevation and windage are recessed and have no locking feature and require a small flat blade screwdriver. I put a drop of clear finger nail polish over them after they are set to make sure they don't move and adjust my zero. Not sure if it is necessary but it is something I do just as a precaution.

 

[GeoffatBurris]

I can't disagree with anything BigDaddy says. Actually, that's an amazingly well written, fair and balanced analysis. Forgot for a moment what website I was on .

If I can add:
-about 5,000 hours of battery life. (wildly differing due to temperature, number of on/off cycles, individual battery, etc. suffice to say "long time").
-automatically turns off after a certain number of hours (7, I think. It's a long time before auto off, which is a luxury afforded by long battery life).
-the "metal ears" that protect it are called AR-F3 Mount.
-FF3 comes in two flavors: 3 MOA dot and 8 MOA dot (we sell a ton for handguns and shotguns).

-Geoff from Burris

 

[bigdaddydmd]

Thank you. I like my FFIII. It has been a little work horse and hasn't failed me yet. It rides outside of the holster (I had to cut away the safariland to make room) so its not protected and hasn't cracked yet. I'm not running obstacle courses or using it as a hammer, but when I say its not as robust as a Trijicon RMR its not to say the FFIII is frail, I just think the RMR could take more abuse. For the price point it is a great little unit. It holds zero on my Beretta 92A1 and is perfect for seeing over the top of a suppressor instead of having to go to suppressor height sights. I have been contemplating adding another to a home defense shotgun. I have the 3 MOA version not the 8MOA.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

A AR-F3 mount to protect the FF3? Adding that puts me close to trijicon pricing in the real world. Is the FF3 that vulnerable?

 

[GeoffatBurris]

A AR-F3 mount to protect the FF3? Adding that puts me close to trijicon pricing in the real world. Is the FF3 that vulnerable?

The FF3 solo is about $180. The F3 mount solo is about $80. The mount is not necessary, and most people don't bother with it. Vulnerable point on the FF (and all red dots, I suspect) is the metal piece above the screen. It sticks out and can get bent from abuse and drops. It is covered under lifetime warranty.

Red dot sights are very simple in concept. Just a tiny LED projecting onto a semi-reflective screen. I even saw a video of a guy who built his own usign a cut up CD case. You're paying for reliability, ability to set and hold zero, and then features, like covered LED, sealed internals, screen coatings that don't allow the dot to be seen down range, easy mounting (no biggie for AR, more for pistols), etc.

If you skip the low end junk, then every manufacturer really offers a decent product. Lots of options in red dots. As a marketing guy, I can tell you honestly that it's pretty hard to set our red dots apart. That's an absolute crap selling argument, but hey, it's just a red dot sight! We do appreciate being considered on your short list.

 

[DannC]

About four years ago I bought a combo of the 1-4x24 Burris scope with Burris mount with FF3 on the picatiny ring mount. Had it on a Tavor SAR for about a thousand rounds. Sold the scope, but kept the mount and FF3. Put it on a Glock 24 with 6 1/2 inch threaded barrel and compensator for about a thousand rounds on a dovetail mount. Then my Remington 1187 with a saddle mount for about 250 rds. Loaned it to a friend for his AR, don't have any idea how many rounds he fired. It is now on my Glock 40 with about 750 rds. to date. Reliable? Rugged? I think so. I don't abuse my equipment, but I use it and don't baby it. Battery life is great if you remember to turn it off. Best bargain for a mini RD on the market in my opinion.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

Replaced the Aim Point Comp 4 on a 10.5" AR pistol with a FF3 3moa w/ F3 mount. Have about 500rds down range, an although I do not like the push button, or the scattering of the dot it seems to work OK so far. I am so use to the Aimpoints dots crispness its going to take awhile to get use to this noe one. It still allows small target hits at 200-250yds but will take alittle getting use to. In the right light the lowest setting, the dot is nice an round an allows precise shoots as I have it zeroed at 200 yds the top of the dot, then use the bottom farther out. It is nice an lite as well as compact over the Aimpoint it replaced, but that sight is on the shelf just in case. Wish the button was a knob located in the front or rear for quick operation, oh well might be just a mussel thing ?

 

[3-0-hate]

I have a FF3 on my 22/45 target. Gives the rock-chucks and ground squirrels hell. Its been a great sight so far. Battery life is good and with as much as it gets banged around, I'm impressed on how well it holds zero (bouncing around the truck on desert dirt roads and trails). I do wish it had an auto-on feature like the Leupy. Other than that, I have no complaints.