Review: Burris Fastfire 4MOA Mini Red Dot Optic

[boricua9mm]

Sorry guys, no video review this time. In the past year, I've been burnt by a couple of gun industry folks, and I'm afraid I won't be putting my video production expertise towards the shooting industry anytime in the forseeable future. Seeing as this is potentially beneficial to you all and a LOT less work than shooting, editing, and doing graphics for a video, here's a written review on the Burris Fastfire 4MOA mini red dot sight:

I've always had good luck with Burris optics. I've found that their rifle scopes offer clear glass, scope bodies that are rugged, and past a certain price point, made entirely in the USA. Lots of long distance shooters in my area also agree. When it came time to choose a mini red dot for my Browning Buckmark, the Burris was a no-brainer. If you want an optic on a pistol, or a carbine that has a tall optics mount, chances are you want something small, and reasonably tough. Well, at least if you think like I do.

The Burris Fastfire falls into the same category as the Docter Optics sight, the JPoint, the Pride Fowler "Special Ops Compact Sight" () and the Tasco Optima. They call these "Mini red Dots" or "MRDs" for short. This sight clearly soars above the Optima and JPoint, because these two have a plastic body as well as optics. The Burris has a metal body and true glass, coated optics. The Docter and Pride Fowler are made of metal and glass as well, but they come in at a much higher price point (at least $100 more) than the Burris Fastfire. Since I had a positive experience with Burris optics, I decided to give the Fastfire a try.

Pros:

-Compactness: Slim line is the name of the game! This sight is as compact as can be.

-Ruggedness: Mine happens to be mounted on a .22lr pistol via a scope mount that remains stationary. I can't say I have first hand evidence that it can take a beating, but the Fastfire was designed for centerfire pistols (to be mounted on the slide on a mount that replaces the rear sight) and is rated for 1000 Gs of force. I haven't read of anyone breaking their Burris Fastfires, and there aren't any web reports of "The Fastfire SUCKS" so I think it's good to go! While it can withstand lots of force, that force is different from impact force. We'll discuss that later. On a stationary rail, I'd say this optic would be fine on everything from a slug gun up to a .308 semi.

-Familiarity: Most red dots that we are familiar with have a 4 MOA dot. My Aimpoint Comp ML2 on my AR has the same size dot, so I am comfortable using this size dot out to a reasonable distance. The Fastfire, like the Aimpoint, is Parallax free, but only out to 50 yards. Beyond that distance, I believe the curvature of the lens comes into play and the parallax margin for error increases.

-Cost: the Burris Fastfire can be had for well under $200. Considering Burris' reputation, the materials used, and the 1 year warranty, that ain't half bad. I think you definitely get what you pay for with this sight, and THEN SOME!

-Energy Conservation: Like the rest of the MRDs, the Fastfire uses a sensor at the front of the optic to automatically read lighting conditions and adjust the brightness of the dot accordingly. I've tried it from a dark position out into the light, and the adjustment is acceptable and isn't totally washed out like the Trijicon Reflex. Unlike the other MRDs, the Fastfire has an On/Off switch so that you can turn it off completely. The other MRDs only come with a plastic cover so that the sight goes to its lowest setting, or "sleep mode."

-Usability: I'm able to do things with the Fastfire that I otherwise wouldn't be able to do with irons. I was able to hit 1/2" targets standing unsupported, firing a pistol, at 35 feet. I make no claims to be a master pistolero, so for me, that is excellent! Once you get used to it, the dot is fast to acquire, extremely easy to see, and easy to make hits with. If you use a standard red dot on any of your other firearms, the Fastfire will be easy to use, once you get used to acquiring the sight picture.

Cons:

-Water Resistance: This is NOT an Aimpoint. Then again, at half the price, you shouldn't expect it to be. The sight is NOT waterproof. The sight is screwed down into a base, which acts as the cover to the battery and electronics. There is no rubber grommet to keep out water (or your favorite cleaning liquids). Perhaps they can be made to be water resistant by creating some sort of grommet between the mount and the sight, I don't know.

-Zeroing: Quite frankly, it's a pain in the azz. You must undo the two "locks" for the windage and elevation before adjusting the point of impact. Yes, you must unlock BOTH or else the laser's adjustment doesn't take place. There are no positive clicks like on a rifle scope. They provide a plastic disc to tell you how much adjustment you need, but the supplied screwdriver doesn't fit through the hole in the disc! I don't know what that's all about. I guess that disc was made in China. All of the screws on the unit are softer than Sig Sauer grip screws. They get boogered up easily, even using the factory supplied screwdriver. Take it easy, Young Paduwan!

-Repeat Zero: See above, Water Resistance. I haven't taken off the mounted optic to test for re-zero capability, but it might work. I'm not too confident in the repeat zero of the system. if you change batteries, you have to remove the sight from the mount entirely, so you'll definitely have to re-zero after that. basically, if you're a repeat zero freak, this sight isn't for you. if you were looking at it for this purpose, you need to go ahead and pony up some more cash and get an Aimpoint in a decent mount.

-Durability of the housing: Yeah, I know you're thinking "How can durability/ruggedness be both a Pro and a Con? Well, the housing is metal. The sight can take a lot of force in regards to jarring movement. On the other hand, I think if you used this sight for some real hardcore uses, and you (let's say) smashed it into a door jamb while trying to shoulder your shotgun, you might smash the glass. The laser would still be shining on that glass, but the glass would probably be toast. LaRue Tactical sells a metal housing for all these brands of MRDs, and for this exact purpose. I'm not big on LaRue products, but only because I was in the AR game long before he came along. I never had problems with products with any of my pre-LaRue gear, so you won't see me pushing his wares. They just make a protected mount for these types of sights. That's the point.

-Sight Acquisition: The first time I shot a pistol with a MRD (a Docter to be exact), I turned to the owner and said "Is this thing on?" He told me "Yeah, just lower or tilt the gun a little bit" and then I found the dot. It was sweet! So far, about half of the people I show this sight to say "I don't see $h1t!" I tell them how to find it, and they still don't see it. To see the dots on these small red dots, you need to be squared up perfectly straight. From there, move the pistol slightly downwards until you see the dot. It's kind of tough to get used to, but that's because of the difference in sight planes. The red dot rides higher, so it's more of a heads-up type of shooting, rather than looking down the plane of the irons.

-Warranty: One year ain't that great, but it's a helluva lot better than nothing! Burris has been good in my book, so I felt fine going ahead and spending the money on trying it out. It's not exactly a HUGE risk, as it is less than $200. It won't see a whole lot of abuse, although I may eventually mount it on my Mossberg to see how it does with slug shooting. Apparently, guys are using these on their shotties and ARs, so I think it will hold up just fine.

-SHTF: The Fastfire should not be pitted against optics like the Aimpoint, EOThingy, or Trijicon. I think the optic would be fine for home defense, provided that the optic is maintained and checked for proper operation, and the batteries replaced once every year or so.


Conclusion: If you want an optic so you can go parachute from out of a F117 Nighthawk, using the hide of a freshly-skinned Bison for a parachute, only to land in the muddy mangroves of some South American hellhole, the Fastfire is guaranteed to $h1t the bed 95 times out of 100. However, if you are looking for a nice optic that won't break the bank, and that you don't expect to stand up to your Chuck Norrissian antics, the Fastfire is a sweet little optic that, like everything else in the shooting industry, has its trade-offs. Oh, and it's sweet for a little range gun!

**Sorry for the repeat pics, but I'm moving and my cams are packed up. I'm moving out of the hood like George and 'Weezie, to a de-luxe apartment...finally got a piece of the pie...**

[zipgun]

Thanks for the review. I've always liked Burris optics.

[jeepinbanditrider]

Have you used a Doctor yet? If so how does this compare to it? I've got a FACOG waiting for me at the house that has a mount on the rear that at the moment has a back up iron bolted to it but I know that Trijicon sells a doctor mount that should mount there.

[boricua9mm]

Originally Posted by jeepinbanditrider

Have you used a Doctor yet? If so how does this compare to it? I've got a FACOG waiting for me at the house that has a mount on the rear that at the moment has a back up iron bolted to it but I know that Trijicon sells a doctor mount that should mount there.

Function-wise, the Docter is nearly identical, only it doesn't have an on/off switch like the Burris. They have the same material components (metal and glass). The Burris is also over $100 cheaper. The Fastfire has the same screw mounting pattern as the Docter and the Pride Fowler. It should work just fine with that Trijicon Docter mount.

[Krackels]

Good review, thanks.

[rupert]

I have a browning .22 like that and was wondering where you got that rail mount?

[jeepinbanditrider]

Sweet looks like I know what I'm getting for my FACOG this year

[boricua9mm]

Originally Posted by rupert

I have a browning .22 like that and was wondering where you got that rail mount?

The Mount is from Tactical Solutions. I got the one with the integrated rear sight(adjustable). They also sell one w/o the rear sight and it's much cheaper. I liked the idea of still being able to shoot irons without having to switch back to the factory top strap.

http://www.tacticalsol.com

[kc8ykd]

Thanks for the through review !!

-Chris