Burris FastFire or other mount on a Bullseye gun

Hi, I don't live near any good gunsmiths and having a slide mount installed on a 1911 would require me to ship the gun.  I'm thinking of getting a S/A Range Officer and getting a Burris FastFire to install in the rear sight dovetail.  Would a Burris FastFire be good enough for Bullseye?

I've used a Burris FastFire2 for bullseye on my 1911.  It is adequate.
 
The only negative is the elevation and windage adjustments are not set up for regular adjustments, and they have these lock screws that you can't forget about.
 
I say that is a good way to get started.  It's how I got started also!

The other thing about the burris that needs to be mentioned is there isn't a manual brightness adjustment.  It adjusts automatically.  Whatever photocell they used for that always worked well for me.  the dot was always the right brightness.

The optic quality was very good also.  the dot was perfectly round and crisp--never blurry.

I eventually switched to slide mounted 1" ultradot.  It's easier for me to recover from recoil with a tube type sight.

There is something that will work better, buy the aimtech mount, add a piece of grip tape to the right side and put a ultra dot and it will take you to high master if you have the talent. Its as close to a slide or frame mount as you can get, and these mount very securely and are easy to remove, uses existing mounting points nothing on the gun is altered.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/475978/aimtech-base-1911-government-commander-matte

Something looks really wrong with that picture.    I would hope the mount attaches to the left side of the gun, and does not cover the ejection port.

Schaumannk wrote:Something looks really wrong with that picture.    I would hope the mount attaches to the left side of the gun, and does not cover the ejection port.

 When the slide cycles back; the ejection port clears the back of the mount.  This mount looks good, but in reality it flexes too much to be stable and it's grip screw mounting points are too weak for the long haul.

Jim

I have frame mounts on my gun.  

  I understand what you are saying, but still think a frame mount needs to be attached to the left side of the gun.  
When everything is working perfectly, the cases may very well clear the mount,  but I would think that cold weather, light loads,  slightly dirty gun, would increase the chances of alibis significantly.

Schaumannk wrote:I have frame mounts on my gun.  

  I understand what you are saying, but still think a frame mount needs to be attached to the left side of the gun.  
When everything is working perfectly, the cases may very well clear the mount,  but I would think that cold weather, light loads,  slightly dirty gun, would increase the chances of alibis significantly.

I can't argue with what you are saying (typing).  Basically; it is a poor design executed poorly.  I monkeyed around with, and abandoned, a variation of this mount forty years ago.  There are better ways of going.

Installing a slide mount requires the original poster to only ship off his slide, not the whole pistol.

Jim

Ive used and own one of these, The Aimtech mounts are sturdy, 40 years ago the one you used would have been a NPC and yes they are weak only mounting to the grip screws, these mount off the grip screws, a longer provided mainspring pin, hammer pin and the slide stop, 4 points and shooting light bullseye loads they are plenty solid. And they do not interfere with ejection, but as said this was just an alternative to mounting a dot the correct way since the OP said he had no way to get that done at the present time.

I had a leupold version of the grip mount. It worked well enough. It did mount in four locations and was pretty sturdy. But I hated that it replaced my right grip. It made for a small grip. I need a bigger grip for my bear paws.

Mark_Trulock wrote:Hi, I don't live near any good gunsmiths and having a slide mount installed on a 1911 would require me to ship the gun.  I'm thinking of getting a S/A Range Officer and getting a Burris FastFire to install in the rear sight dovetail.  Would a Burris FastFire be good enough for Bullseye?

The newer FastFire III has a 3 MOA dot, windage and elevation adjustments no longer require a special tool, three levels of brightness and still has the automatic brightness setting.

Ultra Dot L/T has a lifetime warranty, 4 MOA dot, the windage and elevation require a tool, brightness levels are automatic.

Either would work well.

Thanks for your help.  I'm undecided on which route I will take, but looking forward to getting a new gun. 

Thanks

Mark

I agree with David R about the Aimtech grip mount.  I tried that also on one of my early 1911s and it worked great.  I only used the grip screws and omitted the other screws that came with it.  No problems at all.

I have used an Aimtech mount in competition and had no problems with it. I keep it now because sometimes a new 1911 follows me home and I want to be able to shoot it right away from the 50 yard line

I have went thru all this "starting out with" strategy and it will cost time, money, and points, if you are not careful.
Here's a thought for this situation; try to find a machine shop in your area, likely a small operation or maybe someone with a a few machine tools used as a hobby. Get a good description of what is needed and if you find a willing machinist order the slide mount offered by Clark Custom and it is easily installed, maybe for the cost of shipping your slide.

I would mention the slide could be hard and quality bits are needed however this is no problem for a competent guy. I wouldn't advise having a guy like I describe above do any thing to a gun that is pistol smithing! The slide mount installation is pretty straight forward in my opinion.

I might add that that when obtaining a pistol that is not super tightly fitted slide to frame it weights the decision more in favor of the slide mount. You have a better chance of the same relationship of sight to barrel shot to shot than w/ the frame mount. That is of course unless you have a frame mount done as Jerry illustrates and describes above. But you are then back to shipping.

Ron

I don't agree with Colt 711.  Just do what you want--the risk isn't significant.  You will know if how those optics/mounts work for you right away.  I sold my fast fire and all of those other mounts for pretty close to what I paid for them, and like sixftunda said, having them gives you some flexibility even if you decide to have a permanent mount installed on your gun when you find someone that you feel comfortable with to do that work for you.

For the record, I now use a 1" UltraDot on a Leutenegger Slide Mount--Call me crazy, but I like the feel of that stuff moving during recoil.  I don't use a 30mm or adjustable dot to keep weight down (and I don't like the "big window" to let me see more stuff that might distract me)
If you go with the Aimtech, I recommend the Ultradot.  You can always use that on whatever permanent mount you upgrade to.

Oh, and the Aimtech creates a similar operating feel to the frame mount.  It also creates the difficulty in operating the slide or clearing a malfunction that comes with a frame mounted optic.  It's that difficulty that made me try the slide mount--and that's what I prefer now.

The other angle to consider is that Brian Zins recommends that shooters who eventually want to shoot distinguished should use the dot on the .22 and irons on the .45.

In Rob's post he advises you to choose the system you prefer. Good advice. I was remiss in not making it plain that my recommendation was an avenue to obtain the slide mount IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT. I used the slide mounts for the reasons stated, but mostly because the AMU & the Canton shooters were all doing so when I went to the dots.

Rob also quotes Brin Zins re: using 22 w/ the dot & 45 w/ irons. Another viable course. Jerry Neal, a perennial Ohio State Champ, was in the latter stages of his shooting career when the dots appeared. I've heard him state on several occasions "the dots are good training aids" meaning you could do well mixing the 2 variations

I shot an SA RO or whatever it is called at the range yesterday and it is a nice pistol. This particular example needed a bit of trigger work and I would test it for 50 yds just so I didn't blame the wrong thing. It was outfitted w/ sights that are BoMar type, a 3 hole aluminum NM trigger, and had checkering fore & aft. The owner stated he paid $750 American for it.

Bullseye is a great sport. Right now you are experiencing a phase of that enjoyment; planning, questioning, and evaluating the results on the practice line and at matches.

 Keep your eye on the front sight/dot and keep pressure on the trigger!
Ron