Burris fast fire 3

Has anybody used a ff3 or similar set up in the rear sight cut out for bullseye? If so what is your opinion of this setup?

I do not nor plan to shoot competitively.   I've got an FF3 3MOA mounted on my 5"RO9 and love to shoot bullseye mainly for the fun of seeing how well I can group with many variations of handloads.

   That said, I would have mounted a tube type red dot if I was serious about it.  I mounted an FF3 to get away from drilling my slide and tuning it to accommodate the weight of the sight.   The dot in a tube type is more defined, has better zero adjustments and more intensity adjustments for the same price.  Maybe you can get that by spending 500 to $800 on a really good mini-red dot.  I've got an Ultradot Micro 28mm 2MOA on my S&W 986 and I think it is much easier sight the target because the dot doesn't look "starry".   I still like the FF3 and can do 8 of 10 rounds in sub-inch groups at 25 yards on my infrequent good days.  Hope this helps.

There are several of us that use this set up on our S&W Model 52's and really like it*.  It's a good way to convert the soft shooting M52 to optics.  

I've seen a few on 1911's but most have since been replaced with tube style optics.

There is usually some parallax in the holographic sights, not so with quality tube optics.  I believe you will inherently shoot a tube style optic better simply because your eye will try and line up the circles, that's why keeping the dot centered in the tube will improve your scores.  

- Dave
Well one of us has had cycling problems, his gun has very few rounds through it and a very tight slide.

I've used a Burris FF3 3 moa on a CZ P-09, 75B, P-07, and on my current centerfire pistol, a CZ-97B.  The one that has the most rounds through it is the P-09 that I shot in matches in 2014.  I bought a new sight and a Springer Precision mount for the 97 in early 2015 and put it all together and shot in in 2015 and early 2016.  I bought a third FF3 and mounted it first on the 75B 9mm slide and then a P-07 slide for the last two months. 

No problems with any of the sights.  I run them on the lowest power setting to get the crispest dot.  I've won a lot of (local) matches and used the sight out to 200 yards on the P-09. 

Yes, I like the optics of the Ultradot Micro HD that I have on my Kadet more.  Yes, I might mill the slides for the reflex red dots in the future.  But, with somewhere close to 20k rounds experience on slide mounted centerfire guns and no problems, I have no problem recommending the Burris FF3, even for a bullseye gun.  It is a good choice at a good price, in my opinion.  

You DO have make sure that dovetail mount is very tight, even shim it if you have to, and use blue loctite on every screw.  Other than that, blast away. 

Joe

Other considerations with any open reflex style sight are the effects of rain (some firing lines are right out in the open), glare (you have no tube shielding the light from any direction), and you have no way to hang a polarizer on it for an extremely bright day.  I used an Ultradot reflex for a while slide mounted in a mount I milled myself to fit the rear sight cut.  It held up fine, but I decided I didn't like it as well as a tube and moved on to something else.

The Burris comes with a slip on attachment, which is almost tubelike, with an amber lens, I believe, that can also provide some rain protection.  I haven't tried it on a really bright day, but should.  Perhaps the other reflex type sights come with a similar contraption.  I remember not liking the additional distortion from the extra surfaces the one or two times I tried it. 

Joe

I use one on both my Range Officer and on my Marvel 22. I have no issues with light conditions. I always use the auto setting and it adjusts to the light conditions. I have had it mounted on my RO using a mount that is in the rear cut. I like the set-up except the mount I am using is held in by one set screw. Even with lock tight, it eventually comes loose, usually at an important match. I am having a rail put on and will mount it in the rear using a weaver style mount.

While I am a Sharpshooter, I have shooting expert and better scores with the Marvel and the FF3. My 45 scores aren't as good yet, but I don't think it's the sight.

BTW, the hood cover can be left of when shooting. While it works on the Marvel as the sight doesn't move, the cover will not stay on when slide mounted, at least in my experience.

Is there somebody out there that would mill the slide on a range officer to accept a ff3? And at what cost?

There is no reason to mill it. There is a mount available, though not from Burris, to accommodate the RO.

Where can I get one to fit?

Weber

I'd add some additional set screws to your mount. I did not his to a similar mount for my wife's 52. Stays tight now

Jake1911 wrote:Where can I get one to fit?

EGW has an LPA dovetail for Jpoint that will fit your RO.   Jpoint has an adapter that will fit Docter which has the same pattern as FF3.  Jpoint also has a 1-degree shim that you'll need to keep elevation zero near the center of adjustment, thick edge to the rear.  The EGW mount has 6-32 mounting holes and you will need longer screws than the 6-48's provided by Burris.  I used Allen button heads and haven't had to adjust zero in nearly 2000 rounds.  Make sure you blue Loctite the mounting screws or they may loosen from the recoil.  The total cost should be around $60 if you do your own work.