Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Burris Fast Fire

Anyone running one on a levergun? I’d love to see some pictures and hear how they’ve held up and how accurate you are able to be with them. Thinking it would be slick on a pistol caliber lever.

This is a post I made on this subject in Feb. 2015:


Had one on an 1894 Trapper and have mounted it on a 336 as well. The mount for this overhangs the back of the aciton on an 1894 which is why it's attached to the front mounting holes, but on a 336 it sits pretty much flush with the back of the action.





I've written a couple of opinions on it's use if you want to read those. Note these comments are about the older Fastfire II.

Post on Burris Fastfire from 2011

Another post on Burris Fastfire from 2011

Thanks Jim

I have one on my M71 and like it a bunch.

How are they in low light ? I have a red dot on a shotgun and naturally you can see the dot in low light situations but the target not so much.

I have had a Burris FF II, FF III, and Vortex Venom on my .45-70.

The FF II was somewhat hard to zero, and you had to take the sight loose from the mount to change the battery. The FF III addressed those issues, but when on "auto" it would time out after 10 hours and cut itself off. The Venom has a 14 hour window, and that will get me through a whole day without cutting off in the afternoon.

I am of the opinion that there is no faster sight for a woods gun where one may be engaging moving targets than a red dot.

I have an EGW rail on my GG, and the Venom is mounted on an American Defense QD mount, and I also have a Leupold VX-3i 1.5-5X20 in QD rings. Changing the sighting system presents no issue given the range that rifle is typically used at.

A pic with the FF II and a Marlin Mount. The FF III and Venom are very similar in appearance and size.

Here's my Browning 65 218 Bee with a fastfire 111 on the Williams 5D sight base. Fastfire matched the Williams screw pattern. Works very well.

That oughta give you some more elevation, a lever version of the 20 moa rail...(grin)

Here's my Guide gun with the VX3i in QD rings.

Gotta get a set of those stocks....every time I see yours I’m reminded of how crappy the standard guide gun wood is.

The higher comb helped tremendously with recoil. That, and keeping loads at a reasonable level.....

The thinner fore arm is what I’m after

Sorry if you have mentioned this before but is that a Boyd's stock set? I am interested in a higher comb on my Guide Gun for scope use but can't tell from the Boyd's specifications. The thinner forearm would also be an advantage.

What mount is that? Nice clean installation.

Hello Vic,

Could you elaborate on the Marlin mount. The brand and the source?

Thanks

JSH, that stock set is a Brockman's Rifles set. It was not so bad when I bought them, but they have gotten *really* proud of them lately.

Woodswalker, the mount I used with the FF II is made by Burris, for the Marlin 336. The rifle now has an EGW rail, and I use an American Defense QD mount with the red dot I presently use (a Viper Venom), and can readily change to a 1.5-5X20 Leupold VX-3i mounted in QD mounts. Zero shift is negligible, especially considering the longest shot I will take is 100 yards (that's the range I zero at). The longest actual field shot at game has been 60 yards.

The Venom has the same footprint as the FastFire, and it has a feature I liked. I didn't switch due to a performance issue.

I have the Williams FP on mine but am looking at that the Burris for mine. What's the mount you put on yours?

Doug Turnbull's mount.

I’ve run them on 444’s and others with no problem. I was even running one on the 444 I had pictured in the optics thread that I replaced with a Leupold Freedom.

The Fastfire III is pretty good, I wouldn’t spend a penny more for a hunting rig.

The problem I had with them is they frankly didn’t work as good for me as a high-viz green front and a Skinner dovetail ghost rear.

Your quest sounds familiar to many of us I’m sure. I love an unscoped levergun and if looking for a “dot”, simple is better.

Probably the most utilitarian option for a Marlin I’ve ever found is the sight set I mentioned with weaver #S466 bases on the receiver. You can put a scope in Leupold QRW’s, sight it in, and keep the scope in your backpack. It returns to zero perfectly and mounts in seconds.

Turnbull makes a cool mount for the Fastfire that fits right in the rear sight dovetail. No extra holes, can go right back to original.

Looks like it keeps the sight nice and low as well.

https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/fastfire-barrel-mount-model-1892-1894/