The Burris FastFire III is one of the best mini red dot sights on the market.
It’s lightweight yet versatile and can be used on multiple firearms, or mounted on magnified optics for a close-range option using Burris-supplied mounting screws with a Picatinny mount.
I saw the Burris FastFire III 3 MOA dot reflex sight at the gun store, looked at the price, and I couldn’t say no.
The clear picture and ease of use make it ideal for competition shooters, hunters, firearms enthusiasts, and even home defense.
I own other Burris Fastfire III red dot sights (Burris 332 and 536), but the FastFire III red dot on a Picatinny mount is my all-time favorite.
Why? Keep scrolling…
Glass Clarity & Reticle
The Burris FastFire III glass is incredibly bright and clear.
The lens is coated with index-matched Hi Loom multi-coating to eliminate glare and provide a high level of performance in low light.
This reflex sight on a Picatinny mount comes with either a 3 MOA dot or an 8 MOA size red dot depending on the shooter’s preference.
Unfortunately, if your eyes get tired easily or you suffer from astigmatism, you might experience seeing a sunburst, flare, or a ragged shape.
In that case, I highly recommend checking out Vortex’s red dot sights, especially if you’re not fond of wearing corrective lenses.
The Burris Fastfire III red dot comes with four automatic brightness sensor settings. The sensor will automatically adjust the brightness, depending on the ambient light conditions around you.
If that doesn’t work, you can manually cycle between three levels of brightness using the same button.
Eye Relief & Eye Box
The Burris FastFire III red dot sight has unlimited eye relief.
I can comfortably shoot with both eyes open.
The 3 MOA dot reflex sight does have a smaller viewing window compared to other red dot sights like the Vortex Venom. Speaking of which, I wrote a comparison review between the Burris Fastfire 3 and Vortex Venom.
But that’s not a deal-breaker when you weigh in all its other great features.
This brings me to my next point…
Durability
The Fastfire 3 red dot is lightweight yet extremely durable.
It’s crafted to resist recoil and is 100% waterproof, thanks to its high-grade aluminum housing and steel construction. I’ve tried it with a Picatinny mount on a 9mm, 40mm, 45mm, carbine, .308, 30-06, and a shotgun.
Trust me when I tell you: it didn’t budge, especially on the Picatinny mount.
This primary sight has a very small profile compared to others in the MRDS class but it performs great with a Picatinny mount and makes it easy for me to store it in my rifle case.
The Burris FastFire III 3 MOA dot reflex sight’s battery life is great for the price. The single CR1632 battery is rated to last 5000 hours at the max brightness.
The battery does have an auto-shutoff feature at 8 hours. It’s not a big deal, just something to keep in mind if you’re using this 3 MOA dot reflex sight for defense.
Motion sensing “shake awake” would have been a nice addition here, but as the saying goes: you can’t always have it all.
If the battery falls below 4 hours remaining, the unmistakable red dot will begin to blink twice every 5 seconds.
It’s easy enough to replace thanks to the battery cap on the top. This spares me the headache of having to dismount the 3 MOA dot reflex sight and disturb my zero to replace the battery.
It can be a struggle to get the cap threaded with the battery access inside. It appears the battery compartment is too thick, or the thread is too thin to close the cap tightly.
I find it works best when I put my finger on the cap as I screw it in. You can use a coin or a screwdriver to tighten. Be careful since it can easily cross-thread.
Elevation & Windage Knobs
The adjustment knobs produce solid, audible clicks on a Picatinny mount.
Windage and elevation adjustments for the FastFire 3 reflex sight are one MOA per click with an elevation adjustment range of +-115 MOA and a windage adjustment range of +-86 MOA.
This made it easy for me to hit targets with more pin point accuracy at a variety of distances.
I mounted the FastFire red dot sight on my Glock Model 40 10mm with a Picatinny mount and had no problems zeroing the reflex sight.
No flickers and no loss of zero, even when I carried it concealed and undoubtedly bumped the optic.
Parallax & Magnification
The Burris FastFire III comes with a 1x fixed magnification.
You can always use a magnifier behind it but the bright red dot sight itself will expand, likely covering a significant portion of your target. In this case, you might want to look into holographic sights, like the EOTECH EXPS models.
Like most red dot optics, the FastFire III 3 MOA dot reflex sight makes fast target acquisition parallax-free.
Mounting & Rings
The Burris FastFire III comes with exceptionally versatile mounting options.
It’s available with an optional Picatinny mount for standard rail systems and can mount to virtually any other firearm. Here’s a quick video showing you how to mount it to a Glock 19:
The box also comes with a screwdriver, protecting cap, Torx wrench, adjusting disc, battery, and warranty packet as well.
Price
The Burris FastFire III is an affordable 3 MOA dot reflex sight that delivers impressive results with fast target acquisition. In fact, it’s comparable with the Trijicon RMR.
- New! Red Dot Rifle Firearm Sight - Ready When You Are!
Is the Burris Fastfire 3 Reflex Sight for you?
If you’re looking for a high-quality red dot that will do everything you need it to, then you can’t go wrong with the Burris FastFire III red dot.
Here’s why: it’s got…
- Great eye relief
- Variable 3 MOA dot or 8 MOA
- Long-lasting battery
- Hi-Loom multi-coated lens
- Waterproof and shockproof build
- Auto-off battery feature after 8 hours
On top of that:
Burris’ “Forever Warranty” ensures that you get fully transferable lifetime service for your 3 MOA dot reflex sight.
So if you run into any problems, they’ll either replace or repair it at no charge, with no warranty card or receipt required.
- New! Red Dot Rifle Firearm Sight - Ready When You Are!
Finally:
If you’re looking for other affordable red dot options to put on a Picatinny mount, go check out my Sig Romeo 5 vs. Vortex Sparc AR review!
Now It’s Your Turn
I hope you enjoyed my Burris Fastfire III review.
Now I want to turn it over to you:
What do you think about the Fastfire 3? Or perhaps you already bought it and would like to share your thoughts.
Either way, let me know by leaving a quick comment down below.
I just ordered one according to the review. I can let you know. Thank you for what you do!!!!
I own 3 Burris red dots and have not experienced any problems since my first purchase many years ago. Florida humidity has not been an issue. Great red dot with great price.
This Sight is Awesome. The only drawback is battery installation. You can muck it up if you are not careful and if you force it you may be done cross threading is highly possible. I had to be very careful to get the threads to engage keeping the cap super flat but finally got it. Mounted it on a Henry Golden Boy 22. Super Fast acquisition on running game. I can see why they use a sight like this on driven hogs.
have mine mounted on a rossi R92 in 44mag. great little sight and i plan to add others for handguns. only problem i have, if it really is a problem, is its a bit difficult for my big fingers to turn the sight on/off and also cycle brightness. just would have liked a more protruding on/off switch. I still love it!
Agree with Bill switch. Overall very happy sighting is easy.
kimber said it wont work on camp guard 10
Put one on RIA 1911 10mm on a dovetail mount A bit of a learning curve for sight acquisition but my groups were cut in half. It’s also great for tired old eyes. Sitting on the slide of a 10mm it takes a pounding but hasn’t budged or lost zero. It’s as good or better than anything out there at an unbeatable price and the best warranty out there.
My question. How long is the picatinny rail that is sold with this sight. I want to put on my 3″ Stoeger 3020 20ga. They say there isn’t a lot of metal in the area to mount the rail. But I did watch a video of this gun with this sight mounted as far back on the receiver as they could get it and worked out very well. But the picatinny rail was no longer than the Burris Fast Flite III itself. So a short rail like that has to have two screws to hold it on. Please can you help, Henry
hard to turn it on it needs a bigger switch
How do you keep the Burris Red Dot. Fast Fire III Protective cover from recoil shaking it loose and interfering when shooting. I consider taping a screw glue my 92x has a tony plate in rear sight looks much better with cover on it but when I used to shoot it the see thru cover works it’s self loose and interfering with sight picture.
can’t override the auto shut off , useless if your in a rush