Vortex Venom or Burris Fastfire 3 for P226 9mm ?

DarkSkyx

DarkSkyx

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My crappy USM Fab Defense bridge mount crapped out - threads stripped.

I ordered a Cadex red dot mount that slides into my rear site dovetail. Now I just have to decide on an optic.

I'm *not* spending more than $400. Don't have the cash. Don't shoot enough to justify it.

So far I've narrowed it down to a Vortex Venom or Burris Fastfire 3. The Venom has 2 has marks on the back of it to align with your front site in case of red dot failure, the Burris has a single middle hash mark. Other than that I would assume they function the same (as almost every red dot does).

Can anyone comment on reliability? Warranty's (that are valid in Canada of course - as US restricts exports of optics).

Or is it mostly just to do with what company/brand I want to associate with most.

Any other suggestions in the $350 price range?

Thanks in advance!
 
Anyone??? My mounting plate will be here soon and I'd like to get some opinions.

Nobody on here use either of these two red dots?
 
I'd say stick with something from Vortex in the event it needs to be sent back for service. They are great to deal with and no need to ship across the border. I have 1 Razor and 2 Vipers that still run as good as the day I bought them.
 
I will go with vortex viper red dot since it sits lower might line up with your front iron sight better as reference point. I have both venom and viper :) Venom is on my tactical shotgun now and Viper is still sitting on my PPQ Q5
 
I like my Venom, no you can't import from the states if you run it across and send it in for warranty expect to get an itar phone call. Does the base mount fit the Venom (they have a proprietary base far as I know). I've used it on my shotguns, 9mm and 308 no issues so far except red dot brightness seems to be skipping extra levels when button pushing, might be the first vortex I ever send in. Talk to the guys at NAS they have great pricing and might have a 2016 demo if money is an issue.
 
I had it narrowed down to those two choices myself. After scouring the internet for reviews, I decided on the Burris. Far too many of the Vortex reviews extolled their no-questions-asked warranty after their Vortex product crapped out instead of talking about how bullet proof it was in the first place (Burris has a similar no questions warranty policy now too). You can find negative reviews of any product and the Fastfire 2 & 3 have their share too I'm sure, but I also have a Burris Fullfield that I like a lot, so opted to stay with Burris.
 
canthitathing said:
I had it narrowed down to those two choices myself. After scouring the internet for reviews, I decided on the Burris. Far too many of the Vortex reviews extolled their no-questions-asked warranty after their Vortex product crapped out instead of talking about how bullet proof it was in the first place (Burris has a similar no questions warranty policy now too). You can find negative reviews of any product and the Fastfire 2 & 3 have their share too I'm sure, but I also have a Burris Fullfield that I like a lot, so opted to stay with Burris.
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This^^^

I have returned my Optics twice, yes great warranty but, why the continued failures on the identical piece of hardware? My one Burris seems like a well made product.
 
I think you made a good call. I have 3 Fastfire 3's on handguns that are all regular shooters and none have crapped out yet in a couple of years of fairly frequent (weekly) range trips. I also have a Vortex Razor red dot which is excellent, but costs North of $500. I think that your concerns about the quality and reliability of the lesser Vortex product lines (Venom, Viper) are well-founded. Good call on the Burris, although ì must say that their windage and elevation adjustment screws are less precise/predictable than other brands. You may find otherwise...
 
I have the Venom on a 226 slide with a Cadex adapter. Only had it out on the range about 4x and it's still holding zero. Knock on wood.
 
I use the Vortex Venom on my CZ Shadow 9mm, Kimber TLE RL ii .45, and Benelli M4 12ga.
Never had any issues with them. Good stuff IMO.
 
haha, I'm more undecided now than before :) Praises for both.

I *think* both the Vortex Venom and Burris Fastfire 3 use 'standard' mounting points. Trinimon above ^^ says the Venom works fine on the Cadex mount. GRR... hmm...

Well Al Flaherty's said they'd take a return within 7 days, and as long as it hadn't been mounted, scratched, etc etc. I've spent thousands and thousands ordering from them before (JR Carbine, S&W 686, Sig P226 Elite, accessories...) but have never had to use their return process.

In the past 48hrs I've kind of had my mind made up on going with the Burris. It's basically aesthetics. Not a huge fan of the big white lettering/logo and I prefer the sleek look of the Burris.

I'll wait for my Cadex mount to arrive and make sure it's ok, order the Burris from Al Flaherty's (in Toronto), once I get that I'll just make sure that the holes in the Burris line up with the mounting screw holes on the mounting plate. If not, I'll return it and get the Venom. http://www.alflahertys.com/products...ire-iii-with-picatinny-mount-3-moa-dot-300234

Bullseye London (who I order reloading supplies from regularly) has it with free shipping :) http://www.bullseyelondon.com/vorte...-1x-3-moa-dot-with-picatinny-mount-matte.html

Bwah... with the red dot + shipping + mounting plate + shipping this is going to put me over $500. All because of a stripped thread in a USM Fab Defense bridge mount. GRR! :p
 
Did you check the eek? There are a few red dots on there and it would have kept you under your initial $400 you were hoping for.
 
Burris FF & Vortex venom have the same foot print. (mounting plate). I have a venom on my cz shadow (1) with over 6000 rds thru it. I believe you can't go wrong with either.
 
skoal said:
Did you check the eek? There are a few red dots on there and it would have kept you under your initial $400 you were hoping for.
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No actually - but I'm looking to buy new. Plus I don't think I have access to those subforums. :(

snooker said:
Burris FF & Vortex venom have the same foot print. (mounting plate). I have a venom on my cz shadow (1) with over 6000 rds thru it. I believe you can't go wrong with either.
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Thanks! I just ordered the Burris from Al Flaherty's. $420 with tax + $20 shipping. Grr. :(
 
I have both sights, And i prefer the vortex venom. I like how the glass bows out on the vortex. Gimme till tomorow and i will post pics.

The venom has nice side controls, and the battery is up top so you dont have to remove it to replace the battery. I would buy another venom over the burris.
 
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DarkSkyx said:
haha, I'm more undecided now than before :) Praises for both.
I *think* both the Vortex Venom and Burris Fastfire 3 use 'standard' mounting points. Trinimon above ^^ says the Venom works fine on the Cadex mount. GRR... hmm...
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One thing I should point out just so you're aware, the Cadex adapter uses metric screws. Not sure if the screws that come with the FF is metric or imperial. I believe I had to buy some M3 (can't recall the length) cap screws and washers to mount my Venom to the Cadex base.
 
Like i said, I prefer to wider window on the Venom. Also Really like the side controls and the top battery compartment.

fhDfng3.jpg

Vortex Venom


Ky4l8fd.jpg

Burris FastFire 1
 
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Trinimon said:
One thing I should point out just so you're aware, the Cadex adapter uses metric screws. Not sure if the screws that come with the FF is metric or imperial. I believe I had to buy some M3 (can't recall the length) cap screws and washers to mount my Venom to the Cadex base.
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Ok, I need screws then.

The mounting screws the come with the Burris Fastfire 3 are too big to fit into the threads of the Cadex mount.

The dovetail part that fits into the P226 rear sight was put in (shiny stainless metal piece), the Cadex mount fits onto that and holds it tight in the dovetail with the 2 screws that come with the Cadex mount.

From there I put my Fastfire 3 onto the Cadex mount - fits perfectly with the 4 posts on the corners. The mounting holes line up perfectly. But the problem is 2 the Burris red dot mounting screws don't fit into the holes of the Cadex mount.

Do you recall where you got the screws from? On Amazon it seems you can only get packages of like 300 screws, and they all seem too long.

I measured the screws that came with the Burris red dot - they're 8.40mm long including screw head. The thread part alone looks to be about 6mm. When dealing with screw length, does it include the screw head in the length?

Edit: Ok, looks like screw length is just the threads to the base of the head (therefore, does NOT include the head in the length): https://www.google.ca/search?q=do+screw+lengths+include+the+head

Pan1.jpg
 
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Trinimon said:
I bought my screws from an RC shop. I believe they were M3x8. Sorry, don't have the pack in front of me.
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Find a shop open today that sells M3 screws. They were like 20mm long though so I hate to cut them with the Dremel. Repeatedly.... (they kept bottoming out on my slide). Got it done though. (there's a photo below with IMG tags around it but for whatever reason, it's not showing. Link is here: http://www.imagebam.com/image/9896b2536223456 and here: http://www.imagebam.com/image/ec5d8f536223811

9896b2536223456]
 
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