A few weeks ago we took a look at the Swampfox Justice pistol optic. In that review, I said that it was a good optic at a good price, but I wasn't ready just yet to call it good enough to put on my carry weapon and trust my life to it. That got me thinking: why not find out?
No reason not to, so I ordered up this combo from Brownells for testing.
Some background in case you may have missed the blog post (or YouTube video!): I purchased the Justice a few years ago because I was looking for an optic to put on my P80 build. Since the weapon was always meant to be a range toy, ruggedness and the ability to take a beating was further down on my list of priorities vs being able to hold zero, have a wide and clear window, and to basically look good when sitting on the weapon. I settled on the Justice because it offered many of the features that I had come to love with my Holosun optics such as shake awake and the ability to change the battery without having to unmount the optic, while coming in at an even lower price point than the Holosun 407C. (It also helped that I could find it in an FDE color that matched my frame....because aesthetics) .
Fast forward a few years and the Justice has served me admirably for its assigned task. It has held zero perfectly through both live fire and dry fire, and has never failed on me in any way. My only very small nit to pick is that the glass has a very slight tint of blue to it, which matters not one whit when you're shooting.
So then why am I so hesitant to say I'd trust my life to it? When I sat down and thought about it, I could not honestly find a reason why. So I decided to call my own bluff, so to speak. I ordered up a green-dot Justice from Brownells, and decided to put it on a defensive gun. I would mount it, zero it, run it through at least 500 rounds, and then use it as my home defense weapon for some time and see if it could continue to do everything that the Holosun did, but this time in a "serious" environment instead of just on a range toy.
That brings us to today, and a nice little package from Brownells. Opening it up we find the Justice in the same 3MOA dot reticle, but this time with a green dot instead of red. I've read that green dots are bothe easier for the eye to acquire and consume less battery life, and I figured I would try it out. It's also got a black body instead of the FDE one on the P80. Otherwise the Justice is identical to the Justice I already have: same battery, same shake awake feature, same top-loading battery tray, same 27mm wide viewing window.
The second item in the Brownells box is also interesting: the Ironsides "shield" for the Justice. This is a protective cage that goes around the Justice, and protects the unit from damage and adds to its durability. I wanted to add this because in a more serious defense role, the Justice will regularly be subjected to bumps/hits/being racked off of different surfaces (as the Holosun is) and thought that since Swampfox offers the added protection, I would take it.
Pulling it out of the box, the Ironsides appears to be a single piece of stamped steel, 1.1mm thick, which is then folded into the correct shape to fit snugly around the Justice. Of note is the small lip that extends from the top/front of the Ironsides which offers some extra protection for the glass as well as a handy place to manipulate from.
Mounting the Justice/Ironsides to a weapon is super easy; the Justice slides into the Ironsides, and the whole thing sits onto the slide or mounting plate as one unit. Screw them down, torque to spec, and you're ready to rock.
I've got the Justice/Ironsides combo mounted on a new weapon too that will be revealed in the near future. As of now, they have gone through 200 rounds of "break in" testing with no problems. Further updates to come, so keep an eye on this space!
That's all I've got for you this time. Until next time, stay safe!