Crimson Trace Laser Grips Good Bag and ugly.

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Post your lasergrip experiences here please. For any model Gun. Round counts with grips would be helpful.

[JDB]

Post your lasergrip experiences here please. For any model Gun. Round counts with grips would be helpful.

Had one on an M&P9 FS for years. Probably 12,000 rounds. I still works. Oddly, it doesn't seem to be as bright as the one on my BHP. It was used heavily, mostly in dry fire. Sometimes it would turn it self on just from a ton of draws.

Really wished the M&P9 was a better gun, because that was a great set up. I've made shots quicker/more accurate than I could have otherwise. It was like cheating doing an IDPA classifier with it, for some stages anyway. Like 2 each headshots. Low light shooting was a breeze.

Anyway, I really liked it, wish there was a good way to run them on a P30.

[rd62]

I've had a set on my S&W 442 for the last year. So far so good. I've found them an asset when practicing in low light. They've held up well so far and have had no negative effect either on the ability to conceal or draw the little revolver from a pocket. I don't have enough time rounds on them to speak to long term durability but I like the setup so far.

[BN]

Oddly, it doesn't seem to be as bright as the one on my BHP.

I have a set on a 442 that didn't seem to be as bright as a set I have on a Glock. I cleaned the lens on the 442 and now it's bright. :)

[idahojess]

I've had an LG 305, LG 405's and an LG 105 on my j frames. The 305 is a good belt gun option. I have the 305 on my 642 right now, but I don't really carry it much. Easy to shoot.
The first LG 405 I had came apart after a couple of years. I tried the LG 105 (hard plastic) for about 3 months, but I really didn't like the angle of it, so I got a new LG 405 about a year ago. It works for me, and has a good recoil pad in the back (I wish the pad went a little higher). I haven't noticed any falling apart on it yet, but we'll see after a couple of years.
None of these are real round-count guns. I shoot them, but the wear on the 405 is more from in and out of the pocket.

[Chuck Haggard]

I really like the 305s for the J frames, I have three sets. My oldest set appears to be crapping out on my right now, laser has gotten very dim. My 405s have fallen apart. I've seen that happen to several examples. I wouldn't recommend the 405s at this point.

I have another set on my Ruger LCR, to new to say yet, but they seem to be solid.

[taadski]

For you guys having issues with the rubber portions of the 405s peeling away, send em back to CTC. I've had the same thing happen twice (3 times?) and they've put new brand new ones in the mail each time.

I've had a bunch of their products over the years. For a number of different pistols; an issued 228, a few 226s, my BUG 239 and several of the j-frame versions. I've sent them back a bunch for a gamut of issues; a battery contact coming loose (twice), the rubber peeling (2 or 3 times), a windage adjustment sticking (once), etc… Crimson Trace has always been awesome to deal with and has had them replaced in days. Super good CS. And probably more importantly, I personally haven't had any wandering zero issues with mine except for when loose grip screws were to blame.

Anyway, I've kinda moved away from them these days, preferring the grip and texture associated with a good stipple job and the trimness of more standard stocks instead. That said, I think lasers can be a very helpful tool and if I could find a pair that didn't add so much thickness to my carry pistol (226), I'd be back in bed with them quickly, despite some of the issues. FWIW.


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[idahojess]

For you guys having issues with the rubber portions of the 405s peeling away, send em back to CTC. I've had the same thing happen twice (3 times?) and they've put new brand new ones in the mail each time.



Thanks, good to know. I did contact them in 2014 before I got new sets. They asked me to call them, and when I did, they told me to ship them in. The grips were out of warranty by a while, and it seems the only thing they offered was a discount. Maybe they would have replaced it if I sent it in, but I ended up buying the 105 set from Brownells. Then, when I didn't like those, I exchanged the 105s, actually after shooting and carrying. Brownells has excellent customer service. I don't like to use their 100% guarantee program, because it doesn't seem fair to them, but it's a nice option when something just doesn't work for you.

[98z28]

I went deep with CTC grips for a couple years. It started well, but I and was not at all happy at the end of the journey. My first set was on a S&W j-frame backup gun in 2004. I carried that gun for seven years in an ankle or pocket holster and never had problems with the grip, but didn't shoot that gun much either.

I didn't record exactly what failures happened at what round counts, but here's what I remember about the other sets:

I've had CTC grips on two Sig 229's, a 226, a 239, and a 2022. The set on the 226 would not hold zero. The battery contacts went out on the set for the 239.

I had two sets on two different M&P9f's. The switch went out on one and the laser started blinking on the other. I forget what CTC said was wrong with that one.

I had two laser guards for an M&P Shield. One wouldn't wouldn't hold zero and one quit working.

Each of these failures happened well under 1,000 rounds. Most would have been under 500. I wasn't keeping guns long during this phase.

CTC was fantastic every time. They fixed or replaced each set without drama. I found it hard to justify the cost in dollars and training time after experiencing so may failures though.

[BillSWPA]

I added a LaserGuard to my Kel-Tec P3AT, and found that I could shoot this gun as accurately as I could a full size 1911 with iron sights. The only drawback is that the laser is impossible to see outside in daylight.

I have since added them to other guns, but have had little chance to get them to the range.

I wore contact lenses for 30 years and switched to glasses a couple of years ago. I really started getting into lasers out of concern that I might have to shoot after getting my glasses knocked off, or perhaps at night without having time to grab the glasses.

My intention at this point is to do the vast majority of my practice with iron sights only.

This thread is the first I have read of issues with Crimson Trace products. I will post more once more of mine have been put through their paces.

[StraitR]

Laser grips tend to make grips too fat for me, so I only have a pair on a 638 J-frame, but I'd put them on everything if my hand size permitted it.

Mine are the 305's. I've gone through three or four set's of batteries, but it still shines bright and has held zero through a couple hundred rounds of 158gr range ammo a year for the last six years or so. I don't put a ton of rounds through my J, so I can't speak definitely to their durability. I really like LG's in general, especially on a J-frame with crappy sights.

[Lost River]

I currently have 2 for J Frames, neither is working properly and one was sent back about 12 months ago. I think they are the single best accessory for a J Frame when they actually work.

I have another set on a N Frame .44, but have not worked with it enough to see how it will hold up.

Another set on a 1911, and they have been flawless for about 2-3K rounds.

Another on a Ruger MKII .22 and it has had dozens of bricks of ammo through it over the last 15 or so years, and still runs perfectly.

So.. Some good, some bad, and some undetermined.

[314159]

Gee, I just started a similar thread looking for SME input and didn't see this one. I'm no SME, but I've found they are essential on J frames, work great on 1911s, P239s and P2022s, and are too damn fat and/or blinky on most double stack guns. My biggest problems have come with gaps in the fit on K,L,and N frames.

They are a little spotty on QC. Save your receipts and make sure they fit and hold zero before tossing.

[El Cid]

Another j-frame laser user here. I went with the LG-105 to keep the profile small for pocket carry. Not a high round count gun but it did survive some unplanned time in a swimming pool. Lol!

[Edster]

I have a set on a still somewhat-new 642. I find the j-frame sights inadequate for anything less than ideal lighting.

When I draw the 642, I still try to pick up the front sight. If I can find the front sight, I go with it and don't worry about the dot.

However, if I'm struggling to find the front sight because of bad lighting or awkward position, I give up on it and find the dot.

I don't feel a need to use the laser on anything but the j-frame. The other handguns have satisfactory sights.

[Clusterfrack]

I tried a laser grip for my G19, and didn't like it. It changed my grip too much.

[TCinVA]

J frame - thousands of rounds with multiple guns. I use the hard plastic model...I think it's the 109 but I'm not sure without looking it up. I consider them a must on a J frame because it's the only hope I have of using one accurately in low light. Also works a treat for helping studies training with the snubby.

Glock 17 - I don't carry it much, but it's equipped with a CT grip. I keep it as a bedside gun with a Glock 18 magazine loaded in it. It stays on the gun even when I use my AA kit. Thousands of rounds of centerfire and even more thousands of rounds of rimfire with no problem. It does change the grip, but that is good for me as it prevents slide bite.

Concealed carry guns typically do not get the beating that police sidearms carried in holsters do. This helps the CT grips live longer.

[SAWBONES]

The concept of a POI laser "spot" appearing effortlessly on the intended target is a fine one.

The difficulties pertain to:

-making the laser "instant on" with complete reliability when the sidearm is gripped with even a less-than-perfect firing grip, and

-optimizing the grip size and contour such that the typical firing grip feels and points naturally, that is, in a manner that yields a "natural point" of the laser at the desired POI.

For my purposes, none of the laser aiming devices for handguns which require a secondary action (such as using the opposite hand, or a particular finger or thumb action) in order to activate the laser, are even conceptually viable.

I've had no interest in lasers for semiautomatic pistols, since without exception they can be had with good high visibility sights, whether stock or aftermarket.

The real boon of laser grips for me is on smaller revolvers (S&W J-frames like the 442, 642, 649, etc.) which come from the factory with small, shallow-rear, hard-to-see-front sights which simply cannot be easily altered, and for which attempts at improvement with paint, tape, Sharpie marker, etc., provide merely-mediocre results.



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My own experience with CT laser grips has been with 5 different examples for J-frame Smith revolvers, spanning all the generations and all models except for the LG-305 (that is, the LG-205, LG-105, LG-405, and new LG-350).

IME, the newer models, that is, everything except the LG-205 and sometimes the LG-105, are pretty reliable with respect to laser activation with a solid grip, but NONE of them offers anything close to an automatic "natural point" in my hands, and each of them gives a different, and what seems to me to be a rather unnatural grip.

If CT would simply make a good, solidly constructed Craig Spegel J-frame boot grip twin, let's say one essentially identical to the defunct Uncle Mike's rubber copy, they'd be altogether perfect from my perspective.
(Maybe this is what the LG-105 was intended to mimic, but if so, it doesn't succeed.)

[Clusterfrack]

Besides not liking how the CT laser changed the grip on my G19, I kept pinching my hand on the laser emitter during malfunction drills.