Red dot/Green laser or Green dot/Red laser?

[awp_101]

Is one combo better than the other or does it matter as long as they aren’t the same color?

I’ve gotten interested in upgrading the WML on my house pistol with a light/laser combo and possibly upgrading the pistol itself with a RDS. I get the reasoning behind having a different color for each and considering most RDS in use are red, a green laser is a logical default.

Has anyone gone the other way and tried a green dot and red laser?

[LOKNLOD]

A green laser is typically much brighter and more visible in wider conditions than a red laser. The differential in visibility of red to green lasers is HUGE compared to the visibility differences between red and green dots.

I think that a green laser with a red dot is a much more practical combo than vice versa.

[awp_101]

Thanks, I didn’t know about the differences in visibility. I suppose that’s why I don’t see anyone talking about green dot/red laser.

Following another P-F line of thought, uncommon combinations are uncommon for a reason.

[Archer1440]

Green lasers are much more visible in daylight, off non reflective surfaces in all conditions. They burn through batteries faster, but are still very good in terms of battery life, especially if only activated when acquiring a target. Red lasers are only reliably useful in low light conditions.


Green Dots are also quick to pick up, however, they from 3X up to 5X the power or red emitters, at the same brightness setting as a red. Since a dot is generally always on for a fighting pistol, the green emitter comes with the price of much more frequent battery changes.

So if I were inclined to use both solutions simultaneously (and I am not, for various reasons), I would definitely go with green for the laser and red for the dot.

[El Cid]

As already stated... the red laser is almost impossible to use beyond 15 yards during daytime.

[Caballoflaco]

Green Dots are also quick to pick up, however, they from 3X up to 5X the power or red emitters, at the same brightness setting as a red. Since a dot is generally always on for a fighting pistol, the green emitter comes with the price of much more frequent battery changes.


I’ll start with the caveat that I haven’t shot a gun with a green dot. One thing I noticed when looking through a green MRO here in central Alabama in the summer is that we have so much greenery during the growing season, even in urban areas that there was a surprising lack of contrast even with the brightness turned up pretty bright. For my eyes (since vision and perception varies) in my location red provides much better contrast.

[awp_101]

As already stated... the red laser is almost impossible to use beyond 15 yards during daytime.

If my shooting last weekend at 7 yards was any indication, anything beyond 15 will require a rifle and LPVO anyway.:eek:

[Archer1440]

I’ll start with the caveat that I haven’t shot a gun with a green dot. One thing I noticed when looking through a green MRO here in central Alabama in the summer is that we have so much greenery during the growing season, even in urban areas that there was a surprising lack of contrast even with the brightness turned up pretty bright. For my eyes (since vision and perception varies) in my location red provides much better contrast.

Relative distances matter in this context- it’s less likely one would engage a pistol target through foliage, after all. But your point is valid.

[DocGKR]

Red dot, green laser was the best combination when we tested various options several years ago.

[SoCalDep]

I was a huge fan of the laser, and I still like it for certain purposes, such as for a J-frame backup revolver, small-frame semi-auto with poor sights, or CCW handgun with no WML, I think lasers have been supplanted, and made largely obsolete by modern pistol optics.

When I say I was a huge fan, I took a class way back in 2001 (maybe even 2000?) with Clyde Caseres (sp?), who was the main trainer for Crimson Trace. The company (several large gun stores) I worked for arranged the training, and it convinced me lasers were more than a gimmick. Flash forward a couple/few years and I'd been hired by my department. Knowing that they were "testing" lasers, I selected a CTC laser for a Beretta as my prize at the 2002 Steel Challenge (while in the Academy). Six months later and I was in the second class my department held to allow carry of a pistol with a laser.

I've carried several pistols equipped with lasers and spent the majority of my patrol time with a laser-equipped pistol. All that said, I think that now that pistol-mounted optics are becoming much more of a thing, one has to evaluate what the laser is good for, and what it is not.

I've run several red and green lasers. Both suck in daylight. Red sucks more.
In low light, both work. Green is brighter. Red is still bright.
Lasers can work in moderate to low light if the pistol can't be brought to eye level.
Lasers can work well for signaling and communication. (not pointing at each other but in pointing out suspect locations or areas of attention)
Lasers can scare people. This worked well for a while but seems largely not such a thing now except when multiple lasers and the suspect realizes they are guns not Tasers.


When I started carrying a laser we couldn't carry a WML. When we started carrying WMLs they were very dim compared to modern standards and lasers were still very useful in low light. For those who trained correctly with a laser it was "look for the front sight - if the dot is seen first, then use it while looking through the pistol - this allows an almost immediate transfer back to irons if the laser doesn't function". This works well for day and night, because in the day - you'll see the front sight first. At night, you'll be faster with the laser.

Now you have WMLs that are so bright they make lasers work like daylight conditions in many circumstances. This directly contrasts with pistol optics which can use their brightness adjustments to make them function in very dim and very bright conditions at speeds faster than irons, especially if changing lighting is taken into account.

Yes, a laser can be a good backup... if the thing that made the pistol optic not function doesn't affect the laser as well. It still works when the pistol can't be brought into the field of view. It still works well for signaling and communication. It still works well when the pistol doesn't have an optic and especially when it doesnt' have a WML. It is still relevant on small revolvers and autos with poor sights.

All of my current training, duty, and off-duty (primary) pistols have optics. A couple have lasers (TLR-2 units) but I never use them. My S&W 342PD .38 backup revolver has a laser.

That said, my recommendation based on the original post is to get a good modern WML first. That is the most important thing to me. ALL THE LUMENS. Then, if wanting to practice and develop skill with the dot... Get a dot.

A laser is a VERY distant third (or lower depending on need) at this point in the world of pistol technology.

[Tawadc95]

I'm red dot with green laser. I don't find the different colors distracting.

[rob_s]

On my PCC I went red dot green laser. Problem is, the gun is used for pest control more than anything else, and the damn green dot vanishes in the grass, foliage, and vegetation making it much harder to dispatch coons, opossums, etc.

[1Rangemaster]

Referring to the OP, I’m currently running a Streamlight TLR8 on department and personal weapons, with a red dot sight-I very much like the combo. I have an older TLR2(2 battery) 800 lumen white(I think)w/green laser on a “house gun”. It had been very difficult to find a holster for that light for duty use. This is a good setup for me. One has to train and practice manipulating though.
SoCalDep and others have very good points and perspective; I’ll add that indoors understand that one can “dazzle” oneself with a really bright light on a white wall or mirror- been there, done it. With the home GLOCK, I’ve dismounted the slide and moved through the darkened domicile to get an idea of what to expect.
Home order priority for me: 1, have a gun. 2, have some ammo in it. 3, at least a front night sight or highlighted(wml will wash out, but it’s there for backing up optic). 4, a good handheld light. 5,Weapon mounted light w/6, laser.
It wouldn’t matter if you had infrared and NVGs worth thousands of bucks if you don’t work with the gear...