What Distance to Zero Crimson Trace On J-Frame?

[Rich]

Well that would depend on the purpose of the laser....... I might guess that it is for self defense. If that is the case what is the most likely distance that you as the shooter feel confident to use that laser? Are you the only user of the laser equiped pistol? If it is for home defense / bedside gun what is the furthest likely distance it could be used? Also if you can achieve hits on close range high probability targets by index firing you may zero at a further range to take low probability shots. There is no one good answer to this question since it is an idividual decision based on the users own criteria. Keep in mind the laser is probably dropped and offset from the bore so only one distance will match exactly with POA and POI... the deviation will then vary based on distance. You can find a happy middle and call it good if you know what your criteria are. In general my CTC grip on my Glock 26 will keep hits on 6in disk from 15ft to 50ft since it is dropped and offset from the bore. My P30 with TLR2 will keep hits on a vertical 3x5 from 3 to 25yds because it sits directly below the bore and is not offset.

Does the TLR-2 /P30 hold a zero well.

[Drifting Fate]

Those are actually old +p Winchester Silvertips. I can see where they do kind of look like LFNs. I would not hesitate to carry full wadcutters pushed by a heavy charge though. In my experience full wadcutters are very effective on critters of all sizes. The large meplat does serious damage when it smacks flesh.

In fact my elk load, a 310 or 320 grain cast bullet is a wide flat nose, and quite similar to a wadcutter on the front end. They cut big deep holes in animals and have excellent penetration.

Hunting and self-defense have yet to meet in terms of the efficacy of a large meplat. Cooper alluded to it with the favor of the truncated cone, but that got lost in the press of the hollow point,him being seeing as some sort of throwback. It may be - may be, and I've yet to play with it myself - why the expanding FMJ from Federal works as well as it seems to. Until then, load with what you are comfortable with.

[DocGKR]

I generally zero the CTC lasergrips on my J-frames at 25 yds.

[Edmo]

I set mine to the "man with a knife" distance of 21 feet, or 7 yards.

Edmo

[Rich]

I set mine to the "man with a knife" distance of 21 feet, or 7 yards.

Edmo

I would think the 38spl load like 135 or 130 bonded would be pretty flat out to 25Y when zero at 21 feet? could I be wrong?

[Chuck Haggard]

I would think the 38spl load like 135 or 130 bonded would be pretty flat out to 25Y when zero at 21 feet? could I be wrong?

That's not the issue, windage is, due to the laser being offset to the right of the bore.

[Chuck Whitlock]

I like the idea of setting the laser parallel to the bore. Should hit to 11:00 of the dot at any reasonable distance.

Caveat: I'm not currently running lasers.

[RevolverRob]

I zeroed mine at 25 yards and found this works best, primarily because J-frame fixed sights are typically factory zeroed for 25 yards as well. When you look down the sights at 25 yards the front sight almost covers the whole of the red dot, like front sight does a standard bullseye. Up close it feels more like a dinner plate held in front of your sights, the good news is, you've got the front sight in the red and the red is covering what you're going for, you're good to go.

Just an FYI: I guess I don't know if everyone runs CTCs the same way. I remember talking to Nate Hoke about my "epiphany" moment with laser grips. It came from once I had a set properly zeroed to the sights at distance. The real purpose of the dot is not to look at it (of course we all know that), but instead to have the most brilliantly and brightly lit aiming point you could ever want, you still have to aim, but now instead of having a black/white/color you can't see target you have a bright red/green one to align your sights on. This is why I run a zero at the maximum distance I regularly practice at and find it makes a heck of a difference.

-Rob