Lasers for serious use?

[03RN]

All right, I'll admit it. I've wanted a Beretta with a laser since lethal weapon 4.

I think lasers have a lot of the same benefits of mrds. Focusing on the threat being the biggest one. Unfortunately I don't think most lasers are visible in bright sunlight or at longer ranges.

I've played with a few and thought they were fun but never really took them serious. Now that I'm on a quest to build a beretta Roland Special I ordered a laser grip to try out since berettas aren't the best platform imo to put a rmr on.

What's your experience with laser grips? Do you still use them or did you throw it in "the box".

[Artemas2]

I do not have any experience with them. I did find some articles by ToddG, which if I recall correctly he did find them beneficial.
http://pistol-training.com/?s=lasers
http://pistol-training.com/archives/5954
http://greent.com/40Page/reviews/accessories/ctc1.htm

[BN]

I have laser grips and a light on my bedside Glock 17. I also have laser grips on my J-Frame. The Glock grips are too big to be comfortable to me, but I accept that for the low light potential.

edit to add: I find the laser to be slower than using the sights in normal light.

[PhillySoldier]

Ive tried them in the past but didnt care for them. As mentioned they only work in certain conditions as well as I believe they change the way one shoots to a more point and shoot technique rather than the way you shoot while aiming through your sights. With that said, I have found the use of laser cartridges excellent for dry fire practice.

[mtnbkr]

I have them on my J-frame, but am contemplating removing them. While I shoot more accurately with them, in low light, the laser "dazzles" me and I'm unable to focus on the sights. However, if I ignore the sights and merely look "over" the gun at the red dot (meaning I don't necessarily raise the gun to eye level), I shoot fine and rapidly. So, they work, but it "irks" me.

I find them useless in bright light (ie outdoors during daytime hours). If they didn't interfere with my sight picture, forcing me to do something different, I wouldn't care, but I don't like the idea of having an "indoor with laser" hold and an "outdoor in bright light" hold.

I love them for dry-fire practice though.

Chris

[PhillySoldier]

Worded differently but I think were both saying the same thing

[BillSWPA]

Although my location and lifestyle do not invite much trouble, the vast majority of bad situations I have seen have occurred in low light, when the laser would not only be visible, but would be faster and easier to use than irons, even with tritium. They are useless outdoors during the day.

Lasers provide the most benefit on tiny pocket guns, up to and including J frames. The benefit diminishes with Glock 26 or larger guns, but there is still some benefit. Three of my four laser-equipped guns are tiny pocket pistols. I briefly tried a LaserGuard on my Glock 26, but my grip did not allow for certain activation, and was otherwise sufficiently compromised that I removed it. On my Kel-Tec P3AT, I would not be without a laser. In low light, the accuracy enhancement is tremendous.

I also use a LaserGrip on the 1911 in the lockbox by my bed. If I do not have time to grab my glasses, I would be able to see well enough to identify threats but not to see the iron sights well.

Almost all of my practice is with irons rather than the laser. I would use the laser exactly as I do the irons, and just use whichever sighting system becomes visible first. This is why 2 of my laser equipped guns also have tritium sights.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mtnbkr]

Worded differently but I think were both saying the same thing

Yup, you posted your reply while I was typing mine (got pulled away mid-stream).

Chris

[HCM]

Some thoughts on Lasers:

The newer Green lasers are significantly more visible in daylight.

Use the laser or use the iron sights - not both.

For untrained or minimally trained people Lasers can be more effective than the sights they aren’t looking at anyway.

For a trained shooter irons or a RDS are faster in most situations.

Lasers work well in a few niches:
Low light with NVG
Low light when not actively using a flashlight
Small BUG type guns with minimal sights such as older J frames
Unconventional shooting positions / down & disabled shooting positions.
LE/MIL when using a ballistic shield

[Default.mp3]

I have been using the SureFire X400-type lasers on all my handguns since the very start of my handgun shooting (starting about 8 years ago), and have also been using RMRs on all my handguns for the last 3 years. I do not think that RDSes on handguns are very similar to lasers; I'd actually say they are quite different. RDSes on handguns tend to have small FOVs, but can be used at almost any distance without too much issue. Lasers, on the other hand, excel at unorthodox positions, but have limited range due to the limited output of the lasers themselves, although the green lasers do have significantly better daytime visibility compared to the red, particularly on light-colored targets. I can usually see an X400UH green laser on a clean white target at about mid day out to 15 yards without too much issue (don't know about other brands, as SureFire uses a green laser that has slightly higher wavelengths than most other green laser sights on the market, which makes it a bit bluer).

I will also note that I have not heard great things about CrimsonTrace's LaserGrips ability to retain zero or hold up under constant use; they have great customer service by all accounts, so you might be able to get away with having two and just put in the working one while the other is out for warranty repair/replacement, but... eh. There's no denying that some of the LaserGrips have an excellent form factor and switchology (the M&Ps come to mind), but I'm not sure that's worth the squeeze, given the issues, particularly if the switchology and form factor aren't great, like with the Glock LaserGrips (not sure where the Beretta 92s come down on that).