Opinions on inexpensive handgun lasers

[illy 1]

Briefly:

 

 

 

I was wondering if anyone had any experience/recommendations on rail mounted lasers for handguns.

 

 

 

I know Crimson Trace/Laser Lyte are well-reagrded, but I was hoping for something cheaper to use as an ocasional training aid, not an actual 24/7 accessory. 

 

I've seen some really cheap ($15) ones from NC Star, but I doubt they would last even one range session.

 

So maybe something more like $30-$75.

 

 

Thanks.

[DSD1026 48]

Don't even waste your time with NC Star..  put one on my M&P22 and it was very difficult to center it (read: next to impossible), and then the screw fell out (somewhere), thus rendering the adjustment pointless..  and its not like the 22 is a hard shooting gun...

[vladtepes 1,060]

$200 lasers barely work well... so my guess is that really basic stuff is probably a nightmare.. 

[Boejoula 0]

I have a viridian c5l for sale.. A not more than $75 though

[vladtepes 1,060]

I have a viridian c5l for sale.. A not more than $75 though

 

 

i'll go $60 shipped if it is the one that includes the light.. 

[Boejoula 0]

I believe I I meant to write a bit more... Damn autocorrect.

[illy 1]

lol. 

[illy 1]

$200 lasers barely work well... so my guess is that really basic stuff is probably a nightmare.. 

 

 

Any recommendation on a good higher end laser, then? 

[Boejoula 0]

The viridian. Like I said, I have one. The green laser can be seem day or night. The distance the last travels is unbelievable. And it hold zero really well. You can check mine out one day if you'd like.

[vladtepes 1,060]

The viridian. Like I said, I have one. The green laser can be seem day or night. The distance the last travels is unbelievable. And it hold zero really well. You can check mine out one day if you'd like.

 

 

wanted one for a while but the only issue I found with that was holster selection seamed non existent.. 

[Boejoula 0]

Viridian makes holsters for them or you would have to go the custom kydex route.

[illy 1]

wanted one for a while but the only issue I found with that was holster selection seamed non existent..

Holsters? We don't use that kind of language in the Citizen Disarmament Republic of NJ.

[illy 1]

The viridian. Like I said, I have one. The green laser can be seem day or night. The distance the last travels is unbelievable. And it hold zero really well. You can check mine out one day if you'd like.

Thanks for the offer.

 

I still have to decide if the better models are worth investment for my purposes.

[Boejoula 0]

Thanks for the offer.

 

I still have to decide if the better models are worth investment for my purposes.

What is your purpose of the light/laser?

[illy 1]

What is your purpose of the light/laser?

 

 

I was hoping for something cheaper to use as an ocasional training aid, not an actual 24/7 accessory. 

 

 

Essentially, I just want something I can use to help my wife out with her pistol shooting, so she can get a better idea of where she should be lining up her sights and what she might be doing wrong with her trigger pull.

 

I don't really need a fulltime laser as a tactial tool.  

 

A. I don't carry.

 

B. A laser wouldn't get any use in a home defense scenario, either:

 

My HD long guns are all shotguns, none of which have rails.*

The back-up handguns are all revolvers.

The bottom feeders are really just range guns and maybe back-ups to the back-ups.

The longest shooting distance in my home is just under 10 yards. And that's from an unlikely defensive location to an even more unlikely threat position. The more realistic distances I might ever have to shoot at are 15-20 feet.

 

 

*This might be changing, but for now the wife shoots and operates the shotguns really well and is more familiar, comfortable and accurate with revolvers than semis. And at those distances, I've found that less is more.

My (and her) accuracy, even when point shooting, is spot on. And considering the speed at which a threat can close that distance, the less I have to do to get the gun in the fight, the better. 

 

 

TL;DR:

Any laser I buy will primarily be used at the range for improving punching holes in paper. On a $300 gun. 

High-end would be a waste, as would cheap and useless.  

[Boejoula 0]

I would print out the paper targets that tell you what your doing wrong based on where you are hitting. Any laser is a waste for what you want to do. IMO that is.

[vladtepes 1,060]

I would print out the paper targets that tell you what your doing wrong based on where you are hitting. Any laser is a waste for what you want to do. IMO that is.

 

 

this..

 

a laser isnt going to tell you how to aim a gun correctly... but those targets will definitely tell you what you are doing wrong.. 

[Boejoula 0]

This is what your looking for

[bhunted 887]

this..

 

a laser isnt going to tell you how to aim a gun correctly... but those targets will definitely tell you what you are doing wrong..

+100.1%

 

 

Sent from John's iPad 2 via Tapatalk HD

Typos courtesy Apple...

[Sixtytwo327 14]

 

*This might be changing, but for now the wife shoots and operates the shotguns really well and is more familiar, comfortable and accurate with revolvers than semis. 

 

 

In that case, I say forget the laser, and buy ammo and speed loaders and call it a day. If she wants to learn to shoot semis, she will. If not, you're still ahead of the game.

[illy 1]

In that case, I say forget the laser, and buy ammo and speed loaders and call it a day. If she wants to learn to shoot semis, she will. If not, you're still ahead of the game.

Yeah, I agree. It's not a big deal, which is why I wasn't looking to spend a lot of dough on it.

 

Also, thanks for the advice guys.

[illy 1]

Then, as if on cue: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/05/daniel-zimmerman/question-day-use-laser-practice/

[Boejoula 0]

I still don't believe you need a laser. You can practice trigger control with a spent brass casing on your front sight.

 

If you really want a laser, you might as well buy a good one that you could use for HD or anything else. And if you really want a laser, you should buy mine. Lol

[illy 1]

Lol.

 

Yeah I'm still off the laser. Printing out those targets this weekend and hitting the range.

 

I was just glad to see that second because it means I wasn't the only one who thought that a laser might work for this.

[Boejoula 0]

Lol.

 

Yeah I'm still off the laser. Printing out those targets this weekend and hitting the range.

 

I was just glad to see that second because it means I wasn't the only one who thought that a laser might work for this.

I see how the laser could tell you what your doing wrong but I feel you will focus too much on the laser and less on correct shooting fundamentals.