Laser sight recommendations

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

Thinking about getting a laser sight to mount on the rail of my soon-to-be new S&W M&P9. Can someone point me to a couple reliable ones that are as unobtrusive as possible yet accurate. Oh, and one that doesn't require a second mortgage to buy. There, that's easy enough right?

alucard0822 · Jul 25, 2008

Depending on use, crimson trace grips are hard to beat as far as practicality goes, and they leave the rail free for a flashlight if this is a HD peice. Unfortunately, whats good isn't cheap, and whats cheap normally isn't good. If you want a good laser for the rail though, lasermax units are tough and compact, stay away from the laserlyte, and leapers/NC star/gunshow special airsoft grade stuff. The el cheapo stuff never stays on POA, and is a bear to sight in, or activate, and the beam degrades over time. I have a laserlyte that is only good for playing with the cat, the beam is a dim 2" circle at 25 feet now, and that is after the mount broke while it was on my 686.

mdjamesd · Jul 25, 2008

I was looking onto getting a lasermax guide rod laser, but opted not to, mainly because of price. I decided to practice faster aiming instead

herr.baer · Jul 25, 2008

I put a LaserMax on my XD. Fits nicely on the rail below the barrel. Got it on sale from Midway.

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

alucard0822 said:
Depending on use, crimson trace grips are hard to beat as far as practicality goes, and they leave the rail free for a flashlight if this is a HD peice. Unfortunately, whats good isn't cheap, and whats cheap normally isn't good. If you want a good laser for the rail though, lasermax units are tough and compact, stay away from the laserlyte, and leapers/NC star/gunshow special airsoft grade stuff. The el cheapo stuff never stays on POA, and is a bear to sight in, or activate, and the beam degrades over time. I have a laserlyte that is only good for playing with the cat, the beam is a dim 2" circle at 25 feet now, and that is after the mount broke while it was on my 686.

I keep seeing those crimson trace grips. I just figured they either weren't accurate or weren't effective. They just seem so small I figured they couldn't get enough power to be effective.

I might check into them. I like what you said about using the ct grips AND a flashlight under the rail. Hmmm, lots to ponder.

simplegreen · Jul 25, 2008

i just put the TRL-2 on my Glock 23. I'm a pretty good fan, took me 12 rounds to sight in. Light is absurdly bright. Its on the expensive side but it has a light as well. The reason i picked this over a grip light is because a grip light is angled, so at a certain cross point X feet out from the origin is going to be dead center past/before that range you have to consider the variation of the laser angle.

With this type of laser you can line it straight out with no up or down angle. then all you have to do is consider bullet drop off over the distance of you and your target. Regardless here's a photo.

The only thing i think might be better regarding my above comments is the ones that replace the recoil spring.

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

simplegreen said:
i just put the TRL-2 on my Glock 23. I'm a pretty good fan, took me 12 rounds to sight in. Light is absurdly bright. Its on the expensive side but it has a light as well. The reason i picked this over a grip light is because a grip light is angled, so at a certain cross point X feet out from the origin is going to be dead center past/before that range you have to consider the variation of the laser angle.

With this type of laser you can line it straight out with no up or down angle. then all you have to do is consider bullet drop off over the distance of you and your target. Regardless here's a photo.

The only thing i think might be better regarding my above comments is the ones that replace the recoil spring.

That looks real nice. The price is actually not all that bad. I checked around and you can get them for around $200.

What do you think of the led light? Is it bright enough? How's battery life?

wlc · Jul 25, 2008

herr.baer said:
I put a LaserMax on my XD. Fits nicely on the rail below the barrel. Got it on sale from Midway.

I have this on my M&P .40 - i went through 8 units - No Joke -
that all would malfunction. I finally sent my laser & gun to lasermax for them to figure out. They modified a new unit and the gun has had about 400 rounds now with out a malfunction on the laser.

At this point if I had to do it over, I would go with a crimson trace - I think the combination of it being a plastic gun and a high pressure cartridge was just too much abuse for the laser on the rail

IMO - the laser on the tlr is just too low below the barrel for my liking

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

simplegreen said:
i just put the TRL-2 on my Glock 23. I'm a pretty good fan, took me 12 rounds to sight in. Light is absurdly bright. Its on the expensive side but it has a light as well. The reason i picked this over a grip light is because a grip light is angled, so at a certain cross point X feet out from the origin is going to be dead center past/before that range you have to consider the variation of the laser angle.

With this type of laser you can line it straight out with no up or down angle. then all you have to do is consider bullet drop off over the distance of you and your target. Regardless here's a photo.

The only thing i think might be better regarding my above comments is the ones that replace the recoil spring.

That looks real nice. The price is actually not all that bad. I checked around and you can get them for around $200.

edit - I see that you already answered the light brightness question.

How's battery life?

alucard0822 · Jul 25, 2008

AKbythebay said:
I keep seeing those crimson trace grips. I just figured they either weren't accurate or weren't effective. They just seem so small I figured they couldn't get enough power to be effective.

I might check into them. I like what you said about using the ct grips AND a flashlight under the rail. Hmmm, lots to ponder.

The laser module does not have to be large at all to be bright, the vast majority of the size of most lasers is the case and battery compartment. They are very nice, and work well for their intended use, but do have a couple drawbacks, on some models (mostly revolvers) a really high grip can block the beam, and they are about 1" and at about 8 oclock relative to the bore, when sighted, the bullet will hit within an inch or two of the dot out to about 25 yards, but is not intended to hit exactly where the beam is. On the good side, to use it, all you do is pick up the gun, put the dot on your target and fire, and thats it. I will be getting one for the LCP as soon as they either make one for it, or I find out the P3AT unit works on that model.

OTOH the streamlight is perfect for HD, I don't own one, but have heard good things, and even in daylight, the light is plenty bright on the ones I have fiddled with, It would just take some training with it to get used to the change in balance, and to operate the controls intuitively.

simplegreen · Jul 25, 2008

AKbythebay said:
That looks real nice. The price is actually not all that bad. I checked around and you can get them for around $200.

edit - I see that you already answered the light brightness question.

How's battery life?

Well i just got mine a few weeks ago and only have been to the range 3 times with it. So far she's held in there well. So i cant comment specifically but i havent noticed it dying yet.

Redneck · Jul 25, 2008

I have both a laser max green laser and an Insight M3. I like the laser max bc it strobes green, locks in very well, and is more accurate IMO. On the M3, like wlc said, the laser sits to low. The light is a nice option, but you can add a light to the bottom of a laser max if wanted.

Only bad thing about the green laser is that it only last about 20 mins and the batteries are $10 a piece, you need 2.

JeepDriver · Jul 25, 2008

I'm not a laser sight user, but if I were (and I have considered getting one for my nightstand gun for the wife) I would buy a Crimson Trace.

Spend the extra and get the good stuff. The Laser Max is a nice unit as well, but I prefer the Crimson trace.

Redneck · Jul 25, 2008

I dont own a CTC, but if I had a gun that CTCs were made for, I would definitely buy one over anything that I have.

DD214 · Jul 25, 2008

AKbythebay said:
That looks real nice. The price is actually not all that bad. I checked around and you can get them for around $200.

edit - I see that you already answered the light brightness question.

How's battery life?

I have one of these on my Glock 23 as well, and I love it. I've had it for 2 years, I "play" with it quite a bit, and I'm still on the original battery. It is very bright. If your eyes are used to the dark and someone shines this at you from 15 yards away or so, you won't be seeing anything but spots for a minute or two. The controls are very intuitive as well. At least on the Glock, the rocker switch sits at the perfect location so that you don't have to modify your hold or reach for the switch. If you want, I can put it on my M&P9 and upload a photo for you.

joe3165 · Jul 25, 2008

I've got the Crimson Trace Laser Grips on my baby Glock (33), and I love them. Super easy to install, and plenty bright...even outside. There's a guy on eBay from somewhere in Idaho who has them for lots of different guns, and way cheaper than I've found elsewhere.

My only complaint is that at least on the ones I have, there is no way to disable the laser. There is a pressure switch on the back of the grip, and if you're gripping the gun, the laser is lit. Minor annoyance though...

canuck · Jul 25, 2008

Mike

I've got a CT grip on my smiff 340pd carry gun and i like it. The ct lasers are the way to go for unobtrusiveness. I was talking with todd jarrett a couple of weeks ago about ct laers and he was talking about the fact that you can use regular holsters (same as lasermax) which was a big plus for him.

I'll be on the shore all weekend. Give me a ring and maybe we can link up.

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

canuck said:
Mike

I've got a CT grip on my smiff 340pd carry gun and i like it. The ct lasers are the way to go for unobtrusiveness. I was talking with todd jarrett a couple of weeks ago about ct laers and he was talking about the fact that you can use regular holsters (same as lasermax) which was a big plus for him.

I'll be on the shore all weekend. Give me a ring and maybe we can link up.

I might do that Canuck. I'd really to see one in person and handle it. They look great. I wonder, as a poster said earlier, if it coming from an angle to the side means the spot will move left or right as you do different distances. I guess the change in zero is small enough not to really matter. I need to look into these. :thumbsup:

AKbythebay · Jul 25, 2008

DD214 said:
I have one of these on my Glock 23 as well, and I love it. I've had it for 2 years, I "play" with it quite a bit, and I'm still on the original battery. It is very bright. If your eyes are used to the dark and someone shines this at you from 15 yards away or so, you won't be seeing anything but spots for a minute or two. The controls are very intuitive as well. At least on the Glock, the rocker switch sits at the perfect location so that you don't have to modify your hold or reach for the switch. If you want, I can put it on my M&P9 and upload a photo for you.

DD - that would be fantastic. I'd love to see it modeled on an M&P. Thanks!

Looks like I'm deciding between either the TLR-2 or the crimson trace. I love the look of the CT but the price favors the TLR-2. Also, with the TLR-2 I don't need to buy a separate flashlight.

Great help from this forum as always - thanks :party29:

mdjamesd · Jul 26, 2008

AKbythebay said:
Also, with the TLR-2 I don't need to buy a separate flashlight. QUOTE]

Only reason I wouldn't buy an all-in-one unit, is if one "part" i.e., light or laser, were to break and if it wasn't under warranty anymore, then I would be stuck with a half paperweight

Laser sight recommendations

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

For great Justice

Ultimate Member

Maryland Escapee

Ultimate Member

Professional Nerd

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

For great Justice

Professional Nerd

Ultimate Member

Self confessed gun snob

Ultimate Member

Founder

Escaped to SC

Rifleman

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics