LASER Bore Sighter

Alllen Bundy

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Murderapolis, Minnesota
Have any of you use a LASER Bore Sighter?

I've seen two styles. One that inserts into the muzzle of the barrel and another style that inserts into the firing chamber of the pistol and looks kind of like a cartridge.

I've also seen a lot of mixed reviews from absolutely terrible and useless, to works great.

Are there any brands that you would recommend?
 
I have a muzzle laser bore sighter (Sight Light) and a chamber bore sighter (Sight Rite). They both work at 20 yards or so indoors. The chamber bore sighter is easier to use, less fussing around to get it properly aligned. You do have to figure out bullet drop at the distance you use them at, they are a good first approximation and will save you ammo, but guns aren’t lasers yet.

I’m not endorsing either brand, by the way.
 
I have both. If you get the cartridge type that goes in your chamber, get a good one, not one of the Ebay cheapest.
I actually find the muzzle type to be more accurate than the chamber type if you seat them properly.

I don’t use either on my bolt guns, I find it better to remove the bolt and sight down the bore. I can do this at 100yds and be on the paper 1st shot. When I do this, I either sight the bore slightly above center of the target, or else dial the scope below center and I'm usually within 4 to moa of bullseye.
 
I've got to agree that I couldn't imagine using one of these things on a pistol. For rifles I just sight down the bore and I'm always on paper at 50 yards , first shot no problem. I consider the laser sighting things to be just more doodads that you honestly don't need and will never put you directly on the bullseye without further adjustment .

Maybe these things help folks who can't see well down a barrel or something. I'm not sure but the little laser dot is tough to see too.
 
I've got to agree that I couldn't imagine using one of these things on a pistol.

Assume that you have just installed a new set of sights on your pistol. As carefully as you can center the sights on your slide, there isn't much that you can do about the manufacturing tolerances of the slide and/or barrel. If you correctly bore sight your pistol and your POI is to the left or right of your POA, you might seriously need to consider whether or not your shooting technique may need some work.

Granted, you should also shoot from a sandbag, or other means to steady your pistol, to confirm whether or not the POA of your gun sights is correct.
 
I received one that slips into the muzzle as a gift and found it to be worthless. I bought one (not ebay) in 223 for my AR that fits in the chamber and found it to be just like the previous one. I am not saying they are all bad but mine were. I have never bore sighted a handgun, only rifles. Just shoot at paper at 10-12 yards with the handgun and go from there.
 
I tried the chamber-type lasers to bore-sight scoped rifles but I soon found that visual bore sighting (putting the rifle in a fixture, removing the bolt and literally sighting at a 25 yard target through the bore while adjusting the scope to match) gave better results. Granted, the visual technique is incompatible with handguns, but I found that those chambering lasers so loosely that my eyes will do a better job. The muzzle-inserted type of laser is a more practical option, plus the batteries last longer.

Frankly though, I'm not sure there is any merit in bore-sighting pistols unless you're talking some kind of hunting rig intended for long-distance or silhouette work. As Mizar says, at short pistol distances you'll see where you're making holes unless your gun shoots sideways.
 
Bore sighting a bolt action rifle is easy. I did that when I was 14 and needed to adjust the front sight on my .22 cal rifle. My Dad was pissed that I did it by myself, but the rifle shot true afterward.

As Mizar says, at short pistol distances you'll see where you're making holes unless your gun shoots sideways.

But is it the pistol shooting sideways or is it me pushing the pistol to the left or pulling the pistol to the right?

I plan to change the sights on two pistols and I'd really like to know that the sights were very close before I went to the range.

I had a thought that it might be possible to remove the striker assembly and sight through the firing pin hole in the breech face. I might need to use a fiber optic to get close to the firing pin hole. It probably wouldn't be much different than looking through a peep sight.
 
But is it the pistol shooting sideways or is it me pushing the pistol to the left or pulling the pistol to the right?

I plan to change the sights on two pistols and I'd really like to know that the sights were very close before I went to the range.

I think you'll be better served in this situation with a basic pistol bench rest. These take most of the shooter-contributed errors out of the equation.

517357.jpg

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015046659?pid=517357

Also keep in mind that pistol sight zeroing has some special considerations. This example is specific to revolvers, but autopistols (depending on design) can exhibit this to a lesser extent:



There is an auxiliary laser sighting unit mounted on my Glock 19 that served as a helpful training aid for mastering this gun's trigger. It gives you immediate feedback on your technique -- when shooting using the laser, you can see downrange how the muzzle is shifting on the target in real time.

Glock19LaserLight.jpg
 
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I have a chamber laser, looks like a .223.

I had put a green laser on, to night hunt hogs. Put the red laser in chamber. At 50 yards, adjusted green laser to red laser.
Sights were dead on.

Only use I have seen for handgun is setting a scope or dry fire practice to see your unsteadyness.

I like the chamber laser. The muzzlee mount not so much.

For a, probable, one time use, not a great buy.
 
I think you'll be better served in this situation with a basic pistol bench rest. These take most of the shooter-contributed errors out of the equation

I had been planning to make sand bags from sand that I scooped up off of the road from a broken sandbag that had been used to hold down a road sign. But that pistol rest is a lot less expensive than I would have expected and by far easier to transport, considering that I ride my bicycle to the gun range.

Now I need to find a sight pusher that won't break the bank.

I wonder how well one of these would work?
I have something similar called a Lizard Cam.

I was thinking about something like that. An endoscope might also be useful for checking out the inside of a 100+ year old Model of 1917 rifle barrel.
 
I used one of the ones that fit inside the muzzle a few times while in the Army. We used it indoors with the rifles on a plywood rest to get the new sights (Aimpoints) on target faster. We also used it to help some shooters with dry-fire practice.

I think you would need both a laser and a good rest (maybe a vise) for it to be helpful in a pistol for sight adjustment. It makes subtle errors very obvious when dry-firing, though, and I imagine it could be a helpful tool. I would probably set up something to video the laser so you can focus on the sights. Do the diagnosis after a few rounds when there is a repeated squiggle.
 
For 9MM pistol I use the chamber type training cartridge like the LaserLyte and the Pink Rhino. I put the longslide conversion kit on my HK VP9 and the rear sight was off from the factory and was able to get it dead on using the laser training cartridge as a guide. Then did the same when I put the Vortex Venom red dot on it and got it right one without wasting any ammo. The laser training cartridge is made more for dry fire but there are also versions that stay on dedicated for sighting in. A cartridge type also works best with a clean chamber and a little lube in the chamber for the O Rings.
 
I ise the laserlyte muzzle variety. Every time I turn it on it'll be perfectly fine for a few seconds then the laser goes out after fiddle with it for a while to get it to stay on long enough so I can properly cite my stuff in. I don't know if this particular brand is just crapola but it still works so I'm not going to waste money on another one
 
I had one of the stick in the barrel type some years ago that I used on my 10/22's. It helped with getting the scopes "on" with those. I don't know what the brand was. It was inexpensive as I remember...I think I got it from Wal-Mart even. I never used it on a handgun though.
 
They are a waste of money for any rifle with a scope on it. I can see where one might come in handy with iron sights. I've done it in reverse using my iron sights to get a laser sight dialed in on handguns before.

The key to getting a scoped rifle zeroed is to simply get a single hole in the target with the 1st shot. With a bolt gun you can remove the bolt, look through the bore and adjust the scope until everything is lined up. You'll be within 2" at 50 yards with shot #1.

But if you can't do that just use a bigger target. A sheet of posterboard is 68 cents at Walmart. It really doesn't matter if shot #1 is 2 inches from the aiming point or 2 FEET. Either way you can adjust the scope to hit point of aim with shot #2. A sight-in tool won't get you any closer, any faster, or with fewer shots.

Most iron sights are a little harder. Most aren't graduated and it is sort of trial and error to get them zeroed. I could see a tool helping get you close before firing a shot.
 
But is it the pistol shooting sideways or is it me pushing the pistol to the left or pulling the pistol to the right?

It doesn’t make any difference if you just align your point of aim, with the point of impact on target. At least if you do the same thing all the time.

Even on rifles it’s easy enough to get on paper and again, you just move your point of aim to the point of impact.

Looks like this.

 
Spend the money on ammo instead
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.
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edit to add.....use the ammo to sight in your gun.

the ONLY WAY to know your weapon is sighted in.....is....to sight ....it.....in.

skip the gimmicks
 
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It doesn’t make any difference if you just align your point of aim, with the point of impact on target. At least if you do the same thing all the time.

If I adjust my shooting technique to compensate for untrue sights, the next time I shoot a pistol with sights that are true my POI will be off.

NO thank you! I'd rather adjust my sights correctly and learn to shoot properly.
 
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I have used both kinds. BOTH will normally get you on paper at a zero distance, which differs for what you are shooting (pistol/rifle at X distance). But neither will compare to real trigger time in aligning sights or optics. Buy from a brand you TRUST, get close, then make the last adjustments yourself. Laser boresights will save you ammo playing the guessing game of where your rounds are going. But they don't get you dead on.
 
If I adjust my shooting technique to compensate for untrue sights, the next time I shoot a pistol with sights that are true my POI will be off.

NO thank you! I'd rather adjust my sights correctly and learn to shoot properly.

Well, if you don’t really care how you do with a firearm and just want it to be right by itself, you can remove yourself from the equation. This would be a far better way than playing around with a laser bore sighter though. Unless you already possess the ability to shoot 1/2” 10 shot groups at 50 yards.

3F3EA81A-9CAC-4F28-9998-00B666AD96E9.jpeg

They are adjustable so they can be adjusted for individual shooters and loads…

If you are happy remembering that you have to aim somewhere other than the center, in order to hit the center, that’s OK.
 
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