Opinions on the Green vs the Red laser, on carry pistols

[RetiredUSNChief]

"Opinions on the Green vs the Red laser, on carry pistols"

My opinion is not to have either of them on a carry gun in the first place.

I'm not a big fan of loading up on accessories on a carry gun. A carry gun is just that...a carry gun. I don't need lasers, flashlights, bayonets, scopes, or other such.

I need a holster to carry my firearm, whether concealed or otherwise. I don't need anything else which may hamper with concealability, drawing/holstering my weapon, may get knocked out of alignment, or depend on batteries to function.

The primary purpose of my carry weapon is for self-defense. Though there are times when I'm sure a laser COULD provide a statistically significant advantage, I don't think it's significant enough to warrant having one on my carry weapon.

My opinion, biased though it may be.

 

[Weevil]

The green ones are definitely easier to see in any lighting condition.

But as has been mentioned they will burn up batteries quicker, are considerably more expensive, and there's the cold issue.


I don't use them on carry guns but do have one on my house pistol [red].

My only real gripe with a laser is they have to be sighted in at a certain distance. If your target isn't at the same distance you sighted the laser your shot will be high or low.

Kinda gimmicky and more for "cool" factor, oh and lotsa luck finding a decent holster, so I can't really justify dropping that kinda money on a green one. YMMV

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

My only real gripe with a laser is they have to be sighted in at a certain distance. If your target isn't at the same distance you sighted the laser your shot will be high or low.

You mean...like any other sighting system?

 

[Weevil]

You mean...like any other sighting system?

To a point, but your not gonna be off as much with your iron sights. These line up with the bore. The laser hanging underneath comes up at an angle and intersects with where the bullet will be at a certain distance. Change the distance to the target a few feet and the laser is no longer pointing at this same point as the fixed sights.

This is why red-dot sights have an advantage over a laser. You can keep the dot on the target without the change at varying distances like a rail mounted laser.

If you have a laser on a pistol line up the fixed sights on an object then line-up the dot of your laser. if you move closer or farther away and keep your fixed sights on the target you will notice the laser dot does not stay lined up on the target.

Now I'm only speaking about lasers hung from a rail, those that replace the guide-rod or are mounted on the rear sight probably don't have as dramatic of a change of POA.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

To a point, but your not gonna be off as much with your iron sights. These line up with the bore. The laser hanging underneath comes up at an angle and intersects with where the bullet will be at a certain distance. Change the distance to the target a few feet and the laser is no longer pointing at this same point as the fixed sights.

This is why red-dot sights have an advantage over a laser. You can keep the dot on the target without the change at varying distances like a rail mounted laser.

If you have a laser on a pistol line up the fixed sights on an object then line-up the dot of your laser. if you move closer or farther away and keep your fixed sights on the target you will notice the laser dot does not stay lined up on the target.

Now I'm only speaking about lasers hung from a rail, those that replace the guide-rod or are mounted on the rear sight probably don't have as dramatic of a change of POA.

I got all that. Hope you knew my comment was tongue-in-cheek!

Scopes have offset issues, too.

I would hope that anybody who shoots firearms would be able to understand how their sighting system works and why they're supposed to be sighted in at whatever range is expected of them.

But then, perhaps I've forgotten that everybody was a novice at one point and some people are more adept at this than others.

 

[Weevil]

Yeah and if you're aimming COM on a torso sized target you're still gonna hit it.


Just keep in mind you're not gonna hit exactly where the dot is unless the target just happens to be at the same distance you sighted in your laser at.

 

[BNDIT 1]

I got a lasermax for the LC9 if anyone is interested.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Shooting, marksmanship, green lasers....

I agree that a laser aimer or white light is not going to work or help you in a split second critical incident but they do have merit under some tactical considerations. If you hear a loud noise & activate your white light to ID a threat wouldn't that be better than blindly shooting in near darkness?
Also if you wound or down a violent subject would you want the bright green dot or red laser to be on him/her while you wait for LE to come?
I would not assume all laser aimers or white lights(even strobes) would deter a aggressive subject all the time.
I read a older gun magazine article from about 4/5 years ago that noted how a felony traffic stop turned very ugly, very fast when a subject in a vehicle saw the first responders pointing red & green lasers at him. He jumped out of the car & started shooting!
He was not intimidated or became compliant upon watching the LE officers use laser systems.

FWIW; major firms like Crimson Trace even say the lasergrips or green lasers do not replace basic marksmanship. Lasers or white light systems are meant to augment your weapon or defense tools. You can decide if you do or don't want it.
Many of the sworn LE officers in my area(with a daytime pop of around 900,000) carry sidearms with white-lights & laser-aiming systems.