I was looking on Amazon for a laser sight for a pistol and there are too many to choose from. Has anybody bought one they liked for cheap/reasonable money? Do I want red or green? What about one with a flashlight, a plus or a waste of money? I need some direction here. I shoot like Michael J Fox these days and I'm hoping a laser would help.
Lasers can help with accuracy but do have a drawback. They concentrate your focus on the dot. This takes away from situational and peripheral awareness. Depending on your use case, a taclight could be much more advantagous and of course night sights. I used the TLR-1 Taclight from Streamlight and if you're set on getting a laser, you can get the -2 which is a light/laser combo. I loved my light and used the shit out of it.
Never was a fan of the laser on the S&W Bodyguard I had. Maybe not a fair comparison to a "better" laser. Got a Vortex Viper red dot on a Ruger 22/45 and it's like cheating shooting steel with it. Dot on plate, pull trigger smoothly, and ding every time. Almost makes me wish all of my pistols had one.
Mine is a Crimson Trace Laserguard green laser with flashlight. It was already on the gun when purchased, so I have no idea on how easy or difficult is the mounting. Once I got it sighted in, it is great. Just be aware that a laser and/or flash light will basically pin-point your location if someone is returning fire.
I got a $30 green laser from Amazon and put it on the bottom pic rail of my Tisas 9mm. I like the green vs. red, more visible in most lighting. It did NOT stay sighted worth a crap during a range session though, I'd suggest spending more if that's important. The $35 red/green dot I have on my AR holds adjustment very well and works great (more likely due to the much lower recoil of .556 vs. 9mm). If you have any way to mount it, take the dot over laser all day long.
I have couple Armalaser on AR pistols. Very small, has 2 bare metal areas that, when you touch them, it toggles on and off. The ones I have are green and have worked great. In the complete dark they are almost bright enough to function as a light. https://www.opticsplanet.com/armalaser-laser-sight.html
IMO they are excellent on a bump in the night gun. Try this out....remove the bolt in an unloaded AR pistol and have someone point it at you in the dark and see how it would feel to be a perp. For one, it is disorienting and it sure conveys the feeling of impending perforation that nothing else can quite touch. Agree, not a lot of aiming value in the day.
Not having a laser sight of any kind, but having used them, I'm gonna set myself up as a target anyway... - Pinpoints your location? Well, duh...and a white light does what? If the laser isn't pointed directly at the target, or in a smoke/dust-filled environment, there's virtually no telling where it's coming from. - Concentrates your focus? Quit target fixating. It's a no-no on bikes, but you can train yourself to "look away" or, more importantly, look at what you should be looking at. Train yourself to see that the "dot" has painted the target. If you can't see that in your peripheral vision, there's no helping you. In that respect, it's little different than using a red dot, except you have to have some semblance of eye/sight alignment with a red dot. - Don't buy cheap sights or mounts of any kind, ever. This concludes my abridged real-world application of lasers PSA presentation. Sign up for more real-world info by calling 1-800-FUNFRED and get detailed instructions on how to fuck shit up covertly. Call now and I'll also tell you how to blow shit up! But wait, there's more! The first fifty callers get two free sheaths full of throwing knives! That's ten perfectly forged, balanced and hardened throwing knives with guaranteed penetration through all street clothing, including winter jackets! No need to waste ammo, just whip a blade at the perp's temple and if he don't go down, he ain't stickin' around neither. Plant one in his ass...they're barbed.
And if you train enough to be able to not focus on the dot, you'll be a good enough weapons handler to not need the laser
Cannot even remember the brand as I git it as a throw in on a bunch of stuff I bought from a guy but I love the one on my 308 I use for coyotes. It’s awesome in the mid light times. I’ll probably use it tonight if there is enough moonlight. They certainly have their purpose on pistols and rifles but to me they are a tool To be used in the right situation.
Or just get a shotgun and aim in the general direction. Anything that was on your left side is no longer a problem. [/Bill Burr]