Thursday, January 22, 2009

"Must Have" for people other than me.

I am generally in favor of lasers on handguns, especially handguns that may need to be fired under sub optimal conditions, such as rolling around on the ground in a dark parking lot. (Is Weaver or Isosceles correct for that?)

Nevertheless, I'm not as enthusiastic as some about this new Laserlyte gizmo that fits in the gun's rear sight dovetail, and for a couple reasons:

1) I'm assuming it's a two-piece unit; ie, the laser-y bit gets attached after you've drifted in the dovetail itself. Anyone who's seen a rear sight get installed knows why. (If you haven't seen a rear sight installed, here's a hint: It often involves a hammer.) Two-piece objects on carry guns have an uncanny ability to separate themselves into their component parts at the worst possible time, usually after getting dropped in the aforementioned dark parking lot.

2) Any control on the gun necessary for bringing it into action should be operable one-handed from a firing grip. This is why CTC Lasergrips have such an edge over guide-rod lasers in my estimation; you don't have to find a little button in the dark while you're rolling around in a parking lot. But even the guide-rod lasers usually put the activation switch somewhere near where the trigger finger would index on the frame if your booger hook is properly off the bang switch. This Laserlyte thing, on the other hand... I don't know about you, but at no time in my drawstroke is my thumb atop the slide.


It must suck to try and get into the CCW laser game after the good ideas have already been taken...


(H/T to Unc.)

9 comments:

Daniel Short said...

Great points...I am thrilled with my Armalaser on my Kel-Tec PF9. It is integrated on the rail down to the from of the trigger guard. It actually looks and feels like part of the firearm. The best part is the one hand operation, like you mentioned. The laser automatically comes on when my finger breaks the plane between the trigger and guard. An added bonus is that the laser is solid and won't move from where I set it when it is used as my CCW.

JD said...

Seems like a bad place to put a laser, even worse for two part as you mention. Forget about dropping the gun, just the constant jarring from the slid working seems like it would be bad. . .

Don M said...

I kind of thing that the place for a laser emitter would be out front, so you can't block it with your hand, illuminating your hand for counterfire.

Good point about the slide. Just to add some JMB heresy, a pistol without a slide (fixed barrel) could have a laser attached under the barrel. Laser for my Luger?

The Raving Prophet said...

To be fair, if you're in a grappling fight on the floor of a parking garage, you won't be using lasers, sights, or any of that crap. You'll put the muzzle into the BG and pull the trigger.

I can see the utility of lasers- I don't have any on my guns just yet, but I might look into that new Ruger LCR with the CT grips. But in some situations, no sighting device is needed. Just like in other situations, various other sighting devices will have their own advantages.

Anonymous said...

Agreed about the activation switch.

However, the fact that this unit puts the laser in line with the bore means it's going to be accurate at a wider range of distances than other laser units, and that's a plus.

It's also placed so that even left-handed thumbs-forward shooters won't be blocking the beam, which is more than you can say for most other laser sighting devices -- except, of course, for those that require a specially-designed holster.

If you ask me, it is time and past time for gun companies to be developing integrated laser sighting systems that are simply part of the firearm as it comes off the production line. This goes triple for all the tiny little polymer guns on the market now...

Anonymous said...

Prophet,
Tam, didn't mention grappling on the floor of the aforementioned garage. Please note that if you have to use your weapon it will be at the worst possible time in the worst possible conditions. Not to mention that your body will likely have some element of the shakes from the adrenaline coursing through it, which makes it incredibly easy to fumble and drop whatever smallish item(s) you have in your hands. Add to the aforementioned the fact that when there is fire incoming you will likely be trying to make yourself as small as possible while trying to get behind something that will hopefully absorb the icky, nasty things buzzing through the air at you.

Or, in other words: "sub optimal conditions, such as rolling around on the ground in a dark parking lot"

Matt G said...

If the mass is low enough and it's tough enough, the topping the slide thing shouldn't be a big deal. I very much like the fact that it doesn't change the grip on the pistol, that it will pretty much fit any holster you already have for the gun, and that the laser dot lands almost exactly where your sight picture is.

That said, Tamara trumps all those good things with the Big Problem: it is NOT easier to use. Crimson Trace made their sights an instant one-handed "ON" proposition, in a very tough little package that interferes with very, very few holsters. That's going to be hard to top, without a purpose-made gun.

Anonymous said...

...altho the bayonet is just what I want on my pistol the next time I need to scare white people.

Anonymous said...

One of the design problems with having a laser out front, say where the front sight goes, is the debris from the muzzle blast can quickly foul the lense and obscure the laser.