.My feelings about the two lasers couldn't be farther apart.
I think the J-frame lasergrips are handier than a pocket on a shirt. I wouldn't carry a J-frame without them anymore, given the choice, and that set right there is on its second gun, having first been installed on a 442 a dozen years ago. They're fantastic dry-fire aids on the snubby revolver, and for a gun that may be fired from an awkward position in a hurry and under less than ideal lighting conditions, they're a boon.
Meanwhile, the laser on the BG380 is next to useless for me.
The difference? The CTC Lasergrips on the J-frame are grip-activated. There's nothing you need to remember to push or nudge or whatever; grab the gun and the laser switches on.
Meanwhile, on the BG380, the activation switch is a lightly countersunk rubber nubbin in front of the trigger guard that takes a deliberate press with your trigger finger to turn on. It might as well be in Albania for all the odds that I'll remember to hit it in a hurry.
Building the frames with a built-in laser using a button on the front- or backstrap would probably add too much cost to the little guns. There's a no-laser variant available now, and if it had been around when I bought mine, it's what I'd have gone for.
If it's not intuitive, you're right, it will never be used.
ReplyDeleteI've got one of the older CTC lasers on my .38 Bodyguard. Slick plastic is less likely to get hung up on clothes, IMO.
ReplyDeleteBut they discontinued them. Everyone else likes sticky rubber, I 'spose.
I have CTC lasergrips on five of my carry pistols. One on S&W 640, one on Glock 26, one on custom built 1911, one on a Kimber compact 1911 & one, the oldest on a S&W 636. The oldest dates from CTC's early years & the newest several months old.
ReplyDeleteNone have ever failed, caused a problem, lost zero, run down a battery (annual changes) or failed in any way.
They are well designed, intuitive,reliable and rugged.
Well worth their price and then some.
I need to revisit lasers some day. My only experience is with the CTG setup on a newbie friend's M&P 9.
ReplyDeleteHe had me sight it in for him. I ran through most of a box of 50 rounds before I figured out which way to move it to get the POI that I wanted.
Then I tried it at speed and found it killed my groups. I tended to try a pounce on the dot like a cat when it was just at the spot I wanted.
"Oh there it is! Yank! Oh there it is! Yank!" did not make for good shooting.
It's really too bad that the new CT Bodyguards didn't incorporate grip activation, seems like a wasted opportunity. At least the rubber nubbins are easier to press now though.
ReplyDeleteI have a BG380 and agree the laser is useless.
ReplyDelete