With my eyesight deteriorating almost as fast as FJB’s mental facilities,I need to do something that helps my accuracy.
I thought of getting one of the red-dot sights:
…but that would mean getting a new set of holsters, and I don’t want to do that. (Maybe on my .22 pistols, because I don’t holster them.)
So that leads me to this option.
I’ve been thinking of putting a Crimson Trace laser sight on my carry guns: the 1911, S&W 638 and S&W Model 65, if I can ever afford to do so. (The CT lasers are much cheaper than the red dot systems, of course.)
Obviously, I can’t do all of them at the same time (#PovertySucks), but it’s getting to the point where I have to do something or else I might just as well shoot my gun gangsta-style:
…and we all know how well that works. (Don’t even talk about hip-shooting.)
Can anyone give me a good reason why I shouldn’t do the Crimson Trace thing? Are they reliable, do they need constant adjusting, etc.?
All comments gratefully received.
My very limited experience – red dot sights are fun, I have one on my 10/22. The only real problem is that my wife won’t let go of it long enough for me to get any shooting done. Never had one on a pistol.
As for the laser, when my wife was learning (actually, still learning) we got a pistol with a laser built into the front dust shield. After I got it all set up at home, we go to the range and could barely see the laser dot on the closest target. So thinking a home invader at o-dark-thirty? Easy peasy the red dot stands out. Some thug accosts you in the grocery store parking lot at high noon? The red dot will be totally useless and you’re back to iron sights or (depending on range) point shooting.
Finally, for someone who has tons of experience, instinctively takes the proper stance, holds the pistol properly, can usually get it on target quickly and the red dot is about where you’d expect it. For a newbie, none of that works and is actually detrimental to training. They spend more time looking for the dot and not enough time on maintaining stance or grip.
Again, my experience is very limited. However I see those as an aid to experienced shooters, but not a replacement for iron sights or proper technique.
Red dots is cool once you get them set up properly. I have 4, one on a highly modified tactical Remington 870 12 ga.
Lasers during the daytime don’t work. Period.
Having said that, I once saw a video of 3 shooters with lasers at night time “communicating” with each other, silently. Pretty cool.
I see Crimson Traces are as expensive as they ever were, and I’ll prolly never be one of their customers because of it.
All of my “newer” pistols have red dot sights. My Glock 37 and S&W Mod 65 have Crimson Trace lasers. In bright sunshine lasers are useless. In low light they work great. They are just like tracer bullets, they let the opposition know exactly where you are.
I’m a massive fan of CT lasergrips, have had them since…2005? 2006?
I’ve been a proponent of the idea that your carry and house gun need some sort of accommodation for low & no light fighting: lasers, tritium, or white light. I don’t like bulk on a carry gun, so white light goes in the pocket. Accordingly, I got CTs for my .38 snubbie, and later, for my Kimber K6s, which also came equipped with tritium sights.
The story is simple: they’re outrageously reliable. Installing them is easy, adjusting them needs to only be done once, and the batteries last forever. IIRC, I replaced the battery on my oldest one on the principle that a 10 year old battery was suspect, rather than that there was any sign of failure. The activation button comes on when the stocks are gripped without drama. Some people who tried them didn’t even notice the activation nub, and wondered what the mechanism was. There’s also a subtle on/off button that allows you to disable the laser should the occassion call for it.
Having said that, they are for indoor and low light use, an adjunct to your iron sights rather than a replacement for it. If the lighting conditions are such that the laser is visible, it will be more prominent than your front sight. If not, your sight is still there. And so…if picking up the front sight is the root of the problem, I would ALSO get a more prominent front sight. There are several options in that regard.
I have a CT laser grip on my S&W 642 J frame. It is an excellent piece of kit. Only good things to say about it.
I have one on my 1911. In my case, the Crimson Trace replacement grips containing the laser and the actuating button are a little thicker than the stock grip panels, and having small hands, the grip is a little fatter than I’d like ideally. The red laser is bright and reliable, uses coin batteries, and the zero holds just fine through firing and battery changes.
This particular red laser is even visible in bright daylight at ~20 yards with fresh batteries.
I’ve read but not experienced that a green laser is better for daylight visibility.
We have used Crimson Trace red laser grips on our carry handguns (.45 and .38) for more than 20 years.
They work well and appear to last forever. We test them regularly, and change batteries as needed.
We recently added Crimson Trace green lasers to our 12 gauge home defense shotguns.
We expect them to work as well, maybe even better in daylight, and also last forever.
Still deciding whether to go with laser or red dot for defensive rifles.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
An infrared laser with night vision is great for a defensive rifle at night. During the day, use a red dot.
When working a night-time security guard gig back before the Turn-of-the-Century, I put a laser on my Taurus-92 pistol, one that replaced the recoil-spring guide rod – that battery is still good, and the pistol always shot to aim-point.
During strong daylight, they are useless.
I have Crimson Trace lasers on my Smith Bodyguard snubnose .38, and on a SuperRedHawk in .480 Ruger.
Lasers are nearly unusable on a sunny day, but great at night, and not usable at range on a bright day.
Indoors, and on overcast days at short range, they are great.
I remember watching an English gentleman in the opening scene of “The Wind and the Lion” doing five for five with a big bore bulldog revolver. Unfortunately there were more than five bad guys but he paid the ferry man’s fee. That movie got me thinking about big bore snubby revolvers and a few years back I found a Charter Arms .44 special Bulldog with a set of Crimson Trace laser grips just because.
The laser has worked 100% of the time and I believe that I’m still running on the original battery. The projected dot really isn’t visible to my old man eyes in the daylight, but its bright in low light/no light conditions. To me those Bulldogs are very hard recoiling pistols so I’ll see the laser dot dancing all over the landscape until the recoil impulse dies down. I find that the laser activation switch on my Bulldog is a little uncomfortabe and awkward but that may just be my shooting grip
I have other pistols as my carry and church guns, but the Bulldog is fun and different. I do know that I’ve shot it and if my choice was limited to a wheel gun I’d feel comfortable with the slow heavy big bore bullets
“ eyesight deteriorating”
Kim, I’m in my 70s and have talked to my eye doc about all the crap that happens to eyeballs. Answer was that there is damn little that can’t be addressed in 2024. I honestly haven’t seen for shooting any deterioration. Including cataracts. Family has had surgery from literally blind to 20/10 !
As a left handed shooter these are completely unusable for me. If you’re planning to install a set of these on a self defense shootin’ iron, I’d suggest you check the non-dominant hand to see if there are issues.