Bad day at the range~~~ Good day at the range~

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Took out my BG380 and put another 50 rounds through it. Boy did I suck. I was shooting from 12 yards or so. I was able to hold the laser with in about 2 inches of center but all my shots were landing about 6 inches low.
 
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Well, the laser probably isn't really set up for anything more than 20 feet, I would imagine, so that's probably half the problem right there. 12 yards is a football field for little guns like that.

Did you try just shooting it without the laser?

-Mike
 
If the laser is an inch lower than the bore , an imaginary line from both of them to the target will only be together - zeroed - at one distance. like a very thin triangle.

Past that point your red dot will be above the hole the bullet makes. the more distance the greater the space between the laser and the hole in your target.

One could set the laser to shine parallel to the bore , and just know it is always going to be shining that inch ( or whatever ) lower at most ranges you'll ever shoot a 380.
 
Ya I'm an idiot...I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't even think of trying it with the sights. I will try it Thursday. I had the stand at about 15' and was low then, so I moved it back farther. I will say that twice the slide stop caught the slide preventing it from chambering a round.
 
Did you ever zero the laser? It is adjustable ,right? I zeroed my 642 at 30' but if I could do it at 50' I would have, to cut down on the parallax error.
 
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If the laser is an inch lower than the bore , an imaginary line from both of them to the target will only be together - zeroed - at one distance. like a very thin triangle.

Past that point your red dot will be above the hole the bullet makes. the more distance the greater the space between the laser and the hole in your target.

One could set the laser to shine parallel to the bore , and just know it is always going to be shining that inch ( or whatever ) lower at most ranges you'll ever shoot a 380.

What would you do? Zero it at a distance or let it parallel? I kind of like paralleling it. That way whatever distance I would know that my hole will always be an inch higher.
 
I had to make an adjustment to the laser vs sights. Careful though I think there is only one full revolution on the screw. I also find the loooong SA trigger pull makes longer shots much more difficult. Just takes getting used to...

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Thanks 7, I see it clearly now, since my laser was aimed level at the center, my hole was always low. At 12 yards I was about 6" low.
 
Ya I'm an idiot...I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't even think of trying it with the sights. I will try it Thursday. I had the stand at about 15' and was low then, so I moved it back farther. I will say that twice the slide stop caught the slide preventing it from chambering a round.

I bet you're not an idiot. But you know what ? When you go back to the range next - skip the laser altogether , for a while , like maybe 500 rounds. And then only use it for like 25% of your shooting.

You won't be able to see it in daylight anyway.
 
I have not zero'd it yet. It is how it cam from the factory. I only have 100 rounds thru it. I have to get good at just holding it steady before I can start messing witht he laser.
 
Your right that you cant see it in the daylight. It was only visible that on the targets in the shade. I just meant I was an idiot because I got so caught up in the laser that I never even thought about going back to the basics of the sights.
 

Great pic on how the parallax error plays in. The farther away the target is when you adjust the sights, the more parralel the bore is to the line of sight.

When we aligned our shipboard guns with the gunsight of the gun director, we would put a borescope in the gun barrel and both the barrel and gunsight would be zeroed on a star in the sky. The star is so far away that it just about equals infinity. You end up with perfectly parrallel lines of sight.
 
we would put a borescope in the gun barrel and both the barrel and gunsight would be zeroed on a star in the sky.

Do not try this at home! Your neighbors will find you unsuitable!
"Why is that man shooting at the sky?!?!?"
[smile][wink][smile]

-JR
 
I would think 6" at 12 yards is good for a gun like that. If you ever 'need' that gun it's going to be more like 2 yards.
 
We had to adjust the laser on my son's bodyguard but only about 1" right at 10 yards. When people tell me they are hitting low, my first thought is they are flinching. I don't mean to be insulting but that little gun is easy to flinch with. The qualities that make it so easy to carry make it difficult to shoot well. Have someone load the gun while you're not looking. Have them place one round in the gun,sometimes in the chamber and sometimes in the magazine. When you pull the trigger on an empty chamber, any flinch will be obvious.
 
Hi Gerry

I wasn't insulted at all. You may be right. I don't think I am flinching, but I certainly think I am not steady when the triggr breaks. I have only been shooting handguns for a year. I tyend to believe that the laser is not the issue and that I am. I need to learn to be more steady.
 
AFTER ENSURING THAT THE GUN IS UNLOADED, check to make sure that it is unloaded, and then when you are SURE the gun is unloaded, use that laser for dry-fire practice to watch what you're doing with the trigger pull.

The dry-fire will help you do several things: it'll smooth out some of the action parts; you'll get much more used to the feel of the trigger; and you'll be able to SEE what is happening as you squeeze the trigger through the shot.
 
Just remember........A bad day at the range is still better than a good day at work.[thumbsup]

Beat me to it. At least he got to the range. You don't wanna know how long it's been for me!

Besides, problems create a purpose and goal. What if every shot you made went through the x-ring? Done. Over. Nothing left to do and no reason to go to the range. Time for a new hobby.

Rember, if it ain't broke, you can't fix it. And where's the fun in that?
 
Beat me to it. At least he got to the range. You don't wanna know how long it's been for me!

Besides, problems create a purpose and goal. What if every shot you made went through the x-ring? Done. Over. Nothing left to do and no reason to go to the range. Time for a new hobby.

Rember, if it ain't broke, you can't fix it. And where's the fun in that?

I would like to have the problem of having every shot go through the X-ring. Where do I sign up for that? [rofl]

-Mike
 
Hey- a bad day at the range turned into a pretty cool little educational session from people on here. I don't have any mounted lasers, but I sure as hell wouldn't have thought about paralax with them if I did.

Damn it I need to get out and shoot more.
 
Great pic on how the parallax error plays in. The farther away the target is when you adjust the sights, the more parralel the bore is to the line of sight.

not really, you have to factor in gravity. Plus with the laser below the bore, you will only have 1 distance where the POA/POI meet opposed to 2 locations if the laser was above the bore
 
not really, you have to factor in gravity. Plus with the laser below the bore, you will only have 1 distance where the POA/POI meet opposed to 2 locations if the laser was above the bore



Might not matter very much with a .380 that fits in your wallet. Besides , if you need a 75 yard shot with a BodyGuard all you have to do is know the zeroing when you hold it upside down ....
 
not really, you have to factor in gravity. Plus with the laser below the bore, you will only have 1 distance where the POA/POI meet opposed to 2 locations if the laser was above the bore



If the line of sight (laser) and bore are exactly parallel, there will be minimal error (1"-2") at all normal shooting distances. The trajectory will be basically flat at the short distance that the gun will be used for. If you're shooting long, you'd need to estimate the holdover necessary.
 
Took out my BG380 and put another 50 rounds through it. Boy did I suck. I was shooting from 12 yards or so. I was able to hold the laser with in about 2 inches of center but all my shots were landing about 6 inches low.

Stop using the laser. You'll develop some pretty bad habits "hunting" for that dot and you'll end up worse off.
Learn how to shoot the gun first.
Then adjust the laser...and don't depend on it. Imagine having to use it, pulling it out and looking around for a red dot flickering around somewhere while the other guy pulls the trigger.
 
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