Green and Red Lasers/ Rifle and Pistol ???

[gene]

I recently put a green laser system on my AR15 which was said to be visable in daylight. (I doubt it unless its overcast) I also have a
9mm Hi Power I was planning on adding another RED laser to. Both are Weaver Style and not internal mounts.

I know they say the most accurate are the lasers in the grip or rod for pistols but I am not going to invest that big immediatly until I get more info and I have found very little information or feedback on the accuracy and practical uses of lasers except for training purposes on the internet.

Both lasers were in the 75.00 to 80.00 range and are aluminum housing. I used the bore sighter on the AR and lined the Green Dot over the red dot for sighting.

I did notice that the dots seem to seperate as you aimed further away from the initial sight in point which was about 20 Yards.

Anyone else had any experience with accuracy on these at what distance and problems if any?

Thanks

 

[strangenh]

If the laser can hold its zero decently, there's no reason it won't be as accurate as any red dot. The issue is - as with any scope, red dot, etc. - holding the zero you have chosen, and the fact that for distance shooting, the laser mount probably doesn't support dialing in distance and windage clicks, so it'll be an exercise in Kentucky windage. Lasers are great for CQB, social purposes, etc. In a group real-world situation, whose dot is whose could, I suppose, be an issue for sighting.

You probably know all this, but here's some pedantic stuff. This is for CQB or moderate distance, right? So it's basically a red dot that everyone can see. Anyhow, light flies essentially straight and bullets don't, so you have in effect zeroed to where the round will cross or re-cross the laser's axis. The bullet will rise, then drop crossing the line of your laser once or twice (depending on whether and how far it's mounted below or above the bore axis), and it will differ by round type/load/brand. In essence the process is the same as zeroing a simple scope or red dot.

You can dial in your zero just like you would with a scope. Start with your preferred load, with the bore-sight 20-yard parallel axis zero you now have, and go to a range, use a rest, and adjust the POA to match the actual POI at your desired zeroing distance. 100 yards is a good distance to get your final zero for the AR if the laser is visible at that distance, though you may want to start the zeroing at 50. The boresighting has probably saved you some zeroing time and ammo. Some people like to keep the laser as close to dead-parallel with the bore axis as possible, but that requires you know your rifle's rise/drop with a particular load and get the lines dead-on parallel. At 100Y or less, that's probably just fine for real-world use (POI will probably be a pinch lower at 50Y than at 100Y), but (I personally think) it's still better to have selected a real zero point on purpose than to try to get a perfect parallel axis, when the round isn't going to fly in a perfect line anyhow.

Your pistol will have comparatively a lot more rise/drop inside its likely use distances, so I'd suggest you pick a range to zero and sight in to it, though an inch or so up/down with a social-purposes handgun is hardly anything to get in a bunch about.

I did notice that the dots seem to seperate as you aimed further away from the initial sight in point which was about 20 Yards.

That's because pobody's nerfect.

 

[gene]

Your information was very helpful. Cant wait to take em to the range and see how they work.

 

[hminsky]

I got a $75 green rifle-mount laser from ebay, and found that it was difficult to zero (it used set screws), and did not hold zero. You get what you pay for. The laser was nice and bright, you could see it in the daytime, but the mechanical hardware was so cheap it practically fell apart by itself. I ended up putting the laser inside a Star Wars light saber for my son for Halloween. (Don't worry, it was only using the beam inside the plastic blade to light it up, it wasn't shining the spot on anyone).

 

[gene]

I got a $75 green rifle-mount laser from ebay, and found that it was difficult to zero (it used set screws), and did not hold zero. You get what you pay for. The laser was nice and bright, you could see it in the daytime, but the mechanical hardware was so cheap it practically fell apart by itself. I ended up putting the laser inside a Star Wars light saber for my son for Halloween. (Don't worry, it was only using the beam inside the plastic blade to light it up, it wasn't shining the spot on anyone).

Do you think it was the mounting hardware that was most of the problem or the laser. The hardware that I got with this one is Alum and built pretty well. Atleast as good as any scope hardware I have seen.

 

[hminsky]

Do you think it was the mounting hardware that was most of the problem or the laser. The hardware that I got with this one is Alum and built pretty well. Atleast as good as any scope hardware I have seen.

It was the part of the assembly which held the laser diode package into alignment. The package was badly mounted and the whole assembly poorly made and designed. I think the laser diode itself was fine. It was bright as hell.