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I responded to some spam and for the amazing low price of "FREE!" *(plus 14.95 shipping and handling) I ordered a Tacticon laser sight. Since laser sights of various kinds retail for scores or hundreds of dollars, and the rule "you get what you pay for" (or less) was still in effect last time I checked, I presume there's a catch. My question is whether this is a usable if very basic no-frills sight, or whether it's basically a toy sight that isn't worth bothering with.

P.S. I've trained on fixed sights for basic target proficiency but I don't trust my night vision enough for low-light situations.

I have one of those cheapys on a 10/22 archangel that works well. I doubt it would handle much recoil but on a 22 it doesn't get any. It's a $33 retail with shipping.

GL

I own a couple of the cheap ones and both have the major flaw of the "On" button being easily pushed, and the laser turned on, without my knowledge. The cheap ones I have do not turn off automatically (after a prescribed time) and after unknowingly being turned on, have killed the battery.

For just target shooting they worked fine, but I won't put them on my carry gun.

All lasers are cheap range toys. If you don’t trust your sights in the dark, get night sights. If you don’t think you can see night sights, you won’t be able to see a laser.


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LumberZach wrote:All lasers are cheap range toys. If you don’t trust your sights in the dark, get night sights. If you don’t think you can see night sights, you won’t be able to see a laser.


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My dbal a3 definitely wasn’t cheap

Ghost wrote:

LumberZach wrote:All lasers are cheap range toys. If you don’t trust your sights in the dark, get night sights. If you don’t think you can see night sights, you won’t be able to see a laser.


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My dbal a3 definitely wasn’t cheap

Yet still a range toy


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LumberZach wrote:

Ghost wrote:

LumberZach wrote:All lasers are cheap range toys. If you don’t trust your sights in the dark, get night sights. If you don’t think you can see night sights, you won’t be able to see a laser.


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My dbal a3 definitely wasn’t cheap

Yet still a range toy


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Hopefully it’ll always be a toy, if I need it it will be invaluable.

And paired with NV in free’er states it’s pretty awesome too. That whole IR thing is handy.

Update: I finally got around to mounting the laser sight, and the vertical zero varies a lot with range- dot is higher the further away you aim. Is this normal, or an indication that it's not mounted correctly? Since this is on my "**** hits the fan in the middle of the night" handgun I zeroed it to approximately 6-7 yards, but it wouldn't be trustworthy the full length of a long hallway, which is a little disappointing. Any suggestions?

The laser is pointed significantly upwards to be POI at 6 yards, yet gravity is pulling down on the bullet as soon as it is free of the barrel. I would zero it for a longer distance and just live with the idea that at close ranges POI will be somewhere between POA and POA+the difference between bore axis and laser lens (i.e. it'll be shooting maybe as much as 1.5" above the laser dot).

I got a $15 green laser from Amazon and it can NOT handle the recoil from a .40S&W! Within 5 rounds the laser dot was several FEET from where it started at 10 yards.

If my life depends on a piece of equipment, i would spend some money. Not sure I'd go top of the line, but something known to be reliable. Intruders in my home would meet that threshold. IMO.

Most encounters are over in one or two rounds

linksep wrote:The laser is pointed significantly upwards to be POI at 6 yards, yet gravity is pulling down on the bullet as soon as it is free of the barrel. I would zero it for a longer distance and just live with the idea that at close ranges POI will be somewhere between POA and POA+the difference between bore axis and laser lens (i.e. it'll be shooting maybe as much as 1.5" above the laser dot).

I got a $15 green laser from Amazon and it can NOT handle the recoil from a .40S&W! Within 5 rounds the laser dot was several FEET from where it started at 10 yards.

This makes sense: better to have POA be a few inches too low at short range than a foot high at longer range. Thanks.

Works for head shots at least

The more offset from the bore, the bigger angle to sight it in at close distance.

If you zero it at short distance, minimal changes in range will make big difference in point of impact.

As to if it’s worth it... as a range toy you have little in it, so sure. If you intend it for social purposes, then you are admitting your life isn’t worth much to you... unless you rigorously test it first.

Personally, I don’t find laser sights very helpful. A gun mounted flashlight with a gripped position accessible pressure switch would be much more valuable, but also more money.

crbutler wrote:The more offset from the bore, the bigger angle to sight it in at close distance.

If you zero it at short distance, minimal changes in range will make big difference in point of impact.

As to if it’s worth it... as a range toy you have little in it, so sure. If you intend it for social purposes, then you are admitting your life isn’t worth much to you... unless you rigorously test it first.

Personally, I don’t find laser sights very helpful. A gun mounted flashlight with a gripped position accessible pressure switch would be much more valuable, but also more money.

No argument there, just that I have not been physically, mentally or financially able to pursue armed self-defense as properly as I would prefer. The cheap-***t laser sight falls into the category of "slightly better than nothing" in dealing with a low-light shtf scenario.