Laser sights - guide rod or grip mount

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In my state, OC is not allowed so I must CC. I am considering a laser sight and wanted to get feedback from this panel of experts.

Which do you prefer and why - guide rod or grip mount? Which brand and why?

It will be mounted on a Glock 27 with a Galco UDC for CC or a Blackhawk Serpa when I visit states that allow OC.

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I have a rail mount Viridian GLK for my Glock. Obviously it wont fit in your Serpa, but I only really use it at the range. I love it because it's ambidextrous (I'm a lefty), it's a very bright green laser, and it is easy to sight in.

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I have a Lasermax for my G39. Works as advertised and accurate to within 1 inch at self defense distances (I benched it to test accuracy). Only problem is the switch is easy to engage which if left on will drain the battery. Not so much a problem if using a Serpa.

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I prefer grip lasers over recoil spring lasers, but I'm a righty. If you are left handed, the laser is going to interfere with your thumb placement. I just find Crimson Trace lasers easier to adjust than the spring laser systems.

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I would definitely love to have a guide rod laser sight for my 1911.

But they're very expensive.

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I have Crimson Trace laser grips on 3 SIG's (P220, P229 and P239) and 1 Springfield XD-40. Very happy with them. I like the adjustment options on the grip mounted lasers. Since I like rubberized grips anyway, laser grips were the ticket for me.

I wouldn't worry too much about thumb placement for a lefty. I normally shoot left-handed, but had to switch to the right hand for several months due to a hand injury. As a right-handed shooter, I had more trouble keeping the right trigger finger along the frame and out of the way of the laser than I had with thumb placement as a lefty. (For those who do not know, the laser in the laser grip is mounted at the top of the right side of the grip.) This could be a concern based upon the specific gun and hand size. Some presentation and dry fire practice (EMPTY gun!) would seem to be the best answer.

You might find a forum for your specific brand of gun that has a for sale page. I got unused grips for 2 of my SIG's this way (SIGForum.com) and at great prices. The other two laser grips came from gun stores.

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Are there any quality rail-mount light/laser combos with a green laser?

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http://www.lasermax.com/product.php?id=127

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Green Laser:

From the Crimson Trace FAQ forum page (respondant is a Crimson Trace employee, of course):
http://forums.crimsontrace.com/index.php?topic=33880.0

When Will Crimson Trace Make a Green Laser? « on: February 04, 2008, 02:29:36 PM »
First allow me to address the hype of green lasers. A lot of laser manufactures are hyping green as the 2nd coming of laser sighting technology. Marketing buzz phrases like "50 times brighter than red," "Day Visible," "Brighter under all conditions," etc.... and they look pretty cool on TV right?

Green laser do one thing semi well and everything else pretty poorly. The one thing they do better than red is they do appear brighter. Power regulations are the same for both colors (can be up to 5mw) so we are talking about a difference of color only and that green is more sensitive to the human eye to see. Under sunlight green is easier to see than red, but all lasers regardless of color mute under bright sunlight, green is no exception. The brighter the sunlight the more the laser will mute until it is visibly useless to the shooter, the difference is with a green laser more bright sunlight is needed to mute it then red.

The problem is being the color green is easier for the human eye to see, under low light conditions (the conditions you are much more likely to need to use your laser equipped firearm in self defense) green offers some very real disadvantages. Under low light the green laser will splash off the target terribly making it difficult to discern the dot. Also under low light conditions the green laser itself is visible, one nice line from shooter to target. Finally under low light conditions the green laser will illuminate your surroundings (this is especially true inside buildings) like a green LED flashlight.

Furthermore green lasers are an IR diode with a chip that brings the color down into the green spectrum, because of this green lasers are 10 times less battery efficient than the current red. Also green diodes are much more fragile and more prone to temperature variations than the long proven red diodes.

To summarize, green lasers are currently not a good "all purpose" laser like the current red lasers are. I am personally of the opinion green lasers should be used or selected only for specialized tasks or missions where engaging bad guys under sunlight will be likely. Green is more of a specialized usage laser choice like IR than a good every day carry, all purpose, what you want on your gun 24/7, color choice like the red is.

As to the question at hand....

Will Crimson Trace ever make a green laser?

I have learned to never say never in this industry but at this time no. Until technology moves forward enough to eliminate problems like green diodes being fragile, being susceptible to temperature variations, and the battery drain problem, it likely will not be until these hurdles can be overcome.

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Markand, interesting points that I hadn't thought of, thanks for posting it.

Are there any downsides to guide rod lasers?

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Galt wrote:

Markand, interesting points that I hadn't thought of, thanks for posting it.

Are there any downsides to guide rod lasers?

Click to expand...

I haven't used a guide rod laser, but have heard of several issues. I believe one difference is that the guide rod laser requires some deliberate manual intervention to turn on, basically hitting a switch along the side of the gun. Must be turned off manually by hitting the same switch as well. Personally, I'd like laser activation/deactivation to be a little more automatic than that. In a high stress situation, simply getting the gun out of the holster can be an accomplishment. Finding a little switch seems like a stretch, although Laser Max owners might disagree.

Crimson Trace laser grips turn on when the grip is held in a normal grip action. Depending upon the model, activation is by buttons on both grip sides, under the left or right middle finger, making them ambidextrous, or by a button at the front of the grip under the middle bone of the middle finger, also ambidextrous. The laser can be turned off by slightly releasing the grip on the gun, a possible advantage in a tactical situation.

I'm not sure how battery life compares between Laser Max gide rod lasers and Crimson Trace laser grips, but I suspect, simply from the cumulative size of the batteries, that the Crimson Trace laser will last longer on a single set of batteries. The Crimson Trace batteries are simply much bigger overall.