What You Need To Know About Laser Sights

So, you’ve been wondering about laser sights? If you’re new to firearms, adding lasers to your firearm may sound... intense.


But, lasers have actually become a very popular firearm accessory. 

Laser sights are small devices attached to, or may be an integral part of, your firearm that project a laser beam on to your target. This is used as an additional reference point in the sight picture: rear sight, front sight, laser dot, and target. The eye grabbing effect of the laser in conjunction with the sight picture allows for much faster sight alignment and target acquisition. This is vital in a self-defense situation.

There are a couple of different placement options for handguns: grip, rear sights, trigger guard, internal guide rod, and rail. 

Gallery

After you choose the laser sight mount, you’ll have to choose whether you want a red or green laser.

Red lasers can be practical due to their durability and cheaper manufacturing costs. They have a wider temperature operational range and are ideal between 15 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. However, a major drawback against red lasers is day time visibility. During the day, red can typically only be seen up to 25 – 30 yards.

www.opticsplanet.com

Green lasers, on the other hand, have daytime visibility up to 100 yards. They are closer to the center of the visible light spectrum than red lasers making them more visible during day light. This is ideal for target shooters who practice primarily in daytime hours. However, green lasers require more power, which makes their battery life half that of red lasers. They are also slightly more sensitive to temperature and are operational between 40 and 100 degree Fahrenheit. Also, since green laser sight technology is more advanced, they are more expensive than red lasers.

Ultimately when choosing a laser, keep in mind your intended use, environmental conditions, and type of firearm in order to find the one that works best for you.