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From: wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re:  laser sights
Message-ID: <34878@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 25 May 91 05:19:19 GMT
Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu
Lines: 62
Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu

#From:           joel@peora.sdc.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch)
#I've been interested in laser sights also. The thing that holds me
#back is that my home defense gun is also my concealed carry gun and
#although the laser sights are very compact nowdays, they still are
#kind of big for concealed carry. Taking the laser mount off when
#I want I want to carry concealed would be mucho hassle. 
...
#One item I found intriguing
#was a mount from Laser Products that mounted under the frame of
#a semi-automatic pistol and would take either a laser or a tactical
#light. They said the flash light had a very tight beam and could
#be used as a aiming device in a pinch. 

One factor to consider about the ordinary laser sights/projectors in
this context is that mounting them appears to be just as much hassle as
mounting a scope; so if you took it off, you'd have to sight-in again
when you re-mounted it -- it wouldn't be automatically re-zeroed and
allow simple on-and-off. So it would not be feasible to frequently
switch the laser on and off the same gun, unless you have a range in
your basement and sighting-in is your idea of a fun evening every day... :-)

If a non-laser mini-flashlight will do, though, there IS an alternative
for certain models of automatics. At least one company makes a
replacement magazine (or an add-on for an existing magazine; not sure)
that holds a mini-flashlight at the bottom, so it projects forward under
the grip. So you could carry the piece with the regular magazine, and
then just replace the magazine with this flashlight-mount one for use in
home defense in the dark.

When installed, it's like you're holding a U at the bottom: the slide &
barrel project forward above your hand, and the flashlight projects
forward below your hand.

I've seen writeups on this in at least one gun mag (SWAT, maybe?) where
they liked it. I *think* these are made by Eagle, but I'm running on
memory here. [I know I just got an ad in the mail from Eagle, and I know
I just saw this product listed in some recently-received brochure, but I
can't be sure they are the same ad! :-( I'm at work, and all that stuff
is at home, & I won't be able to post again until Tuesday.]

There are obvious limitations -- if you have to change magazines, you
lose your light. [But if you have to change magazines in an in-home
firefight this may be the least of your problems! Time to drag out the
belt-fed weaponry... :-)] The product only works with or is made for
certain guns, and you have to be using one of those. I cannot believe
that adding this extra weight to a loaded mag is good for the magazine
catch assembly in the gun. Having the flashlight underneath the grip
limits the kind of two-handed hold you can use without masking the
flashlight beam or deflecting the light so that it doesn't point
correctly. A flashlight mounted on a replaceable magazine has to
have some wobble and cannot be as well zeroed as one screwed to the
frame. [Or slide. But I doubt any flashlight will work after one shot in
a slide-mount! I can only recall frame-mounts, anyway.]

But the beam is probably wide enough, when compared with a laser dot, to
make the inaccuracy due to wobble of the magazine-mount unimportant at
the close ranges being considered. As I recall, it's relatively cheap,
and might be worth trying out on spec. Heck, it's always good to have
some excuse to buy a new toy...

Regards, Will
wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil OR wmartin@st-louis-emh2.army.mil