Laser or Night Sights?

[Carl in CT]

I got a cheap laser/light combo for my SKS to play around with. It's small so I stuck it on my SR45. The stock sights are hard to see in the dark with the only light shining ahead of me. When I turned on the laser too I could see it fine but the parallax is pretty pronounced as the laser hangs a full 3" below the barrel. I heard great things about the Nebo 5569 light as a good aluminum light for $36.49 so I ordered one. Now I am debating between a laser that would mount right under the barrel to reduce the parallax issue and mount the light below that or night sights for the SR45 with Nebo light.

Please vote for laser or night sights then say why, if you don't mind, and any recommendations for decent but reasonably priced options for your choice would be great.

Thanks!

[Loose}{Cannon]

I just think in short range action consistent with a hand gun, a laser would be better. By themselves, I think they are aadjustable and you can set it right on top of the post. Green lasers are reported to be very bright and will illuminate the target to an extended also. 

Heck.. I would likely just hold an inch or two low having both eyes open and point the laser.   

[Phosphorus32]

I've got a laser/light combo on my Sig P526.   I adjusted zero for 15' since it's our home defense firearm.  Just point and click   

Pray I never ever have to use it in that manner.

[Carl in CT]

I've got a laser/light combo on my Sig P526.   I adjusted zero for 15' since it's our home defense firearm.  Just point and click   

Pray I never ever have to use it in that manner.

Yes, this will also be my HD firearm and I was going to follow up with a question of what distance to zero the laser on if I went that way. I was thinking 15 feet or so too. The other thing is that this gun is the only one I really feel comfortable carrying right now. I have a CW9 as well but I haven't used it enough yet and I don't have a conceal carry holster for it yet. So if I went with a laser for HD use, it would have to be one that will return to zero after being removed so I can holster and carry the gun then put the laser and light back on when I go to bed.

[Phosphorus32]

In my case I don't carry my P526, it's dedicated to home use in a safe fast access spot that both my wife and I know about, so I leave it with the light/laser on the rail all the time.  Of course I do a function test to check the battery once in a while...uh, in other words, it's fun to watch the cat try to catch the laser   

I would guess it would be a little bit off if you detached and reattached it, but probably not bad.  I'd suggest doing the experiment to see how much it changed and see if the amount of deviation was acceptable for close quarters POA/POI purposes.

[Carl in CT]

Well, I ordered the Truglo TFX sights for my SR45 instead of a laser. They are fiber optic and tritium so they are supposed to be good in any lighting situation. The reviews seem good on them.

The voting was 3-0 for the laser but I dunno, I just really like the idea of the day/night sights that will still be there for me when I am carrying (which a laser would not be) and there is no reliance on batteries, remembering to hit a switch, etc. I also like that I will be using the same aiming methods I always use, not changing in order to use a laser. Maybe not a big deal but still. Thanks for the opinions though, I guess I don't listen very well.

[Phosphorus32]

I've never had a firearm with fresh tritium sights (Yugo 59/66s don't count because they were installed so long ago and the tritium's half life is 12.3 years).  I'd be interested to hear what you think when you get them installed and check them out under low/no light.  The switch/battery issue with the laser/light combos concerns me as well.  I guess with the tritium glowing sights you'll still need to switch on the lights or have a hand held flashlight to see what you might be aiming at under poor lighting in order to make that crucial positive ID.

[Loose}{Cannon]

If you mount a laser... do you not still have irons for daylight shooting?

[1mlt]

Pistol: green QD laser w/flashlight mounted on rail under barrel. Irons are still usable
Rifles: green QD laser, mounted on rail top of rifle, QD day scope in backpack, irons are still usable.

Marcus

[Carl in CT]

If you mount a laser... do you not still have irons for daylight shooting?

Of course, but the TFX sights are an upgrade over irons for daytime shooting too. I'm not saying a laser is a bad choice, not at all. I just liked the idea of having less stuff on the gun, especially when I carry it (it's big and heavy enough as it is) and not having to reattach a laser when I am at home at night. Yes, I'd be putting the light back on it either way but there's no worry about zero with the light. I suppose it would not be a big concern with a laser either as most probably return pretty close to zero and at close range it would be good enough as someone else had mentioned. I don't think there was a bad choice here, maybe part of me just wanted to try those TFX sights out.

[Dannyboy53]

It's difficult for me to argue with your logic Carl, it makes too much sense! It's been my experience that shooting in stressful situations is best done with as simple a rig as possible. I feel like the more accessories one adds to a firearm, the more there is that might go wrong at a bad time (Murphy's Law stinks!). As cool and nice as these things are, in my humble opinion they do not of themselves make us better shooters. Only lots of practice in different scenarios. Regardless of what one carries or keeps available in the house we should be able to bring it into battery and put rounds in target in a second or less. Don't laugh...it can be done! Set up easy and simple scenarios you feel you may encounter and practice as often as time/ammo will allow.

Remember "K.I.S.S."? Keep It Simple Stupid!

[Worm]

Why not both If you're interested in both?

I had tritium night sights on my Colt New Agent 1911. Gotta love em', been debating if I want them on my new Glock or not. Then again, point & shoot is really what my ccw is for.

I'm not much of a add-on guy myself, like Danny, keep it simple IMO. All of my guns are.. pretty much 100% stock.

[Greatguns]

In a night time HD situation your eyes will more than likely already be adjusted to the dark and a light will more let the perp know where you are than give you good light. Laser is the way to go.

[Carl in CT]

So as I said, I don't listen well and got the TFX day/night tritium/fiber optic sights despite the voting being in favor of the laser (5-1). I got a little more than I bargained for with getting the stock sights off so I was frustrated and having some buyers remorse as my new sights sat in the package for a couple of weeks. I bought this sight pusher tool for $93 shipped (ouch) but it worked pretty well and got my old sights off and the new ones on without me violently pounding the crap out of my slide. It will work on just about any slide so I can use it on my other pistols if I want. I got the tall version and glad I did for the front sight because the slide is taller at the front thanks to the ring that goes around the guide rod.
http://www.sightpusher.com/New--XL-Tool.html

So without further adieu, pics of the TFX sights installed on my SR45. Overall I am quite happy with everything but I haven't had a chance to shoot with them yet so I guess the jury is still out until I do that.

Almost no light. Sorry for the poor focus, my camera doesn't like low light situations. This was very close up which made the distance between the dots seem very wide. It really isn't when holding the gun normally.


Low light


Daylight by my window on this cloudy morning, fiber optics still did well.


With tac light on, sights give nice, pronounced silhouette, much better than stock sights.


Pics of the gun just so you can see the physical dimensions of the sights.

[1mlt]

In a night time HD situation your eyes will more than likely already be adjusted to the dark and a light will more let the perp know where you are than give you good light. Laser is the way to go.

GG, I agree, the light will give you away. Use a green laser and light combo. Just don't turn on the light or the laser until you ready to "squeeze" off a round. The light won't blind you, but it will blind the guy at the bottom of the stairs (maybe 10-12 feet away) for 1 sec. That's all the time you need to laser him and put 3 in his chest. I've practiced this and it works. Also hope I never have to really try it IRL.

My laser/light has momentary on/off, solid on/off and either light, laser or both.

Marcus