written by Cody S. Alderson
USCCA GEAR REVIEW
Come on guys and gals. Well, at least the guys anyway. I know I wanted a Ray Gun when I was a kid. Didn't you want one too? Star Trek had the PHASER, and I don't remember what Buck Rogers had. This probably all started with Flash Gordon and Ming The Merciless.
I can't get a Ray Gun that I can carry yet, but I do have a "ray" that I can put on my gun, and it will show me exactly where the bullet will hit if I need to press the trigger. LASER aiming devices for firearms is modern technology that is proving itself to be as reliable or even more reliable than the gun that they are put on.
LASER is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Not the kind of radiation that goes into your cells and turns you into a mutant or The Incredible Hulk. That kind of radiation is of a different sort and energy level than these little diodes that "radiate" visible light in a concentrated beam.
After announcing last week what Part Two of this series was about, I've already heard from some who haven't made the leap to using LASER technology on a gun. I was told we don't need fancy stuff on a gun, and also that relying on technology is dangerous. Umm, isn't the gun itself technology? Aren't we always talking about and training for the eventual malfunction? If I remember right, they are called malfunction drills. Come on. I'm sure you must have heard of them. Does tap and rack ring a bell?
If one is serious about not relying on technology, then going back to bare hands is an option for those times when self-defense is necessary. Maybe one could just go back to the bow and arrow, or a spear, club, or rock. That's still technology, but they have been around longer than LASERS so maybe they are more reliable. Maybe a knife would be good. It doesn't run out of ammo, and knives don't need any specialized training to be used effectively. Of course there is that thing about showing up at a gunfight with a knife.
I don't know about you but I don't rely on my gun to save me from someone who wants to maim or kill me. I primarily practice awareness, avoiding and evading. Having to use a weapon means I screwed up my main survival tactics.
A firearm is a tool that has been designed, manufactured, and modified by human beings. It uses an ancient method of propelling a projectile with enough force to hopefully stop someone who is trying to maim or kill me. It has a bunch of moving parts that are machined to close tolerances to get it to function correctly, and they malfunction all of the time. Even the ones costing thousands of dollars!
In shooting the Video Supplemental to this review, I was experiencing some frustrating malfunctions due to using Winchester 9mm cartridges in the white box. It's worse than the cheap Remington ammunition. Failure to fire, failure to feed. Malfunctions that I just do not get when I'm using good ammunition. But, that good ammunition is more expensive.
So before I go telling you all about the two LASER aiming devices for the Kel-Tec PF-9, I'm going to address some specific issues that people have with them:
Q. What if the batteries go dead in a fight?
A. Use an alternate sighting method.
Q. What if the thing just won't come on?
A. Use an alternate sighting method.
Q. What if it is too bright outside to see the red dot on the target?
A. Use an alternate sighting method, but statistically most violent encounters are in low-light conditions.
Q. Shouldn't I be looking at my front sight instead of a red dot on a target?
A. Maybe, but I bet you won't be when you are in a fight for your life, unless you have a lot of experience as a gunfighter.
Q. Aren't some LASERS dangerous if you shine them in your eye?
A. Yes, but all guns are considered dangerous weapons. And since the LASER will be shining out from the muzzle end of the gun, I really don't think you should or would be looking at it.
Q. Aren't LASER aiming devices intimidating?
A. Yeah . . .And your point is?
Q. Do you want me to rely on a piece of technology to save my life?
A. No . . . But your gun is a piece of technology too. And it has more moving parts than any LASER aiming device I've ever seen!
Q. Does the "radiation" from a LASER cause cancer?
A. Yes, if you smoke or chew tobacco while aiming it at yourself.
Q. How do you get your beef stew and pasta sauce to taste so good?
A. A little bit of cinnamon.
I have a Crimson Trace LaserGrip and an ArmaLaser RSS that I want to tell you about this week. They are both red lasers in the 630 to 650 nanometer (nm) range of wavelength. Visible light that we can see with our unaided eyes is in the Visible Light Spectrum of 400nm to 700nm. That's nanometers, or billionths of a meter.
Light is measured in wavelengths. Have you ever seen one of those oscilloscopes in an old horror movie? The little round TV screen that shows a squiggly line in green on the screen? Those squiggly lines are a measurement of waves. The squiggly, or wavy, lines are usually seen going above and below a line painted across the screen. The peak at the top of a wave to the lowest point at the bottom of a wave is the length of a wave, or wavelength. Longer waves go into infrared range and then into radio waves where the disc jockeys, TV stars, and Ham Radio operators are. Shorter lengths between waves go into ultraviolet, then x-rays, then up into gamma radiation. A strange thing to ponder is, we can see because of light that is a wavelength between radio waves and gamma radiation.
The wavelength of the light output that is seen coming out of the LASER has a distance between the peaks of the waves, about 650 billionths of a meter in length. That's tinier than the hope we have of all left leaning Democrats wanting to have all of their sound-minded adult constituents carrying guns, or tinier than Nancy Pelosi's pupils get when she has to be nice to a Republican.
The longer the distance--or higher the number--between waves of a wavelength, the more the device is approaching the infrared range of the spectrum that cannot be seen. The ArmaLaser lists its wavelength in a range of 630nm to 650nm. Crimson Trace states that theirs is 633nm. Infrared starts right up there at the end of the visible light spectrum at 700nm.
Both LASERS make a dot about a half inch in diameter at fifty feet. Both LASERS are less than five milliwatts in power. Both output a red beam. Both are next to nothing in weight, and both look and fit great on the gun.
The Crimson Trace LASER diode is classified as a Class IIIa LASER, and the ArmaLaser is a Class 3R. In researching the criteria for classifying the two different LASER types, I found that the IIIa is an older classification system, and the 3R is the revised classification making them basically the same type of LASER. Both could possibly cause eye damage if by chance someone had a morbid fascination with shining it into eyeballs. I would certainly hope that responsible gun owners wouldn't be so stupid as to stare at the business end of a LASER aiming device, and if you end up shining it into the eyes of someone that is trying to maim or kill you, then that is the least of his worries.
The warnings that come with both LASER aiming devices are the same that are on the packages of those convenience store LASER pointers that are at just about every gas station checkout counter, which brings me to another point. If I can get a LASER pointer for less than five bucks, why is a LASER aiming device for my firearm so expensive?
It comes down to a few factors that have helped set prices since stuff had prices set. Quality, design, raw material costs, manufacturing costs, research and development, and supply and demand. The quality of the diode that gives off the LASER light of a Crimson Trace or ArmaLaser product should be better than a convenience store LASER pointer's diode. Can I be certain that they are? No, because I don't know either company's source for their main manufacturing components.
I do know that the adjustment screws on the little devices are so small that eyes like mine do make use of the bifocals to get the hex wrench in the screw. I don't imagine such a tiny device being a breeze to make on an assembly line. I see it as being labor intensive which would account for a portion of the cost.
The Crimson Trace for the Kel-Tec PF-9 is listed at $199.00 and the ArmaLaser is $179.00. Yes, they are pricey accessories, but for what they can do for us citizens with permits to carry concealed is of priceless value. Most of us are just average Joe's and Jane's who aren't law enforcement, soldiers, or even plumbers. We may go a lifetime without a violent encounter. We may not get to practice as often as we would like. We may be getting up in years, and could use the assistance of a sighting system that would be of benefit to older eyes. All of my articles are from the perspective of a Civilian Defensive Operator, and I am all for the advantages that a LASER aiming device gives me.
The two brands differ in their methods of attachment to the firearm and also their method of activation. Crimson Trace's model is activated by a button that rests on the grip just behind the trigger guard. The button is a rubberized pressure switch that is very comfortable under the index finger of the hand on the grip, and activates even with a light grip on the gun. The device actually attaches by gripping the trigger guard inside a channel that is formed when the unit is installed.
The ArmaLaser RSS (Reactive Sighting System) is activated by a touch-sensitive switching mechanism that has no moving parts. The touch-sensitive switch rests on both sides of the front of the trigger guard, and the unit is attached to the gun's accessory rail. ArmaLaser makes another model that is not RSS. I have not tested that model.
The electronic switch is some sort of metallic paint on what ArmaLaser refers to as, "silver-plated wing tips." They are the two extensions that rest near the front of the trigger guard. When a person naturally assumes the position of putting the trigger finger alongside the trigger of the gun as we are trained to do, the index finger makes contact with a wing tip, and the conductive paint works as an electronic switch turning the LASER on or off. Tap and it's on. Tap again and it is off.
The switch is sensitive to human touch, but won't turn on through a holster or clothes. It may turn on if the clothing separating the switch from skin is thin enough. I couldn't get it to turn on inside my DeSantis Nemesis holster, or through the pocket of my jeans. It does go on and off perfectly when touched by a bare finger, so if you have situations of shooting with gloves on then you might have an issue.
When it first arrived, I had a slight concern that the metallic paint may wear or flake off. It shows absolutely no wear after carrying it in my pocket in a holster for months. Not even slight wear. So no worries there.
Installation is straightforward and quite easy for both units. Slide the ArmaLaser onto the accessory rail, insert the pin that keeps it from sliding past the rail notch, put the screw in the other side of the pin, tighten it down, and that's it. For the Crimson Trace model just put the two halves together over the trigger guard, screw in the two screws to hold the halves together, and that's it for attaching this model.
The ArmaLaser has a feature that is user selectable in that one can choose from having a steady on or pulsing beam. Included are two metal covers that slide over the battery compartment. One is marked with an "S" and one with a "P." Slide on the one with the S and the beam will be steady. Slide on the one with the letter P and the beam will pulse. The unit has to be removed from the gun to change it from steady to pulsing or vice versa. The unit also has to be removed to replace the batteries. The Crimson Trace model has to be removed to replace the power source as well.
Crimson Trace lists their battery life as four hours of the LASER being on, and ArmaLaser is listed as six hours.
The switch on the Crimson Trace model is tiny and very easy to activate. I like the control that I have with the mechanical switch. It will come on when the gun is properly gripped, but can be turned off by relaxing the pressure of the finger on the switch. The electronic switch of the ArmaLaser RSS unit comes on every time I draw the gun from the holster since the switch is right where my index finger goes alongside the trigger. I can tap it on and off at will.
So for the matter of switching the beam on or off, it would be a matter of preference between the two mechanisms that activate the beams. Both switching mechanisms performed flawlessly.
Crimson Trace states in their literature that the device won't lose its zero when it is removed and reinstalled on the gun. The ArmaLaser had to be re zeroed every time I took the unit off and put it back on the gun. Both units needed some fine tuning of zeroing out of the box.
Crimson Trace sets their LASER to be zeroed at fifty feet from the factory. I like the sight on a defensive gun set at seven yards (21 feet). Zeroing either device is rather easy. If your iron sights, or plastic sights in the case of my Kel-Tec, are set accurately, then just adjust the beam so that it appears right on top of your front sight when you line up on a target.
The beam should be adjusted so it appears as a red dot just above the front sight of your gun, as a red sunset would look as it is just touching the horizon. The beam should be visible when the gun's sites are on target. This makes transitioning the focus on the front sight to the red dot on the target easy. You shouldn't have to look for the beam on the target.
I didn't experience any problems with the ArmaLaser losing zero after being carried in my pocket. I haven't had the Crimson Trace model long enough to find out whether or not it will lose zero when carried in a pocket. I don't expect it to. It mounts very securely to the trigger guard of the gun.
As for shooting with the devices attached, I had to think about focusing on the target instead of using the sights, the first time I shot with a LASER on the gun. It's easy to concentrate on that front sight when shooting at paper targets, but when under attack I don't think I will be looking at a front sight. I really think that my focus will be on my attacker. It is just a natural thing to do. If a guy is trying to stab me with a knife or shoot me with a gun, I will be looking at the weapon and the attacker. My eyes will be looking at the threat since my binocular vision is needed to react to the attack.
When I have experienced dangerous encounters in the past, I have always watched the aggressor's hands and face. One example is many years ago, I was run off the road by a man who thought I was someone else. The guy jumped out of his car and started running toward my car. He had a hand in his pocket, and as I was reaching for my gun I remember yelling, "Let me see your hands!" He actually complied. The situation was resolved and no one got hurt even though the guy was obviously nuts. But I do remember watching his hands because hands kill. That is one example of why I think I would not be looking at my front sight if I am in a fight for my life.
Both the Crimson Trace and the ArmaLaser put the bullet where the red dot was on the target. In the Supplemental Video, I was having a difficult time between slipping in the mud, being cold, and dealing with lousy ammo. It was quickly getting dark, so I didn't do any rapid fire drills. I sure hope that ammo prices go down like gas did, after the craze of buying guns and ammo wanes. Hey, it happens when the Democrats are in the majority. Even other Democrats get worried about the passage of more insane and ineffective gun laws, so the guns and ammo fly off the shelves until we see what the new politicians will do.
I guess when it comes to LASER aiming devices on a gun, a person will either like them or not. I like them. I liked using both of the ones I tested. But when all was said and done, I left the Crimson Trace model on my gun. Not because of any functional issues or problems with the ArmaLaser. The ArmaLaser performed as flawlessly as the Crimson Trace model. I just like the mechanical switch of the Crimson Trace better than I like the electronic touch-sensitive switch of the ArmaLaser RSS.
You can watch the Video Supplemental by clicking HERE. To visit the Crimson Trace website go to www.crimsontrace.com. To visit ArmaLaser go to www.armalaser.com.
 | I would like to hear from you. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the Gear Reviews email me at cody@uscca.us. |
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