| Lasergrips | |
|
||
|
||
When I met with friend and fellow gun writer Gordon Hutchinson in at the SHOT Show in January, 2001, one of the first things he mentioned (besides the unveiling of Winchester's 300 WSM cartridge, over which he drooled profusely) was the warm reception he got from Leaha Wirth (at the time, she was Marketing Manager for Crimson Trace Corporation) when he met her at the Show. He had previously tried and reviewed their Lasergrips, and he had nothing but good things to say about the company and this unique product of theirs. So I determined that if Lasergrips were all that good, I needed to try them for myself... and so I did.
In the past months, I've used Lasergrips on a Ruger Mark I .22 LR semi-automatic pistol, and a Colt Lightweight Commander Model in .45 ACP. Both sets of grips work well and switch on effortlessly in my right and left hands (the Colt wraparound model has buttons on both right and left grip panels), and are so compact that the gun will still fit a standard holster (unlike bulky underbarrel lasers). Every natural-feeling grip I've tried turns the Lasergrips on via the soft pressure switches in the grip panels.
Laser sights offer many advantages to the shooter, such as rapid target acquisition, the ability to accurately sight on a target in a low-light situation (such as self-defense in your darkened home), the ability to keep a threat in full view (with both your eyes open) while still maintaining your aim, and the definite mental edge you gain when an assailant sees that red dot dancing across his ribcage. Lasergrips have all this, and more.
On a recent trip to the range, I shot a box of fifty American 230-grain FMJ cartridges through the Colt... twenty-five rounds using open sights, and twenty-five rounds with the Lasergrips. I would fire a magazine with the Lasergrips, then switch to open sights for the next mag, and I proceeded in this way until the box was empty. Both groups were fired into targets placed side by side at fifteen yards. The results surprised me; the group I fired with the Lasergrips was just about half the size of the group I fired using the factory three-dot open sights.
The
group on the left was fired using Lasergrips; the group on the right using iron
sights. Both were shot at 15 yards, and there's 25 shots in each group.
(Photo by Russ
Chastain, all rights reserved)
Results with the Ruger weren't quite as impressive, but nonetheless showed a tighter group with the Lasergrips. I should mention that I was shooting the cheapest .22 LR ammunition available, which usually doesn't do a whole lot for accuracy.
Because the laser is located both below and to one side of the barrel, the laser and your bullet's path will intersect at only one given point downrange. With sighting devices either directly above or below the bore, it's possible to intersect the bullet's path twice, but that usually applies to long-range shooting, which is not what Lasergrips are designed for.
Lasergrips simply replace whatever grips currently "live" on your gun. Installation is fast and easy, and there's a master on-off switch to prevent battery drain during normal handling, such as loading or cleaning. Adjustment for windage and elevation is accomplished via two of the tiniest allen-head screws I've ever seen - the wrenches (included) appear at first glance to be bent pieces of slim wire rather than the hex wrenches that they are.
To sight in, simply adjust the laser to coincide with the iron sights' point of aim at an optimum distance for the intended use... say, twenty feet or so for home defense use. Keep in mind that the farther out you "zero" the laser, the truer (or closer to parallel) the laser will be in relation to your bore. Fine-tune the adjustment at the range, and you're done.
This
is the Colt I used for testing. The little slide to the rear of the trigger
is the master on-off switch, and that round spot towards the forward edge of
the grip panel is one of the pressure switches (the other one is identical,
on the right panel).
(Photo by Russ
Chastain, all rights reserved)
One thing I noticed when using the Lasergrips was that any tremble in my hand showed up graphically on the target. As Crimson Trace points out, this is useful for dry-fire training, say to indicate flinching, for example. Obviously, when dealing with a pistol with a short sight radius, any shake or tremble is only minimally visible at the gun itself... but out at the target, it shows up quite noticeably. This can help illustrate the advantages of taking a rest when shooting, or simply show that your grip and/or stance could use some work.
What about hunting applications, you ask? Well, I'm told that a Lasergrip for Ruger's Super Blackhawk .44 Remington Magnum revolver is in the works, and I'm sure that models for other hunting handguns will follow. Sighted to an optimum distance, Lasergrips will certainly deliver the package to a deer's vitals accurately enough, and would be especially useful in a situation when you might have to fire quickly (there's bears in them there hills!).
For you small-game handgun hunters, Lasergrips for the Ruger Mark II are already available, and these will fit some versions of the Mark I (these are the grips I used on the Mark I test gun). The laser that Crimson Trace employs in these grips is the strongest that the law allows, and is easily visible under most conditions.
All in all, I think this is an excellent product for shooters, having both self-defense and hunting applications. As Crimson Trace points out, they are not intended to replace your iron sights, but rather to complement them, and to provide an optional sighting device. I feel that this really rounds out a self-defense handgun, which, as Gordon pointed out, is less effective than a shotgun but a whole lot easier to carry. Lasergrips can definitely help make your handgun a much more effective self-defense tool.
The price of the Lasergrips is quite reasonable, and varies according to model. Current prices may be found (along with more product info, testimonials, contact info, and specs) at their Web site. Give 'em a chance - I'm glad I did!
-Russ Chastain
