Laser training cartridge

[KodiakBeer]

I just ordered one of these in 9mm. I hope it works as advertised and is durable. I haven't rec'd it yet.

I can't get out to shoot much at this time of year, especially this year when we're buried in record amounts of white stuff. So, at least I can drill squirrels off the feeder outside my window or do some draw-and-shoot drills inside my home.

Anybody have one of these? Did I piss away $80 or was it money well spent?



http://www.laserlyte.com/products/lt...ning-cartridge

[Lanius]

To paraphrase what one other guy told me yesterday when I told him what my girlfriend is like...

I want to kill you and take your place.

[KodiakBeer]

Actually, I got the idea from a thread where you mentioned such a device as an idea. Somebody else pointed out that it already exists and I began looking into it.

I suspect it will work just fine. I just wonder how durable such a device will be....


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[TallPine]

How is it activated - by the firing pin...???

If so, then don't you have to eject it and pick it up off the ground and put it back in? (I guess it would work in something with an external hammer like a 1911)

Six of them for a revolver would be expensive.

[basicblur]

Tom Gresham has a LaserLyte video covering LaserLyte's three types of laser trainers here.
Have to use SEARCH in left column-type in LaserLyte and you'll get four videos in the right column-the laser trainer video is the last one.

No experience with 'em, but I have been mulling 'em over for quite a while.

I do have a LaserLyte boresighter-sure saved a lot of ammo when zeroing multiple ARs-all were on paper @ 100 yards-'bout two inches off (windage and elevation) with my first shots.

I picked out a storage shed 100 yards from my bedroom window-late at night (don't wanna freak out the neighbors) I use the LaserLyte boresighter on the storage shed to zero ACOGs, EOTechs, Iron sights, etc.

[KodiakBeer]

If so, then don't you have to eject it and pick it up off the ground and put it back in? (I guess it would work in something with an external hammer like a 1911)

This one is for my my Hi Powers, but if it works well I'll probably get another in .45acp for 1911's. It's sitting in my PO Box as I speak, but I probably won't get down there to pick it up until mid-week when I take my trip to town.

[basicblur]

If so, then don't you have to eject it and pick it up off the ground and put it back in?

Flying on memory here (of a video I'd seen and the pix in the OP), but there doesn't appear to be any lip at the rear of the cartridge, so there should be nothing to grab in order to eject-just an O-ring at the rear to help seat the laser.

I think in a video I saw they were using a pencil or ? down the front of the barrel to dislodge the trainer.

EDIT: End of this video, they're using a pencil to remove the trainer.

[KodiakBeer]

That's interesting that it's rimless. It should make the cartridge a lot more user-friendly for Glock or other striker fired pistols.

It won't matter for my purposes, since I can just thumb-cock the piece for each shot.

I'm really looking forward to this. The snow is still azz-deep outside, so it will be fun to get a little training before I resume shooting. I noticed late last year that I have a delay in getting my pistol on target when drawing from the holster. It's just something I neglected while concentrating on other things.
So, that will be the first order of business - about 10,000 draw and shoot drills.

[kcshooter]

http://www.laserlyte.com/products/lts-target

Not sure if you've seen this nifty little gadget to go with it. Never used one but I've considered the purchase a few times.

[KodiakBeer]

I saw that, but wasn't willing to part with another $200. I'll just shoot at a darkened area to see my hits. I should pick it up tomorrow on my trip to town.

[KodiakBeer]

I picked it up last night and could barely wait to shoot it.

It's a high quality little item and they throw in two sets of batteries, which is a nice touch. It's a bit longer than a 9mm case; the additional 5 or 10mm's extending past the chamber and into the barrel.

The only problem is that the red dot strikes the target an inch or two low. That means that the fat Heinie combat front sight on my go-to pistol obscures the impact if I shoot the pistol target style. That makes sense if you consider that the pistol rises just slightly in recoil when firing an actual cartridge.

All is not lost though. If you just draw and shoot with a flash sight picture (which is what I envisioned for training with this device anyway), then you almost always see the impact.

More interestingly, the flash of the dot is just long enough to show up errors in technique. I was interested to see that occasionally, the "dot" is more of a "slash" indicating the muzzle is moving as the hammer falls. I'll have to play with it for a while to figure out what errors are causing those occasional slashes and then to correct them.

Last year (when the weather was good enough to shoot outdoors) I let myself get into a pattern of shooting plates using a big one for a double tap and then a smaller one above it as a "Mozambique" third shot. The only problem was that I was just doing it over and over from a pistol held in my hands and not being drawn from a holster for each series. I was just being lazy and having fun.
Anyway, just before our first big snow dump (worst winter in 50 years around here...), I finally started drawing from the holster and was shocked at how badly I was doing with that first shot! I was still hitting the "chest" sized plate at 10 yards or so (most of the time), but they were all over the place.

The first shot is the one that counts the most, and it may be the only one that counts at all. So, my goal is in the next couple of months to draw and shoot so many times that my first shot is always right on the money. Then, when I can get out for real practice, I'll segue into making that first shot a double tap.


I like this device. Time will tell if it is durable enough to last, but I seems well-made and I think I'll get my moneys worth.


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[KodiakBeer]

A couple of weeks have gone by and I've "shot" thousands of rounds with this thing. I'm really liking it! This was money well spent.

Most of the time, I've been standing at ten or twelve yards, pistol holstered, then drawing and "shooting" at a door knob down a darkened hall with just a flash sight picture. I can actually see the improvement over the period. I'm getting faster and more accurate as time passes.

I think I'll put up an aiming point at chest level since it occurred to me that if you "do as you train" then I'll probably shoot somebody in the groin in a real gunfight.

The next step is to start drawing and shooting from different angles - left side, right side, turn and shoot behind me, etc.

I highly recommend this item for anyone serious about combat shooting. Few of us can get to the range every day and when we do, they may not let you practice with the flexibility this device allows you in your own home.

Good stuff!


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[Guns and more]

It's sitting in my PO Box as I speak, but I probably won't get down there to pick it up until mid-week when I take my trip to town.

I envy your solitude.

[Guns and more]

The only problem is that the red dot strikes the target an inch or two low.

I watched the video. I'm interested in why you think it aims low. Without putting the gun in a vice or ransome rest and shooting it, how do you know where it shoots? Could the sights be off? The unit has what appears to be adjusting screws in the side. I would think with the gun in a vice, shoot it, then aim the laser at the bullet hole. Of course, then UP is important. Hmmmmm...I'm confused.

[KodiakBeer]

I watched the video. I'm interested in why you think it aims low.

When I shoot a real bullet, it impacts at the top of the front sight. When I shoot the laser, it impacts just behind the top of the front sight.

I suspect that's because when shooting a real bullet the muzzle has time to rise just slightly before the bullet clears the barrel.

At any rate, I don't find that a problem with the drills I'm doing since with a flash sight picture I have both eyes open and can see the "impact".

When I target shoot, I tend to close my left eye and can't see the laser impact. Just poor technique really.