AR Laser

Do any of you have a laser on your AR-15 and if so, what kind?

I would like to get some better feed back than Amazon or the internet.

Thanks.

Are you talking a laser light or a red dot sight. Sometimes people say one when they mean the other.

A laser pointer. Not a sight or a scope.

My son mounted one on his AR and switched back to a red-dot. A standard laser sight on a rifle is rather impractical. Under normal daylight conditions...even 'cloudy bright'...it's impossible to see the dot on an object at more than fifty feet or so unless it's a very light colored target that's in the shade (and I mean tree-line shade, not just under a canopy or a couple of trees in the middle of your yard) or some kind of reflective material. And in direct sunlight you'll be lucky to see it at twenty-five feet. I've had two that I use on my handguns. Both green, which is supposed to be more visible than red.

I’m not an expert in this area. I have tried several different kinds and am not a real fan of them. I don’t like hanging a bunch of Christmas ornaments on my weapons. They can be useful at short ranges, but remember that they do not have ballistic characteristics like a bullet. I found the green to be much better than red. . I didn’t find any real difference between the cheap $25 ones and the $200 ones. Go to a gunshop or gun show and try some. I can’t over stress trying the outdoors at 100 meters. Daylight washes them out (red worse). The 532 nm are pretty much the standard. Look to see how the on/off switch works. I preferred the ones with the cord and pad that allows you to locate it where it is where you can easily trigger it. The ones powered by 2032 batteries run out real fast.

Green not red
Try it outside
See how it is at 100 meters
532 nm
I recommend against 2032 batteries
Determine how you want to activate; and if you want the cord and pad, how are you going to secure it I found the black self-adhering tape worked
I found after sighting it in, I always wound up bumping it off after a couple days. It just always seemed to be in the way.



I did not find any real difference between the $25 and more expensive ones.

What OG Said!
Definitely Green.

Personally, I find them more irritating than helpful.
A good Tac LIght is better than the laser, IMO

A lot of good advice so far. What use case(s) are you attempting to address?

Indoors?
Outdoors? (out to what range?)

Self-defense?
Hunting?
Plinking?

Depending on what your usage may be, it is worth remembering that lasers are like tracers... they point both ways.

Personally, my current thinking is the only laser I would put on an AR-15 would be an infra-red pointer / illuminator IF I had helmet mounted Night Vision to use it with. It's still a pointer back at you, but there are a lot fewer people equipped to see it (and with a lot of them, there's a good chance you're toast anyways).

Eotech holographic sight. Don't mess with the lasers on your rifle, like others said.

The only downside to a holo sight is you need to check your batteries every few months to make sure they still are producing enough charge. Mine, while off, still eats juice, so I always keep some spares handy.

A co-worker and I bought ARs at a local gun show. He wants to get a laser pointer and asked for my help picking one out. Its 50% for show and 50% for indoor home protection at night.

I would prefer a tac light which I am probably going to get. There are so many choices out there. I am going to tell him that he needs to do his own research.

I appreciate your feedback.

Red Dot will be far better for those conditions. Have long range read dot on mine. Set for 300yd.

Why a 300yard RDS? Wouldn't a scope, like a 1-6x or 1-8x be more useful for close in and far out-ish?

An EOTech will certainly due the job, but don't overlook Primary Arms RDSs and Scopes. Budget optics that work well. I have at least 5 of them.

I don't have experience with laser pointers, but I would think lasers on a pistol would be more useful in a home defense scenarios here. I'll leave that to the military/LEO experts here.

I've done some research on the tac lights. I would check out the mrgunsngear channel on youtube. He's reviewed several tac lights.

It is, with multiple Red Dot colors embedded inside it. Its kinda cool looking through it. Nothing fancy. But it works.
Have only used it a couple times on vacation in Colorado. Free gun ranges all over out there.