Green Laser

[drmajor]

Thinking of a Green Laser for my GP100- 6".

I have a Crimson Trace RED laser on my S&W642. Great at night or low light. Poor in daylight.

Anyone have experience with Green Lasers?

I plan to use it for hunting hogs.

[zeke4351]

I have both and the green is the best. You can even see green in daytime up to a certain distance.

[Greybeard]

I have both the red and green CT "Railmasters". While an improvement over the red one, my green one is still not all that easy to pick up quickly in bright sunlight. I have only experimented with it once (mounted on my AK) thus far and expect it to be more visible on a cloudy day.

[nanewt02]

Used to experiment with the different lasers. The green laser is at 532nm which is dead center and most visible in the human eye spectrum, unfortunately they cost so much for a green one, if your looking to save a bunch of money or want a laser MUCH brighter than factory, get a red laser instead of green for cheaper, buy a green laser diode and driver both rated at say 100mw and youl really have a fine piece of work

[Venom1956]

Green lasers are far superior to red ones. Except on battery life.

[kcub]

There are no pocket pistol green lasers I am aware of.

[bikerbill]

Was watching one of the shooting shows the other night (on tape, can't remember the original air date) ... they were discussing lasers and said the concensus is that green lasers are far easier to see in full light than red, with red possibly having a small edge in the dark ... don't have any direct knowledge, none of my guns have laser sights ...

[LarryFlew]

Greens run a lot hotter and eat batteries. As mentioned they are easier to see. Reason they look great on TV when the cops and military use them is the wattage. Civilians are 5 mw max and LEO and MIL can be up to 40 mw. A 40 in red is even visable during the day.

Greens are also traceable. You can follow the beam back to the shooter. Reds are not unless foggy. smoky etc.

[orionengnr]

I don't have any experience (yet) with the green, but that will be changing soon. I have owned 5 CT (red) lasers, and someone at CT's sales/marketing is on the ball--just Thursday afternoon they sent me a nice, big full color catalogue.

I've been waiting for CT to come out with a "proper", grip-mounted green laser like their red ones for 1911s and S&W revolvers. Care to guess what is in their new catalogue?

unfortunately they cost so much for a green one...

Not any more. The new CT ones are $399 MSRP, which is only ~$30-40 more than the red ones.

Now as far as battery life, that appears to be true. CT says 4 hours life on a red one, and 2 hours for the equivalent (same grip, same batteries) in green.

[PawPaw]

Interesting thread. Don't believe everything you see in Hollywood.

I have a nephew who finished his PhD in optical physics last May. We were on a family vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC last July and some kids were playing with the little lasers sold in the shops. The kids were in a high-rise hotel on the beach and were shining those lights on the street, illuminating people, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. I looked on it as a minor irritant, but my nephew went off. Went off big time.

Nephew tells us that in all his work with lasers, he's convinced that green lasers are dangerous at any wattage. Even the low-watt toy versions. Nephew goes on to tell us that when you see a green laser, if you look into the beam, that before you're aware that you're looking into the beam, the damage has already been done, it's cumulative, and irreversible.

So, the kids across the street are shining those lasers, and nephew is very concerned (and nephew has a PhD in optical physics), so nephew picks up the phone and calls 911. The police respond. Nephew points out the laser beams tracking the street, and tells the cop that the green lasers are dangerous and should be considered an assault. Cop says "But those things are toys, they're perfectly legal, and they sell them in the tee-shirt shops."

Nephew responds, "Yeah, but guns are legal too, and they sell them just down the road. Would you let people point guns at tourists?" Cop scratches his head, calls the station, then tells nephew they'll look into it. He does go across the street to the hotel and the lasers aren't seen again that night.

Later that evening, nephew tells me that he believe it is possible to blind someone with toy lasers, especially a green laser, with repeated exposure over time, and the individual exposures don't have to be very long. He also tells me that the law hasn't caught up with the technology, but he believes that pointing a laser at someone should be considered a threat, just like pointing a gun at someone.

The point of this whole story is that nephew has convinced me that lasers are dangerous. That doesn't mean we shouldn't use them, but that we should be aware that the green lasers are especially dangerous. Don't look into a green laser, and don't shine it at someone's eyes. Those of us who like firearms are familiar with dangerous items and use them safely. Let's all be careful out there.

[triggerhappy2006]

Greens run a lot hotter and eat batteries. As mentioned they are easier to see. Reason they look great on TV when the cops and military use them is the wattage. Civilians are 5 mw max and LEO and MIL can be up to 40 mw. A 40 in red is even visable during the day.

Greens are also traceable. You can follow the beam back to the shooter. Reds are not unless foggy. smoky etc.

This is news to be me, I know IR lasers(usually operate around 45mw) are restricted to LE/MIL, and I'm not quite sure but I don't think there are any weapon sight lasers that go above 5mw for ANYONE, these would insanely bright and relatively unnecessary. The main reason IR Lasers are so much brighter is they are used for marking at extreme distances in coordination with other weapons systems. If you want a little red dot on your target during the day, get a reflex/holo/red-dot sight, lasers in the military are mostly used for marking targets and/or in conjunction with NVG's, or for power point presentations. Lasers in the police and civilian world are used as show of force(I'm not sure why, a gun pointed at me is certainly just as scary as a laser on my chest and if its on my face I can't see it). IMHO Lasers encourage poor target recognition, if you can identify the target enough to line up the sights your shouldn't be pulling the trigger, if you can see your sights chances are he can't see you and then you haven't used proper escalation of force and your lethal force may be unjustified, night sights are the way to go for me. On the flipside, laser sights are good for fast target acquisition on a tactical range or if you are in a firefight. Self Defense situations should be a bit more cautious about using these, not saying they aren't great if your drawing from the small of the back while the perp has a gun on you, but chances are you are going to find yourself using a laser sight while you are lying in your bed in the dark with a burglar not knowing you have a gun, yes its great way to say "hey gtfo, I'm already sighted in on you" but if you NEED a laser to make sure your aiming at him you should probably reconsidering pulling the trigger, because he might not be a person you really want to kill, or he might not know your even there and a blinding weaponlight would establish both far better than just a laser.

Key Points-Lasers are primarily for show of force, or marking targets while using alternate weapon systems. Secondary uses include FTA and low light targeting confirmation. A green laser will be just as effective as red laser for either purposes you are most likely to encounter, and remember positive identification is priority before you pull the trigger, think before you shoot.

IF you are looking at doing day time tactical shoots, I would once again recommend a good quality Holo/Reflex sight. If you really want the best laser sight, a green laser is more visible to the human eye so it will appear brighter, both are limited to 5mw by practicality reason.(EDIT: both are limited to 5mw for visible wavelengths if they are Class3R laser products, 3B laser products are limited 500mw which means they are probably restricted to licensed/certified professionals. The PEQ15 I have is class "3B" laser product, 5mw VIS 650nm laser and 45mw IR 830nm laser, this confirms what I've read that restrictions differ based on visible vs IR lasers) They recently updated the laser classification guides and they don't give finite definitions for wavelength to power output but I would assume a 45mw IR laser is classed the same as a 5mw vis laser by FDA/IEC standards, ITAR regulations limit IR laser products to LE/MIL. Hope this helps

[robhof]

Laser sights have practical tactical applications; I've practiced barrier aims, watching from a different angle than the gun/laser, you watch the dot and fire. I've also used the laser enough to point shoot that I have been able to vastly improve my point shoot without the laser, muscle memory takes over with enough practice. And as far as blinding, all lasers come with the tiney warning that specifies blindness can occur. With a perp in my house I'd shine for the eyes anyway to blind before finishing with brain shot.

[dayman]

Are green lasers actually visible along their entire lengths? I used to have a green laser pointer and it wasn't. It would make sense that as green is a more visible wavelength of light it would be easier to see a green laser with less dust/fog, but wouldn't it have to be pretty massively powerful to actually be visible along it's whole length?
The internet is being unhelpful, and I assume someone here actually has one.

[triggerhappy2006]

practical tactical applications

Tactical is the keyword there, I'm not saying that lasers don't have a use in shootouts, in fact they are very useful but there are very few individuals out there who practice those techniques, and it is VERY VERY unlikely that your average citizen is ever going to find himself in a situation where he is going to be dumping mags at a OPFOR from behind cover, thus most lasers are going to be used as show of force by civilians/police. If you have a laser would I say practice behind cover shots and point shoot, absolutely, would I say most lasers are used for that, no. Also for the OP, my favorite revolver setup I have ever seen was a Anaconda with an EOTech, tack driver at 100 yards. I wouldn't recommend any visible laser for day time hunting, nor would I recommend lasers for hunting at all(unless the animals try to attack the laser dot like dogs and cats, in which case you have just invented the only true auto-sight ) A good red-dot or reflex/holo sight (even on a pistol) would do much better.

[Venom1956]

Personally IMO, if you want to use a laser for any sort of defense this is the only method I feel makes much sense.

My Green laser is sighted in @ the massive distance of 15ft, any further out and it is way to high. Its dead on, which just so happens to be roughly the distance from my bed to the door. This would allow a reasonably accurate shot quickly if I am unable to get or take a proper sight picture. Other then that situation I would be using the weapons iron sights to engage a target.

Also if a laser is being used then a round is prepared to fire if the target presents itself and/or does indeed prove to be a threat. I've heard countless "ill put the dot on their chest" nonsense in all kinds of gun shops.