Barrel laser aimers: Accurate?

rbounds217 · December 18, 2007, 07:15 PM

Has anyone ever purchased a laser aimer that inserts into the barrel? I have seen them in the store and wonder how accurate they are.

V-fib · December 21, 2007, 12:43 PM

rbounds,

I think what you may be looking at is a "laser boresighter" that looks like a bullet and casts a laserbeam through the barrel, to the target so that you can sight in scopes, adjustable sights, and laser sights. I had one in .38sp They do go through those small button batteries quite fast. Mine was made by Aimshot.

ffxmike · December 21, 2007, 02:40 PM

there are the ones that are shaped like the cartridge your weapon fires, but I think he may be referring to the laser boresighter that sits in the muzzle of the firearm.

I bought one from cabelas about 2 years ago and have used it a few times. I've been very satisfied with it. lets me get some of the sighting in done at home, and therefore spend more time having fun at the range.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...l&N=4887&Nty=1

Thats the one I have, and if something happened I would definitely buy it again.

hoytinak · December 21, 2007, 04:02 PM

They do save you some time and some rounds when your sighting in. They will get you pretty close (within a couple inches). I think they're worth it just for the time it saves you sighting in.

skeeter1 · December 21, 2007, 07:12 PM

I've got one that I bought a couple of years ago. It came with about 5 different caliber inserts for a firm fit in the muzzle, ranging from .22 to .50. It works quite well, and will certainly get you in the ballpark before you've fired a round. Just make sure you remember to take it out of the bore BEFORE you try shooting! IIRC, I think I paid something like $39 for it, and it was money well spent.

Average Joe · December 21, 2007, 07:19 PM

Here's a tip. Go to the dollar store, and get one of those laser pointers. You can open the action of your rifle, and kinda wedge it in there, and put tape over the on button to make it light. Its crude, but it will get you in the ball park for only a buck. I did this on my Rem. 700 and it worked like a charm.

ClarkEMyers · December 23, 2007, 03:35 PM

Define accurate - given that different loads shoot to different points of aim I wouldn't expect the laser bore sight to match any particular load perfectly. Then too firearms especially pistols - depending on range - will shoot above their bore line as the pistol rises in recoil before the bullet leaves the barrel - one more reason to follow through.

That said laser bore sighters are certainly good enough for government work - and so used.

ISC · December 23, 2007, 04:21 PM

We use laser bore sighters in the army, and to be most accurate they have to be zeroed and used with offsets to compensate for the difference in the planes of the sight and the bore.

We used them at Camp Robinson for the nationals and I was hitting targets in the bullseye without the opportunity to confirm zero.

SIGSHR · December 23, 2007, 05:25 PM

I plan on getting one of the chamber insert models, I have three rifles on which I have elected to retain the iron sights, as a result I cannot use my
Bushnell "arbor in the bore" model. I also think the "catridge" model" is safer, saw a picture on another website in which someone fired his rifle with the
boresighter still in the bore. OUCH!

rbounds217 · December 25, 2007, 10:00 PM

Thanks for all the help everyone, and to V-fib: I had not heard about the one you are describing, but I will be sure to look for this one as well. Thanks for alerting me to other options. The one that I was looking at was about 3-4 inches long in a cone shape so that no matter the barrel diameter it would always center itself.
The pistol that I was looking at was a Kimber Custom Covert II which has a laser sight built into the grip. I figured that I could use the laser boresight on the wall and just match up the two laser dots by adjusting the one on the grip. I know it will never be perfect but does that sound like a reasonable way to do this? Thanks again for everyone's input!!

December 18, 2007, 07:15 PM	#1
rbounds217 Member Join Date: October 30, 2007 Posts: 43	Barrel laser aimers: Accurate? Has anyone ever purchased a laser aimer that inserts into the barrel? I have seen them in the store and wonder how accurate they are. __________________ Winchester 12-20 Browning Pro-40 Browning Buckmark Camper

December 21, 2007, 12:43 PM	#2
V-fib Senior Member Join Date: June 26, 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 253	rbounds, I think what you may be looking at is a "laser boresighter" that looks like a bullet and casts a laserbeam through the barrel, to the target so that you can sight in scopes, adjustable sights, and laser sights. I had one in .38sp They do go through those small button batteries quite fast. Mine was made by Aimshot. __________________ Livin in the woods...feelin mighty good.

December 23, 2007, 03:35 PM	#7
ClarkEMyers Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2004 Location: PacWest Posts: 455	Define accurate - given that different loads shoot to different points of aim. Define accurate - given that different loads shoot to different points of aim I wouldn't expect the laser bore sight to match any particular load perfectly. Then too firearms especially pistols - depending on range - will shoot above their bore line as the pistol rises in recoil before the bullet leaves the barrel - one more reason to follow through. That said laser bore sighters are certainly good enough for government work - and so used.

December 25, 2007, 10:00 PM	#10
rbounds217 Member Join Date: October 30, 2007 Posts: 43	Thanks for all the help everyone, and to V-fib: I had not heard about the one you are describing, but I will be sure to look for this one as well. Thanks for alerting me to other options. The one that I was looking at was about 3-4 inches long in a cone shape so that no matter the barrel diameter it would always center itself. The pistol that I was looking at was a Kimber Custom Covert II which has a laser sight built into the grip. I figured that I could use the laser boresight on the wall and just match up the two laser dots by adjusting the one on the grip. I know it will never be perfect but does that sound like a reasonable way to do this? Thanks again for everyone's input!! __________________ Winchester 12-20 Browning Pro-40 Browning Buckmark Camper

December 21, 2007, 02:40 PM	#3
ffxmike Member Join Date: January 24, 2005 Posts: 95	there are the ones that are shaped like the cartridge your weapon fires, but I think he may be referring to the laser boresighter that sits in the muzzle of the firearm. I bought one from cabelas about 2 years ago and have used it a few times. I've been very satisfied with it. lets me get some of the sighting in done at home, and therefore spend more time having fun at the range. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...l&N=4887&Nty=1 Thats the one I have, and if something happened I would definitely buy it again.

December 21, 2007, 04:02 PM	#4
hoytinak Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 5,721	They do save you some time and some rounds when your sighting in. They will get you pretty close (within a couple inches). I think they're worth it just for the time it saves you sighting in.

December 21, 2007, 07:12 PM	#5
skeeter1 Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2006 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 3,403	I've got one that I bought a couple of years ago. It came with about 5 different caliber inserts for a firm fit in the muzzle, ranging from .22 to .50. It works quite well, and will certainly get you in the ballpark before you've fired a round. Just make sure you remember to take it out of the bore BEFORE you try shooting! IIRC, I think I paid something like $39 for it, and it was money well spent.

December 21, 2007, 07:19 PM	#6
Average Joe Senior Member Join Date: August 29, 2005 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,325	Here's a tip. Go to the dollar store, and get one of those laser pointers. You can open the action of your rifle, and kinda wedge it in there, and put tape over the on button to make it light. Its crude, but it will get you in the ball park for only a buck. I did this on my Rem. 700 and it worked like a charm.

December 23, 2007, 04:21 PM	#8
ISC Junior member Join Date: August 5, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,982	We use laser bore sighters in the army, and to be most accurate they have to be zeroed and used with offsets to compensate for the difference in the planes of the sight and the bore. We used them at Camp Robinson for the nationals and I was hitting targets in the bullseye without the opportunity to confirm zero.

December 23, 2007, 05:25 PM	#9
SIGSHR Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2005 Posts: 4,700	I plan on getting one of the chamber insert models, I have three rifles on which I have elected to retain the iron sights, as a result I cannot use my Bushnell "arbor in the bore" model. I also think the "catridge" model" is safer, saw a picture on another website in which someone fired his rifle with the boresighter still in the bore. OUCH!