DIY Green Laser Sight (for Handguns)?

This is something in the 'could work for some time' category of projects.

The typical green laser module intended for a pointer is not rated to withstand a specific amount of shock or jerk. Its good enough to keep working when waving it around, but some already suffer (misalignment, crystal dislodged etc) damage falling from a tabletop.

If your intent is solely for self defense, i guess a solution that works for only one shot would in fact be acceptable: After you get the first shot in, there would rarely be any need for precision in subsequent shots.

The problem of alignment does remain: You cannot testfire since the test shot would damage the laser. The only way to set it up would be mounting the gun, shooting at a target, resetting the gun to its original position, and then aligning the laser with the hole you just made in the target.

Given all these problems it'd say its best to pay for a system designed for this application. Also, make sure it is in fact built for a firearm, not some aiming aid toy for a paintball or airsoft gun.

Uhm, about the self-defense part ..... i doubt that a lasersight can be effective for this ..... self-defense involves, usually, short distance fighting, and the need to disable the opponent, more than to hit it precisely .....

Maybe is better to choose "frag" or "multicore" bullets, or at least expansive ones, efficent at short distance only, but with the final effect, on the opponent, of a multiball shotgun .....

Or you intend it related to the need to aim at a target in bad alignment / not good positions, that does not permit you to use the normal aiming systems ? (like, as example, keeping the gun far from the body, or from a corner ? ..... also if this, more than self-defense, look like urban-war, for me )

The recoil acceleration on a 45ACP pistol, as an example, is not all that great. To the hand it may seem like it, but the recoil is built over a period of time as the bullet gains velocity down the barrel. In comparison, it is dislike the recoil of dropping the laser on a hard surface, where all energy is applied at nearly a single point in time.

I'll have to think about this one some more. My friend really needs something small for a pistol, and it looks like it may have to be the Aimshot model. I'm going to see if I can find any more info out about the internals and module inside it.

Exerd said:

..... My friend really needs something small for a pistol .....

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Uhm, if the problem is the size of the pointer, compared with the size of the weapon, there is a possible alternative solution ..... taking a weapon a little bit more big, like as example this one .....



The Big One...

(LOL J/K , sorry :crackup

Keylitho said:

If I were you I would go with the Viridian one that this is freakin sweet looking...

Or maybe look and try to find a broken one somewhere or contact the manufacture and see if you can just get a replacement houseing then you could try and fit a brighter module.

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Those are good thoughts. A broken housing/mount could be some inspiration in trying to fit a DIY into. Granted, it's reverse-engineering, but I'm not going to resell this anyway. LOL.

Exerd said:

Have you ever continued your research on these or found anything new?

That's the problem; nothing over 5mW that I've found yet. I'll keep you updated as I search around some more tonight.

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Nothing new yet.

Yeah, most seem to be limited to 5mW, which I assume is thanks to the government. I think I've seen higher power ones, but they're limited to LE/military. Hmmm...

ZRTMWA said:

I found one that's 2omW but it's made for airsoft so I don't know how well it would stand up to any recoil. Oh and it's $50.

EA High Power Tri-Rail Green Laser Sight

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Thanks for the link, but I think that may be a little too big/heavy for a self-defense handgun. Viridian (and others) have done something to make the entire unit smaller/shorter. I think that's key. If you imagine a unit from the side, I'm guessing they have the laser module on "top," then bend the driver circuits under the module, then have the battery on the bottom. I wonder is a small 8mm module is what they use?

brtaman said:

Though personally, I would go with a high quality diode laser. Something about a DPSS laser on a gun that gets regularly fired, doesn't seem like a durable idea.

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It's got to have some reasonable durability. LE and military use these things daily. I would hope the greenies would hold up to normal use like that. Lives are on the line.


I'm still researching everyone. Thanks for your input!

Can't say I've been following this thread very closely so I don't know if anyone's suggested this. You could buy a <5mW green laser sight made to withstand the recoil of a handgun and try to swap out the modules say with a 30mW O-like or one of these tiny modules even:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/short-review-tiny-green-modules-o-like-46531.html

Personally this is what I think.

1.) Red diodes can with stand a lot of torture. I had one of my 16x closed cans strapped to a 12guage shotgun and I shot about 50 shells with it on . It didn't even phase my laser.

2.) Green laser modules, at times, are poorly assembled and this could cause a problem when recoil is added to the mix. What I would do is.....Buy a cheap small green laser module (like the one that ZRTMWA suggested). Open it up and add some high quality glue to keep the crystal in place...then put it pack together again.

3.) Recoil forces really aren't as high as what you would think.

4.) The hardest part about making a laser sight is.......keeping it zeroed out. After a hard day of shooting, I want it to still be accurate. (This is something that is very hard to perfect, due to the fact that you want it to be adjustable, but once it's set, it shouldn't be able to move. I have yet to figure out how to do this perfectly)

I've been eyeing that Viridian for a bit now. I was wondering how they were handling the recoil of a firearm with the DPSS lasers. Honestly 5mW (of green especially) should be fine for most situations. How often do people use their pistol for self defense in broad daylight compared to at night or in the home?

What interests me is swapping a 650nm laser out of a insight/surefire (IE, quality) weapon mountable setup with a 808nm IR laser for use with night vision. Rifle mounted units are not to hard to find but pistol ones are much harder to find.

Plus a laser is a great tool for teaching/learning point shooting which is how 99% of self defense shoots go down (instead of dropping into a weaver stance and taking aim). The best defensive shooters out there teach similar techniques.

The only thing stopping me from the viridian for my pistols is I want to know how far from the barrel the laser is. It needs to be below this:


I know, I know. Us crazy Americans. :eg:

Looking at the photo it would be fine on the .45, I'm not so sure about the glock 19+trident9 setup (that USP was designed for a suppressor, the glock wasn't really)

One thing to think about, IF, BIG IF, but IF you DO get into a self defense type shoot-out, & your using a green laser, at night, your opponent will know right where your shots are originating from because the beam from a green laser (unless VERY low powered, like 1mW) is gonna give your position away immediately. Just a thought. rob

phoenix77 said:

One thing to think about, IF, BIG IF, but IF you DO get into a self defense type shoot-out, & your using a green laser, at night, your opponent will know right where your shots are originating from because the beam from a green laser (unless VERY low powered, like 1mW) is gonna give your position away immediately. Just a thought. rob

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Agree 100% *but* in a self defense shoot he should be aware of you anyway otherwise your ambushing them. Lol. Which usually is a bad idea from a legal perspective

Don't leave any live witnesses !!!!! HA HA HA j/k

So none of you cared about operating temperature ranges as well as dot size?

joncylee said:

So none of you cared about operating temperature ranges as well as dot size?

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Both of those factors are unchangeable. Those green modules are meant to operate from about 68F (20C) to 86F (30C) and have a fixed dot size.

ZRTMWA said:

Both of those factors are unchangeable. Those green modules are meant to operate from about 68F (20C) to 86F (30C) and have a fixed dot size.

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Hi ZRTMWA, the exact ranges are 59F (15C) to 95F (35C), but why go for green lasers when you can't use them under extreme weather condition territories?

I'm sure once green diodes are released, instead of requiring DPSS, weapon sights will be forever changed for the better. That will be the day.

joncylee said:

Hi ZRTMWA, the exact ranges are 59F (15C) to 95F (35C), but why go for green lasers when you can't use them under extreme weather condition territories?

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They're the most visible. All diodes/ modules are somewhat sensitive to temperature. You can always waterproof the module.