DIY Green Laser Sight (for Handguns)?

So, I've been wanting a green laser sight for my handgun ever since they came out a few years ago, but the prices are insane (at least to me). But after finding this website/forum, I'm wondering if I (or someone w/ more skills than me) could make my own green laser sight? My knowledge about making laser pointers is almost nil, so I have no idea if it's even possible, given the recoil environment of a handgun the laser would have to withstand. Nevermind the small size it would have to be in order to be practical.

Here are a few green laser sight manufacturers that I've found so far:

AimShot
AimSHOT 8268 Pistol Green Laser Flashlight
5mW, 532nm,
$150 via Midway

Beamshot
BEAMSHOT Laser Sight 8300 - Quarton USA, Inc.
<5mW, 532nm, class IIIa
$300

LaserMax
Uni Green Laser Sight Green Laser Gun Sight
5mW, 532nm
Spot Size: 5/16" @ 7 Yds; 3/4" @ 25 Yds
$399

Viridian Green Laser Sights
http://www.viridiangreenlaser.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=41
5mW peak, 532nm, Class IIIa, Continuous Wave
Beam divergence/spot size/range: 1.2 mrad, approx. 0.5" diameter at 50 feet, 2 mile range
2.25" high!
$299

All of these lasers mount on an accessory rail in front of the trigger guard, and are operated by a switch.

Another type of laser is actually inside the guide rod of the firearm. This makes me wonder just how small the components of any laser sight could be, and how "easy" it might be to DIY one. The guide rod version can also be found here:

LaserMax
Laser for Springfield XD Service and Compact 9mm Laser Sight
Internal Guide Rod
5mW, 635nm (red-orange), blinks
$349


I've also seen a grip-based laser system, where you either replace the grip sidestraps on a handgun, or add it onto the grip. Here's an example:

Crimson Trace
Laser Sight For Springfield Armory XD 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W & .45 GAP | Crimson Trace Laser Grips
5mW, 633 nm (red)
$329


I'm hoping someone on this forum could shed some light on the design principals of a DIY laser sight, and its components. And even if it would be possible to build such a thing with commercially-available components.

Just how small can laser diodes be? A guide rod is NOT very big at all, yet a red laser and battery pack fit inside somehow.

What sort of power source do 5mW lasers need? The smaller the system, the smaller the battery needed. Just how small can you go and still provide enough power?

What material can the housing be? Must it be metal? Plastic/Polymer? Must there be holes in it for the heat to escape? How much heat is generated?

I'm sorry for so many questions. But the thought of a DIY laser sight intrigues me, but I'm a total newbie when it comes to laser sights! If anyone has any input (both constructive and destructive criticism welcome) into a project like this, I'm all ears!

If you need more info, or have questions, please let me know.

Thank you.

You could buy a cheap Chinese sight from a Chinese wholesale website like Dealextreme. What gun is it going to be used for?

I don't know how bright you expect the beam to be but at 5mW it wont be anywhere near what some of those advertisements claimed. But green is much, much brighter than red.

If you do this, don't go shining your laser at people...

As far as I am aware, green lasers aren't very suitable for this application. They rely on precision alignment of the internal components, and repeated jerks from the recoil could easily damage them. I would imagine that part of the huge cost of the commercial products goes into buying modules that will withstand the abuse.

In order it to be worth using, you'll also have to figure out a way to mount it perfectly still, while being adjustable. This would be a feat without having to worry about damage from jerking.

I did a few searches on dealextreme and found a bunch of riffle scopes, but nothing that i'd put on a handgun. You should look closer, see if you can't find something, because if it's there it will be very reasonably priced (probably less than it would cost to make yourself)

You could definitely DIY something half decent, but it would be very hard to make it well. If I were to be trying to do this, I would start with a green laser module. I would probably use button-cell batteries to power it, to keep size down. I would get some handgun accessory with an appropriate mount, and salvage the mounting device to attach everything to. Bolt everything down, add a switch, and go from there.

Hope this helps a little. I know it does't really provide any "answers" but hopefully you'll be able to better decide what direction you want to take this in.

ZRTMWA said:

You could buy a cheap Chinese sight from a Chinese wholesale website like Dealextreme. What gun is it going to be used for?

I don't know how bright you expect the beam to be but at 5mW it wont be anywhere near what some of those advertisements claimed. But green is much, much brighter than red.

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It'll be used for a Springfield Armory XD-9 service model.

I would expect the beam to be as bright as those advertisements claim, because along with those ads, are the specs of the lasers, and they're all 5mW. So, I'd expect them to be as bright as they claim. Maybe it's just me, but I'd hope companies like this wouldn't be using false advertising, especially in the gun world, where LE and military use these products.

dingle said:

If you do this, don't go shining your laser at people...

As far as I am aware, green lasers aren't very suitable for this application. They rely on precision alignment of the internal components, and repeated jerks from the recoil could easily damage them. I would imagine that part of the huge cost of the commercial products goes into buying modules that will withstand the abuse.

In order it to be worth using, you'll also have to figure out a way to mount it perfectly still, while being adjustable. This would be a feat without having to worry about damage from jerking.

I did a few searches on dealextreme and found a bunch of riffle scopes, but nothing that i'd put on a handgun. You should look closer, see if you can't find something, because if it's there it will be very reasonably priced (probably less than it would cost to make yourself)

You could definitely DIY something half decent, but it would be very hard to make it well. If I were to be trying to do this, I would start with a green laser module. I would probably use button-cell batteries to power it, to keep size down. I would get some handgun accessory with an appropriate mount, and salvage the mounting device to attach everything to. Bolt everything down, add a switch, and go from there.

Hope this helps a little. I know it does't really provide any "answers" but hopefully you'll be able to better decide what direction you want to take this in.

Click to expand...

Why would I shine a laser at people (at their eyes I assume you're talking about)? This isn't a toy, nor a kid's application of a laser.... But this is a laser sight for a self-defense firearm that we're talking about, it's sole purpose is for quick target acquisition, which does mean shining it ON someone (center of mass).

I beg to differ that green lasers aren't suitable in this application. Green wavelengths are more visible than the standard red lasers, even in daylight. Or at least that's what most ads and demos I've seen on red vs green lasers show. Which is why green lasers are becoming much more popular than the red in these applications. And I'm guessing these companies are using high quality components that can withstand recoil and shock, or else they wouldn't be in business.

I agree that this would be a difficult task, especially for someone with no laser building experience like me. But your suggestions do help me a lot, like the DealExtreme idea.... Thank you for your input.

It might not be false advertising; just shot in a dark room with ton of incense burning.

If this firearm is to be used in hot blood (self defense/you're a cop), you should definitely use the lasers that have been tested and hardened for that application.

You can easily buy a 5 mw greenie on dealextreme to see whether 5 mw is suitable for your purposes.

elewton said:

If this firearm is to be used in hot blood (self defense/you're a cop), you should definitely use the lasers that have been tested and hardened for that application.

You can easily buy a 5 mw greenie on dealextreme to see whether 5 mw is suitable for your purposes.

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Hot blood? LOL, OK then.

Ah, so you're saying that these green lasers have somehow been "enhanced/modified" to withstand the recoil of a firearm? So, by themselves (with no durability modifications) they'll break apart or suffer some sort of damage from use? Is that to say that red lasers are also hardened in some way, or they're just naturally more durable?

I'm just curious if someone could build a green laser sight themselves, including whatever "shock absorption" would be required, to use in this sort of application. Obviously it is possible, at least in a commercial sense, since many companies are already doing this with some sort of success.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to understand all these concepts, and gain some more knowledge about lasers.

I'm relatively new to lasers myself, but back in my non-coherant days, I needed a strong flashlight to use during adventures.
Eventually, the Gladius came out and I bought it.

The difference in engineering of a gun light and a regular LED are obvious; it's got very tight tolerances and has taken impacts and water pressures that would destroy a normal light.

I believe the same to be true for the gun lasers I've seen (my uncle owns a gun shop and enjoys novelties, even though he can't sell them in Ireland.)

While you could probably build a gun laser with an appropriate host, I imagine that building and then testing your design would be prohibitively expensive.
Remember, any emergency/safety equipment has to be extremely reliable.
I'm not in the army or anything, but for gun use/climbing/lasers goggles/medicine etc., you're usually better off letting the professionals build your gear.

If you're only going to use the laser for target shooting, then you need to find out what flashlight hosts are compatible with your XD (coo, btw.)
With a 9mm rounds and a 114.3 mm barrel, I guess you aren't getting too much impulse.

It's definitely worth a shot, and we'd all be interested in the data you provide.

The first thing you have to do is acquire the bracket for your pistol and find out what flashlights are compatible with it.

The red lasers wouldn't be too hard, as it's just a diode. But the reason the green ones need to be hardened against recoil is the alignment of the crystals in it. Moving them even a hairs breadth could completely stop it working without realignment. If you want a green laser sight, go professional, as it might be expensive, but you can't buy a second chance.

I haven't herd this mentioned yet, but with most all cheaper green modules the beam WILL NOT exit the apature strait. This makes it kinda useless as a gun sight.

And yes......Reds are DIODES and Greens are DPSS, that's why Reds are stronger then Greens.

I bought a "hot dot" red gun site laser when they first came out, about +-14years ago. It mounted to the trigger guard only. The problem was when I fired my 9mm, the recoil would cause the laser to misalign terribly. The gunsmith at the range said my laser needed to be mounted to the bottom side of the barrel/frame and the trigger guard for the best stability. Finding a slim host to accomodate this (for a greenie) is the hardest part, for me at least. It will most likely look like a small narrow labby. Alignment of a crooked beam can be overcome with setscrew windage/elevation adjustments.

Edit: I just noticed the first link you provided. oops. That is what I am referring to.

There is no way a DPSS green laser will fit into a pistol grip.
The gunsmith I talked with recommended a metal housing, but the polymers of today are probably just as durable.
When I tore my old laser apart, I found rubber gaskets that were used for shock dampening. Nothing fancy.
As far as heat...Just don't leave it on for over a minute at a time and you should be ok.

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

And just because it say's 5mw in the video it looks quite brighter... and it does say 5mw peak not >5mw.

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.

Just some of my thoughts.

Hi Dave,

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

We were just out shooting today; my friend has the XD-45. I talked him into a 532nm laser for it, but he wants something like 30mW so it can be seen very quickly in bright daylight.

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

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

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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I don't think it would stand up to any recoil. A shot or two at most. They are made for airsoft in which recoil is non-existent. The reason the other sights are so expensive is due to the R&D and materials needed to make the laser stand up to recoil and other abuse.

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.

Well, if this is for the application that you state it is, which is for self defense... You should have no issue with using a laser above 5mW? Because if your shooting at them I wouldn't of thought that you give two monkeys whether or not you hit them in the eye.

I definitely would not support the use of using a high powered laser to point at anyone under any circumstances but just pointing out the obvious.

And realistically you will not see the beam of a 5mW green, just a small dot which won't be particularly bright, if you go up to around 20-30 it would probably be more suitable. I hope you can understand what I'm saying.

I know everyone around here is very big on laser safety, same with me, but if your shooting at them does it change the circumstances slightly?

Regarding the durability of lasers, if they say it can with stand the recoil it may. But bare in mind a green laser is a DPSS system which involves crystals accurately and precisely aligned to create a green laser, even the slightest movement will throw this out of line resulting in no beam. Red's would be slightly better suited to the application as diodes are much more durable, with less precisely aligned parts but then you loose the brightness which is 532nm.

what about a setup like this one, for solve the problems of the beam misalignment and the problem of the shock together ? .....