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Red laser for home defense piece aiming in the dark

ufdent98

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Joined
Feb 9, 2023
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Hello,
I'd like to add a red dot laser pointer to my home defense piece.
The only one I could find online that meets my criteria of running off AA or AAA batteries is a Holosun LS117R for $270
Which led me down this rabbit hole of DIY lasers.

Does anyone have an idea or links to building a simple red dot laser that meets the following criteria:
5mW, Red
Runs on 1 or 2 AA or AAA batteries
Diameter of tube to fit in mounting rings must be at least 25mm up to 34mm
Overall length under 6"
on/off button or switch

I can solder and assemble, but what I'm not finding on jet, survival, dragon, etc. laser are drivers that run on 1.5 or 3v, in standardized format for mounting in a pre-made tube.

Thanks for any advice
 





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Jul 10, 2015
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There are 5mw red laser diodes available online all over the place, many have the driver built in, but the difficult part is making your aimer stay aligned after recoil while allowing easy screw adjustment for zeroing.

That said, here's the part you asked for > Driver
Also here's a small module with driver built in for 3V and is says for gun laser, the important part is the lens is fixed so as not to change focus after recoil. > Module w/Driver

This is just what I found with a simple search, there's no doubt much more as well.

P.S. If you like the Holosun LS117R but not the price, there are much more affordable doppelgangers such as these that use an AAA battery > #1 #2
Note : I have not read the reviews on these exact units but I expect most will work well enough, plus the white light can be a nice feature although I prefer passive sighting devices myself, a red dot sight is hard to beat for fast target acquisition.
I use a Vortec SparcAR on a couple of my units and they hold zero very well, also use an AAA battery.
 
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ufdent98

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@RedCowboy
Thank you very much for your thoughtful, very helpful post.
I use the ruger red dot with AA battery, and I love it.
I want something that I can use in the very dark without night vision but have positive id of what I'm aiming at- I'm going to see if a laser pointer is better at that than the red dot sight.
The units on ebay that you pointed out are cheap enough to try out, and maybe fool around with their internals as well.

Have an awesome day!
Thank you again!
 
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You may want to try a red led light to preserve your eyes scotopic adaptation at night and have enough intensity that you can see before and after muzzle flash.



 
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Because the OP said the Holosun LS117R met his criteria I have to assume he has a rifle/SBR, that said a quality ready made sight is hard to beat.
 

kecked

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For home defense I’d have to agree a shotgun is much better as a choice so that you don’t accidentally take out a neighbor two houses down from your AR When you shoot I your house. People forget a houses walls looks like paper to many guns. I have tried the crimson trace and it works but doesn’t have that acccurate of a dot at a distance of 20 yards or more. Didn’t bother on targets. But at short range guess it might. Downside is they see the dot and might get you first.
 
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Shotguns with #1 or #4 buckshot can be good without over penetrating too many walls but so is the AR which won't over penetrate walls nearly as badly as the 30 cal rifles, because the 5.56/223 round is so much lighter and tends to disintegrate on impact, it's the velocity that makes the 5.56/223 round so effective and yes the 30 cal rounds also carry high velocities, but their weight ( 3x the 5.56/223 ) means the rounds can penetrate a lot of brush or stud and drywall walls without being diverted or disintegrating.

Note the steel core surplus ammo will over penetrate but if you want to be really safe you can use powdered core ammo which is very effective against soft targets ( bad guys ) but won't over penetrate walls.

The reason I like a passive sight such as a red dot sight is because it doesn't give away your position, but anything you shine such as an IR Illuminator or a laser makes you an easy target for anyone shooting at you.
 
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ufdent98

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And of course, this is for a custom built AR22 (it fires 22LR rounds) using Federal Punch self-defense rounds. The penetration is very limited.
At the range, I've got it tuned to put a lot of rounds out without any muzzle rise/movement - just like my paintball markers when I played just under pro level. Hosing lead!
I'm in a gated, security watched neighborhood in an unbelievably safe part of Florida, so it's all a mental exercise anyways.
I purchased one of the knock-off units @RedCowboy suggested, and it's great! Sadly, its a 3.7v CR123 battery, but that's a good excuse to buy Tenergy's rechargables and charging unit!
Me and the boys fooled around in the dark with it - the under 5mW red laser doesn't create a beam, just a dot on target. So no trace-back, and excellent night vision maintenance. If I were to get a good muzzle-flash hider or suppressor, then it should stay pretty dark.
We also tried the red-dots... they work but in the dark they weren't as easy for target identification as the little red dot.
Thank you everyone!
 




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