Can a Crimson Trace Laser Sight Lose It's Zero?

[TomJ]

I purchased a Ruger LC9S Pro a little while ago and thought I'd try a Crimson Trace laser sight. It seems as though when I compare where the dot appears compared to where the sights line up, it sometimes changes. I understand that the distance to the object may impact that, but was wondering if it was possible for it to lose it's zero? I have night sites on it as well, as I understand that battery can fail at any time but was wondering if the laser sights can be trusted or if I should just stay with the night sights.

 

[Sunray]

Apparently. Crimson's FAQ page says they're factory adjusted to 50 yards but are user adjustable with the small hex wrenches provided with 'em.
http://www.crimsontrace.com/support/sighting-guide/

 

[OpticsPlanet]

The units are user adjustable and as we all know, any product can fail.

But it sounds like your zero is constantly changing, which would be a defective product.

I would contact Crimson Trace about it. I am sure they would take care of you. We sell countless numbers of Crimson Trace products and honestly we rarely hear about issues or get returns on them, especially for defective reasions.

-Matt S.

 

[TomJ]

Sunray,

I was able to adjust it, but am wondering if that can change.

Tom

 

[desidog]

The laser itself is mounted on the side of the grip, about 1/4" - 1/2" to the right of the bore axis. To line up with the bore at 25 or 50 yards, it's got to be oriented a few degrees to the left of the bore axis. Because of this, the laser POA will walk right to left as the distance to target increases. So, at 100yards, your laser will be illuminating a spot 1-2" left of POI.

Is this what you're seeing? If it isn't, call CT.

 

[230RN]

I usually offset the dot from the sights about the same amount as on the gun when actually sighting-in with live ammo, and check that out once in a while visually by comparing dot location with the iron sights, without shooting.

The LaserGuard sights are vertically in line with the bore, but the LaserGrip sights are offset both vertically and horizontally.

Yeah, they change. Hey, you've got a handgun recoiling in your flexible hand, and that can throw them off. The grip button on my .38 slips out from under my finger when the gun recoils. I have not found a satisfactory solution for that.I don't rely on them for anything much beyond 15 yards, though. I have no trouble with that on my .45, and on the LaserGuard one on my nine, it's either on or off with a sort of ambidextrous remote switch on the sight.

I have three of them mounted... LaserGuard on my nine, and LaserGrips on my .45 and .38. On the mil-spec (sorta) .45, the right side of the slide stop interferes with the beam slightly, but it's still usable. I have heard of some people grinding down the slide stop, but for me, it's not that much of a problem.

They are not the ultimate solution, but with my aging eyes, they are very helpful. I don't have a green one, but in daylight, the red ones don't show up well.

I have a special technique for shooting with them.

My personal experience with communicating with Crimson Trace has not been fruitful.

Terry

 

[TomJ]

This is a Laser Guard, so the laser is located at the front of the trigger guard and is in line with the bore axis. I can understand it being higher or lower than the sights, but it shouldn't be left or right of them.

 

[orionengnr]

The ones that mount to the trigger guard...I can see that type perhaps not being as securely attached as the grip type.
I've had, oh...three or four on 1911s and at least two on S&W revolvers...all the grip type.
Never seen any shifting of zero in any of them.

 

[340PD]

I have them on three J-frame revolvers, all front switch activated. I initially set them up by bench resting my gun while I visually aim the iron sights at a one inch square on the wall 30' away. I have another person use the adjusting hex screw to move the dot to align with my iron sight picture. This gets me very close. I randomly chose 30' because it makes sense to me. I then confirm everything at the range. Remember, when you are moving the dot, you need to think like would when are adjusting the front sight. With a laser, your eye is the rear sight and the dot is the front sight so you need to think accordingly.

As for Crimson Trace customer service, I recently had the switch (I think) go bad on a set of LG405's that were made in 2008. I called Crimson Trace customer service to see if I could pay to have them repaired. They gave me a repair number and told me they would be fixed at no charge. Overall time, about three weeks. I received an e-mail notice from them this morning (Sunday) that they would be at my door tomorrow. I call that good service.

As for red or green. The green are brighter in bright daylight but I don't need them in bright daylight. Green has a much shorter battery life and cost a lot more initially. You can decide if that is the route you want to take.

 

[230RN]

I'm glad your experience with the Crimsom Trace people is better than mine.

I found that I had to bend the battery contacts for my "grip" CTs for my J-frame quite a bit to get the battery in. I also had to grind some of the grip away to get them to fit on the gun. I wrote to them about these problems with photos and suggestions for a "fix" and heard nothing back. I am still moderately miffed at them for their zero feedback. Most outfits will at least send you back a "we appreciate... here at (company) we strive..." letter.

Nada. If anyone from CT is on this board, they can apologize to me by PM.

It makes sense that the "grip" ones would be more stable than the "guard" ones, since they are not subject to as much barrel flip as the "grip" ones. I don't quite trust the "guard" one as much as the "grip" ones, which is why I verify them from time to time. Your "30 foot" (ten yards) process is similar to mine except instead of clamping the gun, I look, than crank on the sight a little bit, and look again. (Note that it is very difficult to get zero-lash adjustments on little teeny-tiny screws like that, so I feel verification is necessary despite the low mass of the mechanisms.)

So my answer to the OP's question, "Can a Crimson Trace Laser Sight Lose Its Zero?" is, "I expect them to lose their zero."

I keep both sets of wrenches (they're different sizes for my three guns) in a plastic pouch in my range bag with a note as to which direction of rotation moves the laser dot which way for each gun, and a reminder to "MOVE THE DOT TOWARDS THE GROUP" so I don't have to figure it out every time.

By the way, be careful in cleaning and don't get stuff on that laser lens. That's why they pack a couple of swabs in with the kit.

One real handy hint I have is to take some brightly colored vinyl (or whatever) tape and wrap it around the shank of the wrenches so they are more visible when you drop them. They are tiny and almost invisible when dropped, and can hide very well. The tape makes them visible. First time out, I spent a good four or five valuable minutes with the indoor range's steel-testing magnet to find one I dropped. Imagine dropping one in the grass!

Terry, 230RN

This is what I did after my first time out and dropping the wrench. Since then I have added wrenches and "direction directions" for the different sights I have on different guns. This particular instruction is for the CT "grip" sights for the 1911. Scale as shown: