Need advice on Laser, Tac Light, Sights...

[lkwan@houston.r]

I just picked up another glock this weekend @ the HGCA show in Houston on Sunday. I got a 21sf pic rail w/o ns ambi mag release for $479.99. It was wierd two other vendors had them for $520, $530. Directly above my gun was the old frame w/ glock rail for $499.

On my glock 36, i have mepro ns and on my 27 i have henie slant pro straight eights race cut. Nethier of those have rails. But I do have a lasermax guide rod in my 36.

I've been pouring through as many boards as I can find in the last two days to find actual owner opinions. I don't want to make expensive mistakes. The purpose for my new 21sf is my house gun. 5 clips 12+1 rounds hyrdoshoks 230 grain HST! ( that last round on any glock mag is just too difficult to bother) I am comparing Lasers, Tac lights and sights.

Lasers- I have had my lasermax in my 36 for years and I would agree with many others that nothing replaces practice. Hence I almost never use it!
I'm looking at these three lasers and I keep asking myself is it going to be worth for the money? Instead of getting a Sig 220 elite for $980! I got the glock 21sf because I was saving $510! With that money in my pocket i could get all of my accessories!

$164 lasermax uni red rail- Switch for Constant ON or Pulsating!!!
$175 for CT grips- I've seen people that mention that they don't like these grips because you can't turn it on. That would only annoy me while at the range. On my 36, my lasermax is rarely ever turned on @ the range.
$320 for LM uni GREEN rail!!! No switch!

Tac lights- I would say my favorite was the x300 but so many posters have +1 on the trl1 that it was steering my toward it. Is that light an older model. How long has the x300 been out? Does anyone who has both can say the x300 @ twice the price is worth the extra $?

Trl1- $89 lapolicegear.com inexpsive and good clean crisp white light that is good on batteries. But a huge pain to swap batteries? Its 80 lumens and the x300 is 110 lumens!!!!
x200a- spot
x200b- flood- If I get a x200 it would be the B verison so that I can see a lot of wall in my home.
x300- 225 but 15 free batteries! @ lapolicegear.com. Does anyone have a picture comparison of the light in a darken room. I've seen many examples of all other tac lights but none of the x300 yet.
x300l- not out yet but when?
m3x- 99 Sorry reviews are melding into one... What's good/bad about this light?
SSL1- I saw only one +1 for the model.
CREE LED- what is this? a sight or replacement bulb? what light do I use with it?

Sights- I was going to just get some another pair of henie's but since this 21sf is a middle of the night what was that noise gun, i wanted to realy think through which sight I wanted to put on it. Did I miss any sights? Please give feedback!

$99 XS big dots- after watching the video on youtube.. I was very impressed! I know that a lot of people don't like them. But I think they might make a good house gun ns. I really would like feedback on this idea!!!
$99 Henie straight eights race cuts with NS- I like them...
$99 suresights- They seem to have gone out of business, but I found on xdtalk.com that the owner of the company had health problems and that's why they have disappeared for a while. Chaim posted on 1-8-08 in a week they'll have a big annoucement. I'm hoping @ the SHOT show in LV on FEB 2-5th they'll show off their NEW Recessed sights so that fluorescent material won't get scratch off and that they'll have versions with tritium in them! From what i've read, these would be #2 on my short list if they were available. Where can I find them? Someone on this board has them? How Do you like them?
$99 Advance tactical- the seems so similar to suresights... Does anyone have these on their glocks? How do you like them?
ARotek ghost rings- I hated these. I never could shoot well with them and I changed them for mepros
TFo's- I just read how the front fiber falls out so I don't even want to try them.

PS. I can't find the post where someone here said that @ 50 yards he can pick rt/lt eye! He practices 300 dry fires a day. Something about he would put a bullet on his barrel and sight in the primer and pull. Steady hands and no movement will greatly improve accuracy. Please teach me this technique! I tried it and the bullet always rolls off my gun. what am I doing wrong?

[RayB]

Wow! That's a lot to cover... :wow:

I'll address a few things for you, based on my ownership of a 3rd Gen G21 and a few accessories...

First, congrats on an excellent .45 ACP combat handgun! The G21 will serve you well as a bump in the night gun! :thumbsup:

Weapon Lights

The best are the SurefIre X200 A&B, and X300. All are designed for serious use by professionals in the field, and are by far the most rugged of the weapon lights. An X300 looks to be the current model, and would be the best choice. An X200B would serve you well too, and can be had for $209.00 at:

http://www.dawsonprecision.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=TACTICAL+LIGHTS:Weapon+Lights

A nice light for lighter duty would be the TLR-1. It is a value at half the price, but does not equal a SureFire X200B or X300 in quality or performance. Still, for the duty you describe, it would likely serve well.

All of these lights use LED (Light Emitting Diode) light sources, instead of bulbs. They are far tougher, last far longer, and run far more efficiently than bulbs do.


Lasers

For that gun--LaserMax. Otherwise, if it won't be holstered, the red-beam Uni-Max. These can be had for $272.95 and $164.00 respectively, at:

http://www.lasersales.com/

I like the parallel beam approach to setting a laser for POA/POI vs. the sweet spot approach. This requires a laser very close to the bore axis of the gun. The LaserMax is ideal for this. The Uni-Max should work too. Light/Laser combos do not work well for parallel beam set up, because the laser is too far from the barrel. JMO...

The green laser is neat, but unnecessary for the duty you intend. Save the money...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe they make a Crimson Trace for the G21...

Here's a pic of my baby. My bedside gun... :hearts:

Here's a pic of X200 A & B performance in a fully darkened room. The TLR-1 is closer to the B's performance, but not as bright or as wide.

The X300 is nearly equal to the "B" in beam width, but has greater range, like the "A"--it's a blend of X200 A & B technologies. Its CREE LED light source is a bit brighter and more efficient than the 5-watt Luxeon LED you see at work here.

--Ray

[lkwan@houston.r]

I sent a email to jeff @ CT to see the final answer. They have a forum also but the last post was taling about the 3rd gen of the 21sf. I guess I have the 4th gen because my 21sf has the pic rail instead of the glock rail and has the ambi mag release.

Ray, U had answered 2 of 3 questions... :-) what do you think about the sights I listed?

These are the setups I'm considering...
1 2 3
x300 $200 trl1 $ 88 x300 $200
LM red Rail $121 LM Green Rail $320 LM Green Rail $320
XS Big Dot $ 99 XS Big Dot $ 99 XS Big Dot $ 99
$420 $508 $619

Since this gun's primary function wlll be a house gun. I rather spend the extra money on a BETTER tac light, rather than the green laser. It would be really cool to get the green, but from my prior experience with them, I would rarely use it.

Here another thought too... The extra $200 from 1 -> 3 can be used to get a CT laser grip for my wife's p32 keltec!

Since I got a new gun I decided to take picture of my entire arsenal!

[RayB]

If this is a dedicated SHTF gun, you may like the XSBD sights. Place that big honken dot on center mass, within 30-feet, and if your trigger control is honed, you'll hit your perp! We just didn't favor them for range practice. They're well made and look cool on the gun! :cool:

If your eyes are good, you may just slap on another set of Straight Eights.

I like the Operator Sights by AmeriGlo--in green/yellow--and will likely put these on my next Glock. Operator sights use a white marker up front only, with the familiar three dot night sight picture. To me, these seem to combine the XSBD approach with a more traditional all around combat/target sight.

You can get AmeriGlo sights from LWD or from AmeriGlo direct:

http://www.lonewolfdist.com/

http://ameriglo.com/

FWIW, we are pleased with the Trijicon, Meprolight, and DP FO/ADJ sights on our G19, G21 and G17, respectively. :wavey:

Anecdotal: You've got more toys than me! :crying:

--Ray

[mserr]

My brother has an x200 and I have a tlr-1 and I swear the tlr-1 is brighter. It's a slick little light for the cost, good warranty too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/mserr/light.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/mserr/sdfa.jpg

[Stopdropnroll]

Your right Ray, There is not a Crimson Trace Laser for the Glock-21.

[Jerkdog]

FWIW, here's my G19 with CT laser grips and a TLR-1 (my wife keeps asking me how much crap I'm planning on hanging off my G19 :whistling:).

For me, the factory sights have been more than adequate, although I've had my eyes on the XS big dot...we'll see.

[RayB]

My brother has an x200 and I have a tlr-1 and I swear the tlr-1 is brighter. It's a slick little light for the cost, good warranty too.


X200 A or B? It matters.

The TLR's a very nice light at a great price--no question.

I do remodeling, so I'm pretty good at guessing room sizes, etc.


See below...

The first pic (left to right) is yours. The corner in the pic you took, looks to be about 12 to 14 feet away from the camera. You can see a central hot spot and wider circle, or corona, of light, maybe 12 feet across. The TLR-1 uses a reflector to cast its beam.

The next pic is the beam of a SureFire X200A, taken from about 21-feet away (+/- camera zoom). You'll see a hot spot, somewhat larger than your TLR-1, but virtually no surrounding circle of light. This is a spot beam, and it'll throw it out to about 200 feet. There is also a thin surrounding halo of light, out of the frame of the picture. If memory serves, the "A" was specifically designed to let a LEO identify an armed perp, outdoors, at 30-yards; and that it would! The "A" uses a TIR (Total Internal Reflecting) lens to project its beam.

Note: Both X200A and TLR-1 use 3-watt LEDs.

The last pic on the right is the beam pattern of a SureFire X200B. Also taken from 21 feet (+/1 camera zoom), it has the largest hot spot, though its edges are diffused. Clearly, it floods a room better than the other two lights do. The X200B uses a micro-textured reflector to cast its beam.

Note: The X200B uses a 5-watt LED.

The new X300 appears to be a blending of the old X200 A&B technologies, to provide a better "all around" weapon light, offering some of the B's width, with some of the A's throw. It also uses a better LED.

Anybody doing a fair comparison should check that all lights are clean and loaded with fresh batteries. Getting the exact model numbers matters as well. :upeyes: Use of the same room and the same camera, at the same distances and settings, would help too! ;)

--Ray