Gun nuts - I need your advice

[Farmer]

So there is no performance difference between red and green?

Depends on the laser in question, i.e., the power output (spot brightness).

All I'm saying is, for two lasers red and green, everything other than beam color being the same, the green one will cost more.

It's really about what color you like better. Some people pick up the green better than the red.

 

[TallBill]

Find a range you like.
Take the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course.

The instructor may have a variety of pistols in a variety of calibers that you can shoot. He may not. If he doesn't, spend some time at the range renting a variety of pistols. Find what is comfortable for you.

Price ammunition. You'll find 9mm is about a third less than .40. It adds up.

Backups? Having identical guns isn't really needed. Instead of 3 of the same gun, I'd rather have.....

-.22 pistol, like a Ruger Mark III. Cheap ammo allows for plenty of range time.

-something small for concealed carry in whatever caliber you find you like.

-something in a larger frame, probably in the same caliber as your carry gun, for around the house.

That's not carved in stone, just a thought.


It's important to be a responsible gun owner. This means a gun safe, or at least gun locks.

Also, listen to Clint Smith.

Love my sig p226 but its a little too large for me to want to carry. No problems here with 40 s&w recoil in any larger frames. $900 seems high though.

 

[pontifex]

Depends on the laser in question, i.e., the power output (spot brightness).

All I'm saying is, for two lasers red and green, everything other than beam color being the same, the green one will cost more.

It's really about what color you like better. Some people pick up the green better than the red.

thats not true.
the green lasers are more visible/brighter. you will see the beam on a green laser. on a red laser you won't see the beam unless there is smoke/fog/dust/etc in it's path.

 

[Farmer]

thats not true.
the green lasers are more visible/brighter. you will see the beam on a green laser. on a red laser you won't see the beam unless there is smoke/fog/dust/etc in it's path.

A green laser with a high power output is brighter. A red laser with equal power output is equally bright. By "brigthter" here, I mean quantitatively the power flux of the beam.

You might perceive the green to be brighter than the red. That is what I mean by personal preference and hence why people prefer green lasers.

 

[pontifex]

A green laser with a high power output is brighter. A red laser with equal power output is equally bright. By "brigthter" here, I mean quantitatively the power flux of the beam.

You might perceive the green to be brighter than the red. That is what I mean by personal preference and hence why people prefer green lasers.

so everything in gun mags/sites reviewing or comparing red and green lasers is false? or are the red lasers products compared against green laser products not as high output?

They always says the green beam will be visible no matter what and the red beam will not be visible unless there is smoke/fog/dust etc. Pros and cons vs green and red are that a bad guy will be able to follow the green laser back to your position more easily because he can see the entire beam, whereas a red laser he would only see the dot.

 

[Farmer]

so everything in gun mags/sites reviewing or comparing red and green lasers is false? or are the red lasers products compared against green laser products not as high output?

They always says the green beam will be visible no matter what and the red beam will not be visible unless there is smoke/fog/dust etc. Pros and cons vs green and red are that a bad guy will be able to follow the green laser back to your position more easily because he can see the entire beam, whereas a red laser he would only see the dot.

Look, if you take a power meter and measure the power flux out of a 5mW red laser and 5mW green laser, guess what the power meter will say? If you guessed 5mW for both, you'd be right. That is all I am saying.

The physical reason why red lasers need larger scattering centers (such as smoke or dust particles) for a "visible beam" (as you call) than green lasers is that green lasers are higher frequency, and hence scatter off of smaller centers. (For more detail, look up Rayleigh scattering).

Whether that is a pro or a con, as you have stated, is debatable (I personally so no reason why you would want to see the beam, it just makes the reflection at the target weaker since you are scattering energy away from the beam direction).

As for perception, I am not a medical doctor, but I have heard human eyes are more sensitive to green light, which is another possible reason for why green lasers are preferred, which really has nothing to do with the laser itself.

I don't claim to be an expert on lasers, but I have used them in laboratory settings, i.e., settings other than shooting a gun, and I've had to learn a little about them.

 

[ManBearPig]

Farmer are you a scientist?

 

[BladeVenom]

Where are the blue lasers? I don't think I've seen one of them for firearms yet.

 

[OCGuy]

Just bought my XD40 with the 5 inch tactical barrell......two weeks cant come soon enough!

 

[shortylickens]

Where are the blue lasers? I don't think I've seen one of them for firearms yet.

You dont need them. The whole point is quick acquisition of the target in poor lighting, and red does that best. On top of which its a completely unnecessary expense.

 

[shortylickens]

As for Farmers comments:

Unless color blind the eye is equally sensitive to all frequencies in the light band. The reason green is used on many things traditionally operated at night is its less likely to cause your cones to switch over to rods. Thats better for YOUR night vision.

 

[TallBill]

Just bought my XD40 with the 5 inch tactical barrell......two weeks cant come soon enough!

Nice. I liked my xd 45 other than the takedown lever which rubbed weird on my left thumb, but my hands are enormous

 

[phucheneh]

As for Farmers comments:

Unless color blind the eye is equally sensitive to all frequencies in the light band. The reason green is used on many things traditionally operated at night is its less likely to cause your cones to switch over to rods. Thats better for YOUR night vision.

...so what's the deal with red-light readable military maps?

 

[bruceb]

Green laser is also more visible in moderate sunshine, where a red laser will not be visible. Some people use them at outdoor target ranges while they are learning sight alignment. But, a green laser will cost you more than a red one.

 

[shortylickens]

...so what's the deal with red-light readable military maps?

Red light doesnt travel as well over long distances, its good for keeping your ass hidden. Thats normally what guys use out in the field to reduce their odds of detection. But its actually worse for their eyeball's night vision.

 

[Farmer]

Farmer are you a scientist?

Well I have to do science stuff for work, at least for now. It's questionable whether I want to continue this or not in the future.

 

[pontifex]

Red light doesnt travel as well over long distances, its good for keeping your ass hidden. Thats normally what guys use out in the field to reduce their odds of detection. But its actually worse for their eyeball's night vision.

interesting. astronomers use red lights all the time to save their night vision when needing to look up something. they don't need to remain hidden so why not use green lights instead?

 

[blankslate]

Your first gun should be a cheap 22. But before you even get your first gun, your first step should be to take a training course. THEN decide what gun you need. (It will be a 22, trust me.)

This. When you are learning to shoot, you will use a lot of ammo. .22 ammo is cheap and you can great a good pistol for $300-$400. Once you've learned to fire a .22 and are able to hit what you are shooting at, it will carry over to the larger calibers. You may discover that you lose interest or just aren't any good and you'll end up kicking yourself for investing $1000 in a pistol you never shoot. There's a lot of people out there with a nice Glock sitting on the shelf that they keep for "Self-Defense" but in reality they couldn't hit a burglar from 10 feet away and would be better off with a baseball bat.

Or a pump action shotgun. Just the sound of the weapon would bring a question to almost anyone's mind about the wisdom of breaking into your house.

 

[TallBill]

Or a pump action shotgun. Just the sound of the weapon would bring a question to almost anyone's mind about the wisdom of breaking into your house.

Fuck that jazz. The first sound that they will hear is a gun shot.

 

[madoka]

Fuck that jazz. The first sound that they will hear is a gun shot.

Reminds me of this saying:

Warning shot?!?!?! The only warning shot they'll get is if I miss!

 

[shortylickens]

interesting. astronomers use red lights all the time to save their night vision when needing to look up something. they don't need to remain hidden so why not use green lights instead?

Not sure. Ask an astronomer, there may be an excellent reason I dont know about.

Could be cost. Red LED's and lasers are cheaper than green LED's and lasers.

 

[RampantAndroid]

interesting. astronomers use red lights all the time to save their night vision when needing to look up something. they don't need to remain hidden so why not use green lights instead?

When you don't care about peripheral vision, you use red light, else...low power green or blue.

Red light allows the center of the eye to function best and kills peripheral vision. green and blue don't allow detail, but they don't kill peripheral vision. Why do you think the speedometer and tachometer have orange hands? Redish so that you can see at night, orange so the color blind can see it too.

 

[madoka]

Okay so as an update, I now have the following:

- 6x 5.56 AR15s
- 2x 22LR AR15s
- 3x AR lowers to build more
- 1x 7.62 AK (Izhmash Saiga)
- 1x shotgun (Benelli M4)
- 1x 9mm handgun (P226)
- 1x 22LR handgun (S&W M&P 22)

What should I get next?

BTW, gun nuts. . . I am now one of you!

 

[JulesMaximus]

would not recommend .40 as a first handgun unless you already have tons of experience shooting it.

If you are completely unfamiliar with guns I would say start with .22. If you want this for home protection as well as plinking, then go 9mm.

Meh, .40 isn't that bad. That said, my first gun was a 9mm Taurus semi-auto based on the Beretta 92. I got rid of it after a while and bought a Colt Officer's Model in .45 ACP.

I have a number of different guns ranging from .32ACP to .44 Magnum and the .32 ACP is actually more punishing to shoot than the .44 Magnum (the 44 has an 8" barrel).

I'd really like to get a Sig P220 chambered in .45 ACP. That will probably be my next gun purchase eventually.

 

[Saint Nick]

Okay so as an update, I now have the following:

- 6x 5.56 AR15s
- 2x 22LR AR15s
- 3x AR lowers to build more
- 1x 7.62 AK (Izhmash Saiga)
- 1x shotgun (Benelli M4)
- 1x 9mm handgun (P226)
- 1x 22LR handgun (S&W M&P 22)

What should I get next?

BTW, gun nuts. . . I am now one of you!

Between November 2012 and now you bought 15 firearms?