LaserMax Laser Sights: Initial Impressions

LaserMax LMS internal guide rod laser sights review, Part I

I mentioned last week receiving the sights from LaserMax. What I hadn't mentioned yet was that Thursday night when I got home there was another package from LaserMax waiting for me. In that package was this:

G30 with LaserMax

Yep. The good folks at LaserMax sent along a LMS unit for my G30 for a direct comparison to the LaserLyte RSL sights received earlier. Now I can test both sets of sights on a polymer-framed subcompact .45 ACP and a full-size metal-framed 9mm. This is going to be very interesting indeed.

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For the LaserLyte sights I had a gunsmith install the sights - for me, it was worth the $20 to have a pro take care of it. For the LaserMax, I chose to do it myself. Here's the process in pictures:

Step 1: Check Gun to Make Sure It's Unloaded

This should always be step one whenever one is working on a firearm...

Step 2: Field Strip Gun

Step 3: Remove Take Down Lever

This step for the Glock was a tad more difficult, but still well within even my admittedly meager limits. The SigSauer take down lever removes by pushing it in and rotating it; the G30 requires that a spring be depressed, the factory lever removed, a new spring installed, and a new take down lever be installed. It took about twice as long to install the LaserMax on the Glock as it did on the Sig, but the Sig installation really only took a couple of minutes.

Step 4: Procure LaserMax Unit

The Glock unit came with a little tool for depressing the spring needed to remove the factory take down lever. It was a nice touch, considering that I would have been left staring at the Glock much like the monkeys staring at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey...

Step 5: Install LaserMax Take Down Lever

Once the new spring was securely in place in the Glock, the new lever went in quickly and easily. The instructions were quite clear, well-illustrated, and easy to follow. Like I said, it was so easy even I could do it. And did!

Step 6: Install LaserMax Unit

Here there's one thing to be careful of - the guide rod unit has to be installed in one direction. However, this is very well documented and marked in both the instructions and on the unit itself, so it wasn't an issue.

Step 7: Reassemble Gun

And there we are! A Glock G30 and a SigSauer P226 with LaserMax LMS internal guide rod laser sights installed.

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A quick side-by-side view of the LaserMax and LaserLyte sights in use:

Laser sights at 65'

That's the LaserMax dot on the top and the LaserLyte dot on the bottom. The distance is approximately 65 feet, with both units roughly aligned with the iron sights (picture is edited only to remove certain messy elements of my kitchen; the laser dots are untouched). The distance from the doorframe to the wall on which the laser dot is projected is approximately 24'; the reviewer was standing approximately 40' from the doorframe. The camera is zoomed 10X to capture the laser dot on the wall.

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The LaserMax sights are a slick piece of engineering. Using the guide rod as a place to insert a laser sight is a stroke of genius; it allows the sights to be unobtrusive, protected, and already aligned with the bore. The placement of the on/off switch in the take down lever for either gun is a solid choice, as the trigger finger rests just below the lever in normal indexing. The on/off switch on the Sig takedown lever is a small button, and the Glock uses the take down lever itself as the on/off switch, relying on the position of the switch to turn the unit on or off.

The dot itself pulsates for maximum brightness according to LaserMax and is not user-adjustable. LaserMax claims accuracy of ± 2" at 20 yards, a claim that will be put to the test later this week when I bring both guns to the range for the shooting part. Sight acquisition of the laser dot is simple and rapid.

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Look for Part II - the shooting part of the Range Report - next week.

That is all.

Obligatory FTC disclaimer: LaserMax did provide two LMS laser sights for review as well as a universal rail-mounted laser in their shipments to the writer of this review.