[hacker15]

I got myself a LaserMax guide rod laser for my duty pistol (XD40 service) a few months ago. Went out to the range to make sure it was sighted properly. Ran the standard LEO course we run every six months. The department has some pretty strict rules about this, so I have to requalify with this (because it's a mod to a duty pistol) before I can carry on duty. I shot the standard set of qualification runs, using the same type of rounds we always shoot (165 grain, 300 rounds at distances from 25 yards down to 3 yards, slow/intermediate/rapid fire, timed/untimed, standing/kneeling/prone, stationary and moving). What I found was anything over 10 yards shot low. At 25 yards, I was about 18 inch's low POA/POI. As I moved in toward the target, the POA/POI grew less and less, until at 10 yards, POA/POI was acceptable. I cleaned the pistol and reinstalled my OEM recoil spring assembly (have approx 15K rounds on it) and reshot the course (the department supplies the ammo, so I wasn't out of pocket!). POA/POI were back to normal. Has anyone had anything like this happen with a LaserMax? I tried contacting them, but got no real answer.

 

[tiggamonsta]

How much have you shot with the lasermax installed? I noticed when I put my c5l on, my shots were low. After I got used to the weight difference, my shots returned to normal.

 

[RobzXD]

The LaserMax Guide Rod Laser has a history of being their "weakest link". When I was thinking about getting one for my Glock last year, I did a lot of research and quickly decided against it. I ended up getting the LaserMax Micro, which I can swap between my different pistols.

Supposedly, LaserMax has good Customer Service (I haven't needed to call them myself). Discuss it with them and if you decide to not get it fixed, perhaps they'll let you trade it in on a Frame Mount laser (Basically the same as a crimson trace). Like the Guide Rod Laser, a Grip Mount would allow you to use a regular holster.

Oh... Depending on which style laser you get, it may only have good POA/POI for whatever distance you sight it in for. I believe they all hit higher, or lower when you target closer and farther targets and you would need to make a mental note of how to adjust (aiming above, or below the dot). The Grip Mount, being along side the barrel, should have minimal Parallax to deal with.
Just something to ponder.

 

[john_bud]

I've not used the guide rod laser, but on other lasers you want to set your zero point to be at your MAXIMUM distance. Probably 25 yards, but some may go out to as much as 50 or 75. Then the distance between the muzzle and the laser will be your offset at zero inches and THAT will be your maximum offset between point of impact and the dot.

From your description of the symptoms it sounds like you zeroed at a very short distance. So the laser is angled up to compensate for the offset distance and it keeps going up making the point of impact lower and lower compared to the red dot as you move back.

Must be a lucky guy to not have to pay for practice ammo! Almost makes it worth the crappy side of being a LEO. Almost. Stay safe.

 

[E6chevron]

I don't have a LaserMax guide rod Laser sight, but the installation instructions for the LMS-XDMS indicate:

The laser sight is factory aligned. No further alignment is needed. Your POA and Point of Impact (POI) will be within 3" at 20 yards.

When installing the guide rod in the upside down slide, sitting on the table, you need the engraved text on the guide rod facing up, away from the barrel.

Likewise, the flat on the battery cap, should be facing up.

 

[hacker15]

How much have you shot with the lasermax installed? I noticed when I put my c5l on, my shots were low. After I got used to the weight difference, my shots returned to normal.

Put over 300 rounds through the pistol (of the 100 rounds shot between 25 and 15 yards, 60 were 'hits' in the center mass zone of the target) before switching back to the OEM recoil assembly. .

After putting the OEM back in, shot the course again - everything ran just fine (of these 100 rounds shot between 25 and 15 yards, 98 were 'hits' in the center mass zone). I think I gave it a fair shot. During the test run, I ran it with/without the laser activated (not that that matters - it shouldn't affect the outcome of the test).

 

[hacker15]

I don't have a LaserMax guide rod Laser sight, but the installation instructions for the LMS-XDMS indicate:



When installing the guide rod in the upside down slide, sitting on the table, you need the engraved text on the guide rod facing up, away from the barrel.

Likewise, the flat on the battery cap, should be facing up.

Good points - the LaserMax is supposed to be factory adjusted to +/- 3" at 20 yards. I know I installeded it correctly - kept checking the enclosed instructions against what I was doing and it looked identical to the illistrations in the instructions. As I indicated in a previous post, I ran the pistol with/without the laser activated. With the laser activated, the POA was withing the 'hit' zone (center mass) while the POI was 18" (or more) low at anything beyond 15 yards. Between 15 and 10 yards, the POA/POI decreased to something like acceptable - about 4" - 6". At 10 yards and under. POA/POI was dead on.

 

[tiggamonsta]

If I am reading your post correctly your POI was affected with the lasermax installed, but not turned on. At this point I would assume you were using the iron sights. Maybe you have a defective lasermax that was affecting the slide action and the accuracy of your shots. Do you have the ability to put the pistol in a vise and test it?

 

[PhxAz XD9]

My father has one (lasermax guide rod) in his G26. I have crimson grip on my XD 9mm service. I am very glad I've always gone with the grips. I'm gonna try and show the difference with SA pic if it'll load. Sorry about your issues hacker...

 

[bobreed9391]

Thanks for the write up.