So not 48 hours after purchasing my Crimson Trace Laser Grip for my Smith & Wesson M&P40 I had to take them back. Oh course by this point the majority of you reading this have seen my review of the Laser Grips on YouTube but for those that haven’t a link is included at the bottom here. In that video I explain the primary advantages of this product especially in use as a defensive tool. And most of us know that when it comes to the defense of your life or the lives of those we care about failure is NOT and option.
To help you understand exactly what happened to lead to this situation I will start at the beginning. As I explained in the video these grips have to be sighted to your gun. At the factory Crimson Trace says they are sighted to 50 feet. In my opinion that is a little far for a defensive handgun to be sighted. At 50 feet I am more likely going to be moving away from the threat or at least to a position where I can safely take cover. I would rather such a device be set for a more realistic confrontation distance, somewhere around 15-20 feet. Why is it important to be sighted to a confrontation distance? Because under stress or in low light I am relying considerably more on the laser than my iron sights on the gun. Mainly for one of two reasons: I can’t see the sights due to low light, or I am in a position where a traditional sight picture is impossible to achieve. Because of this reliance I am trusting the laser to identify my point of aim for me. I won’t get into the math of how the distance effects the laser but simply the farther away you go the more of a difference there is between the bore and the laser and when I am trusting my life to my accuracy I want the dot to be as close to impact as possible. So I adjusted the laser to meet my chosen distance, 15 feet.
Well the problem I encountered with my grips is that the slightest impact to the gun, not to mention recoil from the fairly powerful .40 S&W cartridge, would cause the laser to shift drastically. If I bumped the button, much like I do to seat the magazine in a high stress reload, cause the laser to shift as much as half an inch at 10 feet. That is a lot if you consider that this is not just once but every time I bumped it. So I contacted Crimson Trace to get some guidance on what the problem could be. All I got in response was that this was a defect in the grip I received. So I took them back to the location I purchased them from and returned them, well that’s not exactly true, I exchanged them for another set.
But why would you do that if the first one’s didn’t work. Because everything I have ever learned about CT is that their product is exceptional in quality and I won’t let one bad experience over rule the experience I have had with them from instructors and shooters I know who have relied on multiple pairs of grips for the last decade. I have used this product as I mentioned in the video on about 5 or 6 different guns and every one I have used has been exceptional. I’m not going to let one grip change that. I still put my trust in this product and I still trust it and my M&P with my life. I have repeated my “abuse” test on this second set and the POA (Point of Aim) has held strong. I will be taking it to the range this weekend to see it perform in real life.
Just remember when you read on forums and other websites about “HOW BAD” a product is you keep in mind that one incident does not make a bad product. So keep checking back as I review in the next week or so a few new products for you. A couple of which will include:
Smith & Wesson M&P compact
Mossberg 930 Home Defense Semi-Auto Shotgun 12 gauge
Insight Tech Gear WX150 Weapon Light
Surefire E2D LED Defender
And hopefully
The Ruger LCR and FNH FNP9 (I Hope!!! Fingers crossed)
