Are Viridian Laser Grips Legal on Handguns in NJ

Yes. Laser grips of any brand are legal in NJ.

I’m curious what statute, law, or guidance made think that they may be illegal here?

9 hours ago, High Exposure said:

Yes. Laser grips of any brand are legal in NJ.

I’m curious what statute, law, or guidance made think that they may be illegal here?

i would venture that he was just asking due to the total crazieness in this state. if i gotta be honest, i'm kinda surprised they're not telling us that we can't use a red dot or laser on our carry arms........

Not just grips, but lasers sights in any form are legal.  

Thanks for the reply's wasn't aware of any law or statute and after plenty of research all I could find was some info from years ago that they tried to pass some laws to ban them and laser pointers in NJ but could not find anything saying they were. I didn't want to spend the money on them and find out later they were illegal here I also have Sight Mark Laser/Light Combos on my ARs

20 minutes ago, Shortfuse said:

Thanks for the reply's wasn't aware of any law or statute and after plenty of research all I could find was some info from years ago that they tried to pass some laws to ban them and laser pointers in NJ but could not find anything saying they were. I didn't want to spend the money on them and find out later they were illegal here I also have Sight Mark Laser/Light Combos on my ARs

Gotcha.

Do you find lasers to be a useful addition to your firearms?

I like them on the ARs for fast point and shoot but never tried one on a handgun

22 hours ago, High Exposure said:

Gotcha.

Do you find lasers to be a useful addition to your firearms?

I like them.  I don't rely on them for aiming, but they really help when sighting in a gun (use laser as reference as you adjust the red dot), and good for backup sighting system for my stuff with Red Dots.  The whole 1 is none, 2 is one thing...  
It's also a pretty fast acquisition system in the heat of the moment.  My lasers are green and red dots are red. 

@ESBIs this for rifles only? Or are you talking about lasers on pistols as well? 

1 hour ago, ESB said:

I like them.  I don't rely on them for aiming, but they really help when sighting in a gun (use laser as reference as you adjust the red dot)

Do you mean a laser boresight tool? Or are you using a visible aiming laser to zero your red dot sight?

1 hour ago, ESB said:

and good for backup sighting system for my stuff with Red Dots.  The whole 1 is none, 2 is one thing... 

I agree. A properly zeroed laser can be a useful backup sighting system. Do you prefer parallel method or a converging zero for this? What distance do you zero your laser at?

1 hour ago, ESB said:

It's also a pretty fast acquisition system in the heat of the moment.  My lasers are green and red dots are red. 

How accurate are your impacts using a laser as your “heated moment” aiming device? Is it more accurate or less accurate than using your red dot/optic/irons?

I went thru a short phase of a laser on a few handguns. In the end decided to opt out. I had difficulty seeing the dot and for self defense, wasn't for me. Realized I was  spending(wasting) too much time finding the dot vs focusing on the target/situation. Precious moments in a volatile situation. Aim and shoot- not aim,, look look shoot. Didn't bother with a zero as, to me, a targeted threat would be too close to make a difference altho they were sited in to impact an inch or two above the dot- parallel method? They were mounted front of trigger guard. Make more sense on a long gun to me.

On 3/19/2024 at 5:47 PM, High Exposure said:

@ESBIs this for rifles only? Or are you talking about lasers on pistols as well? 

- I use them for both. 

 

Do you mean a laser boresight tool? Or are you using a visible aiming laser to zero your red dot sight?

-Not a boresight, but actual aiming laser. I set my red dot and my laser to match on the bullseye of my sight in target.  Take a few shots.  Aim my laser at bullseye and then adjust red dot to line up with my bullet holes.  Usually only have to do this twice to get it dead on.  The laser is a reference point to make sure I'm not moving my gun as I adjust the red dot.  

 

I agree. A properly zeroed laser can be a useful backup sighting system. Do you prefer parallel method or a converging zero for this? What distance do you zero your laser at?

-I sight in my Red dot for 20 yards and then adjust the laser such that I can clearly see it as its own separate green dot just below my red dot.  

 

How accurate are your impacts using a laser as your “heated moment” aiming device? Is it more accurate or less accurate than using your red dot/optic/irons?
-For self defense distances, even if the laser is off a little, you will get hits on target.  Basically I use the red dot, If I didn't present properly and have to fish for red dot, I just use the green laser.  In this case, it's quicker with similar accuracy.  

At a 2 gun match, I forgot to turn on my optic before my first stage.  Was able to use my laser and complete the stage quickly and accurately.  What would you do if your battery died on your Red Dot and didn't realize it until too late?  If your sights don't co-witness well or you don't train for that, a laser will be a great backup.  

 

 

 

On 3/21/2024 at 11:43 AM, ESB said:

 

 

Ok…. I had a very detailed response typed up, but I deleted it.

Hey man, if it works for you, I guess carry on. 

I have spent a large amount of time using lasers on rifles shooting under NODS or with a Promask and they have a place. But for normal people, with limited training and experience i believe most people are better served buying ammo and getting professional training on traditional self defense TTPs with iron and red dot sights a better investment than buying a laser aiming device.

I spent time with pistol lasers as well, and I believe they are useless on pistols unless it’s an IR laser and you are shooting under NODS, but the proliferation of pistol RDS and passive shooting techniques have made pistol lasers obsolete, in my experience.

Edited March 22, 20242 yr by High Exposure
I don’t know why it won’t quote ESB’s post.

On 3/19/2024 at 6:16 PM, siderman said:

I went thru a short phase of a laser on a few handguns. In the end decided to opt out. I had difficulty seeing the dot and for self defense, wasn't for me. Realized I was  spending(wasting) too much time finding the dot vs focusing on the target/situation. Precious moments in a volatile situation. Aim and shoot- not aim,, look look shoot. Didn't bother with a zero as, to me, a targeted threat would be too close to make a difference altho they were sited in to impact an inch or two above the dot- parallel method? They were mounted front of trigger guard. Make more sense on a long gun to me.

I agree with your assessment. Without a lot of training, pistol lasers just aren’t worth it.

If the laser is mounted at 6 o'clock to the barrel and you can see the laser dot above your sights at some distance, you have a converging zero at whatever distance your laser dot, sights, and bullet impact meet. As you increase that distance the laser dot will rise higher above your front sight. As you decrease that distance, the laser dot will fall under your barrel.

For parallel, imagine a second laser replacing your sighting system. From your muzzle to infinity, the distance between those two beams will never change. 

On 3/19/2024 at 4:06 PM, ESB said:

I like them.  I don't rely on them for aiming, but they really help when sighting in a gun (use laser as reference as you adjust the red dot), and good for backup sighting system for my stuff with Red Dots.  The whole 1 is none, 2 is one thing...  
It's also a pretty fast acquisition system in the heat of the moment.  My lasers are green and red dots are red. 

I can't tell the difference between the red and green optics, and it's hard to find in blue.

2 hours ago, High Exposure said:

I agree with your assessment. Without a lot of training, pistol lasers just aren’t worth it.

If the laser is mounted at 6 o'clock to the barrel and you can see the laser dot above your sights at some distance, you have a converging zero at whatever distance your laser dot, sights, and bullet impact meet. As you increase that distance the laser dot will rise higher above your front sight. As you decrease that distance, the laser dot will fall under your barrel.

For parallel, imagine a second laser replacing your sighting system. From your muzzle to infinity, the distance between those two beams will never change. 

Unfortunately most people don't think like that (present company excluded). People just think high tech, lasers,= better.  I'll bet in if you ask most people with, say, grip lasers, how they calibrate or sight them in, your just going to get a blank stare. They just assume the bullet is going to follow the dot

59 minutes ago, leahcim said:

They just assume the bullet is going to follow the dot

They do if you're using cat rounds. 

3 hours ago, leahcim said:

Unfortunately most people don't think like that (present company excluded). People just think high tech, lasers,= better.  I'll bet in if you ask most people with, say, grip lasers, how they calibrate or sight them in, your just going to get a blank stare. They just assume the bullet is going to follow the dot

Yes exactly - it’s a chunk of dumb lead and copper, not a not a GBU from an F-15. The laser dot only predetermines the impact of your bullet if you execute all of the rest of your shooting fundamentals perfectly.

The best are the shooters who think a laser can replace a white light for low light defensive shooting since they don’t need to “see their sights“ anymore.  

On 3/22/2024 at 11:53 AM, High Exposure said:

 

Ok…. I had a very detailed response typed up, but I deleted it.

Hey man, if it works for you, I guess carry on. 

I have spent a large amount of time using lasers on rifles shooting under NODS or with a Promask and they have a place. But for normal people, with limited training and experience i believe most people are better served buying ammo and getting professional training on traditional self defense TTPs with iron and red dot sights a better investment than buying a laser aiming device.

I spent time with pistol lasers as well, and I believe they are useless on pistols unless it’s an IR laser and you are shooting under NODS, but the proliferation of pistol RDS and passive shooting techniques have made pistol lasers obsolete, in my experience.

Mine are light and laser combo's.  I wanted a light and figured add the functionality of a laser too.  Cost difference is like a box or 2 of ammo.    

9 hours ago, ESB said:

Mine are light and laser combo's.  I wanted a light and figured add the functionality of a laser too.  Cost difference is like a box or 2 of ammo.    

Got it.

My light and laser setup cost significantly more than that.