On Weapon-Mounted Lasers Part I by Mike VonSteuben
Night vision devices (NVDs) are game-changing pieces of kit. The ability to see in very low light situations is invaluable, but the military discovered that it is almost impossible for troops to use their weapon sights while wearing NVDs. This is when weapon-mounted lasers came into being. We’ve come a long way since the PEQ-2 and iron sights, and we are seeing a shift in doctrine regarding how we fight in the dark. Today I will briefly discuss weapon-mounted lasers and how to use/zero them. Part II will cover tactical employment on the modern battlefield.
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I have always used a parallel zero. The guys at TNVC teach a converging. I think, mainly the reason that they do it that way is because so many guys show up and aren’t zeroed properly and the converging is the quickest way to get guys squared away. If you have access to your own range etc…..parallel is better…
Converging Zero at any given Range means Diverging Zero beyond that point, as well as Bullet Drop. It may be O.K. with the Laser mounted directly beneath the Barrel, but IMO, laser mounted to the Side, and Paralleled with an in-chamber Laser Boresighter means the “Spot” is an Inch or so to the Left (or Right, if you prefer) and you still have Bullet Drop for whatever you are Shooting.
Also, FWIW, on my Sig 5.56 Pistol, I use a 5-Watt, Dangerously-not-Eye-Safe Green Laser, visible Outdoors in Daylight over 100 Meters. In an actual Combat Situation, I’m going to put this in the Enemy’s Face, first, then start Shooting. It works well on Woodchucks on the Fencelines, Dazzles and Confuses them instantly, and they hesitate to Run. Just long enough to get Shot.
Technically, if you mount a laser with a “parallel zero” you have a diverging zero as soon as the bullet leaves the muzzle, being that the bullet starts seeing the effects of gravity and dropping as soon as it leaves the barrel.
The converging zero converges and diverges twice. First, it converges as it crosses the line of sight where you have it zeroed, then it diverges past that point as it reaches the apex of it’s trajectory. It starts converging again as the bullet drops, crosses the line of sight, and then begins diverging again as it falls below line of sight for the final time. We fire bullets at a slightly upward angle due to bullet drop, and we use a converging zero to account for the predictable trajectory of a given load.
Dazzling an enemy with a visible laser is all good and well, until his friends see exactly where you are and shoot you. I’ll go over engagement techniques in part II.
Also, converging/diverging zero is specifically as relates to zeroing the windage. Elevation is always going to be converging/diverging due to bullet trajectory. However, at the distances you would be engaging with a laser, the drop is not significant enough to vary more than a few inches unless you’re using subsonic ammo.