I'm thinking about a night sight of some kind for use in my house. The gun I'm planning to have it on is my Smith 36. Mine has it's front sight as part of the barrel, not pinned. That precludes any of the replacement front sights. So..... it appears that I'm pretty much limited to a CT grip laser. I think the green would suit me better than the red, maybe, but I'd like to hear from those of you who are familiar with them. Pros and cons, recommendations, and ideas I may have overlooked, including other options.
I suppose I should also consider using my P-85 instead, since it won't need to be concealed, and has much better capacity.
Your thoughts?
Thanks,
Bob

Which do you shoot best? I have a CT laser grip on my 940. I don't carry it often (J frames are a niche platform I rarely need to use and they are harder to shoot well), but the laser works well. I would be inclined to the P85 myself, because it has more capacity and is likely easier to shoot better.

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NHI, 10-8.

All the Crimson Trace grips I have are on 1911 pistols which also have night sights. I say 100% get the Green laser, I can see it better in all light conditions from a dark bedroom and hallway and full bright sunlight outside. The first two CT grips I got were Red (before they started making green) they are on pistols that only go to the range.

Crimson Trace stocks for revolvers look like the laser could be blocked by your trigger finger?

I have numerous laser grips on J frames.

I find the green easier to see than the red. My eyes pick it up quicker. With someone getting ready to shoot me, I don't want to have to spend an extra fraction of a second looking for the laser spot.

But then, my eyesight isn't what it used to be, so perhaps you wouldn't notice that much difference.

Downside of green -- the batteries don't last as long. Best to continue to practice without the laser in case it fails at an inopportune moment.

Another downside of green it comes only in a few larger model grips. The most concealable CT grips come only in red.

So my carry J frames have red, and my "house" J frame has green.

One more comment.

I don't consider the J frame to be a really good choice for a house gun.

It's harder to shoot that something larger and heavier.

If you want to stick with revolvers, get a K, L or N frame for a house gun and a J frame for carry.

The would be my suggestion, anyway.

CT makes laser grips for the J, K, L, and N frames.

Thanks gents, appreciate the input. Thinking on your comments, it appears that my best option will be the green LED, mounted on my Ruger P-85. While my eyes are in their eighth decade, they still see fairly well, so leaving my EDC 36 unaltered makes good sense. My first line of home defense, my "meet 'em at the door" weapon, is an Ithaca 37, slightly modified to easily swing in a hallway. I only recently considered needing something else, when our country began seeing signs of anarchy on our streets, and I do plan to still be standing after any (unwanted) confrontation.
One final question/comment........ what do you guys think about ANY weapon mounted light? My first thought is that a light on my weapon will make an excellent target for my opponent to locate me in a dark house. A Surefire on a yardstick makes pretty good sense, does it not?
Best regards to all,
Bob

I can't answer your question as I've never owned any, but I have a funny story about them.

Years ago my wife and I were in a gun store, and while I was looking at handguns, my wife was entertaining herself by playing with the Crimson Trace display, putting the little red dot on different things on the wall. The guy behind the counter came over to her and said, "Those are fully adjustable for elevation and windage". She got this confused look, and said, "You have to adjust them according to the weather?" To his credit, he didn't laugh, but I could tell that he wanted to. I said, "You'll be telling that one later, won't you?" He said, "Oh, yeah!"

For a HD gun, a light on the gun makes some sense.

But I'd rather rely on night lights and my familiarity with my own home and a flashlight.

For a carry gun, unless you are a cop, I think a weapon mounted light is a bad idea.

I don't want to point a weapon at someone in order to be able to see them.

What if it's a cop?

Plus even if nothing happens, and you don't shoot, in my non-permissive environment I'd probably lose my carry license if someone complained I pointed a gun at them without a really good reason.

Carry a good flashlight.

I see the red laser better than the green. I have had some rail mount and trigger guard lasers that could use improvement. The two best I have used are both Crimson Trace. One is a backstrap add-on for a Glock 37 45GAP. The second is a K frame grip for my S&W Model 65. The one on my 357 will flicker off when the battery starts to get low and it does go through batteries at twice the rate of the one on my 45. I am thinking about adding a CT to my 1911 Govt model that is my primary range gun.

As far as a flashlight on a shotgun or the rail of a pistol for home defense is a plus providing it has an accessible off switch. The same goes for a laser. My wife has night lights all over the house that come on when it is dark. A light is not required for me when it is dark. I do have an AR pistol with a high output LED that has a pinpoint at 30 yards that I have sighted to it. At 20 yards I need to shoot 4 inches low and at 10 yards it is about 7 inches low.

Unless you're on an entry team, I don't like lights on guns because you have to point the gun at something/someone to light it up. Have a separate light. My wife's 4 inch S&W Model 681 has a CT (red) grip on it that I sighted in at 25 yards. She killed 2 coyotes in our back yard a couple of years ago, one of them running after she shot the first one. Nothing wrong with CT grips.

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36