Training

Virtual Shot - Pistol

  Virtual Shot has come out with their multi platform dry fire mount. I previously reviewed the original mount and app here: Virtual Shot Review. So I won’t be covering much on the APP or rifle parts of it. The new Virtual Shot mount has pistol and scope style mounting platforms that give it even more usability. I’m mainly going to focus on the pistol mount.

  The Virtual Shot shot mount has been upgraded from the original. The mount now has a stouter mounting stem. This stem is the base part in which you can mount the picatinny, pistol, or scope adapters to. When I say stouter, the mounts are now more robust than the original. The stem is also where you mount your phone. The actual phone mounting is way better than the original. It also accepts larger phone sizes. This new phone clamp also holds the phone better than the original Virtual Shot mount. The mount also uses thumb screws to adjust everything. All of this makes a better mounting system for your dry fire practice.

   To change the mounts, Virtual Shot includes a screwdriver and some other parts. Essentially you unscrew that stem system and install whichever mount you want to use. The picatinny adapter is used for both the pistol and AR style mount. It just gets flipped over and mounted differently. For the pistol, there is also an angle mount that extends the phone mount past your muzzle, and then hooks to your pistol's front rail. If using it on a rifle scope, the new ring style scope mount is used to install on the ocular eyepiece of your scope. This sets the phone in front of your scope, so you can use the Virtual Shot system just like you would your normal scope, well kind of. It is still slightly different from shooting in real life, but nothing major.

  Now it’s time to get into the pistol mount and what it does. Since the Virtual Shot is a system, of course you have to mount it to a pistol. The app asks all kinds of questions to make sure everything is unloaded and safe. I used the pistol mount on a Lone Wolf framed pistol, so a Glockish style handgun. Part of the reason I did this is because I used a TTrigger dry fire magazine. The TTrigger mag is currently only made for Glock style pistols. The TTrigger mag allows for the trigger to reset continually on the pistol it is installed on. The TTrigger mag also makes a clicking sound every time the trigger is pressed, think dog clicker trainer. Your phone picks up the clicking sound, so the Virtual Shot app knows you're firing a shot. If you are using other pistol platforms, a DryFire magazine does the same thing. Now, the Virtual Shot app did have a few problems always picking up the sound. Did it cause problems? Not really, because most of the time you can just re-pull the trigger. It did make the “Pistol Competition” harder for me since it had moving targets. Virtual Shot recommends the DryFire mag, so it may work better with the app then the TTrigger mag. If you happen to have an airsoft or pellet pistol that uses some sort of propellant, the mount will also work with those, unloaded of course. Virtual Shot includes a blast diverter to divert that muzzle blast gas away from your phone. Overall I was happy with how the TTrigger mag worked with the Virtual Shot system. After all, it’s way better than just old school dry fire.

  There are some new items in the app. Most of these apply to the new pistol stuff. There are pistol training videos and competitions. All the other aspects of the app will now allow you to use the pistol. As one can expect, the training videos are just exactly what they say, training videos. The Competition section is pretty cool. Every month Virtual Shot has some sort of competition in this section. Sometimes it’s rifle, sometimes it’s pistol, you get the idea. But what is cool about this section, is that you play for actual prizes! You compete with other people using the app. I did get 2nd or 3rd once with the pistol. Since I received the Virtual Shot stuff for free, I didn’t feel right getting a prize, I think I may have talked them out of it. I will mention that it took me forever to get the score I got. But don’t fret, it takes your highest score no matter how many times you try. It really is pretty cool testing your skills against other people from around the world.

  When using the pistol in the Virtual Shot app, there are different sight options. These different sighting options haven’t changed, but some of them are more rifle’ish. There is still a red dot, circle dot, crosshair, AR style front sight, etc. All of these can be sized up or down. I tended to use the circle dot or just plain red dot. You can also move them around the screen. This movement allows you to line the sighting system up with your sights. If you are using an actual red dot, just line the apps dot up inside your dot, as you are looking through it. I used an iron sighted pistol. So I lined the red dot, in the app, up with my sights, then turned it to super small. This allowed me to use the iron sights. I will say that I quickly went to the circle dot and used it instead of my pistol's iron sights. It would be nice if they had a pistol front sight, similar to the AR one, to use in the app. But, the way I did it worked fine. 

  The new mounting systems from Virtual Shot is far better than the original one. Yes, the app still has all the great features it previously did in my original review. The new “play with friends” and “competitions” are the only real new app features, and they are pretty neat. Having the ability to play the “mini games” and “challenges” with a pistol brings a whole new aspect to the Virtual Shot system. If you are looking for something different to help you with your dry fire practice, look into the Virtual Shot system.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Dry fire training aid

Target Market:

Those who want a unique dry fire experience 

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • New mounting system for phone

  • Pistol mount option

  • Scope mount option

  • Effective bullet drop and wind drift

  • Customizable ranges

  • 100+ shooting levels

  • Mini games

  • Practice ranges

  • Shooting analytics

  • Video Shooting courses

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None

What others are saying?:

Nothing really found on just the pistol portions of the app

Link to other reviews:

TFB review of original Virtual Shot

Price point:

MSRP = $149.00

TTrigger mag as used - $104.99

I need it now! Availability:

Virtual Shot

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Great dry fire training aid

  • New mount is nice

  • Scope mount ring

  • Better picatinny mount

  • Pistol mount

  • Can be used on airsoft pistols

Cons:

  • Doesn’t always pick up clicks from dry fire magazines

  • Apps auto reset is a little slow

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link:  Original Virtual Shot Review 

Virtual-Shot

  When it comes to firearms training in today's world, you almost need some sort of dryfire practice system. Virtual Shot is just that, a dryfire training app for your phone. It includes a phone mount and an ocular lens to use as a scope within the app. Virtual Shot does even more when paired with a trigger reset system like the Mantis Blackbeard or airsoft style rifles.

  When purchasing Virtual Shot, you are buying the rifle mount and a code for the app. They just released a pistol mount version, if that’s your thing. The Virtual Shot mount has two pieces. The phone mount and the “ocular” lens. The mount has a picatinny base which allows it to mount on any rail, etc. Part of this mount is the adjustable holder for your phone. It uses a little thumb stud to slide a rail up and down. Just put your phone in it horizontally and slide the thing down until it is tight, then snug the thumbscrew up. My phone fits snugly with the mount all the way expanded. The phone is right at 3” wide. I also have to take the case off of my phone to get it to fit. However, Virtual Shot’s pistol mount is supposed to accept wider phones. The ocular lens then slides in, up against your phone, to make it possible to see your phone close up. It literally makes it like looking through a scope. 

  The Virtual Shot App:

First thing when the app opens, there is a safety screen. The screen makes you check boxes for safety. If you don’t check the boxes, the app doesn’t open.

Then the main screen appears. The main screen lets you choose what you would like to do. Ranges, Skill Development, Mini Games, Armoury, and Range Builder (only available in the Pro version). There is also a settings button in the corner. The “settings”  button is where you get to choose between yards/meters, trigger reset type, shot detection rate, and most important - if you want a scope, red dot, or pistol. My favorite to use is the red dot option.

Ranges: This is where you go to practice “range” style shooting. In this menu there are three options: Open Range, Gallery Levels, and Mechanical Ranges. The Open Range is just that. You can practice on various different targets and distances. This is a great place to start with the app. The Gallery Levels include IPSC, Speed Steel, Accuracy challenges, and many more pre-built shooting style stages. The Mechanical Ranges has options like the US Army rifle marksmanship qualification and Shoot/No Shoot stages.

Skill Development: This is where you can watch instructional videos and then put what you learned to a test in the “Training Levels”.

Mini Games: My absolute favorite part of the app. As the name states, they are games. The “Junkyard” has various targets set up for you to hit in 1 minute. It then gives you a score. It also keeps track of high scores from other users of the app. This lets you try and beat them. It has “Hunting Levels” which are pretty self explanatory. Then there’s “Zombie Survival” and “Zombie Levels”. You shoot zombies and progress as you finish levels. The zombie survival keeps track of how long you can stay alive. Then there’s the “Blackhawk Down” game. In this game, you shoot characters that are shooting at you, once you get enough damage, you die and your score is your time survived. It’s set up like the streets in the Blackhawk Down movie - kind of.

The Armoury: This is where you go to change your scope reticle, if you are using a scope. As of right now, there are 5 scope reticle options. You can also change ballistics from this tab. Virtual shot has pre-set calibers, but you can also change them with your own ballistic data. 

Range Builder: This is on the Pro version only. Here you can make your own stages using steel or paper targets. This could be really useful if you want to design a USPSA or Steel Challenge stage, and then shoot it to see how it works out. It only saves the current setup, so you can’t make multiple ones and save them for use later.

  The Virtual Shot system is very comprehensive. In it you can change from an auto reset trigger to a manual reset trigger, for use on firearms that don’t automatically reset the trigger, like a bolt action. The time can be set from 3 seconds to 10 seconds in four increments. The reason for this is because the app registers the hammer fall sound to distinguish firing. Cycling the bolt would then register as another shot. I tried this out for a while. It does give enough time to cycle the bolt manually. The auto trigger setting is what I used most of the time. It works very well with the Mantis Blackbeard system. A problem I ran into with the Virtual Shot system, was the 0.5 second reset when in the auto mode. I would get on target faster then the app would register. So when doing the “Bill Drill” in the app, it would take me 3 seconds longer than in real life. The app does a pretty good job of tracking the movement of the firearm. But every once in a while the app would glitch and throw the rifle off target. But since it’s not “real life” it only affected my ego. 

  Having the ability to change reticles in the Virtual Shot app is very useful. When the scope is selected, the 5 different reticles let you choose from a hunting style duplex to a mil-dot style reticle and a few in between. I liked the mil-dot reticle since it actually gives some sort of range estimation and bullet drop. Another feature of using the scope is the ability to zoom in from 1x to 30x. One can select the power in increments from 1x-3x-5x-10x-15x-20x-30x. When using the Red Dot reticle setting, the dot size can be changed from small to large, with 4 or 5 sizes in between. Also in the red dot portion is a circle-dot, crosshair-dot, crosshair-circle-dot, along with an AR front post. All of these options have the ability to change sizes too. When messing around with the Virtual Shot, I mounted it behind an actual red-dot. Then I adjusted the dot, in the app, to be in the center of the real red-dot. This gave me a sense of realistic training, as I was looking through the real red dot’s tube and using the Virtual Shot system, just as I would normally on the range.

  One of my most loved and hated parts of the Virtual Shot is it’s realistic ballistic data. It calculates wind and drop of the various calibers. So when shooting farther away, one must figure in bullet drops. It has some preloaded ballistic data to choose from. But these can also be changed. The Virtual Shot will allow you to change Sight Height, Muzzle velocity, Ballistic coefficient, Bullet weight, and bullet diameter. So if you know all these, you can tune the factors in Virtual Shot to your ballistic data, therefore making it even more like shooting your firearm. Since it mounts on your firearm, all the other training aspects like trigger pull, fit, weight, etc. are already built in. 

  The Virtual Shot system has a lot of good things going for it. It brings another feasible way to dry fire train. With it’s adjustable dot sizes and different scope reticles, you get a lot of options. For practice, it is an all around useful tool that uses your personal firearm. Plus the games just make it even more fun to train. If you're looking into a dry fire training application, take a look into the Virtual Shot system.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Extensive training app and system

Target Market:

Those wanting a virtual training system

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Phone mount and ocular lens

  • Affective bullet drop and wind drift

  • Customizable ranges

  • 100+ shooting levels

  • Mini games

  • Practice ranges

  • Shooting analytics

  • Video Shooting courses

  • Works with Mantis Blackbeard

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Pistol mount

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars at VirtualShot

I have had some time to play around with the Virtual-Shot and absolutely love it.  I know I am just scratching the surface but so far it is very impressive.

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found

Price point:

MSRP = $97.00

Retail = Same

I need it now! Availability:

VIrtual Shot

Our Rating: 

Pros:

  • Various training options

  • Mini games

  • Uses your firearm

  • Preset stages and qualification courses

Cons:

  • Slow shot reset (0.5 seconds)

  • Smallish phone adapter

  • Tracking sometimes jumps

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link:  Mantis Blackbeard Review

Mantis Blackbeard

  Right now, ammunition is hard to find. So training isn’t as easy. Especially with an AR style rifle. Mantis has helped to solve this problem with the Blackbeard. The Blackbeard is a drop in, dry fire, training system for your AR15. Most notably, is its ability to reset your firearms trigger.

  We all need a good dry fire training system. The Mantis Blackbeard is just that, at least in my opinion. What stands the Blackbeard out above other systems? You get to use all of your firearms systems. No changing the trigger, sights, safety, etc. Yes, you get to use your trigger and sight system. The Blackbeard comes with a drop in bolt assembly. Just remove your bolt and drop the Blackbeard’s in. Then charge the Blackbeard’s battery, which is in the shape of a 20 round magazine. Insert the battery like a normal magazine, and now you are ready to start training.

Target is 4” x 7”, rifle was around 3’ away for picture

  The Blackbeard I received, has a green laser. Mantis also has options for no laser, red laser, and an IR laser. I opted for green because I use red dot sights. That way I can see where I am hitting without confusing it as the red dot. Green also can be seen in bright light better. All the laser ones essentially work the same way. When you pull the trigger, a laser is emitted out of the barrel for a split second, 60ms to be exact. It is long enough for you to see where you have essentially “hit”. There is also a switch to turn the laser on all the time. This is for sighting the laser to your rifle. Or if you want to use the system like a laser bore sighting system. I also found that having a laser system allows you to use other laser training apps, on your phone or virtual training systems. There is also the non laser system, which only resets the trigger. I would pay the $20 more and get the red laser over the non laser.

  Battery life on the Blackbeard is fantastic. Charging is done through a micro-usb and takes some time to fully charge. At first I was trying to see how many trigger pulls I could get out of a charge. A week later I gave up. There are 5 LED’s on the battery to let you know how charged it is. Just push a little button/flap on the side and they light up. The battery also has some weight to it, about half of what a loaded 30rd AR mag weighs. It still helps to mimic the weight of a loaded magazine. The battery weight helps the rifle swing more like it would at the range or in a real life scenario.

  Since the Blackbeard comes from Mantis, it can be used with their other systems. If you happen to have any of the Mantis “X” series, it will integrate into these systems to give you all of the same information as usual. I didn’t have good luck with using my Mantis X10 along with the Blackbeard. I just couldn’t seem to get decent readings from the X10. The X10 would read the trigger reset, not the hammer fall. My guess was because the hammer doesn’t actually fall the full distance when using the Blackbeard. The Mantis X10 works great by itself, as does the Blackbeard.

  Something worth pointing out, the trigger reset is fast. Mantis says you can get 10 shots per second out of the mantis. That’s 0.10 second split times. I couldn’t override the Blackbeard’s trigger reset, but I am sure there is someone out there that can. 

  I used the Blackbeard in a variety of AR15’s. It worked in all of them. Everyone of them has a different trigger. The Blackbeard didn’t seem to care whose trigger it was, from mil-spec to a 1.5lb aftermarket. Besides the benefits of the Blackbeard being a dryfire system, It really shines in the ability to use all of your own personal hardware. Mechanical offset is noticeable with the Blackbeard. This gives you the ability to train it also. Because the laser shines out of the barrel, it is seen below your sighting system at short ranges. Just like in real life. So now you can practice sight holdovers, at close range, in your house. 

  The other thing I did with the Blackbeard was set up some training apps on my phone. These are the type that you set your phone up and it reads the laser on the target. The Blackbeard integrated into these also. Now I could see group sizes. These are just another way to help use the Blackbeard in your dry fire training.

  I have nothing but good things to say about the Mantis Blackbeard system. It is really a great training aid. I have had zero problems with it. It pretty much has a permanent home in one of my AR’s. The ability to use all of your personal hardware, and have trigger reset, is what it is all about. Definitely go check out the Blackbeard and Mantis. They really do make great training tools.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

AR15 laser training aid

Target Market:

Those wanting a dryfire rifle training system

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Drop in system for AR15

  • With or without Laser

  • Uses everything on your AR - sight, trigger, etc

  • Rechargeable battery that goes into the magwell

  • Red in color - so you know the firearm isn’t loaded

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Without Laser, Red Laser, or IR Laser

What others are saying?:

Rob D - 5 stars at https://mantisx.com/products/blackbeard-the-auto-resetting-trigger-for-ar-15

I had a minor issue with my Mantis Blackbeard, it worked great and then it locked up. I contacted customer service, Marcus was amazing and they replaced the unit in two days! The sign of a great company is not how they react when things go well. It's how they react when it doesn't.

This product is brand new and as such there will be teething pains. In my case it looked like a screw came loose.

The new unit runs fantastic and is very fast, I believe the company when they say it will cycle 10 shots per second. Great piece of gear for laser training apps / simulators. Perfect for today's ammo prices. I train in my house instead.

Link to other reviews:

Defenders And Disciples

Price point:

MSRP = $199.00 to $249.00

Retail = Same as MSRP

I need it now! Availability:

Mantis

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Uses your AR15 system

  • Drop-in

  • Laser for use with other training systems

  • Battery life

  • Trigger reset time

Cons:

  • Doesn’t interface very well with Mantis X system

  • No recoil

Score: 9.00 Amazing

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Favorite Link:  Firearms Insider affiliates   

LaserLyte Laser Plinking Cans Review

LaserLyte Plinking Cans Plinking cans has been the quintessential method of target practice since the dawn of the first firearms. Cowboys would shoot empty bean cans out on the range to hone their skill. Heck, even today there's still something so iconic about setting up empty cans, taking 10 paces, and then trying to knock them down with the speed and accuracy like that of the legends of the Wild West.

With modern ammo prices and range fees, plinkin' ain't cheap! That's why this product from LaserLyte is so exciting. With the Laser Plinking Cans, you can literally plink all day long indoors til your heart's content, without blowing through costly ammo, picking up brass, or putting on pants for that matter!

The Laserlyte Laser Plinking Cans are small, like a classic can of V8. They have a solonoid wired to a receiver, so when the target area gets hit with a laser, a plunger is extended out the bottom about half and inch which will topple the device over. After you knock down all targets, simply push the plungers back in and set them back up. It's easy to see with just the first time knocking one over how fun it is, it rushes over you and puts a smirk on your face.

In testing the Laser Plinking Cans, I found that the receptors are sensitive to more than just a laser. The wrong indoor lighting and even natural light from outdoors will set the can off, resulting in an auditory CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK of the solonoid tripping until you either switch the unit off, or cover the target from light and move it to a darker location. Reading other reviews online I see more users have had the same difficulty. It's an unfortunate flaw of oversensitivity that really detracts from the enjoyment of using them, as you try different corners of the room or switching off lamps and lights desperately trying to keep the cans from "prematurely plinking" themselves. Not to mention that the cans themselves are dark colored, so you may find using these as a low-light scenario training aid more difficult, but a roll of flourescent paper with a hole cut out would be an easy remedy to help put these cans in your sight picture when in a dark room.

Another issue I had is that the set does not come with a laser device. You must buy separately a laser training product (preferably LaserLyte) in order to use these cans effectively by dry firing. For the price tag of over $100 dollars and the seemingly simple design / manufacture of these cans, I would assume including one of their training guns would have been feasible for around the same price point. If you already own an actual gun that you'd like to practice with, you can buy a laser cartridge for it.  The only hangup being if its not a double action firearm, you will have to rack the slide each time, resetting the trigger in between engaging the cans.

Overall, these are a novelty BUT a very enjoyable niche target that will offer safe practice indoors. New or unexperienced shooters should really enjoy using these, especially with a plastic blue gun with a laser trainer installed as it takes some of the intimidation factor out of the equation while still being able to practice the laws of gun safety and the fundamentals of proper shooting technique. As easy as these plinking cans will become a party game to some, it can still be a vital training aid used to teach new shooters or help experienced shooters perform better.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: The LaserLyte® Laser Plinking Can Set provides hours of training and entertainment indoors or outdoors without the cost of ammunition or the time spent cleaning up.

Target Market: Both new and experienced shooters with existing Laserlyte products who wish to practice with reactive targets indoors.

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product)

  • Weight: 4.25 ounces/.12 kg
  • Length: 3.82 inch/9.7 cm
  • Diameter: 2.00 inch/5.1 cm
  • Battery: 9V       
  • Battery Life: 8,000 Tip Overs
What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?:  none

What others are saying?: “The LaserLyte worked as they advertised. The laser light had to be in a room with ambient light no direct sunlight or any direct light that could hit the can sensor. The pop out plunger would activate continuously. If I try to use the laser light outside it had to be at dusk no sunlight even in the shadows the ambient sunlight with activate the sensor on the can. The laser light would work well in a room that had no light but the outside ambient light through a window with covering or In a garage with soft-light. It did work outside but with very low light, there was no problem using a laser out to 25 yards to activate the sensor on the laser light. I would recommend this product, but be advise to the buyer you will have limitations to the use of this product." Amazon Review

Price Point:

I need it now! Availability: Readily available at Brownells.com or Amazon.com

Our Rating: + Cans are easy to operate / install battery K +-Provides new shooters a safe atmosphere to practice + Gives experienced shooters a fun training aid - Very sensitive to ambient light, can be frustrating to find an adequate place they will work - Can itself is black with dark red graphics and target area is murky red color and hard to adequately see in low light were laser performs best - Would like to see training pistol (blue gun) included

Score: 7.0 Good

LaserLyte Reaction Tyme Kit Review

Reaction Tyme KitThe Laserlyte Reaction Tyme Kit is a laser training system that consists of a Universal Pistol Laser Trainer, a Trigger Tyme Compact Training Pistol, and a Reaction Tyme Target. Universal Pistol Laser Trainer:

Reaction Tyme Real

Reaction Tyme GunThe Universal Pistol Laser Trainer is a laser unit that fits slips into the bore of any pistol, from 9mm to .45 cal. This is accomplished by an arbor that screws into the rear of the unit, which expands as you tighten the screw. The front end of the unit is tapered, to keep the laser centered in each caliber. Once installed, the laser will activate whenever the striker or hammer of the pistol falls. It runs on three tiny 377 tablet batteries. The unit comes with three pre-installed and three more for replacement. There is a small plastic disk to keep the batteries separated from the circuit during storage and shipping. Make sure it’s removed before use, or it will not work. The way the laser is activated is that the unit is “listening” for the striker/hammer fall. This means that, if the circuit is complete, during storage, the batteries will run down very quickly. The laser is easily seen indoors, but I believe Laserlyte should offer a green option, for outdoor use. That would allow you to get out to longer ranges, while still having the benefit of not having to spend money on ammo. The manual says that the unit requires at least a two inch barrel, and I confirmed that it would not fit in the standard 1.875" J-frame barrel, without impeding the cylinder rotation. Laserlyte has incorporated a plug that goes on the end of the battery cap that you can flip over and stick it into the battery compartment. This disconnects the circuit, while also keeping everything together. This system could be done a little better, because it is just a rubber plug that can be knocked out, if it’s bouncing around in a bag, or something. I would prefer a threaded cap, to keep it all together.

Reaction Tyme Laser

In my traditionally rifled barrel, the arbor slipped right in when tightened properly. In my Glock, with polygonal rifling, the arbor would grab the rifling, and tighten itself, causing it to flare out even more and get stuck, before it is fully seated. This is easily overcome by making the arbor loose enough to where it just barely engages the rifling, but will tighten up as it is inserted. The laser unit will fit into the bore of a .380, but it was very tight in my Kahr CW 380, so it had to be loosened.

When I first got my kit, the laser unit was faulty. It would activate properly, but it was very dim. I contacted Laserlyte’s customer service, and got a response within an hour. The representative sent me out a new laser, along with a return sticker for the faulty one. She was even kind enough to throw in a 12 pack of replacement batteries. This was about as good of a customer service experience you could get.

Trigger Tyme Compact Training Pistol:

Reaction Tyme Compare

The Trigger Tyme Compact Training Pistol is a completely inert training pistol with a resetting trigger, which means that you don’t have to do any additional actions between each trigger pull. It has a bore that will accept the Universal Laser Trainer. The resetting trigger makes an audible “Click” that is picked up by the laser and activates it. I do not have a trigger pull gauge, so I was not able to actually test it, but it feels a few pounds heavier than my Glock stock trigger. The pistol has basic, black sights on it. They are very similar to the basic Glock sights, just without the white dot and box. The Laserlyte website states that the dimensions are very similar to the Springfield XD-S. The grip is very slim and short. The rear beavertail of the grip has relatively sharp corners, so it can be rather uncomfortable to train with. I decided to file and round the corners to make it a little easier on the web of my hand.

Reaction Tyme Compare 1When I ordered this kit, I did not realize that it came with the compact version of their pistol, so once I tried the compact one out, I ordered their full-size, which is very similar in dimensions to the Glock 19/23. It has the same sight and trigger. It will fit in my Concealment Solutions hybrid holster, but not in the Serpa holster, because the “slide” is a little thicker. The beavertail is not sharp, like the compact version, which is very good, as it’s actually comfortable to use. I would also like some type of false magazine that stores the laser with the pistol, when not in use.

Reaction Tyme Target:

Reaction Tyme Target

The Reaction Tyme Target is an electronic, reactive target that is designed to be used with Laserlyte’s laser trainers. The target area is about three inches square. It has two different modes: Reaction and Normal. The Reaction mode will light the entire target red. You then have a couple of seconds to react, and shoot it, before it turns off. If you successfully hit the target, in the allotted time, it will blink and beep twice, letting you know you hit. The target will continue to light up red at random intervals of three to five seconds, until you switch the target off. In the Normal mode, the target stays unlit, until you hit it with the laser. Each time you hit it, it will light and blink, letting you know you’ve hit the target.

The target runs off of a three AAA batteries. It seems to be very sturdy. It also has a hole in the back, so you can hang it on a screw or nail.

The Reaction Tyme Kit, as a whole, is a very good training aid. I would prefer the option to order it with the Compact or Full-Size pistol. It would also be nice to have a second target included, so you could practice transitioning between each target, but they are offered for sale separately.

If you are in need of a laser training system, this is a very good option. You may even be able to call or email Laserlyte to get them to sell it to you with the full-size pistol. You could buy each component separately, but you save about $60 by buying the kit. I would recommend this kit to any shooter wishing to get some inexpensive trigger time in.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: “One-stop system of entry level laser training” - Laserlyte

Target Market: Pistol shooters looking for a safe, laser training option

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Universal laser unit
  • 9mm - .45 cal
  • Pistol is “Training” blue
  • Red laser
  • Reactive target

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?: All of the items are only available in one color: blue pistol and red laser unit.

What others are saying?: “By practicing with a device that replicates DAO triggers in-general you are gaining/polishing trigger skills that are universal to all pistols with DAO triggers.” – Eric, AmmoLand

Price Point:

I need it now! Availability: You can get the Laserlyte Reaction Tyme Kit at Brownells and Amazon.

Our Rating:

+-Resetting trigger +-Universal Laser +-Reactive target +-Great customer service +-Full-size pistol fits well in my hand

--Compact pistol is a little uncomfortable --No storage compartment for the laser --Laser battery plug is prone coming out, when not in use --Laser should be offered in green, for outdoors use

Score: 8.080

Next Level Training SIRT Training Pistol Review

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img1 By Daniel Strait

There is only thing better than actually going to the range...training before the range :). This is the perfect tool to do just that! It is an interactive laser trainer that has the exact same feel and weight as a Glock 17 (also have a M&P version). With rising ammo prices this product gives you thousands of rounds of training in the convenience of your home!

 

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Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: The primary benefit is the positive feedback that the pistol gives you and your instructor. Secondary benefit is the added security of it being a replica firearm. You no longer need to worry about mixing your live rounds into your dry fire training. Third benefit is money savings. Fourth benefit is its self-resetting trigger vs. the Laserlyte trainer (charge your slide to activate the laser).

mike

Target Market: Competition Shooter/Law Enforcement/Firearms Instructor

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • The biggest feature is in the name SIRT (Self Indicating Resetting Trigger) the ability of the laser activation with each trigger pull. Meaning you no longer have to rack the slide between each trigger pull.

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?: The Next Level Training SIRT Training Pistol is available in red, green, purple, and pink.

What others are saying?: “Referring back to my martial arts training decades ago, our teacher said you must throw a punch or a kick 100 times to learn it, 1000 times to understand it and 10,000 times to master it. Ten thousand rounds of ammunition is a considerable amount and I’m guessing your agency doesn’t budget more than a few hundred rounds per person per year.

With a tool like the SIRT pistol you can practically and realistically conduct one hundred, one thousand, or even ten thousand correct trigger presses over the span of a year. That’s a lot of trigger manipulation that is sure to make the live rounds you fire even more effective and cost-efficient. For more information about the SIRT trainers go to www.nextleveltraining.com” - Paul Markel, Officer.com

Price Point:

I need it now! Availability: Readily available at Next Level Training. 

Our Rating:

+-Safe Gun Handling +-Positive Feedback every trigger pull +-Adjustable Trigger Weight

--Price vs. Laserlyte

Score: 8.0 Great80

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