BEAM ME UP!
Mention the word “laser” and many people, certainly those of my vintage, will think of fighting Martians with ray guns, knocking out enemy star destroyers or trying to eviscerate a certain agent known as 007.
But lasers are very much a part of our present, not just our future, and they can be a valuable tool for the airgun shooter.
A laser usually produces a narrow beam that doesn’t spread out much as it travels away from the source, forming a pencil-like beam that appears as a small spot when shone against a surface, even at distances of 100 yards or so. Unlike a pellet, slug or bullet, a laser isn’t noticeably affected by gravity, and it’s this property that shooters can exploit, using a laser as a simple rangefinding tool, a basic aiming device and as a means of initially setting up a scope without the need to fire a shot.
Lasers are relatively inexpensive and I’ve been using two different types: a laser supplied by The Shooting Party for rangefinding and aiming, and a boresighter made by Bushnell for sighting in a scope. Lasers do pose a
