18 February 2012 Designate the target

          Driven, perhaps by the fog and mist that accompanied a daylong rain last Thursday, I purchased a laser targeting designator for my Glock pistol.  This device is intended to replace the rear site with a dual-purpose drop in. 

          The existing factory rear site was dovetailed into the slide at the factory.  It is intended to withstand the repeated rearward motion and abrupt stop caused by firing thousands of rounds of ammunition without shifting.  Removing that site was one of the most difficult tricks of the armorer's trade that I’ve ever had to attempt.  Let me point out that I am not an armorer.  I finally walked downstream to get some help from Mike.  With the aid of a jeweler’s saw, a hacksaw, and a 2-pound hammer applied to the brass drift tool that came with the laser, we managed to remove the existing sight. 

          Naturally, the replacement has to fit as tightly as the original.  It took the same hammer and drift to coax the new sight into the dovetailed notch on the slide. 

          We checked the laser prior to installing it.  We checked the laser after installing it.  I checked the laser prior to firing my first sighting-in rounds.  Each time it worked. 

          Last night when I put the pistol away after walking Loki, I checked the laser.  The on-strobe-off button is not staying in the on or strobe positions. 

          This means another trip into town to Mahoney’s to replace the laser unit.  This means another struggle to remove one sight and put a new one in.    In the days of laser designation, the man who can’t point out to the target that he is designated has fallen far behind in the arms race.  Green is the new laser color of choice among those in the knowing elite.  Puts a new meaning to “going green.”