Review: LaserLyte Trigger Tyme Training Pistol and Laser Trainer Pro

United States –-(Ammoland.com)- Not too long ago I had a package show up here at the Gunmart Blog Test Kitchen from the good people over at Laserlyte.

Inside of said package were a couple of their more recent products from their laser training catalog… The Laserlyte Trigger Tyme Training Pistol and the Laserlyte Laser Trainer Pro.

LaserLyte Trigger Tyme Training Pistol

Lets start off this discussion with the training pistol shall we… The Trigger Tyme pistol that they sent out to me was the compact model which is their latest incarnation of their already pretty successful full size version of the training pistol.

When I first opened the box and picked up the Trigger Tyme Training Pistol the very first thing that I noticed was… “Whoa. This thing is heavy.” No, its not really the exact same weight as an actual compact firearm… it weighs in at 10.5 ounces on my postal scale… but its weighted enough and has enough of a heft to it that it actually does have a real firearm feel to it. I was pleasantly surprised actually. I had always figured that it would just have a lightweight, plasticy feel to it but it doesn’t. It feels good in the hand, and I have actually found myself wanting to rack the slide on it on several different occasions – you can’t do that, btw.

Of course, after I was done taking notice of the heft and overall feel of the pistol, my next area of curiosity was obviously going to be what the trigger was like. Trigger weight comes in at approx 5.5 lbs, and it actually feels pretty darn good. The trigger itself is nice and wide which gives it a nice feel on the pad of your finger, and it has a consistent pull all the way through.

No, its not exactly like a Glock trigger… No, its not exactly like a XD trigger… No, its not exactly like a M&P trigger… No, it doesn’t feel exactly like a revolver trigger either. It honestly doesn’t really feel like any particular trigger whatsoever. It does however feel like a real trigger.

Now, before you completely write this trainer off simply because it doesn’t perfectly replicate the trigger of whatever defensive firearm you personally own let me just say this… it honestly doesn’t really matter.

First of all, it would be darn near impossible for a company to go out and replicate every (or even only the most prominent) trigger of all the firearms out there and then market all those unique designs as a way to train for your specific gun(s). It simply wouldn’t be a money making venture for any business, and that’s probably exactly why Laserlyte took a universal approach to these trainers.

Secondly, I’m not going to sit here and dispute that training for a specific individual trigger is indeed important, but equally important is what the Laserlyte Trigger Tyme Training Pistols is going to give you… and that is good old fashioned, plain-Jane fundamental trigger skills. 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.

These are skills that will most definitely transfer over to whatever modern polymer pistol you own and they will certainly increase your defensive firearm skills. Yes, drilling down and becoming intimately familiar with a specific individual trigger has its place, but the skills that can be gained from working with the Trigger Tyme are universal to running just about every defensive firearm with a long DAO trigger. I have talked at great length in the past about how well suited laser trainers are for both improving the skills of experienced shooters as well as for introducing kids/new shooters to the basics of marksmanship, and the Trigger Tyme Pistol is a great tool for accomplishing both of those goals because of the way it addresses the basic fundamentals of trigger control.

Laserlyte compares the size of the compact trainer to something along the same lines as the S&W Shield or the new XDs. I however would say that there is one caveat to that, and that is the fact that the grip is a little bit more narrow that what you are going to find on most real guns of this size. Length of pull is a little bit shorter than I would have liked and from what I was initially expecting. Here is the gun laid on top of a Glock 26 to let you get some sense of it.

Now, there is a variance there compared to most compact/subcompact guns on the market, but its actually a good thing for a couple of reasons. First, this gun fits kids’ hands wonderfully. If you have a youngster that is just coming of age and you are wanting to introduce them to marksmanship and firearms safety, this is a tool that can do it in a 100% safe environment. Its very cost effective… even compared to .22 LRs, and I can personally attest to the fact that The Kids absolutely love playing with laser trainers. Length of pull for these compact models just seem to be ideally suited for young kids that are just learning to shoot or even for adults who have hands that are on the smaller side. Its really a great way to get kids’ feet wet with the basics of safe gun handling.

Secondly, because the grip is on the “too small” side rather than the “too large” side its easily compensated for if you in fact want to make the grip a little bit larger to more closely replicate whatever particular firearm you want to train for. I.E. – its a lot easier to go up in size than it would be if you needed to go down in size.

To bring the grip closer to the actual grip size of my Glock 26 I simply took a small piece of pipe insulation and taped it on as a “back strap”… Now its darn near perfect for my training needs, and its also something that is easily removed for when The Kids want to get some time in with the trainer.

Thats what we in the business call “Redneck Engineering”…

Or if you dont want to mess with any of that (or you dont have kids that you want to share the trainer with) you can certainly just buy the full sized version and you will be good-to-go.

The sights on the gun exceeded my expectations as well. Once again, they are universal in design and something that are probably going to be pretty darn close to replicating what you are running on your defensive pistol already. I almost immediately painted the front sight white on the pistol that they sent me (old age is getting me), and you could certainly dot the rear sights as well if that helps you out. Of course, YMMV.

So why spend the $40 or $50 on the Trigger Tyme Training Pistol rather than just use your own gun? Well, basically what this training pistol lets you do is to use the LaserLyte Laser Trainer Pro and have second strike capabilities. Before they introduced these Trigger Tyme Training Pistols the only thing you could do with their Laser Trainer was use it in your own gun. That meant that for most guns out there you had to rack the slide after each shot. Very cumbersome and very limiting when it comes to what you can train for. Now with this gun you can train for multiple strings of shots and transition from one target to the next without having to reset. Its a very big improvement, and in my opinion its well worth the small monetary investment. This is also one of the cheapest “blue guns” out there on the market, and it can certainly be used for “blue gun” training purposes as well.

The other thing that I want to point out about this trainer is that it fits in most holsters just fine. It wont fit securely and have “proper retention”, but gravity will certainly make it “good enough” to allow you to practice your presentation skills. It fits all of my Glock sized holsters with just a little bit of wiggle room… certainly good enough for me to practice drawing and firing.

Laser Trainer Pro

OK – so lets get into talking about the Laserlyte Laser Trainer Pro… What Laserlyte has come up with here is a product that is universal to many different calibers of handguns. If you have a handgun that falls into the .35 caliber on up through .45 caliber this laser trainer will probably fit it just fine. (9mm, 40s&w, .45acp, 38sp, .380 Auto, 357sig, 10mm and 45lc.)

The product has a really clever and unique design in that it activates the laser aiming device when it hears the “click” of your gun. Yes, the Laser Trainer Pro is sound activated and actually hears the gun go “click”. At that point it “shoots” a laser across the room and either activates the laser training target that you are shooting at or it stays lit long enough to easily let you see how good (or bad) your shot placement was. I was skeptical about this method at first, but I have found it to be very reliable.

Accuracy on the Laser Trainer Pro that they sent me was near perfect. Thats important because that really allows you to make accurate judgments on how successful you were at putting a shot on target. If you jerk the trigger or if your sights were not lined up properly then this product is going to let you know and you can make adjustments accordingly. The product is adjustable for windage and elevation, but I found that the easiest way to adjust the point of impact of the laser was to simply rotate the laser trainer as needed once it is in the barrel to get the shot dialed in.

Really its a great product all the way around and its a great way to get some quality trigger time in without all the $$$ that can get eaten up by ammo costs. You can use it with just your own defensive firearm that you already have and it will be great, or its a great tool to use in conjunction with the Trigger Tyme Training Pistol for the above mentioned benefits. It works great.

Specifications:
• Length: 2.1 inches
• Minimum diameter: .1 inch
• Maximum Diameter: .5 inch
• Run Time: 3,000 shots • Batteries: 3 x 377
• Activation: Sound of striker or hammer

And oh, BTW – There is also an entire all in one package deal available if you want to save a little money and buy everything you need all at once:

*One takeaway for Laserlyte: Make a Trigger Tyme Training Pistol that is the same size and shape as a snubbie… you will have a whole new market to sell these training pistols to.

Visit Laserlyte.com for more info.

About:
Eric at the Gunmart Blog – Eric is a gun blogger, firearms enthusiast, and sorry excuse for a hunter. He is also an AmmoLand Shoting Sports News Columnist. Leave him some comments on this article before you go. You can also follow Eric on Facebook, Twitter and at his blog, Gunmart. Visit: GunmartBlog.com