All4shooters already reviewed some Laser Ammo products, such as the Laser PET II blank firing training and simulation kit and its training routines.
But Laser Ammo is a true modular system, extremely safe and scalable over time, with a remarkable number of additional options and accessories, all compatible with each other.
Today we want to explore the Laser Ammo system in detail, starting with the SureStrike laser cartridge, which is actually the heart of the entire system.
Video: introducing the Ammo Laser System
The SureStrike cartridge
The cartridge is a precision engineered technological marvel, built using state of the art CNC machines and military grade materials, enclosing a CPU and driving microelectronics, battery, an IR or visible red laser projector –depending on the model- with high precision optics, and the interface that operates the laser itself when the ammunition is hit by the firing pin of the firearms in which it is used. Laser Ammo's SureStrike cartridge is modular, as it is possible to configure it using optional adapters to fit many different calibers starting from the basic 9mm, including smoothbore and rifle calibers such as 20 and 12 gauge and .223 and .30-06. The steel body of the SureStrike round is precision ground to tolerances of 1/100 mm and the laser is perfectly collimated with the chamber, with excellent accuracy. In fact, you can program the laser cartridge to emit a continuous beam of light, to use the SureStrike ammunition as a Bore Sight zeroing laser.
You can replace the “action cap” interface – essentially the SureStrike "case head" – to fit alternate calibers or to change the operation mode, such as with vibration. Power is supplied by a battery built using three standard LR726 button cells; if you don't want to buy the Laser Ammo factory packaged battery, it is possible to replicate it by rolling three batteries together with a piece of thin electrical tape.
The operational life of the laser is very high. In fact the only "expiring" element of the system is the Action Cap backplate with the firing pin switch that is guaranteed for at least 5000 shots. The replacement is relatively inexpensive.
The SureStrike cartridge is available on its own configured for a single caliber, or in kits for several calibers. In our case, we received the Ultimate LE Edition kit, featuring the 9mm basic SureStrike cartridge and adapters for .40 SW, .45ACP and .223 Remington. The kit includes as well the UhrSecure tube that locks the SureStrike cartridge into the pistol barrel – making the SureStrike installed gun absolutely safe as it is now impossible to chamber live ammo – and a small set of reflective targets. That alone makes it possible to practice with just the kit - assuming you've purchased the visible red laser version.
IR or Visible?
Which SureStrike cartridge laser version should we choose? It actually depends on how you want to use the system. The visible red laser round allows the shooter to instantly see the virtual point of impact on the target, and since the pulse is not instantaneous, the shooter can also see and correct trigger discipline, as any muzzle movement at the time of the shot translates to a short streak instead of a clean dot. On the other hand, performance is quite dependent on light conditions, and even on relatively clear days it is best to carefully position targets in the shade.
The IR laser has longer range and works in much brighter environments, as well as being generally way more reliable in detection by the electronic targets, but the shooter won’t have the visible feedback that confirms the actual point of impact of the virtual bullet. Plus, the IR laser cannot be used as a bore sight zeroing cartridge (unless you're zeroing a night vision scope...).
In addition to the SureStrike kit, the manufacturer sent us a sample of the I-MTTS Arena expansion set and a special GLOCK compatible training dry fire trigger pack.
The trigger pack also includes a firing pin specifically engineered for use with SureStrike cartridges, and automatically resets the trigger without having to cock the slide. The special trigger is to be used only with the handgun configured for Laser Ammo cartridges and cannot be used with live ammunition.
The I-MTTS Arena expansion set includes three interactive targets and a wireless controller – up to 10 electronic targets (optionally available) in total can be added to a single set.
The targets can be used individually (e.g. in different rooms) or all together remotely operated by the controller, in which case all targets must be within a radius of about six meters to function properly. The I-MTTS Arena kit allows you to program several training scenarios. In the next article, we will thoroughly test the Laser Ammo SureStrike and I-MTTS Arena system: stay with us!
Prices of the products featured in this article: Surestrike cartridge Ultimate LE Edition kit, 254 Euro; I-MTTS Arena expansion set, 375 euro; self-resetting dry fire trigger kit for GLOCK pistols: 216 euro.
For more information please visit the Laser Ammo website.
