Laser Ammo SureStrike and Flashbolt - Indoor dryfire training products used outside at the shooting range

I have covered the full set of Laser Ammo reactive target training system, including the Laser Ammo I-MTTS Arena target kit, Surestrike red laser cartridge Ultimate LE Edition kit, and the WLB-15 FlashBolt Laser Bolt "Wespe" for AR, in my articles on all4shooters.com, with some practical indoor uses and tests.

A few weeks back I was wondering at what actual range does the Laserstrike/reactive target combo would still fully work outdoors. I already know that in an enclosed environment, such as a warehouse or garage, it is possible to reach great distances, such that it is possible to simulate actual shooting and engagement ranges with 100% reliability. However, how would the system perform in daylight?

The author shooting the 30 m distant reactive target with one of the SureStrike cartridges in a Beretta 92FS

I discussed this with the great guys at Laser-Ammo.se, and this inspired me to do a distance test, with all three available laser types: the visible red laser and IR laser SureStrike 9mm Cartridge, and the red laser Flashbolt AR replacement BCG for the AR platform, in my guns.

Alas, I live in an apartment in a crowded city, and my terrace does not allow for ranged shots beyond 25 meters – and I doubt that testing in the condo shared grounds would go well, especially with the nice, cat-loving lady of the second floor facing directly said grounds always at the window. So, I unusually hit the range with the full Laser Ammo set instead of live firearms and ammo!

The Laser Ammo reactive target seen through the Leica laser range finder at a distance of 50 m.

A view of the 50 m “range”, actually a shooting range service passage next to the stages, I used for the test – the reactive target uses an IPSC target card scaled down to 1:4, so it would appear this size at 200 m.

At 50 m, this is what the shooter sees of the Laser Ammo reactive target.

I have a close-by pistol range that offers up to 50 meters and, under the curious and quite entertained stares of many handgun and IPSC shooters, set to work on the side of the shooting stages.

Yours truly shooting the FlashBolt "Wespe" AR laser BCG equipped DR-15 MK 23 AR pistol at 50 m.

Hitting the target at 50 m with the pistol proved to be really difficult, so I had to switch to a shoulder fired platform with the Laser Ammo device in it; the output power is the same across all Laser Ammo devices.

I used my 9mm Beretta 92FS as it allowed me to easily change the SureStrike laser cartridge, and also my MK-23 in .300 Blackout to use the Flashbolt laser replacement AR BCG (Bolt Carrier Group). I set the reactive target out of the I-MTTS Arena target kit at a distance of about 30 m, as it is 5 m beyond what i can shoot on my terrace, and I know that it works already at 25 m. The lighting conditions of my test are as follows: it is a mid-fall day, in October, in Italy, in the afternoon with clear sky and full sunlight coming from the side – not from behind or in front of the target and shooter.

Laser Ammo's I-MTTS Arena reactive target, with the red dot of the laser hitting the surface and the target confirmation of the hit at 50m.

The 30 meter test turns out to be really successful with both IR and visible red laser SureStrike cartridges, however it is at the very edge of the aiming capacities of the pistol system – boresighting can only go so far. But, the laser is picked up perfectly by the reactive target and it works perfectly when hit! Time to switch to the AR pistol with the red visible laser equipped Flashbolt replacement BCG, and to move the reactive target to the farthest reach of the “shooting range”: 50 m. Just to be on the safe side, and be sure of the range, I used a Leica laser range finder to measure the distance.

I set to shoot, and I was impressed to see that I had a 95% success rate at getting a confirmation from the reactive target at this range every time I touched the target with the laser beam! The remaining 5% is because on the very last upper inch of the target a hit may or may not reflect enough laser light to be detected by the sensor, due to the sunlight washing out the target itself. So, I’d say that there’s a 100% reliability hitting the target from its base up to 80% of its surface at this distance! And, it must be said I am using the visible red laser version of the Flashbolt, which allegedly should be more influenced by ambient light than the IR.

Admittedly, I did not test the functionality of the I-MTTS Arena target kit remote system and the training programs at this time.

Video: Laser Ammo SureStrike and Flashbolt range test

I am impressed and pleasantly surprised with the performance of my highly empirical outdoors shooting test with the Laser Ammo reactive target system, and by the time I was finishing the test, I had quite a few bystanders marveling at the system.

I highly recommend the Laser Ammo system itself, and the lucky ones that own a large garden, porch, patio or that live out in the countryside could have even more fun than me living in my stuffed condo.