I have two, neither mounted on a firearm. They are very easy to see in bright sunlight. At night they project a visible beam so if concealment is an issue you might wish to take that into consideration. As far as being too bright at close distance one of mine is, the other isn't. It all depends on the power factor, i.e. the mW rating. My weaker one is 5mW and the stronger one is 15mW. I bought them on Amazon, by the way.