Laser Sights

[gulfdawn]

I Have never tried a gun with laser sights and am interested in any comments. Pro or con.

 

[Firefighterchen]

You will find people that love them and some that hate them.

All accessories are supposed to increase your effectiveness with your firearm, whether it be lasers, lights, grips, optics, etc. If you find lasers don't help you, don't use them, if they do help, use them.

No accessory should replace the basic fundamentals of shooting, unless your physically incapable of performing those fundamentals (ie poor sight, disfigurement, positioning, etc)

Pros (with training): Sight acquirement if unable to use irons. Faster acquisition. Some deterrent value. Gives you more options.

Cons: Runs on batteries. Another part that can break and to maintain. Can take away from practicing with irons, whether it be laziness or time constraints.

Do I use one? I have a laser light combo on my shotgun, no rail on my primary handgun otherwise I would have one on there too, for the pros above. I make time to reduce the cons as much as possible (maintenance and failure drills).

 

[croute]

They're useless. If you've ever seen someone with one, you'll notice the laser is all over the place due to the movement of the gun. Not only that, it takes away from what you should be concentrating on, your gun sights. I've never used one for those reasons and have been very successful at the target range. No need.

 

[Kal]

I use one on a LCP due to the useless sights on it...and it helps practicing a steady aim. Also if the gun is "all over the place" with a laser, its going to be without one as well.

 

[missoak]

Your gun is moving just as much without the laser. You just can't see it. There are many tactical/self defence situations that will benefit from using a laser.
Crimson Trace has an excellent free DVD that showcases the usefullness of a laser.
I agree that you should hone your shooting skills with the sights that are on the gun, but a laser in the right circumstances could save your life.

 

[Bill Amsden]

Right on missoak, I like and have the Crimson Trace laser grip for my M&P 40. I am not a bad shot without a laser but still need more practice. The laser grip not only confirmed for me that I was pulling the gun downward slightly when squeezing the trigger but it also increased my accuracy from an eight inch grouping to a three at ten yards. Yeh it was a little pricey but think it was worth it. No regrets. If I ever have to discharge my weapon in the dark or at night I do know for a fact that the bullet is going to hit very, very close to that little red dot.

 

[gunsandgardens]

One came stock on my wife's .38 Bodyguard. Absolutely useless during the day. At the outdoor range you cant see it at all even from 10 yards. For getting your shot on point, it can be useful but only in dark situations. For laser sights that work well in all light conditions, its going to cost you big bucks. One I have been considering but can't bring myself to spend so much money on is the Viridan series. Check them out but but be prepared to fork over some dough.

 

[gunsandgardens]

Gun Laser, Handgun lasers, Glock Laser Sight, Ruger Laser, Laser Sight, Viridian Green Laser Sights | Fits Glock, Springfield XD, Walther, Sig

 

[Bill Amsden]

I was in a indoor range so it worked fine, but agree most are useless in the daylight, however, I have experimented outside and at as much as 130 feet or so (because that is how long my driveway is) when I was in bright sunlight but the target was in partial shade the laser dot was fully visible. I would trust my sites on the weapon first obviously but can't say this one is useless in daylight. All depends on the conditions.

 

[TheDoaner]

Of all the laser manuf. I like Crimson Trace and I like them on the grip. In a defensive scenario there is no switch to mess with, it's visibility can be controlled by grip pressure or covering the beam with your index finger, and it doesn't require a new holster if you add them. They can be an invaluable asset in a low light high-pressure situation. I use snap caps in conjunction with the lasergrips on one of my 1911's several times per week doing dry fire drills in my basement. It provides instant feedback and has greatly improved my groupings at the range. They are a tool if used correctly but they are not a substitute for practice. You still need to turn them off and practice with the sights at the range because it's very easy to start concentrating on the red dot over the sight picture. Bullets have an arc the laser does not. I think their grips have saved lives and helped countless people become better shooters. I also think countless others have probably used them as crutch.

 

[Deafninja]

I have a crimson trace laserguard installed on XDM compact .45.

Pros: it helps you work on sight picture if train correctly. Cover the laser, look through iron sights to establish sight picture, then uncover laser to see if sight picture is same etc. helps with moving target sight picture and trigger control (whether you flinch or not etc)

Cons: in bright daylight, is virtually useless!