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are lasers stupid?

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im looking at some accesories for my hand guns and was wondering are lasers stupid? are they useful? what do they work better on short barreled, full sized guns, revolvers and if you use a laser, what kind do ya use, cheapie picatanny rail type, crimson trace or that real expensive one that replaces your guide rod?

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I believe that anyone who sees a laser on his chest is likely to comply with the person holding the gun. That makes it not stupid. Not having been in that situation in person, that is just my two cvents.

 

 

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I believe that anyone who sees a laser on his chest is likely to comply with the person holding the gun.

 

 

OTOH, when they see how badly your hand is shaking, they may decide to take the chance. :sarcastichand:

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i purchased one for my 1911, ok for the 1st range sesion but wore out after that, problem is it needs to be adjusted for the yardage being shot, so if it is set for 10yds it is off for 15 yd shot..

 

makes a great pointer and the puppy loves to chase the light so not all was lost..

 

001-1.jpg

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OTOH, when they see how badly your hand is shaking, they may decide to take the chance. :sarcastichand:

 

I would stay

Away from the laser max or any guide rod lasers. Mine tended to get dirty a lot.I find the crimson grips to be better and worth the money.its nice to know where your shot is going if the situation prevents you from getting proper sight alignment.

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Think about this...You had better be ready to shoot and fast if you use a laser. If someone pointed a laser at me I'd start throwing bullets at the laser. Being I know I shoot low and left under stress I'd probably take out his right lung.

 

 

:thsmiley_deadhorse:

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I am conflicted about the laser sights. On one hand I hate to rely upon any technology as with my luck the batteries will go bad, the sight will break or I will get some other malfunction just as I need it. I do see how it can be very useful if I'm in an awkward position and could not align my sights.

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We've all had some fun with this, but the OP was asking a serious question, so I'm willing to give my opinion (big surprise, huh?).

 

There is no doubt that lasers can be helpful in certain situations, but they can also be detrimental. If you rely on the laser, to the exclusion of learning proper fundamentals (sight alignment and trigger squeeze) then you will be dead when that neat technology goes TU at the most inopportune time.

 

As was pointed out, parallax is a big issue with a laser. The closer the laser is to the bore centerline, the less parallax is introduced, but it will still only be accurate at the distance sighted. Remember, the laser describes a perfectly straight line while the bullet's path is a parabola.

 

I don't like the units that repalce the guide rod. You are replacing a functional component of the gun (the activation switch usually also replaces some OE piece) and since those pieces are now doing double duty, the chance of that component failing may be higher. If you have to have one, the CT grips make the most sense to me.

 

I alluded to the fact that the dot will not be rock solid on your target. You will be amazed how much you shake. Whe you are using the sights, you know you are never dead steady on the target. The science and art of accurate shooting is trying to remember all the fundamentals while limiting the size of the circle your front sight is describing on the target.

 

Some instructors say they are good for training purposes. That may be so, but I have to think that if the money spent for the laser was invested in ammo and range time, you'd have similar results. BTW, I don't own any firearms lasers.

 

As usual, JMHO.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

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Laser sights have their place which to me is limited. Too many people buy them because they can't align sights, no concept of trigger control and don't know to hold a gun and feel that will make them expert shots. The dancing the laser on a BGs chest works well when the BG is unarmed (like a prisoner trying to escape). Doing it as a warning is bad as then you give the guy a chance to shoot first.

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I have a Veridian green compact laser on my Cx4. It makes hip shooting pretty accurate at the sighted in range (25 yards) but that's about it. It's bright, you can see it forever, and it's durable. Useful? The jury is still out on that.

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That's REALLY Pimpin'! Still got that thing, eh?

 

 

i purchased one for my 1911, ok for the 1st range sesion but wore out after that, problem is it needs to be adjusted for the yardage being shot, so if it is set for 10yds it is off for 15 yd shot..

 

makes a great pointer and the puppy loves to chase the light so not all was lost..

 

001-1.jpg

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I was watching two people shooting a handgun with a laser on it. The one guy was pretty darn steady wtih his shots, very little movement. The other guy, well, I thought Ray Charles must have been shooting. After every shot that laser was dancing all over the place! Maybe the laser is a usefull device to have so people can see how much they are really moving after every shot, but I wouldn't want to use it for aiming. When the batteries puke what do you do?

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I have one that came with the S&W BG380 I picked up, it's ok, wasn't a selling point for me but it was there already. I have used it a few times and mostly when I was adjusting it, other than that I use the iron sights.

 

One nice thing about having it is for dry fire practice and trigger control, that I recently found out at my first ever USPSA match this past weekend I need to do more of. That and never shooting on the move was a lot different than just shooting a static target at the range.

 

Harry

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Just my two cents... I have one sitting in a drawer. The adjustment for distance drove me nuts. I have a tenedency to think that it might be something of a deterrant if that dot is on some bad guy/girl's chest. It was suggested to me that the proper way to use one is to sight it in on a parallel line with the barrel, then use it like another sight. I'd never heard that before and maybe you could train to use it that way. I haven't tried it and probaly won't. As has been said, I think I'd rather rely on fundamentals

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My experience of using lasers comes from the GFH Low Light classes and using my Viridian C5L and X5L Gen 2 light/lasers.

 

1) Having a light on a firearm, particularly your home defense or carry firearm is a big advantage. The light can be used to search, blind etc and makes for a much steadier shooting platform than using a separate flashlight in one hand.

 

2) However for the laser it is not so clear, I found using the laser had two main issues:

a) When I switch the laser on I automatically stop using the sights and found I wasn't always extending my arms out for a good stance. This would be easily correctable through training.

b) In the dark, it is very easy to follow the line of the laser back to the firearm, i.e. it gives away where you are. That could be an issue tactically.

 

My conclusion from my experience is:

a) light attached to firearm - Yes it is useful

b) laser attached to firearm - Much less useful although some scenarios could benefit

 

hth

 

TheWombat

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My experience of using lasers comes from the GFH Low Light classes and using my Viridian C5L and X5L Gen 2 light/lasers.

 

1) Having a light on a firearm, particularly your home defense or carry firearm is a big advantage. The light can be used to search, blind etc and makes for a much steadier shooting platform than using a separate flashlight in one hand.

 

2) However for the laser it is not so clear, I found using the laser had two main issues:

a) When I switch the laser on I automatically stop using the sights and found I wasn't always extending my arms out for a good stance. This would be easily correctable through training.

b) In the dark, it is very easy to follow the line of the laser back to the firearm, i.e. it gives away where you are. That could be an issue tactically.

 

My conclusion from my experience is:

a) light attached to firearm - Yes it is useful

b) laser attached to firearm - Much less useful although some scenarios could benefit

 

hth

 

TheWombat

 

This...

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To me its just another tool that helps me acquire my target faster, Nothing will replace training or practice. And in a HD situation my wife is my back up , and a regular shooter, I need all the help I can get. What ever floats your boat. the only thing that sucks is now my Itac retention holster is useless, but i did buy a nylon holster that accommodates a laser. its a SR1 armalaser.

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I have a light and laser on my go to HD pistol but not my other pistols. I too took the GFH low light class and it changed my thinking a bit. We all know that low light encounters are the most likely kind and you have only to think about a break in at 2 am to realize that being effective in the dark should be a very high priority, training wise.

 

The class gives you experiences in a range with a few guys trying to stress you so you get a small gauge of what it would look and feel like in the dark. Good luck being able to practice that on your own. One thing in particular to consider is that in the dark you can't pick up your sights as you do in the light because of the way the rods and cones of your eyes work. Your night vision is peripheral vision.

 

As good as the experience was in the class, my small experience with actual combat made me very aware of how quick the situations start and stop - that being able to give a good snappy response is the difference between the quick and the dead, and that closing an eye and lining up two sights while both your eyes are popping out of your head and the gun is firing inside your house with no ear protection... it's going to change everything for you.

 

So my conclusion has been that I would rather be prepared to react quickly and accuarately while filled with adrenaline and get the muzzle on target as quickly as possible. For me, the laser and light are there to give me all the advantages. That said, I put the light and the laser on together. There is no point to seeing just a dot in the pitch black.

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I can tell you from first hand experience, when your pointing a gun at someone & your hand is shaking people comply a hell of a lot quicker than when your calm, cool & collective & it's obvious you know what your doing. No one wants someone who's nervous pointing a loaded firearm at them.

 

I can see that actually

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im looking at some accesories for my hand guns and was wondering are lasers stupid? are they useful? what do they work better on short barreled, full sized guns, revolvers and if you use a laser, what kind do ya use, cheapie picatanny rail type, crimson trace or that real expensive one that replaces your guide rod?

 

Ironic -- I have a Glock GTL22 laser/light coming tomorrow.

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I bought a CT for my M&P as a training tool a few years ago. I sold it very quickly. I not only found myself using it as a crutch, but I would find myself looking AROUND my sights on the gun to look at the laser...... It was actually hurting my basic skills......

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