Importance of Lasers.?.

[Maximum1]

Let me start out by saying I’m one of those guys who doesn't believe in attaching a laser to my CCW. I think they're good for some bad for most especially beginners because of the belief the laser is going to make them shoot better and they fail to learn solid shoot techniques.

That said, after reading an interview with Marty Hayes in Conceal Carry Magazine I may have to rethink my postion and lasers….I SAID “RETHINK” not get one!


CCM: What are the advantages of the laser?
MH: Well, in order to really answer that question, one needs to understand the foundation of shooting, at least in the context of defensive handgun use. In defensive handgun use you must be able to place a bullet where you want to place it within the time constraints. The best way to do that is to line up your sights and then make the gun fire without disturbing that sight picture. Assuming that your gun is sighted in correctly, then you will hit where you want to hit. With a laser, it’s like putting your front sight right on the target, physically touching the target. You simply can’t miss as long as you pull the trigger smoothly. That is the great advantage of the laser, especially in low light situations.

Interesting….

CCM: Does the laser help a poor shooter?
MH: laser has the advantage of being a good training tool. A novice can learn correct trigger pull simply by dry firing the pistol and watching the laser dot. don’t have to be watching the sights, they can simply keep the laser dot indexed to the target where they want to eventually hit and just actuate the trigger so the dot doesn’t move. Once they do that 5000 times, they’ve got their trigger pull down. Put a bullet in the gun and you’re going to hit right where that dot is, or you line up the sights and you’re going to hit right where the sights are indexed to, assuming the student does the same trigger pull.

Ok, I’m rethinking my position…

CCM: Marty, how was it that you were first introduced to lasers and why have you embraced them so wholeheartedly?
MH: My first hands on experience came when one of our students brought one to a class and I was demonstrating one of our low light shooting drills. I was doing a pretty good job of demonstrating and this student told me that he could do it faster than me using a laser. I didn’t believe it. So he demonstrated it for me, that he COULDdo it faster than me. The student happened to work for Crimson Trace. So I immediately got a laser put on my gun because I wanted to work with this particular equipment. I instantly thought that it was something I would like to use and employ. After which, after intense study for at least a year or two before I really started talking about it in public, I came to the conclusion that one can shoot faster and more accurately in a typical low light situation using a laser.

OK, now I’m REALLY RETHINKING MY POSITION….

CCM: So it wasn’t just a nifty-cool tool, it was what the tool could do.
MH: Right. The tool made me a better shooter, faster and more accurate in low light than I could be without it. And I thought that was a pretty good advantage.



What do you think about attaching a laser to your primary CCW?

[jeepinbanditrider]

Interesting. I have never thought of them as the "end all be all" of aiming solutions but I do believe they have their place. Now if the price on them would just come down.

[Druac]

I voted 'No'

...is to know how to use your weapon instinctively. You are not always going to be able to count on a laser or its batteries. I could imagine that even taking the time to turn it on could be a mistake.

Just my .02

Now that being said, I DO use a laser to help with my grip, recoil anticipation, etc. Great tool to see and correct what you are doing 'wrong'.

[TobyU]

You still got to respect a lasers "Oh Crap" effect. If you ever had to draw on a person.....usually the sight of a gun would be a pretty good deterrent....but that red DOT they could see on them...."priceless in their pants"

I am probably on the conservative side of ever unholstering my firearm in a situation. I figure another firearm would already have to be present and in a way to be threatening to me....or shots fired for me to ever pull my firearm..
Of couse with this reserve..I could end up shot or dead too.
I don't think I would draw for many other weapons. I have 25 years experience in martial arts (been certified instructor for years) and hand to hand combat.
Now if a group came after me.....different story. I don't plan on playing Chuck Norris in a bar scene.

[1lowlife]

I've got a Crimson Trace for the XD9sc on pre-order.
I'll let yall know how it works out.
I've never had a laser on a firearm.

If anything, like Drurac said, it will help in my training.

[bartonmd]

A buddy of mine has a crimson trace on his 1911, and it is very cool to mess around with, and as long as the on/off switch is ON, you don't even have to think about turning the laser on, because when you grip the pistol, you are automatically gripping the laser-on buttom.

I hadn't even thought of it, but in the intermediate postol class I took after the basic, there was a night shooting/tactical light section, where we were shooting at night with and without lights. He had my buddy bring his 1911 to the night shoot to demonstrate a point. Just standing there, at night, you can see the outline of the "bad guy" on the target pretty well, but the instant the laser is turned on, night vision goes away, and the only thing you can see is the laser (because the laser is bright enough to be seen in the daytime, so it's really bright at night)

I'm not saying lasers are bad, or not to get one, but it's somethingto think about. I would only suggest that the laser is not a substitute for a tac-light, and maybe even makes it more important.

Mike

[Cohoskip]

When I bought my Lasermax, Crimson Trace did not make one for the XD series. I have been happy with my choice. The Lasermax replaces the guide rod, therefore is invisible. It is factory sighted in.
I like the pulsating beam, too...

[dtek]

http://www.lasermax.com/training/con...omeDefense.php

[SgtWKPII]

I voted no because all you're doing is making something you are trying to conceal more bulky. I do not need the oh crap factor with the laser either, I don't my weapon to scare. I pull my weapon to shoot.

[Mad Geek]

Like Druac stated, might a good training tool to show that you are pulling to one side or the other when you squeeze the trigger. But in a defensive situation, I want to know how to use my pistol without having to turn on or depend on a laser. I have the LaserMax Guide Rod Laser for my XD .45 Compact, and it was my intent to us it for my primary sighting tool, but then I heard someone say that depending on technology that can fail at an inappropriate time can be costly.

Train using the iron sights, point shooting, what ever you can do to hit your target where you need to. Just become proficient with your gun so you can hit your target with or without painting it with a laser. The "oh crap!" factor may look cool, but a BG intent on doing you harm may not care much.