Should I Get A Laser?

I think you should try it for yourself.
You might like it very much. You might not care for it at all.
Of all my carry guns, only one has a CT. I like it, I shoot well with it, but it is not one that I carry frequently.
For me, I find it to be a great dry-firing/point-shooting practice tool. Unload, then verify empty. Pick an object across the room, raise the pistol and point at the object, activate the laser. The red dot will tell you how close your initial point was.
 
I have Crimson Trace lasers on three handguns and would not buy a handgun that Crimson Trace does not make a grip for. I'm not a law officer. I'm a retired naval officer in his seventies. The sole purpose of those laser-equipped handguns is HD/SD -- short range and probably in low light circumstances. With my glasses on and in daylight, I am a fairly good shot inside ten yards with iron sights, but without my glasses or in the dark I cannot even SEE them. I sure can see that red dot, though, and I love to make a black hole appear in a target where that red dot had been.

I agree that you, a law officer, must be better than just fair with your weapons. That means you must practice frequently for each and every circumstance. In many circumstances, laser sights will be useless (daylight and attempting a fifty yard shot comes readily to mind). In others they will be invaluable. Be skillful with both.

Good luck, Jack
Click to expand...

Mr. Jack summed it up best with the portions I put in bold, IMHO.

Lasers do not replace iron sights, but they do provide another aiming tool for when conditions permit. The thing is, IME, don't go looking for the read dot. If you see the dot, great. Use the dot. If you do not see the dot, don't look for it. Just use the sights.

I believe that statistics will show that most defensive encounters that require the use of a handgun happen in dim light conditions. This is something the laser excells at. They are afterall, just another tool in the Tool Box and like any tool, can be used appropriately or inappropriately.

FWIW: I have a laser on my off duty gun and plan to put lasers on a couple of others as well.

Biker
 
i dont like them for the simple fact that it points a st(r)aight line right back at you

Then don't turn them on unless they are your best choice! If you reject laser sights out of hand, it is the same as rejecting a really good set of rubber grips that could make you a better shot because you prefer the beauty of wood to being a better shot. My toolchest is full. Yours is not.

By the way, the laser beam itself is not visible unless the air contains smoke, fog, etc. On the other hand, the red laser itself is very, very visible. If this worries you, hold the pistol out to your side. It has no side lobes to illuminate you, whereas most flashlights do.

I offer these thoughts in the spirit of this website: useful discussion.

Cordially, Jack
 
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as has already been said to all the nay-sayers who question "what about when the battery dies?" pretty simple solution: night sights...personally i cant stand all black iron sights...i prefer at least white dot sights...that way a lazer can be used as a good sighting system at night, and still able to keep in practice w/ conventional sights, which as has been said is what should be depended on! not a red dot
 
In a dark house it definitely helps my wife sight her Smith M36.

At the range, it has boosted her confidence.

Because of her eyesight, she simply cannot sight down the grooved top strap of her M36.

She could point and shoot reasonably well, but with the addition of the Crimson Trace, she's dead on.

factors mentioned above:
1. low light
2. limited skills
3. primitive open sights

YMMV
 
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