actual use of laser sights for SD

[slodraw]

It would be interesting to hear from anyone having used their laser sight in a SD situation.

[Poodle Soup]

As am I. I could see it being more of a deterrent or "eye opener" for the aggressor than a shooting aide in a self defense scenario though.

My concealed weapons instructor (local police officer and part of the swat team or what ever they are called) told us while he was in a situation where 2 officers had handguns pulled on someone and he didn't seem to care. Until the red dot from a marksmens rifle was on his chest. He changed his tune shortly after... something makes it a little more real I guess?

[Springfeildkid585]

Originally Posted by Poodle Soup

As am I. I could see it being more of a deterrent or "eye opener" for the aggressor than a shooting aide in a self defense scenario though.

My concealed weapons instructor (local police officer and part of the swat team or what ever they are called) told us while he was in a situation where 2 officers had handguns pulled on someone and he didn't seem to care. Until the red dot from a marksmens rifle was on his chest. He changed his tune shortly after... something makes it a little more real I guess?

I find it funny how movies always depict a sniper using a laser. I hope the marksmen in question understood that (depending on range) he was going to miss. Bullets don't fly straight contrary to popular belief, so lasers are only particularly effective at short ranges.

[Poodle Soup]

Originally Posted by Springfeildkid585

I find it funny how movies always depict a sniper using a laser. I hope the marksmen in question understood that (depending on range) he was going to miss. Bullets don't fly straight contrary to popular belief, so lasers are only particularly effective at short ranges.

Sounded like he was pretty close and they needed something more accurate than a hand gun. Suicide by cop scenario or something similar... was 2 year ago or so. I remember the point of the story more than the exact details : p

He even said he doesn't really recommend laser sites for guns. They are a "OH ****" to the bad guy if he notices it. And possibly and "OH ****" if your trying to find the little red dot instead of just aiming the gun or point shooting.

[Old cop]

I don't see the point of a laser on a small self defense gun, but I'm old school. During my LEO career I had to use deadly force to defend myself (.38). The situation happened so fast that I could only pull and shoot as fast as possible.

The laser might be a good training tool, but in a self defense situation I doubt there would be any chance to employ it.

[OFT II]

Lasers, like tracers, work both ways. The guy out front can see where it's coming from.

[Murdock]

While still on active duty I had a CO who was a serious shooter, and so we shared a lot of information.

He knew a number of people in one of the "high speed" outfits with a hostage rescue mission. When compact lasers first came out they did quite a bit of close-quarters practice with them.

They determined two things:

First, the laser dot slowed them down a bit because they found themselves trying for the absolutely perfect shot placement that the laser dot teased them into thinking was possible, rather than the "close enough for government work" that iron sights provided.

Second, when two or more operators entered a room they found themselves becoming easily confused about whose dot was whose.

I think they are a novelty. As a trainer can see How they might reveal that a student is having issues with trigger control, but then again so does the paper target.

[kirbinster]

I have not used them for SD, and hope never to have to. But the one area I think they might be useful in is for a person like me that might jump out of bed and not have his glasses handy. Also if you have to shoot from the low ready position where you can't use your sights this might help you out.

[Jeffersonwasright]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

I have not used them for SD, and hope never to have to. But the one area I think they might be useful in is for a person like me that might jump out of bed and not have his glasses handy. Also if you have to shoot from the low ready position where you can't use your sights this might help you out.

I can see very well at distances past a couple feet, but I can't see the sights themselves without glasses. After giving this a lot of thought though, I'm not sure that's even the issue.

If I heard a break in, the first thing I would do after arming myself is to turn off the night light in the upstairs hallway. That leaves the house very dark and gives me the home ground advantage. The problem I see is that the laser reduces that advantage almost to zero. An armed intruder with gun drawn might shoot me instantly as soon as I move downstairs, before I can even make out his outline. I also think that the process of positioning the laser on the intruder consumes too much time, as would (with my glasses on) aligning the sights.

My preliminary conclusion is that the most effective self defense plan, relative to a home invasion, is to become proficient at "point shooting." I also think the distance to practice at the range should be within a window of two to five yards, and probably with black tape over the sights to avoid temptation. If I can consistently hit the important parts of the target at that distance without using the sights, I'm good to go.

I'll just add that the concept of scaring the intruder into inaction or flight with a laser seems like the silliest wishful thinking I've ever heard. The intruder isn't looking at himself, he's looking for things to steal and unexpected homeowners to deal with. In the time it takes to a) place the laser on him and b) wait to see if he looks down and then voluntarily surrenders, you could be dead.