Shooting with a laser sight

[Cal44]

I recently put CT laser grips on some of my guns.

Been out shooting with my 642 with the laser.

How do the rest of you aim with a laser?

Do you aim down the barrel like usual?

I find myself holding the gun lower and not even looking at the gun when I shoot. Instead I'm just looking at the laser spot on the target.

Sometimes it takes a few seconds to get the gun pointed so that I can find the laser spot at all. Seems like the laser slows down the process of getting an aimed shot off as compared to conventional shooting and aiming.

Just looking for comments on the proper technique.

 

[windypoint]

Personally, I use both depending on circumstances and light conditions. One of the big advantages is dry firing and watching your trigger technique as the laser reacts. You can also train muscle memory by pointing and watching where the dot is when you practice.

 

[RussellD]

I use the pistol sights to verify the point of aim and then adjust the laser to hit the same poa at 15 yards.

 

[Ogie]

How well do you shoot the 642 without the laser? How well do you shoot with the laser?

My opinion more and more is that self defense shooting should be threat focused, not front sight focused. Having said that, you still need to be able to use your fixed sights as best you can. If you want to shoot bullseye targets, don't use the laser. Then again, don't use the 642 either.

 

[Rpg]

In my view, laser sights on sd handguns for civilians teach bad habits: makes folks look at the wrong thing - hunting for the dot on the target instead of looking at the sights.

With training and practice , you can learn to shoot quickly and accurately in virtually dark conditions with plain open black sights.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[jbull380]

Don't like em. Just another electronic device to fail when you need it most.

 

[olympicmotors]

I agree with most of the replies. I had a laser on one of my guns and one day discovered it had been knocked off zero by several feet at about 7 yards. If that had happened when i was in a life or death situation, it could have gotten me killed.

I took it off and have not looked back.

I also agree it tends to actually slow you down , just another unnecessary distraction.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

Left brain: If a few of you guys keep this up you are going to have a very very very few very very very wealthy men (3 or 4) mad at you. And their bankers will be mad and the score (20) of workers needed to turn out millions and millions of these low cost aids will be mad. Aren't you ashamed of this kink of talk. The laser industry could loose millions, even billions of dollars!

Right brain:Which could be spent on schools, hospitals, infrastructure repairs, political contributions and more Smiths!

Just saying...I will sit down now.

 

[Muss Muggins]

IMHO, good SD shooting doesn't have anything at all to do with the sights. It's point shoulder shooting at its most basic. If a laser helps you put the muzzle in the middle of the biggest part of the threat that you can see, then so be it.

 

[Practical]

A good laser is a fantastic addition to a J-Frame.

My Crimson Trace has been perfect since it was sighted in and the batteries last over a year. I replace them every year, but the batteries go into kids toys which get lot of use and still last 3 months after I am done and the toy draws MORE power.

Lasers give you capabilities you don't have and let novice shooters develop instinctive point shooting ability by providing NO Recoil feedback.

There is NO downside, plus at close distances the dot is behind the front sight and you develop a memory and muscle memory of the flash sight picture illuminated in RED or GREEN.

Great addition, no downside in my opinion.

 

[lhump1961]

I have CT's on 3 of my guns and shoot well with them. I find follow ups to be quicker and I can post good groups firing with the laser. Proper technique? I'm no one to be telling others but for me I use the same approach with iron sights or laser. I have shot enough over the years that when I raise the firearm to the shooting position it is fairly well aimed already so to acquire the laser is very easy.

I don't have any trouble either way because I don't change anything in the way I hold or fire the gun. I'm basically looking down the iron sights in either case, only my focal point changes. With iron sights we go from front sight to target to front sight to target squeezing rounds off as we go. With the laser I already have my stance and grip from years of muscle memory so once the target is acquired, to only have to focus on the target for POA is naturally easier than going back and forth from front sight to target. I don't shoot more accurately with a laser but I can follow up faster.

Lasers aren't for everyone, for sure, but for those of us who are comfortable with them they give another option. As for those who argue dependency on lasers and risk of laser failure? I'm not a pro shooter but please don't insult me by assuming that if I shoot a laser from time to time that I will somehow "forget" how to shoot iron sights. As for failures...I have experienced most every kind of firearm failure over the years but have never had a laser fail. Can they? Sure, but a laser failure won't disable the gun! For those who don't like 'em...fine, don't get one!

Sorry for the rant but these threads tend to attract laser bashers. To the OP...my advice would be to not change anything in stance or trigger control or anything else you do when going from iron sights to laser. Only thing that changes is holding the dot and then fire as usual. JMHO.

 

[B0308]

Ihump,

Well stated.

 

[JohnSW]

With training and practice ...

Due to vision issues, some people can see the target, but can't see the target and the iron sights at the same time. Laser sights resolve that issue. No amount of training and practice will magically improve a person's eyesight.

 

[SAWBONES]

Obviously laser grips are not, or shouldn't be, a substitute for good basic gun-handling.

IMNSHO, anyone who's at all serious about carrying and employing a handgun for self-protection should be well-practiced and competent in sighted shooting, that is, using the gun's own front and rear sights for hitting the target with both accuracy and precision.

That said, "point shooting" has its proper place too, and might very possibly be the single most likely method to be used by the majority of people forced to shoot in self defense, since most such encounters are at very short distance and/or in poor lighting.

Laser grips can be of significant potential assistance in hitting the target under such circumstances, not to mention the benefit of being able to hit in such unlikely circumstances as when being forced to shoot from odd angles or positions.

As it happens, I have four sets of CT laser grips on different CCW revolvers, and none of them has ever had its aiming point knocked askew or altered in any way, over a period of use exceeding 10 years, so I can't side with anyone arguing along the line that laser sights are unstable.

 

[SAWBONES]

...please don't insult me by assuming that if I shoot a laser from time to time that I will somehow "forget" how to shoot iron sights. As for failures...I have experienced most every kind of firearm failure over the years but have never had a laser fail. Can they? Sure, but a laser failure won't disable the gun!

...these threads tend to attract laser bashers.

Yup & yup.

If one doesn't want laser grips, well don't have 'em, but it's dishonest to claim "sour grapes" by pretending that because you don't want 'em that they're somehow innately undesirable for others.

OTOH, I'm afraid that those types of handgun laser devices that require some sort of special manipulation beyond simply grasping the gun tightly (i.e., pushing a special switch from one side to the other) are of minimal genuine usefulness; in a fast-developing genuine emergency that requires a firearm response, it's fantasy to think that they'll be used.

 

[roundgunner]

I keep CT grips on my and my wife’s carry guns. The people who say “the battery will fail” OK if the battery fails you are right back to the original sites, no problem.

Most nay sayers are the same people who wouldn’t get a cordless drill or digital camera either. CT grips are proven technology and very helpful to those who will practice with them.

I know I personally have held a gun on a person without the dot and keeping BG hands and eyes in sight while lining up front, rear and center mass would be much easier with a dot. To each his own.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Yup & yup.

If one doesn't want laser grips, well don't have 'em, but it's dishonest to claim "sour grapes" by pretending that because you don't want 'em that they're somehow innately undesirable for others.

OTOH, I'm afraid that those types of handgun laser devices that require some sort of special manipulation beyond simply grasping the gun tightly (i.e., pushing a special switch from one side to the other) are of minimal genuine usefulness; in a fast-developing genuine emergency that requires a firearm response, it's fantasy to think that they'll be used.

Well, it's fantasy to believe they'll be used with the first couple rounds. After that, . . .

 

[lhump1961]

Yup & yup.

If one doesn't want laser grips, well don't have 'em, but it's dishonest to claim "sour grapes" by pretending that because you don't want 'em that they're somehow innately undesirable for others.

OTOH, I'm afraid that those types of handgun laser devices that require some sort of special manipulation beyond simply grasping the gun tightly (i.e., pushing a special switch from one side to the other) are of minimal genuine usefulness; in a fast-developing genuine emergency that requires a firearm response, it's fantasy to think that they'll be used.

Well said. CT grips are all I have and they of course activate simply by griping the gun and have always worked perfectly. I have never had a laser grip that required the user to push a separate button to activate (original bodyguard 380, ect.) and wouldn't be interested in something like that.

I just don't see a downside to the grip activated CT lasers...they instantly identify your POA. I think they look good, too!

Only wish they made 'em for my 3913!

 

[lhump1961]

Well, it's fantasy to believe they'll be used with the first couple rounds. After that, . . .

Why wouldn't they be used for the first couple of rounds?

 

[Doug M.]

I tend to keep the same presentation as on a pistol w/out a laser (can't think of anything I would do differently, and it's ingrained), and as a result the dot will be pretty close to where I am aiming. People I respect advocate a good laser grip, and like the other posters above, I see no drawback or history of flaws with a Crimson Trace model. The CT405s also provide a bit of cushion to help with the "pleasures" of shooting a 9mm J frame loaded with duty ammo.

I don't carry it much, and it is really a BUG mostly, so if I need it, I need every bit of assistance I can get to hit the right places on a body. A j frame has pretty much the same intrinsic accuracy as any other revolver, but crummy ergonomics. Throw in aging eyes, and I am not to proud to make use of any advantage I can get.