I believe that there are a number of benefits to using a laser on a handgun. When lasers first came out I, like many others thought: “I’ll never use one of these”. Now I am an avid proponent of lasers for a number of reasons. They are really good for training. I can’t say enough about how lasers will improve your shooting. When it comes to shooting in low-light they are very effective. They help you to focus on the threat and give you the ability to shoot from different positions and will definitely increase your hit ratio. When it comes to having to shoot fast and accurate when under attack you will not need to align your sights. Target acquisition is easy and clean. Your rounds will go where the dot is whether shooting from the hip or leaning out from around your cover.
Using a laser for training and practice is a real asset
Using a laser while doing dry fire practice at home will quickly show you how well your trigger control is. Pressing the trigger, even just a little, the laser on your dry fire target will visibly move. The smallest movements of the gun that might not be visible if you’re looking at the front sight will be amplified on that laser dot across the room. Your goal is to press the trigger smoothly every time while maintaining a steady laser dot on your target. I promise that you will be amazed at how unsteady you really are when you first start using a laser to practice your trigger control.
One of the most common problems with new and occasional shooters is what we call “milking the gun”. Using a laser in live fire practice will show you this. If you are a right handed shooter and you see your laser dot move down and left on the target when pressing the trigger then you are probably “milking” or “jerking” the trigger. You will need to focus on your trigger press and your follow through. The goal is to see the laser dot on the target in the same position both before and after the shot.
A laser really helps you to focus on the threat
One thing firearm instructors will stress to their students is that shooting at a range and shooting in a life and death situation are worlds apart. In a real life attack all kinds of things will take place in the proverbial “twinkling of an eye” that will seem like minutes. Average gun fight 5 seconds. Add Adrenalin rush and tunnel vision 5 seconds seems like 5 minutes.
3″ Kimbers with CT Grips
Finding and focusing on the front sight requires some serious effort even under ideal conditions let alone under conditions unimaginable. If the unthinkable happens and someone attacks you in a parking lot you will have to make the decision to draw your weapon, focus on your front sight and acquire the threat quickly if using iron sights. Consciously moving our focus from the threat to the sights is not a natural thing to do. Our natural instinct is to focus on the threat alone and not to move our eyes from the threat.
Use of a laser supports your natural instinct to focus on the threat. When the laser is activated while looking at the threat, you will literally see your “sight” (laser dot) on the target itself. This can be done without raising the firearm up to eye level to focus on the front sight.
Low-light conditions lasers really make a difference
Low-light situations are where lasers really come into their own. About 80% of defensive shootings occur in low-light conditions. Tritium night sights do an excellent job and certainly help, however, you can’t miss the bright dot of a red or green laser in twilight or dark conditions. In low light, I guarantee that the laser dot will find your target with little effort.
In low light, even a glowing night sight needs to be aligned with the target. By eliminating the need to line up two different things in two different sight planes (the front sight and the target), the laser speeds aiming in the dark. Put the dot on the target – that’s all there is to it.
Shooting from different positions is much easier with a laser
With iron sights you have to bring your gun up high, right in front of your line of sight so you can obtain a good sight picture. The problem is, during a defensive gun use, you probably are not going to have to take up a proper shooting stance. For example, if you are moving, you may find you are carrying your handgun low, so it’s not obscuring your vision. Should you need to shoot, you’ll have to raise the gun to take advantage of conventional iron sights. With a laser, you can aim and shoot directly from pretty much any position.
The use of a laser allows you to aim and shoot effectively around barriers without having to bring your head up to acquire the front sight. This can make your defensive shooting safer for you because your head is not as exposed as it would be looking for the iron sights. You will confident that there is nothing between you and the target if you can see the dot on the target.
Also, If you end up either on your back, side or stomach, it’s much easier to aim with the laser than trying align sights from an awkward position.
Lasers have dramatically improved actual hit ratios in defensive shootings
Here are the facts:
According to laser manufacturer Crimson Trace, some law enforcement agencies using lasers have experienced hit rates approaching 90%. That’s quite a difference from the 25% rate of hits reported by the FBI. That means that over 75% of shots miss their target.
While a number of things enter into this high rate of misses I think stress, natural loss of fine motor control, and low-light conditions top the list.
My advice by all means continue to practice with iron sights. Think of lasers as an additional enhancement for certain situations and a tool to train with for improving your shooting. When it comes to defending yourself, you want to use every possible advantage.
