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Training: Can lasers be helpful for defensive gun use?


davidmcw3

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It seems that most instructors of concealed carry classes don't promote lasers on concealed carry handguns very much. Why is this? It makes a lot of sense that in a sudden attack there may not be much time to aim or bring your equalizer up to your eye to take aim via conventional sights or even a red dot sight. A laser allows for accuracy without moving the gun much at all, and thus much faster reaction. Is this practical common sense or not?

 

Lasers just make sense it seems. Effectiveness and speed of response should take precedence over seeing a laser as a cheat for practical purposes and conventional training. Gun mounted lasers can improve accuracy and speed under stress even for novices, can't they? It seems that there might be an intimidation factor with a laser too.

 

A disadvantage is maintaining the proper aim with a laser. I have 2 grip activated lasers for 2 9mm equalizers and a NAA Black Widow .22 magnum with a button operated laser and find that the 9mm lasers need to be calibrated regularly. The .22 manum laser is not adjustable. Is bore sighting a good way to calibrate lasers? I just ordered a variable caliber, barrel inserted, bore sighting laser to calibrate the lasers on my guns. This seems to be an essential device to check & maintain proper aim for a handgun laser. Thoughts? I have been aligning my lasers with my iron sights but feel that a bore sight alignment of the handgun laser would be better. One of my 9mm guns is a Glock 17 which is used for IDPA and the laser is regularly removed and remounted.

 

I look forward to hearing your response!

 

 

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I just purchased a lazer cartridge for my 38cal handgun.

 

Pull the gun from its holster and use a instinctive grip to see how far you are off at a given range.

 

If you are any distance off shift your grip and keep practicing till you are on target every time instinctively.

 

Starting to work for me after a short time of practicing.

 

PS

 

Buy yourself spare batteries as they do not last very long in usage..

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My LaserMax guide rod laser has literally been enough of a deterrent three times to prevent me from needing to actually shoot someone in the past year:

 

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=58346

 

http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=58346&page=2&do=findComment&comment=940303

 

Incidentally, the guy in the second link I posted just got himself shot by another CCL holder, apparently: http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60147&hl=

 

My guess is that the guy who shot him didn't have a laser on his gun, and the scumbucket, ex-gangbanger, drug dealer who got ventilated didn't realize he was being drawn on until the bullet started flying. I'd also bet that he figured, "How many people am I going to roll up on are going to be packing in this neighborhood? Surely not more than that one guy who drew on me last summer. Oh sh!t!" BLAM!

 

That intimidation factor is extremely real, and when I train with it I am just as accurate, if not more so, than with my normal shooting mode.

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I could buy the deterrence factor, but I think in the majority of attacks you wouldn't even see the dot, you'd just be point shooting.

 

ChicagoRonin, that funeral home garage in your link, at Wellington and Southport, is the alley I walk through on a weekly basis. I know crime has skyrocketed in Lakeview, but that spot wouldn't strike me as crime-friendly if only because of how open it is. Then again I guess they don't really worry about anyone intervening these days, and there aren't many cops around, so why not...

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My nightstand gun is a Glock 21SF with a Crimson Trace laser. I like my carry gun plain and simple but I feel confident knowing that if I get jolted awake that all I have to do grip the gun and I am aiming. Lasers do have their uses but IMO they can become a crutch to good training.

That is why I mentioned practicing with the laser cartridge in the chamber to improve your INSTINCTIVE training till when you draw The laser will always be on the bullseye EVERY time.

 

Once you have practiced enough instinct SHOULD have you zeroed in weather you have a laser there or not.

 

Just my suggestion but YMMV.

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My nightstand gun is a Glock 21SF with a Crimson Trace laser. I like my carry gun plain and simple but I feel confident knowing that if I get jolted awake that all I have to do grip the gun and I am aiming. Lasers do have their uses but IMO they can become a crutch to good training.

That is why I mentioned practicing with the laser cartridge in the chamber to improve your INSTINCTIVE training till when you draw The laser will always be on the bullseye EVERY time.

 

Once you have practiced enough instinct SHOULD have you zeroed in weather you have a laser there or not.

 

Just my suggestion but YMMV.

 

Good advice. I have found that snap cap training has done WONDERS for my instinctive aim. Its very boring to train that way but I started drawing from concealment and "firing" 10 times a day. Over the last 6 months, those 10 times a day has transformed into muscle memory and my gun come out on target automatically. I can't say enough good things about snap cap training.

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My nightstand gun is a Glock 21SF with a Crimson Trace laser. I like my carry gun plain and simple but I feel confident knowing that if I get jolted awake that all I have to do grip the gun and I am aiming. Lasers do have their uses but IMO they can become a crutch to good training.

That is why I mentioned practicing with the laser cartridge in the chamber to improve your INSTINCTIVE training till when you draw The laser will always be on the bullseye EVERY time.

 

Once you have practiced enough instinct SHOULD have you zeroed in weather you have a laser there or not.

 

Just my suggestion but YMMV.

 

Good advice. I have found that snap cap training has done WONDERS for my instinctive aim. Its very boring to train that way but I started drawing from concealment and "firing" 10 times a day. Over the last 6 months, those 10 times a day has transformed into muscle memory and my gun come out on target automatically. I can't say enough good things about snap cap training.

 

 

Yep, those snap caps/laser cartridges are great for that. I'm even more fanatical than you are, although less so now than I was. I used to do 200 draw-and-fire drills every night. Now I just a hundred or so a couple of times per week.

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I could buy the deterrence factor, but I think in the majority of attacks you wouldn't even see the dot, you'd just be point shooting.

 

ChicagoRonin, that funeral home garage in your link, at Wellington and Southport, is the alley I walk through on a weekly basis. I know crime has skyrocketed in Lakeview, but that spot wouldn't strike me as crime-friendly if only because of how open it is. Then again I guess they don't really worry about anyone intervening these days, and there aren't many cops around, so why not...

 

That situation was during the warm weather spate we had last January, and that guy had been lurking all over the neighborhood. I'd seen him in the alleys on Lakewood several days earlier, so my guess is that he just followed the alley down until he found some place where it seemed like he might find someone out not paying attention, as they do in that area all the time coming from the Golden Apple. That parking lot next to the east of the funeral home actually gets pretty dark late at night right up against the side of the building, plus it allows access to both Wellington and the alley behind the funeral home along Southport, so I suspect he was spotting people on Wellington and hurrying around the building to surprise them as they walked unsuspectingly past the corner on Southport.

 

Unfortunately, he met up with me and my dog. And my firearm.

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