SFCRetired wrote:
Two things about them make me nervous; in bright light conditions, they are useless and batteries tend to go dead at the most inopportune times. If you have trained yourself to rely on a laser sight, you might find yourself in trouble in either of those situations.
In my mind, it is better to train yourself to "instinct" shoot, but to also use regular sights as necessary. In most CQC situations, from about thirty feet down to zero, you are not going to want to take any more time than absolutely necessary before trying to stop the threat.
I don't say that laser sights do not have a use, but I don't think the average LAC really has a need for them. I am a firm believer in the KISS principle.
An important point for the laser is its deterrent effect. In most defensive uses of a gun, no shots are fired. This happens about 95% of the time, though those figures are difficult to obtain with precision,. The laser is an impressive visual detterent to an attacker. It shows that you are likely a sophisticated weapons user instead of a novice. I hear a number of anecdotal account where the potential attacker saw the laser dot and became much less aggressive.
Another point is the usefulness of the laser as a low light aiming device. There are others, such as night sights, but the laser works very well when you cannot see your sights but can make out a large target.
Third, the laser allows you to complete accurate aimed fire while holding
the handgun at your hip, where it is least likely to be snatched or knocked away.
Fourth, Many have mentioned the substantial benefit of using the laser as a training device. This is what I use my CT for primarily, as a device to teach trigger control to CCW students. It works extremely well.
Fifth, It is a precision aiming devise. If you need to hit a small target, such as the top of a head, a foot, or a hand that sticks out from behind cover, the laser can do it. I can group about as well with the laser as I can with open sites, and for precise shots the laser is faster. Sometimes being two to three inches off just doesn't cut it.
Not all self defense uses of a gun require ultra fast shooting at close moving targets. In fact, the vast majority do not.