Five Reasons Why You Need a Handgun Laser

[mmckee1952]

Five Reasons Why You Need a Handgun Laser

By Brad Fitzpatrick

For the past two decades, more and more states have begun issuing concealed carry permits, and that legislation has generated a great deal of interest in firearms for personal defense.

Today, most handgun manufacturers offer some type of compact firearm designed for concealed carry. Ammunition manufacturers are developing new and better defensive loads, and the market for comfortable, easy-to-conceal holsters has expanded greatly.

There’s also been an increase in the number of accessories designed specifically for concealed carry, particularly laser optics that are small enough and durable enough to serve daily duty on these compact handguns.

Handgun lasers are not a new creation, though. Crimson Trace has been offering firearm lasers for more than 25 years, and there are a number of other brands producing compact, lightweight, affordable handgun lasers designed specifically for personal defense.

But even as more shooters add laser products to their firearms, there are still a number of handgun owners that aren’t on board with the latest laser craze. Crimson Trace’s Kent Thomas likens this to the period before scopes were considered standard equipment on hunting rifles.

Despite the fact that optics for rifles have existed since the early 1800s, it wasn’t until the late 1960s/early 1970s they became ‘adopted’ to make the user more accurate,” says Thomas. “Today, the consumer would never buy a hunting rifle (unless it is a brush gun) without putting a scope on it due to the clear advantages they offer. Scopes are now ‘standard equipment.’ We believe that no personal protection firearm is fully equipped without a laser sighting system. Laser are standard equipment for all personal protection firearms.”

If lasers are to become standard on defensive handguns it is important to understand the advantages that they offer. When they were initially introduced, lasers were viewed by many shooters as a gimmick, a novel addition to a gun that did little more than add weight — one more thing to worry about in the midst of a life-or-death struggle.

In truth, lasers are useful tools designed to enhance your ability to shoot accurately in various lighting conditions and in the most stressful situations. Whether you’re a fan of lasers or not, here are five reasons why a laser makes sense on your defensive handgun.

Lasers Aid in Low-Light Conditions

On a recent trip to Crimson Trace’s Oregon facility, I had an opportunity to shoot a series of targets in their indoor range. For the first part of the experiment, I fired at targets in full light using a Glock G21 with and without a laser optic, and my overall accuracy remained much the same whether I was using the laser or not.

But with the lights dimmed even slightly, the laser offered a huge advantage. Whereas I was struggling to align iron sights in those poor lighting conditions, the green laser offered instant target acquisition and my accuracy in the darkened tunnel was far better when the laser was activated. And, since dangerous encounters often occur in dim light, that’s a major advantage.

“Lasers are helpful sighting tools for many reasons, such as low light conditions,” LaserLyte’s Dusty Gibson said. “Equipping guns with lasers gives you the confidence in knowing exactly where your shots are going to impact.”

Additionally, lasers simplify the aiming process for those who have trouble viewing standard iron sights, another major advantage.

Lasers Allow You To Shoot From A Variety of Positions

The vast majority of shooters that regularly practice with their defensive firearm do so from a standard shooting position—standing up, balanced, with both hands on the firearm. Unfortunately, in a real-life shooting situation you may not have the luxury of shooting in this manner. It’s entirely possible that you will be injured or will have to shoot on your back, lying on your side, or from behind cover, and in the worst situations you may only be able to use one arm. Regardless of body position relative to the firearm, the laser offers you the ability to aim and fire accurately.

Gibson says that being able to shoot from these awkward positions is critical to surviving a lethal encounter, and lasers allow you to accomplish this. With a laser in place, you don’t need to align your eye to the sights to shoot accurately at moderate ranges, a huge advantage if you find yourself on the ground or in some other compromised position. In those circumstances, lasers allow you to stay in the fight.

Lasers Allow You To Remain Target-Focused

During a violent confrontation, it is important to remain focused on your target, and lasers allow you to do so. There is no need to align your sights, since your sight picture is on the same plane as your attacker. In a dangerous situation, you want to be able to devote all of your attention to the threat.

“All you need to do is look at the threat and align the laser dot,” Crimson Trace’s Mike Faw said. “There’s no looking at your hand for the gunsights, and then the front blade sight, and then back to the target or threat.”

Gibson agreed.

“Lasers allow for greater situational awareness and both eyes open shooting so you can focus on delivering accurate shots and properly addressing the situation.”

Today’s Lasers Are Lighter, Tougher and More Reliable than Ever

Lasers used to be bulky, heavy items that required a custom holster. Today, however, companies have managed to streamline holsters and provide longer battery life and better durability in smaller, lighter packages.

“With the expansion of concealed carry laws and reciprocity, the influence of carrying small guns is greater than ever,” Gibson said. “LaserLyte has found innovative ways to attach lasers to small guns that have never been equipped with lasers before.”

Modern lasers are lightweight, oftentimes weighing less than an ounce, and their waterproof exterior designs make them resistant to water and moisture from perspiration. For years, building green lasers has been especially challenging due to the added components required to produce a green beam, but modern engineering has allowed laser companies to produce green lasers that are compact and affordable, offering a viable alternative to the standard red coloration.

In addition, modern lasers are more instinctive, meaning that when the gun is drawn the laser activation pad is situated so that the finger automatically activates the optic. This eliminates the need to look down at the gun or adjust hand position to activate your laser. Some lasers even offer automatic activation when the gun is drawn from the holster, eliminating the need for an activation pad altogether.

Holster manufacturers have gotten on board with the demand for lasers, and now you can purchase holsters that are pre-fit to accept a laser optic.

And with some lasers, like the guide rod laser from LaserMax, nothing changes about the outside of the pistol, allowing you to use holsters that are fitted to the gun only.

Lasers Help Overcome Situational Stress

“Just as during any life threatening situation, the human body reacts in a vastly different manner than ‘normal’,” Thomas said. “As adrenalin screams through the brain and body, your vision narrows and there’s no such thing as ‘autopilot.’ Having a bright, aiming point on your target is the insurance policy your body needs when it’s no longer in control.”

One of the great advantages of having a laser mounted on your firearm is that it simplifies to shooting process. High-stress situations can limit the body’s ability to perform complex tasks, and that’s when the simplicity of a laser becomes a major advantage.

Learning to survive a deadly encounter is as much a mental challenge as it is physical. You need to be prepared to react in the event that you are attacked and perform. With proper training, it’s possible to manage stress, but lasers make firing under duress easier.

“In a life-threatening situation a lot of things can happen — and clear thinking is normally not-existent when adrenaline is flowing and the heartrate goes up,” says Faw. “Toss in darkness and difficulty seeing, and this is the condition when a laser sight shines and helps you succeed and live to see another day.”

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[Jeff82]

There is a tiny crack in my anti-laser armor. It is slowly widening...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport using Tapatalk.

[MarcSpaz]

I have to tell you, I ran a laser on my handgun for years and I gave up on them for one very simple reason. Personal preference.

In my own personal experiencen unless you're an operator who has a tactical need, such as shooting around from behing a shield, etc. there is no practical civilian defensive advantage. When the adrenaline kicks in, you going to perform the exact same way regarless of your tools. Train under stress, perform under stress. Its that easy. A laser isn't going to magically going to help my brain unfreeze or improve my muscle memory. Its just one more step to take, making me slower, and one more piece of electronics to fail.

I train with a flashlight because seeing vs. not seeing is important. Plus it can blind a hostile quickly. If its pitch black in a room and you fire up you laser, not only is this not going to give you an advantage because you still can't see, now you have drawn a big red line right back to you. If the bad guy can't see you, he can still see where the laser starts.

I do run lasers on my rifles, but they are used to co-wittness sighta as I swap out hardware and as a novelty.

Also, with my tac lights, anything in the center of the focal point is where the bullet is going. Kinda like a laser, but bigger. LOL

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[SHMIV]

That's a good reason to avoid handgun lasers.

I do have a cheap .22, single action, "cowboy gun" that I would like to put a laser on, as well as some Hogue grips. I just think that it would be fun to have a tacticool cowboy gun. The thing was under $200 when it was new, so I'm not too concerned about value.

I haven't been able to figure out a good way to attach a laser, though, and I don't think that they make Hogues for Heritage Rough Riders, lol.

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[MarcSpaz]

Don't get me wrong. Lasers are fun. I even think there could be good value for IR lasers and hunting short range at night. I just won't rely on them for life or death situations.

Mounting a laser on a cowboy gun sounds awesome! I would love to see that! let us know if you get it working.

[SHMIV]

Lasers have their place, but that comment about drawing a red line has convinced me that I don't need one on a primary defense pistol.

If I can figure out how to "Tac Out" that Rough Rider, I'll let you know. I'm open to suggestions. What inspired the idea was a rifle that a buddy of mine owns. He's got a lever action rifle, 30-30 I think, that's got all the tacticool accessories. He refers to it as his "Zombie Cowboy Gun". It's ridiculous, of course, but also pretty awesome. Shooting is supposed to be fun, so why not have some fun guns?

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[jdonovan]

Having had an opportunity to run night fire on a range completely changed my opinion on working in the dark.

Weapon mounted lights are way easier to use than hand held. If I was in LE I might have some differing views due to use case differences between work and home encounters.

I'm very sold on lights/lasers on handguns.

[MarcSpaz]

JD... was that offensive or defensive training? For State or Federal Military, Militia, Protective Services, Law Enforcement, etc... yes, I agree that they can be great tools. I'm just having trouble believing its going to make a difference when a bad guy tries to rob a CC'er at gun point while pumping my gas or walking in to/out of the mall. We're talking well lit, high pressure ambush situations, with a vast majority of people having little to no training. Static booth target shooting doesn't count.

[FiremanBob]

Funny about that Rough Rider - a coon hunter was in the shop last week asking about the same thing - wants to put the red dot on the treed coon at night.

[jdonovan]

open enrollment course, targeted to LE/Private security contractors. I was the only non LE/licensed armed security person there.

Mobile shooters, static targets. Movement, using cover, covering others while moving, multiple reloads/mag changes per evolution.

Definitely a lot more offensive than the civilian is likely to be involved with for a shoot event in real life.

During the day, or at night in well lit areas, the laser likely offers much less advantage. Get it dark, and especially have very limited lighting, or dark from behind and finding/lining up sights is tough. Even with light from behind, I found the shadows always seemed to fall on my sights.

If your talking about close-contact ambush situations, then you're likely operating at 'bad breath' distance, and at that range sights do not even matter.

[MarcSpaz]

That sounds like a pretty cool class. I only took one fighting rifle class and it damn near killed me. I need to loss a bunch of weight before I try it again.

But yea, I did a bunch of research on the most common lethal attacks. The top 3 are typically an ambush, multiple attackers, within 3 to 7 yards, at night, in a mall parking lot, a gas station or station parking lot, convenient store or store parking lot. 76% of the people who survived that style of attack that were interviewed said they had no idea the attack was going to occur until after the attack actually started.