Multi-Purpose Lasers

Not too-very long ago, lasers were looked at as nice gadgets for people who liked to hang lots of stuff on their firearms. Today, the laser’s become one of the go-to devices in all of shooting.

The applications for lasers have grown at the same time the lasers themselves have gotten smaller, brighter and much more energy efficient. Like flashlights, lasers have proven themselves in a variety of situations, from high-stress shooting to boresighting firearms.

From personal defense to training and sporting applications, a laser can help you save critical fractions of a second when it comes to quickly getting your rounds on target. And the rounds may be arrows or bolts anymore as lasers are also being added along with optical sights on bows – vertical and/or horizontal.

They’re also being placed in a variety of positions, allowing shooters to place a laser on virtually any firearm.

And as the placement options have grown, so have the applications.

If you’re a law enforcement officer, the ability to light-up a suspect not only adds critical seconds to your reaction times and situational awareness, it is a proven fight-stopper. It’s a documented fact that even hard-core crooks may reconsider their options once they see a red -or now green- dot on their chests.

If you’re an ordinary individual placed in an extraordinary and stressful emergency, the laser grip may give you the ability to save yourself and loved ones because you weren’t concentrating on shooting basics, you were concentrating on the threat. Under stress, those small motor skills you count on to perform multiple-part tasks evaporate-gross motor skills don’t lend themselves to the process of shooting.

Thinking “front-sight, trigger press, squeeze gently until the shot breaks” may work on the range, but under duress, “ohmigodherehecomes” may be what you have to work with. Barring a very lucky shot, your chances of putting an end to an attack with one or more well-placed shots aren’t nearly so good if you’re fumbling for a sight picture when you’re hitting the floor.

Training with a laser can make things faster. For the trainer, it’s easier to make a point about aiming a firearm and controlling the trigger. For the student, it makes mistakes easier to see- and correct.

Today, my training with a laser is simpler-and more affordable- than buying lasers for each of my firearms – especially older, trusted handguns that simply don’t have mounting points (think my older revolvers). I am using a tiny laser from LaserLyte that actually fits down the barrel of my older firearms. When the hammer contacts, it sends a laser beam at my target. That allows me to see exactly where my shot’s headed – allowing me to quickly correct -or verify- my sight picture.

It makes me more conscious of a good sight picture, consequently making it faster to get shots on target. It also enables me to get more out of my dry-fire practice because I get the immediate feedback of a shot on a target. Since it fits virtually any firearm from .380 to .45Colt, it allows me to dry-fire and verify sight pictures with my older non-railed firearms.

One major complaint about lasers -the need to change your holsters to accommodate them – has virtually been erased. Today, even if you have a railed handgun, you can put a laser in your guide rod, on your grip panels, in front of your trigger – or even integrate them as part of your rear sight. That means the familiar kit need not change in order to integrate the laser into your carry firearm.

If you want a laser on your firearm, rifle, revolver, pistol or shotgun, there’s a way to do that.

One word of caution, however, from practical experience. If you use a variety of lasers on an assortment of firearms you carry routinely, you need to train – frequently and for significant intervals of time – to become intimately familiar with where the laser’s located and how it’s activated.

Personally, I carry one (or two) of three handguns in daily situations. Each of them have the same activation system (grip it and point). On my long-gun for home defense, the light and laser are co-located with a simple activation system.

Don’t confuse yourself with a variety of tools. Try several ways of attaching and activating your laser (and flashlight -or both) and choose the one that works best for you.

Then practice, there’s no shortcut for practice.

–Jim Shepherd
www.shootingwire.com