AR Sponsor
Posted: 7/18/2009 5:27:06 PM EDT
| After looking through the forums, reading books and watching vids on you tube I still haven't decided if I need a laser or not. Opinions wanted. |
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I'd answer your question (for an opinion) with a question... "What do you want a laser on your AR to do for you?"
I too am having this dilemma. I have an excellent light already and I use a red dot that suits me very well from close up to about 200 yards. At this point a laser's purpose for me would include: 1) Distract my quick target acquisition by relying on that dot instead of the important one whose POI I know will be accurate much more so than a laser with a much more acute POI range. For this cause, maybe a green laser would be better to differentiate between my aiming dot. 2) Allowing me to see how steady my shots are at ranges where I can see the laser's dot out to 100 yards (if it can project that far in daylight)...when using buis or a scope 3) Allow for shooting without a sight picture in close quarters day or night..or perhaps when partially incapacitated or when you can't shoulder your rifle 4) Intimidation/Vanity appeal (which I think is a big reason many get them) To me, a light is probably the most important accessory..adding one more thing to activate is taking my mind off things, even if briefly. |
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The only reason I've considered a laser for my guns is because I happen to be a high powered laser collector. I'm planning on putting together a 100mW+ unit to attach to my AR. At 100mW you can easily blind a target for life instantly, this will be a great for self defense but I wouldn't need it at the range of course. My thinking is, if he's blind, he'll have trouble shooting back.
Other than that, I think the only reason a laser would be useful is for firing from the hip and getting a general idea of where you're shooting. |
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Quoted:
After looking through the forums, reading books and watching vids on you tube I still haven't decided if I need a laser or not. Opinions wanted. i use a ir laser for night shooting,but rarely use one for daytime. if your going with nv,ir laser is highly recommended. |
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This is somthing I put together a while ago for a group asking the same question.
“Why a Laser on my Black Rifle” In an age where it seems every soldier, private contractor, police officer and tactical shooter has every imaginable accessory on their black rifle, why would you want to add a visible laser? TRAINING A visible laser is a great training tool for new shooters, trainers and veterans of the black rifle. Each level of shooter can learn something from this valuable tool. For the new guy or gal, experiencing the black rifle for the first time it can be an intimidating affair. This is not your daddy’s sleek, wood stocked, oiled and polished, deer hunting rifle. This is dark, rough looking and has levers, springs, and switches; which can be intimidating to the hardiest of gun fans. 1. A visible laser can act as a safety beacon to show potential mistakes of weapons handling, muzzle sweeps, etc. 2. A visible laser will help educate the new shooter how to properly present his or her body to the target and how the whole body needs to work together to be properly aligned. It shows how even little things like placement and pressure from the firing hand can have a large effect on the sight alignment down range. 3. Visible lasers show the shooter what sight alignment and sight picture are all about. Have the instructor zero the visible laser for the known distance. Make sure the iron sights are aligned to the target at that distance. Have the new shooter assume a good shooting position. Turn on the laser and have the shooter aim the laser in the center of the target. Then have them shift their focus from the red dot to the iron sights and see how they look on the target. Finally shut off the visible laser. This will show them with a real rifle, target and themselves what they should be striving for each and every time they pick up the black rifle and aim in with iron sights. This is a much better technique than a death by power point or holding up fingers in a classroom approach. 4. A visible laser allows the use of instantaneous visual feedback during dry fire training. This allows for trigger control drills with no ammo and can be done anywhere. The instructor or student can see their progress or correct their mistakes on the spot preventing them from becoming ingrained with bad shooting habits. For the veteran shooter, it will allow you to perfect that trigger control and move on to other more advanced techniques quicker. 5. Visible lasers allow you to teach room clearing techniques in any urban environment teaching people to collapse their corners and cover their assigned sectors in a safe, quick and efficient manner. Visible lasers give commanders and administrators the “warm fuzzy feeling” that everything possible is being done to ensure public safety and every round fired will be accurate. . 1 of 4 © 2009 LaserMax, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Tactics and Techniques Visible lasers allow you to practice dry fire techniques in an environment where live fire may not be permitted (practice calls out at city hall after hours, practice clearing your home, or just to practice shooting and moving techniques without expending the ammo.) 1. Lasers allow you to practice pivots and turns on the firing line prior to going hot to make sure everyone understands the technique and which way they are moving. This gives the range safety officer a chance to make sure his instructions were clear prior to going hot. 2. Lasers allow you to shoot around, over, or under barricades while exposing less of yourself to the potential bad guy compared to iron or optical sighting devices. 3. Lasers speak the international language whether it’s a drunk that broke into your house or an angry crowd; no one wants to have that red dot on them. It’s the 21st century bayonet for crowd control. 4. Lasers allow you to practice shooting on the move to perfect your technique (getting the bounce out) before you go to live fire. 5. Lasers allow your non-dominant side shooting problems to have a much higher success rate than with optical or iron sights. 6. Visible lasers allow force on force play where both the shooter and the target are moving and allow you to adjust your tactics accordingly. 7. Visible lasers allow you to go from a cold environment to a warm one without being affected by fogging up as optical sights do (i.e. going from the cold of a police trunk to a warm building.) 8. Visible lasers allow you to go from a brightly lit area (outside during high noon in the sandbox) to a dimly lit room instantaneously without losing your situational awareness and still being able to target suspects without your eyes having to adjust to different lighting conditions. 9. Visible lasers allow much higher percentage of hits in low light or no light situations over iron sights. 10. Visible lasers will increase your hit ratio on a moving target. 11. The best visible lasers can be pulsed to attract your eye to the laser in extreme stress situations. This also works when deployed with a TASER®. The TASER® has a steady beam laser and everyone present will be able to distinguish who has the non-lethal and lethal force. 12. Visible lasers allow you to maintain focus on the threat. While keeping your situational awareness and preventing tunnel vision. Not the case when trying to concentrate on an iron sight or looking into a scope. 13. Visible lasers allow everyone a visual indicator of who is targeting which suspect. 14. Visible lasers can be used to flush suspects out of hiding while you remain behind cover. 15. LaserMax gives you First Shot Confidence. You know your point of aim is your point of impact. This often reduces the need for multiple shots to a target. 16. A visible laser can be zeroed at any range. So if your primary optic or iron sight is zeroed at 25 or 50 yards and your laser is zeroed at 7 yds, you will not need to hold under or over for that critical head shot. Your shot will be dead on every time you need it. 2 of 4 © 2009 LaserMax, Inc, All Rights Reserved. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
After looking through the forums, reading books and watching vids on you tube I still haven't decided if I need a laser or not. Opinions wanted. i use a ir laser for night shooting,but rarely use one for daytime. if your going with nv,ir laser is highly recommended. Yes. Other than for intimidation value, I see little utility for a visible laser in regular use (eg. outside of the training environment... when training a beginning shooter, watching where the laser dot goes as they depress the trigger can help you diagnose errors in their technique) |
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Lasers are great tools for those that use their guns socially/professionally. In a gunfight, you do not always have the luxury of seeing your sights. A laser is a great tool to help you compensate for this. They are not crutches for poor shooters as many will say. Shooting with a laser takes a lot of skill and training. Mount one on your weapon (pistol or rifle) and hold it, off hand, on a target and watch the dot bounce all over the place. It will not turn you into a marksman.
I would recommend a laser and a light for anyone who uses their guns professionally (LE/ MIL) or in a home defense/ CCW manner. There are many good ones available and they can save your life. The other reasons for using a laser have already been cited, so I will not repeat them. Let me know if we can help you. |
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