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Slims · 07-13-2009, 05:53 PM

No, most people in self-defense situations have plenty of time to use sights (the rest of their lives in fact, if you want to use the cliche), but instead they choose to shoot blindly and waste a lot of time by missing...quickly. Just look at Police Officers who are, unfortunately better trained than your average civilian. Most police confrontations happen very close (less than 10 feet) yet the police officers only hit their intended targets about 1 out of every 5 shots fired. The rest of those rounds are wasted, time consuming, irresponsible rounds fired towards.....nobody knows but it usually isn't a safe backstop. If they panicked less, acquired a quick sight picture and obtained reliable center-mass hits they would shoot slower, but hit faster.

My point in my above post was that in a fast-breaking situation laser sights are not particularly fast...you have to 'search' for the dot rather than acquiring a fast, basic gun-target line before firing and continue to search for the sight after each shot. Having to 'see' the dot encourages you to stick your neck up and to stand more erect, looking at least several inches over the top of your weapon because the dot can easily be hidden if your hand/gun obstructs your view. If you don't have time to acquire a basic sight-alignment you certainly don't have time to go searching for a red dot and then 'dragging' it onto the target and then trying to hold it still while you manipulate the trigger.

Also, if the firearm to which the laser sight is attached isn't intimidating enough, a little red-dot is probably not going to scare the criminal either.

I don't want this to sound like a condemnation of laser sights....they have a niche which they fill very well, but IMHO they are a poor solution to a nonexistent problem in most cases.

Edit: I agree with TheRealCat's advice to spend the money at the range practicing...familiarity with your weapon is absolutely crucial. If you already shoot it frequently then you may be right to look at low-light enhancements. FWIW I took my wife to the range the other day because I was not confident she was still familiar with her defensive pistol. I loaded it, put it in the same condition she carries/maintains it and handed it to her. Sure enough she tried to shoot it without taking the safety off and then looked at it trying to figure out what was wrong. My lesson learned was that confidence won't put rounds on target, you have to train or all the gizmos in the world won't help you.

07-13-2009, 05:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	No, most people in self-defense situations have plenty of time to use sights (the rest of their lives in fact, if you want to use the cliche), but instead they choose to shoot blindly and waste a lot of time by missing...quickly. Just look at Police Officers who are, unfortunately better trained than your average civilian. Most police confrontations happen very close (less than 10 feet) yet the police officers only hit their intended targets about 1 out of every 5 shots fired. The rest of those rounds are wasted, time consuming, irresponsible rounds fired towards.....nobody knows but it usually isn't a safe backstop. If they panicked less, acquired a quick sight picture and obtained reliable center-mass hits they would shoot slower, but hit faster. My point in my above post was that in a fast-breaking situation laser sights are not particularly fast...you have to 'search' for the dot rather than acquiring a fast, basic gun-target line before firing and continue to search for the sight after each shot. Having to 'see' the dot encourages you to stick your neck up and to stand more erect, looking at least several inches over the top of your weapon because the dot can easily be hidden if your hand/gun obstructs your view. If you don't have time to acquire a basic sight-alignment you certainly don't have time to go searching for a red dot and then 'dragging' it onto the target and then trying to hold it still while you manipulate the trigger. Also, if the firearm to which the laser sight is attached isn't intimidating enough, a little red-dot is probably not going to scare the criminal either. I don't want this to sound like a condemnation of laser sights....they have a niche which they fill very well, but IMHO they are a poor solution to a nonexistent problem in most cases. Edit: I agree with TheRealCat's advice to spend the money at the range practicing...familiarity with your weapon is absolutely crucial. If you already shoot it frequently then you may be right to look at low-light enhancements. FWIW I took my wife to the range the other day because I was not confident she was still familiar with her defensive pistol. I loaded it, put it in the same condition she carries/maintains it and handed it to her. Sure enough she tried to shoot it without taking the safety off and then looked at it trying to figure out what was wrong. My lesson learned was that confidence won't put rounds on target, you have to train or all the gizmos in the world won't help you. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence Last edited by Slims; 07-13-2009 at 06:13 PM..