Laser sight in daylight

[Shann]

I've been shooting with some friends lately. One has a little automatic (Walther maybe) with a laser sight and another has a shotgun with a laser sight. This is the first time I've ever shot with a laser. We've been shooting during the day and the sights have been basically useless. Do you generally only use them in low light or are they supposed to "always" be used to aim?

 

[proud2deviate]

Red lasers will generally only be useful indoors or in low light situations, unless they are ridiculously over-powered. A green laser sight will be much more visible because of the human eye's greater sensitivity to green light(about 14.5x, according to the relative laser dot brightness calculator.)

However, green lasers are more susceptible to shock than reds, due to a complex arrangement of crystals needed to convert infrared light to green. While there are a few companies that make green laser sights specifically designed to handle recoil shock, they'll probably be too expensive for recreational use. Cheap Chinese sights abound, but I wouldn't expect one to hold up long.

 

[Mike-Mike]

First, You should know how to shoot your gun without the laser. Secondly, the most effective use of the laser is for training (checking natural point of aim, trigger squeeze etc) Third, it can sometime be a useful advantage in a SD situation but most likely not. Finally, It's not a cat toy.

ETA: This is my .02 but I do have some experience as a firearms instructor at downzerotraining dot com.

 

[Edwood7]

I use a red laser, the only time I use it is in very low light situations; the laser light helps when your shooting one handed (like if you have a ballistic shield). It also has a psychological effect on some people; the fact that they can see the laser on their chest makes them think long and hard about doing anything. You can also use it to designate targets if you are working in a group.

 

[jflemin3]

You only need to look as far as the shooting sports with unlimited classes to see that the people making a living at shooting fast and accurate do not use laser sights. In the time you spend looking for the dot a good shooter with regular sights will have already fired a couple rounds. laser sights are a Hollywood gimmick with very narrow real world applications that most people will never be in a position to utilize.For the handgun practice natural point shooting for the close range stuff and standard sights for every thing else. For the shotgun put a set of ghost ring iron sights on it and if you need to put an electronic sight on it go with a non-magnified red dot optic like an Eotech or Aimpoint.

 

[medusaoblongata]

Many, if not most, people shoot better with a laser. The exception being people who have 40 years training on iron sights (if you're one of those people, you probably don't need a laser, unless your eyesight is failing).

 

[CWL]

Many, if not most, people shoot better with a laser. The exception being people who have 40 years training on iron sights (if you're one of those people, you probably don't need a laser, unless your eyesight is failing).

I know you're joking, but you are still way off. People can still shoot like crap because they never learned the fundamentals of trigger control.

Low lights, you can't see your front site so a laser is very useful, in bright light stick with your "front site".

Regular training with your firearms will show noticeable improvement within weeks & months. After 40 years of shooting, I suggest laser combined with Big Dot sites.

While I like lasers, don't take the lazy way out of defensive training. Plan for those laser batteries to be dead the one time you may need your gun.

 

[Shann]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't like the lasers, but don't discount them. I just haven't had the chance to shoot with them much.