Let's have a conversation. And I will bracket this in a way that shows how a laser is helpful. For starters, a laser is a third aiming device; the first is sights, the second is body position, and the last option is a laser.
How does a laser help? Only in the fringes, as a few examples.
- You are in a situation and have a firearm in your primary hand and need to open a door. Once that door is open, you can use the laser to aim and white light to identify the target before a primary presentation is created.
- You have suspect one under the gun, "the barrel pointed at his body," and you need to focus your vision on your environment. Bad guys can travel in packs; the laser allows you to not look through the sights on the firearm, you can keep an accurate laser/firearm pointed at the most impactful area on the detained suspect. All the while, as you are heads up, looking for more trouble in the environment.
- You are in a non-standard shooting position, supine, roll-over prone, or wounded. You cannot build a proper presentation that allows the use of the sights, so the laser aids you in raising your precision of bullet impacts.
- You are with your spouse/teammate, and the situation requires you two, or three, or more to have your firearm pointed are areas of interest. The visual of a laser pointed at X allows your team member to point at Y.
None of these four points are ideas or theories from me. All of them are real situations. In real life, I use a whitelight/laser combo to enhance my survivability.
Now, let's go down a training realism. When in a self-defense situation, you focus on the threat. You will not take your eyes off that threat when the situation elevates to a lethal encounter! Returning to the three types of aiming devices, the primary is the sights; the secondary is your body position. The third is a laser. When you are focused on the threat, it's not hard at all to see the laser dot on their body. Once it's in a suitable location, hammer them. IF you are using the primary sights to aim, the laser is a non-point, you really will not even see it as you develop a sight picture. BUT, if you do see the laser, you can start shooting sooner as you move into your sights.
Using a laser as a third aiming tool:
- This means that primary aiming failed
- Also, secondary aiming failed
The laser is your last line of accuracy. Every one of these situations, you can activate the laser with your white light. However, you must be able to identify the threat from the non-threat. It's not always so easy as your imagination has drummed up. This is why a whitelight/laser combo is the best solution. You press the button, and both activate at the same time.
I will take every advantage I can have in any situation.
We at Division Arms, support the
Streamlight, ProTac Rail Mount HL-X Laser for home defense firearms. That sight / laser combo is proven.