Does shoot w/laser improve shooting w/out it?

[KodeFore]

Lasers are unquestionably useful in low light and non standard shooting positions but I wonder if shooting with a laser would help lead to consistency that would improve shooting without it?
Also would a laser be useful for dryfire practice?
I remember lasertag as kid, does anyone make any reactive targets for handgun lasers?

 

[Scanr]

never mind, I did not read your whole post.

 

[Navy joe]

In short, not likely. Most laser buyers I've seen are buying hardware to fix a software problem. I watch them shoot, the laser jerks everywhere before their shot breaks, same as their front sights do if they bothered to look at them.

I think they are good for non-standard shooting positions. I also think that they have utility in dryfire as you can watch and strive to not move the dot as you break the trigger. Of course the same can be done by sighting at a dot on the wall or a dime drill.

If I had one I'd probably use it to practice non-sighted presentation to get instant verification that I was on target while dry-firing from a retention or other "point shooting" position. About the only other way I have to do that is to play kick the can or tennis ball outside with my .22 and the sight rib taken off. I don't think point shooting at a static target gets you too far, it ends up being about body index and learned position rather than hand/eye. With a laser I could go about doing non-sighted dryfire on pretty much any household object.

In short, $200+ dollars of .22 ammo will get you farther in your shooting than a laser.

 

[mavracer]

Navy Joe is spot on they will not in and of themselves fix a bad shot,however they are a good tool for improving shooting.
also after you have expended $200+X many worth of 22 ammo and have made yourself a compotent shot lazers give you the ability to make little guns with crappy sights and/or real short sight radius shoot like crazy.

 

[skinewmexico]

I've heard they are good for dry firing practice.

 

[FLORIDA KEVIN]

I bought a cheap BSA laser sight and found it very useful for practicing indoors at home , dry firing to imprve my trigger control and also helped me learn to stabilize the gun ! it was well worth the 30 dollars i payed for it ! The only laser i would want on adefensive or hunting gun would be the crimson trace grips ! You guys who can see well might not see the need for lasers but they can be a lifesaver for those of us who cant see the sights clearly without glasses !

 

[Lonestar49]

I feel they do

Quote: You guys who can see well might not see the need for lasers but they can be a lifesaver for those of us who cant see the sights clearly without glasses !
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...

Excellent point, as I wear my reading glasses to shoot, as my indoor range only goes out to 63ft, and at closer range shots, the glasses are a must to get clear, seperated, focus on the sights.. Then it's somewhat a crap shoot at distance, not that I'm not consistent with hitting COM, but tight groups at distance only happen if I'm using my P229 with CT grips, or put on the rail mounted Laser Max on my Px4.

So, they do improve one's shooting, as mentioned above, with dry-firing and seeing, and feeling, steady DA and SA pulls..

But the best part, does one need them, IMHO, is they can really be of benefit at night, with point shooting, while keeping one's eyes, both open, giving one far more SA (situational awareness) along with same type of open-eyes point shooting on a moving target, as well.

They do have a good purpose, if understood, learned, and used, in the right situations.. IMHO



Ls

 

[M2 Carbine]

Does shoot w/laser improve shooting w/out it?

Yes.

And shooting with iron sights will improve your laser shooting.

IF, you know how to correctly use the iron sights and the laser equipped gun.


The biggest problem with lasers is people buy them and try to use them without learning their proper use.

 

[nwilliams]

Watch the front sight, don't look at your target to see where the little dot is

Honestly I've never been a fan of lasers for many reason, even in low light I would rather have a good set of night sights over a laser. Not that lasers don't have their benefits, for law enforcement the use of a laser can be a great intimidation factor.

As far as a training devise I suppose you could use a laser to see how your sight alignment is. The big mistake would be getting into the habit of bringing the gun up and then instead of looking at your sights you look to see where the dot is.

One should also keep in mind that lasers do not make your gun more accurate, you still need proper trigger control, grip and sight alignment. If you are competent in all three of the above I don't see any harm in using a laser to practice at home.

 

[Brick]

Hunting for a laser dot is a definite no-no. Sights first.

A laser won't show up or will be too hard to spot in certain circumstances. Still, they have their place.

 

[jetman]

I had a Crimson Trace on a Kimber Ultra Carry and it was pretty nice for fun. It didn't help my shooting at all in normal shooting. It showed me how much my hand shook most times. If I would steady both hands on the shooting bench and keep the laser dead center on the target I made GREAT groupings, like 1 ragged hole. Much better than my normal sighted target shooting actually. Most people don't buy lasers for bench rest shooting though.

 

[AndyC]

It can be useful for a beginner - not so much for dry-firing as it is for live practice, because if you're paying attention, you'll see the dot itself jerk when you snatch the trigger, giving you a rather large clue as to what you just did wrong. As others have said, it won't solve anything for people who don't have the mental discipline to "let the gun go off" in its own time - they'll just snatch at the trigger regardless.

A knowledgeable, patient teacher would be of more use, training-wise.

Tactically, they have some (limited) value if you know what you're doing; the flip side is that it can be used incorrectly by the ignorant - it won't cure incompetence.