[mountainskytop]

I have two 9mm pistols with Picatinny Rails to accommodate lasers and lights. Given the close range of PD combat situations do these expensive doodads make too much of a difference?

[jjfuller1]

lasers, no i dont think so. just fancy gadgets.

lights, yes depending on your situation. lights can be very very helpful tools. remember you need to be able to clearly identify your target in a low light situation. dont want to be shooting grandma at 3am

[eborden1122]

Originally Posted by mountainskytop

I have two 9mm pistols with Picatinny Rails to accommodate lasers and lights. Given the close range of PD combat situations do these expensive doodads make too much of a difference?

They might help in scaring an intruder off. Could you imagine a red dot appearing on your chest or face. You would run like hell. Ha.... Plus its a little fun to play with. If you have some extra money and want a gadget thats fun to play with then go ahead and try it out. Its not like we are talking about a ton of money, $200 - $400 on average.

[jjfuller1]

Originally Posted by eborden1122

They might help in scaring an intruder off. Could you imagine a red dot appearing on your chest or face. You would run like hell. Ha.... Plus its a little fun to play with. If you have some extra money and want a gadget thats fun to play with then go ahead and try it out. Its not like we are talking about a ton of money, $200 - $400 on average.

while the idea of seeing the dot on your chest is great and cool and all ... i cant see a bad guy looking down to see a dot on his chest. i would think more likely he would turn towards you, either seeing your silhoute, hearing a floor board creak. or if he saw you he may just run. but if you have lots of cash and want the cool factor get a one. lol

[locutus]

C'mon gize! They're at least as useful on a weapon as mud flaps!

[Car54]

They might be fun as a range toy however should the need to use your weapon in self defense, you might be the one who gets hurt while looking to see where the dot is.

[John_Deer]

I would rather just buy a gun that hits in the general area of where I pointed it. If you have someone with a knife that is trying his best to stab you there is no time for a laser. I don't even want to think about the small window you have if the bad guy has a gun and the inclination to pull the trigger.

[climate17]

Lacutus is again right. Buy a weapon mounted flash light it's the best use of a rail. Read period. However if your wife's cat ever really pisses you off you can invite him out side to play a game of chase the strange dot and finally make good on your threats in an amusing way :-D

[heymatthew]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that they are helpful. I'll explain why I think so with two personal examples.

I recently went to a gun show with my mom, of all people. She's decided that she wants to learn to shoot and eventually get her carry permit so she bought a little .38 Taurus Revolver. My mom has had about a dozen surgeries on her legs and back. One leg is shorter than the other by a couple of inches. She is not very agile on her feet, nor does she have much strength or dexterity. Her first thought if being approached by an attacker is to try and get way, which should be everyone's first thought. But say she is knocked down and can't get a clear view of her sights or the intruder is approaching her in the bedroom and she can't get her gun out at arms length. Maybe she's hiding behind something, whatever. It would be nice for her to be able to put that dot on her attacker and fire and know that she will hit what she needs to hit. She does not have a laser grip on her gun yet because she wants to learn to shoot it properly and learn trigger control. But eventually, she wants the CT laser grips on there so that if she is ever in a situation where she can't properly align herself for a "textbook shot" she still has the advantage of hitting her target.

The second example is my uncle. He suffers from diabetes and had a liver transplant a couple of years ago. He was involved in a horrible car accident 30 years ago and his leg never quite recovered. On top of it all, he has severe sciatic nerve damage and has to walk on crutches 98% of the time. Not to mention he's in constant pain because he refuses to live his life doped up on pain medication. He runs several coin-operated laundry facilities in town and a large dry-cleaning operation. Sometimes it's after dark when he goes to empty out the coin machines, etc. He was approached a few years ago by a group of... "thugs" for lack of a better term... He had a small pistol in his pocket, but was on crutches and had a bag of change in his other hand. He managed to get his hand into his pocket and on his pistol and they sort of dissipated. But if they had decided to keep walking towards him, there's no way he would have been able to get that pistol out at arm's length to get a good shot. He recently bought a Ruger LCP with the laser built-in for just such an occasion. He can shoot from the hip using the laser dot and hit what he needs to.

I think lasers have a good amount of use. If I had to choose between a good light and a good laser, I'd take the light any day. But I don't snarf at lasers because I think they can be handy for those who may not be able to properly wield a gun or that may find themselves in a situation where they can't get a good sight picture, but still need to shoot.