TexasCHLforum.com

sweetmelissa wrote:

Chemist45 wrote:Both.
I agree with Pawpaw. What he said.
I have a laser on my carry gun - I also have tritium night sights and practice without the laser.
Why both? Because the way my luck runs the laser batteries will be dead when I really need them.
I like the green laser because it can be seen in daylight.
You must be competent with your gun without any electronic aid.
That having been said, I want any and every advantage in case I need to use my weapon in defense of my life.
In a stress situation, that bright green dot might just give me the edge.

But you still must practice.

Okay, good advice. I'm much better with a smaller gun, but I bought a Sig Sauer P250 for my CHL class. I passed the shooting portion having never shot that particular gun before, though. I will make a conscious effort to practice more, but going to the gun range alone is a little bit intimidating.

You can go to a range with someone if you want or by yourself. There are pros and cons for both. When you are alone you don't have a need to satisfy someone else. If you like company find the nearest A Girl and A Gun, they are national.

MeMelYup wrote:You can go to a range with someone if you want or by yourself. There are pros and cons for both. When you are alone you don't have a need to satisfy someone else. If you like company find the nearest A Girl and A Gun, they are national.

I really don't have any female friends to go with. I did my CHL by myself, and that was okay because it was a group. If I ask a man to go with me he suddenly thinks it's a date - go figure.

But A Girl and A Gun - sounds perfect, thank you!

sweetmelissa wrote:

MeMelYup wrote:You can go to a range with someone if you want or by yourself. There are pros and cons for both. When you are alone you don't have a need to satisfy someone else. If you like company find the nearest A Girl and A Gun, they are national.

I really don't have any female friends to go with. I did my CHL by myself, and that was okay because it was a group. If I ask a man to go with me he suddenly thinks it's a date - go figure.

But A Girl and A Gun - sounds perfect, thank you!

Not all men are that way.

sweetmelissa wrote:

MeMelYup wrote:You can go to a range with someone if you want or by yourself. There are pros and cons for both. When you are alone you don't have a need to satisfy someone else. If you like company find the nearest A Girl and A Gun, they are national.

I really don't have any female friends to go with. I did my CHL by myself, and that was okay because it was a group. If I ask a man to go with me he suddenly thinks it's a date - go figure.

But A Girl and A Gun - sounds perfect, thank you!

that's why I have taken a few wemon I would never in a million years want to date.lol

I far prefer to go to the range by myself.

Why?

No compromise.

I go when I want at the time I want - I leave when I want...

I shoot as much or little as I want.

Etc.....

I prefer a laser on many of my carry guns, but for a number of different reasons. The primary reasons are:

1. Training aid during dry-fire practice. ensure the weapon is unloaded and perform dry-fire practice with the laser on. If the dot moves then your trigger discipline needs work.
2. Backup to the sights. I had a friend break the front sight on his Glock once (Not sure how, but he was excited about it), and I managed to damage the front sight on one of my 1911s while in a class once. On top of that who's not to say you won't bump your sights out of alignment while carrying, I know for a fact that it's happened.
3. The capability to aim the weapon from a more exposed position while keeping your head in a less exposed position might come in handy, I doubt I will use it but it would be nice to have if I needed it. On the same line of thought, I doubt I will need a handgun for self defense but I carry one because it would be nice to have if I needed it.
4. If the threat is standing with a light source directly behind them you get a great silhouette but depending on lighting conditions your sights may not be visible, however a laser will be.

Now with that said I do have a few rules for my lasers:
1. Batteries get changed yearly, or sooner if the laser acts odd.
2. I practice with and without the laser.
3. I use the laser a lot when I perform dry-fire practice.
4. I never place myself in a mindset where I will depend on it, or expect it to be there.
5. I suspect the laser is damaged of has any problems it gets repaired/replaced.

Skip the laser. Get the fundamentals down then practice, practice, practice. Remember sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control.

Going to the range by yourself may be intimidating the first couple of times but you'll get more comfortable that more you go.

I don't use a laser.....my wife doses (Crimson Trace). Doses allow quick acquisition and does provide an intimidation factor with a red dot on your chest. Also, A good dog is a good alert and distraction tool. Batteries on the laser have only needed to be replaced one time in 14 years.

sweetmelissa wrote:In your opinion, should I buy a laser site for my sig or just practice, practice, practice?

Yes! And Yes! Why would you not want another tool in your personal safety toolbelt?

A properly sighted laser ( I prefer to have the green dot just above the point-of-aim with my fixed sights, so that when I 'm looking at the target, I'll be able to raise the gun up to eyesight and aquire the laser's glow when the gun is properly sighted) gives you an extra pointing device that you can use strong-or-weak handed, with one or two hands, and can provide a good aiming point even when you can't use the fixed sights.

A laser is not a magic device... You still have to have good fundamentals, but it is a quick, reliable indicator of where the bullet is going to go.

Someone mentioned the psychological effect of seeing a laser pointed at you. I use green Viridian lasers - they're more visible in daylight than a comparibly powered red laser, and in the dark, or dusk, they positively light the target up.

Someone else mentioned the need to physically turn the laser on, saying that would slow him down. The system I'm now using as my primary carry firearm is a Ruger LC-9s with Viridian R5 Reactor laser on the front trigger brace. Using a Comp-Tac Infidel holster that is designed for use with my pistol and laser combo, the laser is turned off while it's in the holster (thanks to a strategically placed small magnet). When the pistol is drawn out of the holster, the magnet's effect goes away, and the laser turns on automatically. When I holster the pistol, it turns off.

My other usual carry firearm is a Walther PPS 9mm with a Viridian C5l light/laser combo that is turned on with a thumbswitch.

Both work - one requires less effort to turn the laser on, the other gives me the opportunity to control when the light or laser is turned. You picks and chooses the flexibility you want.

BTW, while I'm sure that there are guys here on the forum in the DFW area that would invite you to go shooting with them if they knew when/where/etc, the suggestion to find a "Girl's Night Shooting" is a good one. IIRC, Shoot Smart (IH-35W at Golden Triangle Blvd, near Alliance Town Center) holds their girls/guns on Thursday evenings. A call to the range should easily confirm that.

n5wd wrote:Someone mentioned the psychological effect of seeing a laser pointed at you.

That could be a plus.

MONGOOSE wrote:I don't use a laser.....my wife doses (Crimson Trace). Doses allow quick acquisition and does provide an intimidation factor with a red dot on your chest. Also, A good dog is a good alert and distraction tool. Batteries on the laser have only needed to be replaced one time in 14 years.

The intimidation factor would be a plus.

Just a personal thing, I find it a little distracting. My wife has one but forgets to turn it on about half the time.

Don't count on it.

If an attacking criminal is drunk/high he might not even notice the red or green laser dot or if he does, he isn't intimidated.

Bullets on the other hand...

I have an Armalaser TR10 on my CPX-2 9mm. I like that it turns on with a sensor located underneath the trigger guard. I elected to not have the laser option with my recent purchase of a S&W Bodyguard that I carry. The laser option appeals to me for the scenario of a home invasion or other scenario that might help me to see where my shot might got off in a hurry.