Does It Give You away?

[shingman2]

I see a lot of interest on lazers and lights.My question is, do these things give the bad guy a heads up on where you are at the time.? Seems like in the dark it might give you away. What do you think?

[prive005]

I know in the FBI they train you to hold your flashlight on the suspect at a different location than the gun because the reaction of the suspect is to shoot at the light. In essence it gives away your position before you may be ready to have done so, and gives them a central point to aim at. All in all I find lazers un-necessary completely and flashlights are good if they arent on your gun. Surefire makes amazing flashlights that actually temporarilly blind the suspect, but its best to be used in the free non gun hand. IMHO
Tony

[AZSATT]

Anything that sends a light downrange "points both ways." Even infrared mil-spec lasers, if the BG's have night vision. (And if you've been over there, you know they do!)

There are LOTS of flashlights out there - some affordable, some ridiculously expensive - and a few schools of thought on how to employ a light in no-light scenarios. (I personally won't mount a light to my gun - but that's just me.)

For close-quick encounters, a laser can be helpful - but yeah, that red beam is still visible both ways. I think the idea in your favor would have to be speed. Speed in not only acquiring and ID'ing a BG, but also speed in dispatching the BG off into eternity. I used to be very anti-laser in favor of rock-solid fundamentals of point/snap shooting - idea being my thumbs will ALWAYS point along the bore of the gun even should a tiny battery decide to take a dump. While I still don't own/use a laser, I've trained enough with them to acknowledge that like any tool - there's a time & place when one could help out.

[Willard Of Oz]

FWIW,

The Crimson Trace DVD teaches that when clearing your home or any other time you need stealth, you move your finger from the off trigger position, up just a touch to block the beam on a grip mounted laser.

Stops the other guy from seeing your laser until it's too late.

[shingman2]

Thanks for all of your opinions!

[fredmaidment]

A laser will point in both directions. However, in all the analysis I have seen, it is not speed but accuracy that counts. Lasers allow you both.

If you can control your laser until you need it, so much the better. But if you can be certain your bullet is going to hit center-mass without having to get a full sight picture, that can give you just the split second you need.

It's like the people who say "tracers point both ways." Perhaps, but if you can't tell where your bullets are hitting, your volume of fire is meaningless unless you're very, very lucky.

[chroode]

Imagine, if you will, that you are the guy that broke into a home. It's dark, your creeping around. You suddenly see a red dot on the nearby wall, and you here "Who's there, I've got a gun".

Just a thought.

[wolfhunter]

Imagine, if you will, that you are the guy that broke into a home. It's dark, you're creeping around. You suddenly see a muzzle flash, you hear a shotgun blast, and feel the impact of buckshot pellets.

[utimmer43]

Originally Posted by chroode

Imagine, if you will, that you are the guy that broke into a home. It's dark, your creeping around. You suddenly see a red dot on the nearby wall, and you here "Who's there, I've got a gun".

Just a thought.

If I'm the bad guy in the scenario, after seeing the red dot, I wouldn't be hanging around to hear the "Who's there, I've got a gun."