# M&P .45 Laser Sight????



## Amos (Aug 25, 2008)

Just bought a M&P .45 (Great Gun)......

As I use it at the Range alot, does anyone have an laser sight ideas, or use a laser sight......

I just want a Sight, not a Combo etc...

Any thoughts etc........


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## Spartan (Jan 1, 2007)

Crimson Trace grip laser, CT guide rod laser (I think they make them for the M&P), Lasermax rail laser...


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## JustRick (Sep 14, 2008)

I thought I'd like a laser until I rented a 9mm XD with Crimson Trace grips. I couldn't hit anything. I've become so used to sights that shooting for accuracy with the laser was hopeless. If I was in a HD situation in the middle of the night, there would certainly be some use for "putting the dot on the center of mass and shooting," but if I wanted to impress my friends with my deadly accuracy (heh) I would use the sights. How about a nice set of night sights instead?


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

I HIGHLY disagree...

For defensive shooting, in lower light conditions, in a stressful situation, NOTHING beats a laser.

Crimson Trace, Lasermax, Armalaser, and a few others all make a good product, and for "point-shooting" on a defensive gun, it cannot be beat. It only limits your holster options for some models.

Jeff


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## Teuthis (Apr 9, 2008)

I think the Tritium night sights are far superior to laser sights, in low light. They allow you to focus on laying the front sight on your target and quickly dropping it between the rear sight dots to fire. In addition, you are not lighted or sighted by having that red light point you out in the dark. 

I think well-defined iron sights are superior in daylight. I would not want to take the extra time required to find the dot and bring it onto the target. At self defense ranges one should be able to virtually point shoot at one's target. 

I have found that the laser sight requires time to bring to the target; even with practice. It takes your eyes off the front site of the gun and aligning it with the target. It is one more thing to have to consider instead of just bringing the pistol into action automatically. 

They are perhaps functional for rifles, where there is a steadier aiming platform, and perhaps more time to fiddle around. But I would not use laser sights on a handgun in a firefight.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

I don't agree with the conclusion that laser sights are not as accurate as iron sights. 

If properly sighted in, how could placing the dot on the target and holding it there while squeezing the trigger be harder than lining up three separate points, and keeping them aligned during the entire time you are pulling the trigger? I contend that people who have had such an experience were either unlucky enough to get a defective product, did not have the laser sighted properly, or simply did not make a serious effort to properly evaluate it. 

I have CT Lasergrips on my S&W 642, and my Kahr K-9, and on both guns, the laser extends my effective range considerably. Without the laser, I'm doing good to get on the paper at 25 yards with either of these short-barreled guns. With it, I can put 3 out of every 5 rounds in the bread-basket on a silhouette. The only time that iron sights are superior are in daylight conditions, in which case you can't see the laser dot at all, so it is not a distraction for you to go to iron sights, which should be your default, anyway.

I can agree with many of the negatives that people cite for not wanting laser sights, but not being as accurate won't fly, with me.


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## Teuthis (Apr 9, 2008)

Bisley, if you are just having fun punching paper, then you have a point those laser sights. If you have time to aim and re-aim and exhale, then you may make more hits using them; though I believe drilling with iron sites, or plastic ones, can accomplish the same ends. 

My contention, a personal one, was meant from the point of view of self defense; and is that in self defense mode, day or night, laser sights take one's mind off the basic drill and spend time at the aiming process that is unnecessary. And they do not give you any better picture of your target at night. In the dark, I want to be invisible; not lighted up with a bright red, "shoot me here" light. 

A LEO or soldier, having to flush out an adversary, could use those for intimidation and quick response with a rifle. I try not to be stuck in the past, but I have experimented with laser sights and find them wanting for self defense shooting for myself as an armed citizen.


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## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

> In the dark, I want to be invisible


How will you identify your target in darkness?


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Teuthis said:


> ...My contention, a personal one, was meant from the point of view of self defense; and is that in self defense mode, day or night, laser sights take one's mind off the basic drill and spend time at the aiming process that is unnecessary...


Well, obviously, I am not going to be using a snubbie or a Kahr for target shooting. I'll use a CZ-75 or a 1911 for that, and I won't be using a laser sight.

The laser sights _are specifically for_ self defense, and they are well suited for that use. It takes five minutes of dry-fire practice to become adept at putting the dot on the target, whether from a combat stance or shooting from the hip. Mix in a few hundred repetitions of squeezing the trigger without moving the dot, and you're going to hit where you aim. The average person will do that much quicker than lining up three points with iron sights.

I don't advocate forgetting your iron sight skills, and if you do self defense training, turn the laser off. Iron sights should be your default mode, but if your laser sight actually works when you need it, the transition is seamless...you merely look over your sights, instead of through them.

For the average person, who does not live and breathe self defense drills, it will be much faster and more accurate.


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