How useful is a visible aiming laser on a firearm? Whether it's a red laser or a highly visible green laser, is it that much useful than companies claim them to be?
Let's find it out in this comparison guide including some short video demos.
Table of Contents
Top 7 Reasons A Visible Aiming Laser Is Helpful & Fun To Use
- Show new shooters how sensitive point of aim can shift due to grip tremor & recoil anticipation
- Training for steady aim & better trigger control
- Use for signaling
- Great shooting experience for new shooters & for plinking on a flat range
- Great shooting experience for new shooters plinking on a flat range
- Can use to assist optic zeroing process (Different than using a laser bore sight)
- Laser pointer can add fear factor in personal defense situation
Features Olight Baldr Mini and Olight Baldr S
Top 5 Reasons A Visible Aiming Is Useless In The Real World
See more laser device setups like the DBAL here
- The laser pointer may not be visible enough to the shooter if aiming through tree lines, crowds, lot of movements, or long distance
- Compromises the shooter's position at night in real world applications
- Hard to reacquire the laser pointer during fast follow up shots (Easier to use iron sight or red dot)
- Very hard to acquire & reacquire the laser pointer during the day or in any lit up environments at night
- Can lose zero over time
Common FAQ
Flat Range VS Outdoor Range VS Real World
On a flat range, using an aiming laser such as the Streamlight TLR8A, Crimson Trace, DBAL and whatnot can enhance the shooting experience.
For anyone new to shooting, it's a blast to see the laser beam during a course of fire.
For real world use, there are so many factors that we have covered in the section above that makes a visible laser not as effective.
How Useful Is An IR Laser Pointer ?
The infrared aiming laser works only visible under night vision goggles. It's much more visible and easier to pick up in total darkness than picking up a visible laser with the naked eye.
Getting into night vision can be expensive - See cost breakdown here.
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