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View Full Version : Sight Tracking and Press-out... WITH LASERS BEAMS!



LGChris
05-28-2012, 02:29 PM
I've had Crimson Trace grips on my M&P since I first got it a couple of years ago, but have neglected to spend any serious dedicated range time with the laser until recently. I took a class last year where I was definitely one of the weaker shooters in the class, but during the low-light component, you would never have known it. I had the only laser in the class and was able to keep up with some of the guys that had been smoking me the rest of the weekend. That made me a true believer in lasers on pistols, but I'm just now getting around to doing some laser-specific practice.

I try to go out close to dusk just before the range closes in order to get low enough light to see the laser clearly. I'm trying to use the laser exclusively for a few practice sessions, and ignore the iron sights completely. Under conditions when the laser is bright and visible, I've noticed the following challenges:

1. Press out: If I do my normal press out, when I bring the gun to the centerline where I would normally shift focus to the front sight, the gun is not level and the laser is way up in the trees somewhere and not visible. I can't seem to "find" the dot until almost full extension and then I may have to move it around to get it to the correct point of aim. I'd rather not have to modify my press-out technique, unless it's in a way that will also be beneficial when using the irons. I intended to do some dry fire practice to figure out how I can get around this one.

2. Sight tracking: I notice a challenge here mostly when doing more than a couple of rapid shots, like when I do a Bill Drill. At speed, the laser is no longer a dot, but a squiggly line that's almost impossible to track. I usually get okay hits within about 7 yards, but I don't know that it's much better than point shooting. The laser gets me on target for the first shot, but it's difficult to confirm that the laser is in a good position for subsequent shots. I mostly just guess based on where it looks like most of the red squiggles are.

With both of these issues, the problem is that the laser is "out there" somewhere floating in space and you have to keep up with it, versus iron sights which are always right in front of your face where you left them. In training, the overall biggest challenge for me is stopping myself from falling back on the iron sights when the laser isn't right where I expect it to be, but I think that will be overcome with practice. I'm trying to train for the scenario where I am involuntarily focused on the threat and forget to look at the sights. In reality, I think under any kind of panicked fire, point shooting, etc... any scenario where you have a complete brain fart because of the threat, then the laser will be a huge asset.

It seems there isn't a lot of formal training for using laser sights and a lot of people are just doing trial and error to find out what works for them. So what have you discovered helps get the most out of your laser?

Chris

MEH
05-28-2012, 03:22 PM
2. Sight tracking: I notice a challenge here mostly when doing more than a couple of rapid shots, like when I do a Bill Drill. At speed, the laser is no longer a dot, but a squiggly line that's almost impossible to track. I usually get okay hits within about 7 yards, but I don't know that it's much better than point shooting. The laser gets me on target for the first shot, but it's difficult to confirm that the laser is in a good position for subsequent shots. I mostly just guess based on where it looks like most of the red squiggles are.


Try a mag at a cadence of 1 per second,
then 2 per second,
then as fast as you can still track the laser for the third mag.

ToddG
05-29-2012, 08:49 AM
1. press-out: If the gun isn't level, level the gun. A proper press-out involves having the shooting eye, rear sight, front sight, and target point aligned as early (close to the body) as possible.

2. tracking: Waiting for the dot to stop moving is no different than waiting for your sights to stop moving (which is bad for shooting at speed). As long as that "squiggly line" is inside your acceptable target zone, you can press the trigger. If it's outside of that zone, don't press the trigger yet.