employing laser for cqb instead of offset iron sights on a dmr rifle

[trinydex]

who does this?

came across this idea as an option from watching 8541 tactical on youtube.

I can see the benefit of ambi sighting. lasers are a natural go to for cqb distances. one could even maintain back up iron sights for a true optic failure. there's no fogging issue, although if there's snow the primary and the laser could very likely be obscured.

what are the downfalls?

who doesn't like this idea and for what reasons?

[Kataquan]

Harder to acquire a laser sight that iron sights or an optic, especially under duress.

[Voodoo_Man]

Depending on your definition of "cqb distances" as well as weapon platform.

If you are running a pistol, for home defense, you should have a laser/light. Specifically because the statistics for home defense shooting show that the majority of shootings occur inside a home and unless you live in a mansion you are probably shooting within 1-10 yards, down a hallway or in a living room. At those distances you should be able to "point and click" target acquisition should be a secondary concept to a faster aiming/target acquiring method, such as using a laser or aiming off a light source (which is possible, btw).

If you are using a rifle or shotgun, and have never tried it, you can actually index off a rail system or the muzzle device itself, this makes for super fast target acquisition and allows for rapid engagement in cqb distances.

Disadvantages as I see them - firstly when you use a light or laser you are projecting something onto something else at a distance away. Meaning that someone who is not close to you may have the ability to see it if you do not use any sort of light/laser management. This is the reason the "on/off" or "sweeping momentary on" method is taught for flashlights inside homes. There are other methods which have merit (I won't go into them as that is a different convo) and you have to use the skill set that is required for that specific circumstance. If you are a high speed, meat eating, name taking operator, and you are clearing a house with your team, you might go in loud or you might not, totally depending on the situation. If you are awakened by a bump in the night, grab your pistol/rifle/shotgun and go house clearing, then you might use a different method. A lot depends on training, awareness and a slew of other factors. Also remember that lasers are good for a set distance, then you have use Kentucky windage in order to get solid hits. While this may not be an issue in CQB, it is something to be informed about.

Lastly, I have a Viridian X5L Gen2 on my G34 pistol that I keep by my bed. That is my go to home defense gun. I know my home well enough that I know where I can stand and hear/see everything that occurs without having to venture out in the home looking for something that may or may not be there. I zeroed the laser to 7 yards. This allows me to get solid hits at 7 yards, and plus minus 2-3 inches from 6-3 yards and 8-10 yards (right or left). So depending on the situation as long as I am aiming around the clavicle notch of an average male, I will get solid hits every time.

[FeltaDorce]

Imagine it's dark outside. You are in a parking lot, where there is a "wall" 100m away. You need to shoot at a moving target that is 10m away from you. Try putting your laser dot on that.... I'll take irons with a flashlight any day of the week.

[TX Rancher]

Imagine it's dark outside. You are in a parking lot, where there is a "wall" 100m away. You need to shoot at a moving target that is 10m away from you. Try putting your laser dot on that.... I'll take irons with a flashlight any day of the week.

Like many folks, I played with Lasers for awhile. But I found that in most situations I was actually faster putting rounds on target using the iron sights on my pistol. There were certain positions where the laser was better, but they were a very small percentage and I have taken the laser off.

But I'm not sure I understand the problem you're talking about. At 10 meters (~30 ft) I wouldn't have any problem putting the dot on the target, without using the irons, and then adjusting aim using the dot. It just isn't as fast for me as depending on my irons.

OP:

If you decide to go with a laser, I would suggest GREEN instead of the traditional RED. I found it to be much easier to "find" in bright light conditions, which resulted in faster hits.

One of the things I really disliked was the lack of ability, at least on the lasers I tried, to rapidly control when the laser is on/off. The grip activated lasers were the best since I could keep a light grip on the weapon when I wanted the laser off and tighten up when I wanted it on, but that always felt wrong to me and actually reduced my effectiveness. I would either slow down on the first shot or maintain speed but accuracy would decrease. There was not a substantial change with lasers, but even as small as it was, it was still in the negative direction.

The other problem I had with one particular vendor was I had to change my hand position. When I indexed my finger on the slide, it would block the laser. Of course with practice I could train myself to change my index point, but I figured it wasn't worth it since I wasn't getting any tactical advantage out of the laser anyway.

I know folks who swear by their laser, and some of them are damn good with lasers! It just never worked out for me. If you don't mind investing the time and money on a laser, give it a try. You may find it's the greatest thing since sliced bread for you. If it doesn't work, you can always get some of your cash back by selling the laser.

Good luck to you!