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One question I get asked a lot is, “What's the deal with lasers?  Should I get one for my Glock?”  If you peruse the gun forums enough I think you will find pages upon pages on this debate.  One school of thought despises them because they teach improper shooting technique.  Others love the cool factor of the laser and the advantage they bring to the CCW permit holder.  One thing remains for sure; if you are going to use a laser, you must be certain on how to employ it.

I have been testing Viridian's C5L for the last few weeks.  It is a green laser and light combo that is very compact.  As you scroll through its settings you can set the device up for light, laser, light and laser, strobe light, and with light and strobe laser.  When you turn the device on it will default to your setting making it a rock solid platform.

This is not a new concept, but the green laser is becoming a wildly popular item.  It shows up better in daytime hours and seems to be brighter in general, although I have no scientific data to back the last claim. 

The other option is a laser that is mounted to the grips or the replaces the guide rod of your gun.  I have used both and the choice is personal to the shooter.  The main thing to remember when using a laser is to forget the sights.  I will try to line up the laser to the sights of the gun, but when using the laser, the eye can only focus on one thing well.  Remember that from hearing front site your whole life?  Trying to use the laser and the sights slows you down.

So who needs one?  I think they are great for those who have eyesight issues.  As we get older, wear and tear begin to make pistol shooting harder, because the sights do not show up clearly in our aging vision.  This makes lasers advantageous for those who need a little help acquiring the sight picture.

But in reality, anybody can benefit from have one.  Lasers are very effective aiming devices in low light situations.  Point the gun and focus on the dot—couldn’t be any simpler.  This gives the defensive minded home owner another tool in the tool box to employ that might save his or her life.

I really like the C5L, but probably more for the weapon mounted light feature than the laser.  It is so compact that it does not really even affect my balance point.  Blade-Tech is making holsters for them by special order, but it seems to fit their holster that is made for the M3/M6 lights as well. 

The one warning I have though is that many newer students at our classes love the lasers on the range and I always discourage them from getting one at first. The fundamentals should be stressed first.  Learn how to shoot, and then get a laser.