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best laser / light combo for a pistol?

The best laser / light combo I’ve found is the Streamlight TLR-8 A G.

The reason being that it’s a solid product with a easy-to-spot green laser, and also because it has the widest holster support for a laser sight.

There are other laser sights out there, but you’ll be hard pressed to find many holsters for them. Even for the TLR-8 there are limited options, but there are still some great ones, like the Tier 1 Axis Elite (for various Glock models).

pistol laser: do you really need one on your gun?

pros

• Helps you focus on the target itself, instead of your front sight
• Allows you to shoot from awkward positions, where you can’t see your sights (laying down, behind a shield or other cover, etc.)
• Helps a lot in low-light situations
• Can deescalate a situation as a psychological tool (though this use seems to be more limited in a defensive situation, and can actually lead to more legal trouble than not using a laser)
• Green laser stands out against red dots, so as not to confuse you or others using an RDS

“You can make shots with a laser that you couldn’t make with any other sighting method. Once you figure them out they are much faster and much easier to use than traditional sights. I can shoot faster and with greater accuracy using a laser in low light than I can with irons in bright light.”

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?877-Question-concerning-lasers-for-CCW&p=14146&viewfull=1#post14146

From running the Armed Movement in Structures (AMIS) coursework I can tell you that what I see during the low light portion is that lasers and WMLs offer a decisive advantage in a low-light structure gunfight, when the technology is understood and used appropriately.

My friend, who was the chief instructor at a shooting school for 5+ years audited my coursework this year for peer review and watched several of the final FoF evolutions.

His remark was that a laser allowed an average to better than average shooter the ability to make hits on partially exposed targets that he would have had a hard time making on a good day. That coming from an orthodox Mod-Iso/sighted fire instructor at his level tells me something as to the value of lasers.

I can’t imagine not having one on a house gun.

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?877-Question-concerning-lasers-for-CCW/page3

In my testing, the use of a green laser greatly improved the shooters’ awareness of where their rounds will strike while tracking a moving target or watching the hands of a role player who is trying to dig though pockets to produce a weapon, a wallet, a cellphone, or nothing at all.

https://www.policemag.com/weapons/article/15314950/the-case-for-laser-sighting

• Note: In the above quote: this is useful in a law-enforcement application, but most likely not in a defensive situation. You generally don’t want to draw your gun unless you’re 100% sure you’re going to need to use it, to avoid a felony aggravated assault charge. In which case you’re already sure that whatever you’re pointing your gun at is a threat.

cons

• Will probably be harder to find a holster to use with your laser
• A laser will look pretty bad if you are taken to court, and can turn a brandishing conviction into something more serious
• Can slow down your reaction time due to searching around for the laser dot, instead of just acquiring the target normally
• For outdoor (CCW or not), neither a laser or light generally has been used in a defensive situation, that I’m aware of. For home defense, that’s a different story, but for your CCW gun you most likely don’t need a laser (nor a light, perhaps unless you’re in the wilderness)

“I know of exactly zero incidents involving folks outside of the house in a CCW incident where a WML was needed, or any light for that matter.”

“Between the data we have from BBI, Tom Givens and the multitude of civilian incidents available on Active Self Protection’s channel I can’t say I recall a necessity for a WML in any of those where the defender was outside their home (the original context of this thread). Now, perhaps I could’ve missed one or two and I would welcome a correction from any of those sources.”

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?13613-Utility-of-a-WML-for-Concealed-Carry/page20

situations where a pistol laser is useful

• Shooting from awkward positions, where you can’t see your sights (hiding behind cover)
• As a training aid (see if you flinch when dry-firing, or how shaky your hands are)

conclusion

• For a CCW daily carry gun, a laser will probably never come in handy (nor will a pistol light for that matter)
• I couldn’t find a documented use of a laser (nor pistol light) which was used in a civilian defensive use, outside the home. Of course lights are essential for law enforcement, but defensive use is a whole different situation.
  
  (Inside the home, definitely use a pistol light (and a laser if you want to), but the chance of a laser (or light) being useful outside the house, now seems infinitesimally small)
• The one situation you might want to run a laser on a gun, outside the house, is with small revolvers (or any type of gun) without good sights. The laser will help you aim in that case
• If you shoot (or brandish) your gun, using a laser will add an argument to the prosecution against you, due to their being perceived as “threatening” and “intimidating” by the public. Lawyers have stated that lasers have harmed the defense of their clients

references

• Busting the Myths About Laser Sights (GunGuyTV)

• The Case for Laser Sighting (Policemag.com)