Laser sights certainly add an element of cool to any gun. The little dot sends an unmistakable message: If I so choose, this dot will be replaced by a hole. But seeing that dot on paper on a well-lit range doesn't convey the myriad of advantages a laser provides in a self-defense scenario.
The red laser is cool enough, but having limited night-vision experience, I wanted to try the IR laser in combination with a night-vision monocular.
While it certainly wasn't a defensive situation, I had a chance to use the MVF-600 on a pest-extermination exercise in Texas, where it is legal to remove feral swine at all hours with any firearm/sight combination. Since the hogs we sought to remove were largely nocturnal, most shooting would be done at night. Cue the NOD.
It was impossible to see the pig in question with the naked eye, as it was well into the night and the crescent moon provided very limited light on the ground (though some who have seen me shoot might assume pigs would fly before I hit one). Stalking to within about 40 yards through the pitch black Texas shrubbery, I was able to clearly make out the swine and select one to send to hog heaven.
That's when I became aware of the power of a laser. You see, wearing night-vision headgear that put a monocular on my left eye, aiming through the ACOG was uncomfortable at best. What's more, it was so dark through the scope, I couldn't see the pigs even at that short distance—makes it tough to get a shot. With the MVF-600's IR laser, however, I didn't need to shoulder the DPMS AR-15. I simply put the laser on the target pig and immediately knew where my round would impact. And impact there it did.
I relate this tale not to brag—the only thing I did was pull the trigger—but rather to demonstrate the virtues of a laser of any color on any firearm. The fact that you need not shoulder a rifle or bring the sights of a handgun to eye level to be sure of a hit on your target might well save your life. If lasers helped me off some pigs, just imagine what a competent shooter could do in a defensive scenario if the swine in question are of the two-legged variety.
