Do you carry your laser as self defense at night?

[DJNY]

I´m glad that I´m not livin in the US where death lurks around every corner. j/k

Not as a self defense tool, but when the crunch comes, I´ll use my 500mW 445nm keychain I´m going to get soon :beer:

 

[deluminati]

I carry a variety of defensive tools, depending on the circumstances.

Collapsible Baton: Very discreet and effective, not lethal unless you need it to be. Works pretty good carried horizontally in the back or front.

Boot knife: Nice and sharp dagger or tanto. Isn't used for any utility tasks. Also keeps people distracted from the ice scraper or folding knife in my pocket. Large, mean knives are legal in my state, provided they are carried openly.

Laser seems like a bad idea..You could easily blind yourself or an uninvolved bystander. I suppose I'd condone it if it were a lower power laser. And attached to a firearm. Why not an uber-bright flashlight? Would buy you a couple seconds without permanently blinding people, plus you don't have to have a precise aim. And the police wouldn't confiscate it like they might a laser.

 

[42Duckers]

It might be useful; just in case you are attacked by man-eating balloon, you could pull out your laser and pop it.
:crackup:

 

[Spengo]

No, a firearm is a much more effective defensive tool. Except where prohibited it will remain my defensive weapon of choice. Eyes are very small targets, not to mention moving ones. If you are the type of person who would rather be killed than kill, I can respect that but there are much better less-lethal weapons out there. I recommend a Taser C2. If all I have in my pocket is a laser, would I use it? Yes of course, but it certainly would not be my first choice. It would work well as a deterrent, (same as if you carry a powerful flashlight, you immediately change from a "soft" target to a "hard" target which is enough to deter many criminals) and *possibly* a dazzling weapon but again... many other better options out there. Perhaps when we have pocket-sized lasers powerful enough to create a laser induced plasma channel I will reconsider. Pew pew pew!

I do not consider a knife a good defensive weapon either. I carry a benchmade auto, but it is for tactically opening boxes and showing off (cuz it's a real pretty one! ). You know what they say about knife fights, "the loser dies on the street, the winner dies in the hospital."

Now putting a laser ON a gun is not a bad idea. Personally I do not use a weapon-mounted laser. I appreciate that it enables you to shoot in weird positions when you cannot look at your sights but I find that watching the dern dot bounce around actually slows me down. Just not for me, if I want to be speedy I'll use a fiber front sight or an aimpoint T-1.

'course if I had night vision I'd be lookin for a peq-15 to stick on my AR but that's a different matter entirely.

 

[ossumguywill]

Good post, Spengo! It's true, a lot of things like knives or powerful flashlights make really awful weapons, but they can also be enough to deter most criminals. Using a knife against a criminal would be stupid, but they see you as much more of a threat that way. Plus, I open a lot of boxes/packages.

 

[pnjunction]

I hope a month is not too long to bring back a thread, but this is always an important subject. I think it's a bad idea to carry high powered lasers for self defense. I also don't think carrying a firearm is a good idea in most situations. At least in the US, there's just too much liability for the victim. I disagree with the way our legal system works in this regard, but my disagreement won't change anything. In modern times, a person not only needs to concern themselves with defense against shady individuals, but also against an imperfect justice system.

If you own a firearm, I recommend keeping it at home. I also wouldn't carry around high powered lasers, large folding knives, nunchaku, throwing stars, kitanas, 8 foot poles, three-section staffs, or any other weapon that makes you feel like the sheepdog of your neighborhood.

If you carry something for self-defense, I'd go with some sort pepper spray. This is probably the best one out there IMHO: Kimber America Store > PepperBlaster, live OC unit, black

Also, if you're truly concerned about self-defense while out and about, train in some martial arts. Just because someone else has a gun/knife and you have empty hands doesn't mean you have to be at a disadvantage. Your wits, your surroundings, keeping calm, and learning how not to escalate a situation are more valuable to you than any weapon you could have.

My two cents.

 

[SwearBear]

If I go somewhere at night I bring an expandable steel baton. Not as high tech as a laser but I'd say it could ruins someone's day real fast.

 

[borgqueenx]

Re: Do you carry your laser as self defense at nig

Instead of just a laser I carry one of these when I walk around at night [smiley=evil.gif] i think it's a but more intimidating than a laser. if I was a mugger I wouldn't want to try to mug a guy crazy enough to walk around with swords ;D

i want one of those

I carry my lasers at night, but not as self defence.
Unless i maybe own a 10W laser pointer in the future i wont use them for self defence.
With 10w...it could be fun as a weapon.

at home i have a BB gun. 2.5 joules. so it cant kill someone 1 2 3, but can hurt so damn much he wont be able to pull the trigger, or so something else.
i always have it "somewhere in the room" when strangers enter the house. always hidden well, but close.

 

[shhh]

Twin Springfield XD .45 ACP
All i need are extended mags.
36 rounds of .45 is good enuf for me.

 

[JaiNobeZ]

I almost always have a laser on me, but that's an effect i call "New Toy Syndrome" where you love one of your playthings so much you don't want to put it down . Although i wouldn't be afraid to whack it out if i was attacked.

There was one time i was out with Chez and a big fat drunk guy started giving us trouble. I pointed my 50mW Rayfoss 532 at him, but Chez dragged me away before i turned it on. He followed us for a bit, until i started shouting a string of insults at him, then he went someplace else. I still wonder what would have happened if i'd shined it at him... :thinking:

 

[Tonga]

Twin Springfield XD .45 ACP
All i need are extended mags.
36 rounds of .45 is good enuf for me.

Twins? Cool
We are out every night for our night walk with the puppies. I like to carry a couple of Glocks in .357 Sig sometimes just one or my S&W M60 .357 Mag. Walks are nice and thankfully pretty uneventful. But we have had trouble before by those that think nothing of helping themselves to another person's liberties!:yh:

 

[Firsh]

Seriosly if someone was about to be mugged on the street and stunned/disoriented the mugger, even if he would sue the victim how would he know his name or address? So if you use it successfully they can't do anything and you can escape. On the other hand if they know where you live or there are a group of ppl you can't AOE-stun them and they'l retaliate or catch you. But in 1v1 situations where guns are banned I think it's okay.

 

[LaZeRz]

Lol, yeh try carrying around a laser in Australia.............. i can tell you that you will fail epicly if a cop saw you, I still carry a laser round though and im not stupid, if i ever point my laser up in the sky (usually i just point it at trees and stuff) i would let my eyes adjust for about 10 mins so i can spot any planes or UFO's that may be passing by, we dont want the world obducted by aliens now do we?

if i ever carry around a self defense weapon it would probably be an upgraded mg42 from cod5 nazi zombies with a 800mw uv laser attatched since zombies hate uv, they think purple is gay so they try and block it with their face (it doesnt usually end up well for the zombie)

 

[JaiNobeZ]

@LaZerZ: Yeah, i carried a chainsaw for a while just in case of a zombie apocalypse. It didn't work well, for some reason they wouldn't let me on public transport. Now i carry a laser instead.

 

[LaZeRz]

Australia is terrible laser wise and is pretty good at everything else, anything FUN is probably banned here....... shame

 

[hoon]

Crimson trace on my PF-9 (and pepper spray use story)

Although others have mentioned lasers on a gun, here is me with my daily carry. I have a permit to carry, and it is not uncommon to do so here in this rural and sometimes unpredictable area. I've luckily never had to pull it, although have been in situations where I could have.

Last year I had my .357 magnum in my pocket but luckily also pepper spray. A fight involving a knife broke out while I was getting gas at Sheetz. Long story short I sprayed the guy who won the fight and was using too much force after he made an aggressive move at me. The pepper spray (OC + tear gas + UV die) was amazingly effective. He was blind and completely stunned. He told the two guys in the car to "get the gun" so I fled in my car.

I came back 10min later to ask for my 20$ in gas I never got The cops were there and looking for me as a witness. They asked for my spray as evidence but assured me I wasn't in trouble and kind of acted as I did a good thing. Too bad I was dressed in pink (ready for a friend's "Pink Party" she requested), maybe it made me more of a target.

As an EMT there were plenty of shady situations I wish I'd had a gun or pepper spray; junkie looking people eyeballing the ambulance probably wanting to grab morphine. After all I've seen, I'm glad I have the proper defense tools, but hope pepper spray is all I'll need.

Strange that I'd be obligated to treat a gunshot victim even if it was self-defense. I guess that is how Marines do in the Middle East, but like them if they were trying to kill me or family, treatment would be useless when I'm done.