3. ELI5: How are lasers useful in guns?

ELI5: How are lasers useful in guns?

Lasers are more gimmicky and something cool to show on TV.

In a real-life situation, say in the military, they have IR (infrared) lasers that work with night vision to engage targets at night. The IR lasers are usually zeroed at one hundred yards. The military also uses other lasers to mark for ordinance, but again they are outside the visible spectrum.

One situation in real life that you would use a laser for would be for escalation of force. Say you have a civilian coming up o your position, you could shine a visible laser in their eyes or a spot they can see as a show of force and if they continue in that direction they're going to get shot.

For civilian use, they aren't really useful. If you're in a self-defense situation, say in your home, it's so close range that you can pretty much "point and shoot."

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