Laser Sight for Close-Quarters Aiming

Any distance within two arms’ reach is considered extreme close quarters. Rob Pincus demonstrates a technique for aiming a handgun equipped with a laser device at extreme close quarters but not actually in contact.

At this distance, if you extend your gun, the bad guy will be able to take it away by swatting at it or grabbing it. If you keep the gun in at your chest, you don’t really know where you’re aiming it (if you are in contact, you can use body index to understand where the bad guy’s vital organs are, but here we are talking about within two arms’ reach, not in contact). See our other PDN handgun training videos for more on shooting at close quarters.

Laser Aiming Technique

If for any reason you are not able to extend the handgun and get good sight alignment and a good sight picture (for example, if you are injured), this technique works if your handgun is equipped with a laser sight, one of the most useful defensive tools and accessories.

Coming from the ready position, instead of extending the handgun, pull back, anchor the gun against your body with the magazine well and your thumb both touching your body, and fire the shots. You know where you are shooting because you have the laser sight. This technique only works with a laser-equipped handgun (or a handgun with a weapon-mounted light — see below).
For even greater precision, you can take a headshot. Keeping the gun against your body, angle the gun up, place the laser on the bad guy’s head, and press the trigger.

It’s also possible to use this technique if you have a weapon-mounted light but not a laser sight. Same principle, but the weapon-mounted light of course produces a wider beam than a laser.