practice with your gun, that will help

if i could i would toss every laser right in the trash.... they allow a poor shooter to rely on poor technique and when the device fails it leaves the shooter without skills

if your weapon is to be used for self defense, learn the basics of marksmanship and THEN learn to use the front sight or "point shooting" .... your life may depend on this gun, treat it like its that important, put the time, effort and ammo thru it.

if you arent that committed to it, get a nice german sheppard, they are happy to see you, can fetch your slippers and are a lot more of a deterrent than a lil red dot

oh, and welcome to the forum

Here's how the laser can help you:

Use it for dry-fire practice only, until you can hold it on a fixed point for the entire trigger pull. When you can do this every time, you will be fairly proficient with the most difficult technique to be learned for good marksmanship. Combine this with a good grip and follow-through, and you will probably be a good enough marksman to defend yourself. DO NOT rely on a battery operated electronic device to save your life - learn to shoot, instead. If you can shoot without it, shooting with it is very easy, if it happens to be working at the time.

Welcome to the forum.
A laser sight is a tool, useful to some in a dark environment as a substitute for the pistols sights, and as such it can only work as well as the shooters skill level will allow. As the others have already posted there is no substitute for practice, without the learned skills gained from time spent in real practice(not just going to the range and making noise) that laser is nothing more than a toy.
Next time you are a the range if someone is using a laser watch the target, most of the time you will see the dot slowly center on the target, quiver for a moment and the jump down to the left or right as the shooter jerks the trigger trying to get the bullet on target, this is a shooter with poor shooting skills that is trying to use a laser as a crutch. It will not work. If you see the dot stay on target and not jerk away then watch the shooter for a few shoots, that is the shooter who has already learned marksmanship and is using the laser as tool. Once you learn how to shoot proficiently then a laser may be useful to you, but I'm willing to bet you will not need one then.

Originally Posted by missnesmith

Hi, I'm new here. I'm planning on getting a hand gun for home defense. I'm not the best shot and was wondering if a laser sight would help? I've never used one, but I'm wondering if it would help me shoot better or at least scare a burglar when he sees it pointed at his chest. What do guys think?

Hi Missnesmith, and welcome to the forum.

First off, never use a gun to try to "scare" someone off. You never want to give up the element of surprise. I'm not a fan of lasers. They're not a panacea for poor or non-existent marksmanship. My 67 year old girl friend wanted a laser when we bought her a new gun, but I talked her out of it. With proper and patient instruction, she now handles her Ruger LCR 38 special just fine. Pie plates at 21 feet are no problem for her. But it takes practice, practice, and more practice. Without practice, a laser won't do you any good. A laser, or particular gun, or a particular caliber, will not save your buns. Your gun skills (practical, tactical, and marksmanship), and presence of mind will. 98% of gun owners can't hit squat because they don't practice and are living under a false sense of security. Don't be one of the 98%. If you're going to get a gun, invest the time and money to learn to shoot it well. Take some shooting classes or get a barking dog. This may sound harsh, but it's said with love.

Don <><