infrared gun vs probe thermometer for chocolate work - which one?

For chocolate specifically - the gun, and it's not about looks.

A probe sitting in tempered chocolate gets coated, and you're dragging chocolate out and wiping steel every reading, which is messy and cools the very thing you're measuring. The gun reads the surface instantly, no contact, no coated probe, and you can check the bowl, the mould and the room in three seconds while stirring with your other hand. Tempering is a game of catching a 1-2 degree window repeatedly... instant readings win.

The gun's limit: it reads SURFACES. For sugar syrups, caramel stages, bread internals and frying oil you still want the probe - the inside temperature is the story there. So the honest answer is most serious kitchens end up with both, but if today's purchase is for chocolate, buy the gun.