Weapon mounted light, pros and cons

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  • Excalibur

    Master
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    May 11, 2012
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    Sp what's everyone's opinion on weapon mounted light, whether it be on a long gun or a handgun? I always run into guys who are of the camp that the threat will always shoot at where the light is coming from, so it's best to have a hand light held away from your body rather than mounted to your gun where it most likely will lead back to your face if the ******* panic shoots in your direction.
     

    lovemachine

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    Dec 14, 2009
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    First, everyone needs to carry a handheld. No. Matter. What.

    Shooting one handed sucks. It sucks big, and it sucks hard. That's when a weapon mounted light is awesome to have. My house gun has a weapon mounted light, with a handheld resting right next to it.

    The whole "the BG will shoot at the light", I don't buy into that. My way of thinking, if I can see him, then he can see me. I just hope I'm faster and more accurate.

    So, a weapon mounted light is nice to have, but a handheld is a requirement.
     
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    Jul 29, 2016
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    Meh on the whole mounted light thing. If i can reach out my bedroom and hit the switch the whole place lights and mr bad guys toast. I like a laser it doesnt announce my position as loudly
     

    Flagg

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    Sep 26, 2010
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    I have lights on my HD long runs and handguns. I don't carry with one, however I always have a powerful handheld with me.

    I wouldn't about people shooting at the light.
     

    cosermann

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    Aug 15, 2008
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    Pro:
    redundancy with a handheld light.
    you can't forget it unless you forget your gun too.

    Con:
    not knowing how to use it (i.e. pointing it at things that don't need to be shot).
     

    halfmileharry

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    Dec 2, 2010
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    I have lights on my first line of defense guns. I also have a couple of hand held lights on straps I can slide over my wrists.
    I CHOOSE when to turn on those lights so it's not like I'm a constant target in the dark.
    My lights MIGHT blind an intruder just long enough to save my Bacon. (love bacon and had to sneak it in)
    Your light is a tool. I don't use every wrench every time so I don't expect my light to be perfect for any situation either.
     

    GIJEW

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    Mar 14, 2009
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    IMO--for what it's worth--the main reason for having a light is to identify your target. A weapon light is probably more important on a long gun where it's hard to operate both the gun and a hand held light, but if you live alone, you probably don't need to worry about a weapon light too much.
    In an urban/suburban area there is enough ambient light to see the location of your target, and tritium sights or a laser will probably do more for getting hits than a light will--especially since they'll immediately move to cover (one can hope that means going back out the door they broke into). If you live way out in the country YMMV.

    About presenting a target to the assailants, a typical combat light is bright enough that the only thing they'll see is a blinding wall of light and they might not even be able to locate the center of the light. Note that this works well at the end of residential choke point but might not apply to an accomplice in a dark parking lot.

    Like 'halfmileharry' said: your light is a tool, use it as needed.
     

    rvb

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    Jan 14, 2009
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    I finally added a WML to my nightstand gun (G19). I also have one on my AR (both x300u's). For the pistol, I also keep a handheld light handy, also.

    Pros to WML:
    --only need one hand to operate everything... what if one of your hands/arms gets injured? what if you need to apply pressure to a wound on a loved one while still looking for possible threats? maybe need to carry a child away from danger?
    --Easy enough to ditch the handheld if I'd rather have two hands on the gun and turn on the rail light.
    --Better control of the gun shooting two handed than one

    Cons to WML:
    --I find it harder to look around corners on my strong side. I can do it, but have to hold the gun weird ways. Easier to point a handheld any direction.
    --If you don't know for sure there's a threat (kid up getting a snack maybe?) it's easier to accidently sweep with the muzzle, even if trying not to.

    So I now have both, and an liking the flexibility the combination gives me.

    Now on the AR I just have the WML, obviously. I find I do a lot of switching strong/weak side to really use the light. But the G19 is my primary anyway.

    As for bad guy identifying you or shooting at you because of the light, I tend not to turn on / leave on, but use shorter 1-2 second pulses, unless actually shooting...

    :twocents:

    -rvb
     
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    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
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    Aug 26, 2011
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    Lights on defense guns always.
    If you don't need it don't use it. But have it mounted.
    if you need it you'll really be glad you mounted it
    in the Army and after we rained with lights. They are more of an advantage than not but you do need to get training on how to properly use one just like any other weapon training.
    To the guy above who is gonna hit the light switch, I hope you always have power and never a burglar that uses the opportunity and advantage of a power outtage to rob you.

    A lot of guys are mounting lights on the top rail in front of their front sight post or flip ups (x300 or similar) because it avoids having to worry about what side your light is possisioned on so it isn't obstructed. It's always looking where the muzzle is pointed. Lots of different mounting solutions and techniques that's just one.


    Ive argued the point of anweapon light with my Vietnam vet dad just like he fought me about AR's being good, but the old man now has both. Sometimes new ways of thinking are based on lots of real life trial and error and not guys just reading magazines or making tv shows. Lights work and give you an advantage if you are trained to use them
     

    hammerd13

    Sharpshooter
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    Oct 20, 2015
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    I run lights on most of the guns at home. It allows me to keep one hand free if necessary and is quicker than using a separate light. As mentioned above, I always have a hand-held tactical light to supplement/backup this (whether home or away).

    Outside the home, for civilians anyway...I'm not a big fan of weapon lights. It requires you to point the muzzle in the same direction you need light to see. This runs counter to one of the gun safety rules, "always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction". Virtually impossible to do this when you're using a weapon-mounted light out in public.
     

    rhino

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    Agree with the others: you need a handheld light if you do not have a weapon-mounted light and you need a handheld light if you do have a weapon-mounted light. You also need a handheld light if you do not another weapon.

    No need to reiterate the pros that were already listed.

    Some of the cons, like pointing the gun at things you don't want to shoot if you use the weapon-mounted light to search, can be minimized with proper training and understanding how to use the light indirectly.

    In my opinion, the biggest drawback to a weapon-mounted light on a pistol is buying new holsters. It can get spendy. That means that the biggest drawback is really not a big deal.
     

    Trigger Time

    Air guitar master
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    I run lights on most of the guns at home. It allows me to keep one hand free if necessary and is quicker than using a separate light. As mentioned above, I always have a hand-held tactical light to supplement/backup this (whether home or away).

    Outside the home, for civilians anyway...I'm not a big fan of weapon lights. It requires you to point the muzzle in the same direction you need light to see. This runs counter to one of the gun safety rules, "always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction". Virtually impossible to do this when you're using a weapon-mounted light out in public.
    weapon lights aren't used for navigation like that. Goes back to training.
     

    Brad69

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    Cons
    Lights work in both directions
    The enemy/threat will usually shoot at the light

    Normally it's light on shoot light off as stated before it's not used to sweep an area
    If you wanna be real high speed get a PEQ-12
     

    rhino

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    Cons
    Lights work in both directions
    The enemy/threat will usually shoot at the light

    Normally it's light on shoot light off as stated before it's not used to sweep an area
    If you wanna be real high speed get a PEQ-12

    If you're on a military battlefield, I can see that as a primary consideration.

    Up close (like 20 yards to contact distance), it depends on how bright your light is. Certainly it's not a great idea to stand in one place with your light "on," so using light intermittently and as sparsely as needed while moving is prudent. But while you're actually shooting it's not an issue. It's a lot easier to see muzzle flashes without being blinded than it is to see what is behind a 1000 lumen LED.
     

    DRob

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    We have lights mounted on two guns. A 20" barreled shotgun and a Glock M30. They are two of our "night guns" as they come out when we go to bed. Both lights have easy-to-find/operate switches and are pretty dang bright. Shine one in a mirror in a dark room and you'll get a pretty good idea what a BG is going to be looking at. I am with GIJEW on the target identification philosophy. That the target is going to be blinded is just an added feature. When you need a gun and a light, I think it's best to only have to grab one item rather than two.
     

    lonehoosier

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    I carry both but if I had to chose it would be the flashlight.

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