EDC-Lights on pistols

EDC
102

So now you’re worried about 3 things going on, where your light is shining and pointed at, where your gun is pointed at, where your threat is, and one handed manipulations.

Use your handheld to identify threats, if a threat appears drop the handheld, draw your gun, turn on your weapon mounted light and get to work. If he is a threat your focus should be shooting, and stopping the threat.

Everybody says “well I don’t want him to know where I am”

If he doesn’t know where you are how is he a threat to you?

Let’s say you hold your flashlight off to the side, are you making sure your flashlight is not producing a silhouette to shoot at?

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103

I respect your position but I am comfortable and I have trained a great deal shooting one-handed.
There are also a couple of techniques that can be used to create some isometric support using a separate tactical flashlight without having to flag the target and having your gun already drawn. Now I’m speaking inside the home. the bright beam of a tactical flashlight May create a silhouette of his first attention is going to be on the source of the light in my opinion. But as with all things we all have opinions don’t we?

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104

You shouldn’t have to flag the target with your WML to ID them indoors in a residential setting. Low or high ready bouncing the light off the floor/baseboards or off the ceiling with modern WML will solidly illuminate almost any dark interior residential room well enough to ID the threat…with the advantage that now you have two hands on the pistol.

But using a handheld and one hand on the pistol isn’t wrong.

I also kind of believe that shining a flashlight around indoors is going to identify where you are, even if that flashlight is held in your hand

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105

I guess Nathan we are all probably most comfortable with how we trained. In my lifetime I’ve had two low-light courses both using a separate flashlight so that is my comfort zone. If you’re more comfortable with a weapons mounted light and that is how you have trained that’s great.

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106

Absolutely, do what you are proficient and trained with.

Just sayin’, it’s not a “Must” to point the gun at something to ID it with a WML in a dark residential setting, so for other people, that is a viable method without violating the 4 rules.

Its far from the the only viable method, though, the one you use is as well

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107

Great story. Yes, beware of “self”. To err is human.

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108

IDK. I don’t mount it, I prefer KISS method, but after reading all this, I gonna keep a good flashlight on me person.

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109
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110

Nauseating topic actually…

You can find 4 billion videos and opinions on the internet Pro and Con weapons mounted lights when this is simple.

If you want a light on your gun, get one and TRAIN with it. if you want a light in your hand get one and TRAIN with it. Most of the reasons on the inter web for pro or con (BGs shoots at the light, you’ll point your gun at your own family and kill them, batteries will fail) are basically glossy brochure bullet points that “sound good” but have NO statistics to back them up. And I ONLY believe in facts and science.

But for what it’s worth, one of my mentors actively hunts bad people for our government for a living and his statement on the subject was “I’d rather suck-start my own pistol than have to juggle a separate light and gun when the SHTF.”. He’s been there, done that, got the t-shirt, wore it out, threw it away (many times over), and trains others to do the same, so I believe him…

But as an example of this type of subject one of my main mentors will not be without a laser on a gun, the other one would rather die than put one on a gun, both men are more capable and have more mileage in bad places than everyone here combined. So listen to everyone, make your own assessment of YOUR needs but in the end, YOU are the only one that gets to decide and your decision does not have to make sense or be justified to anyone else. I don’t care what tools you use, the only thing that counts is your ability to put rounds accurately into the threat, NOW!!! If it takes a weapons mounted light or a light saber for you to do that, so be it…

Carry on…

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111

I guess I’ll throw my 2 cents in on this one. Should you have a wml? It’s really up to you. I have one on one of my EDCs, but I have yet to use it other than training with it in my house and before we turn the lights on at the range when I work mornings. I do carry a pocket light when I carry that particular firearm, as to not have to pull my piece if I need a light. It could come in handy in a particular situation, but hopefully one of those never happens. As far as giving my position away, if I need my firearm, the person already knows where I am. However, try looking in the direction of my light at night… to me, it was quite painful the few times I flashed myself with it not on my firearm. 1000lm is pretty blinding :man_facepalming:t3::rofl:

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112

A light, just like a folding knife is one of those things folks don’t think they’ll need and once you start carrying as EDC you beat yourself up thing “What took me so long?!?!?”.

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113

Two things are without question, One, you REALLY should have a light. Two, you can’t point a gun at ANYONE who isn’t an identified and immediate threat. For a civilian, this seems to contain an irrefutable point of unavoidable logic. which is, the light you use to IDENTIFY a threat, cannot be mounted on a gun!

There may well be a very important time and place for a light to be on the gun.

I liken it to the light on an AR or carbine. If , with your handheld flashlight, you should discover you are in immediate danger and need to employ your long gun, drop the flashlight and deploy the long gun, activating the light as you do so. ( because the long gun requires both hands ). You CAN however deploy your handgun with only one hand while bracing against the wrist holding the flashlight. Or perhaps you train to drop the handheld and activate a mounted light.

In either case, you can’t search, or conduct threat assessment with a light mounted on your gun.

Much of the training you may see on line is geared towards LE or military, we civilians have to observe more stringent rules of conduct when it comes to things like lights on guns.

The rule as I see it is, Weapon mounted light IN ADDITION TO, a handheld, NOT INSTEAD OF, for the above mentioned reasons.

By the time your weapon mounted light is pointed at someone, they ALREADY must be an immediate threat, otherwise you have done something wrong.

If I am wrong, and you can back it up with facts, PLEASE do so. I’ve gone over this several times, and this is the conclusion I have come too each time. Again, as a civilian, and not LE or military situations.

There seems to be a lot of confusion out there about this question, and the consequences of getting it wrong seem to be rather high in many cases.

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114

I did a 40 hour defensive pistol class with simunitions. One situation we trained for was a night-time arrival home. Door is ajar. House is dark. Enter the house. Daughter is screaming in back room. Navigate in the dark to rescue daughter without turning on lights to alert intruder.

WML really helped to keep both hands on the weapon and then be able to open doors.

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115

I prefer 3 lights on my EDC pistol in case the batteries are out on one, the 2nd once is broken. At least I have that 3rd one!

No, seriesly…times are a changin. And not for the better yet. In this time of mob raids and multiple threat worries and Lord knows what else…I am gearing up. For most of my main weapons I have ordered light accommodating holsters. Then, I have the option. If I’m fairly confident I’m not going to be out past sunset and when the zombies come out, I’ll probably select a sidearm that is not equiped with a light. But when I know I’m out past dark I prefer to have the light on the gun to maintain control of the weapon with both hands…and if needed have a free hand to manipulate other things and help retain the weapon from assailants without worrying about dropping a separate light. For me, the way I train and my mindset, it is the best choice for me. If the world really goes to chit, the rules of engagement may change. So, with it attached, it simplifies my loadout as well. It’s nice at night too looking for those things outside the dogs bark at in the woods of Montana.

And my opinion is not in the least affected because I designed some of them tac lights and green lasers back in the day… Fight like you train. There are plenty of options. Just be competent with the setup you choose, and train, train, train. :monorail: :tram: :steam_locomotive:

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116

Not turning on lights to alert intruder…that would seem to indicate not using the WML either though? Wouldn’t hundreds of lumens shining around in the dark indicate someone is there?

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117

I’d rather not have the indoor lights illuminate myself to the intruder.

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118

Turning on the light that is in your hand doesn’t give away your presence? It’s given as the scenario is you don’t turn the lights on so bad guy doesn’t even know you are there. How do you use a WML in the dark and others don’t even know you are there? I’m not following

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119

The weapon mounted light is supposed to be used as a use of force, blinding your enemy. Not for ambient light.

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120

That could be a thing…though I wonder aloud how often it’s justified to point your gun at someone when you aren’t intending to shoot them (or haven’t ID’d who they are)…or if you are intending to shoot them, how much benefit there is to manipulating your light at the same time as shooting them.

But even then, all that seems different, to me, than navigating around the house in the dark without giving away that that is what you’re doing.

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121

I’m going to throw in my two cents for what it’s worth. I have a weapons mounted light on all of my tactical long guns but not my pistols. I prefer and have trained with a handheld flashlight with my pistols. One thing not mentioned and it is a small thing but if you do use it weapons mounted light, carry a separate tactical light anyway. It is amazing how often you need a good flashlight quickly and you don’t want to have to draw your firearm to find the keys you just dropped outside, or many other utilitarian reasons.

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