What are opinions on mounted lights on a pistol? I’ve heard some say they would only carry a separate light (I like to have two hands on my gun). Other issue, do you illuminate with the gun pointed down as to not flag any unwanted target.
Just wanted to hear some input on this.
I’d love a pistol mounted light that I could activate upon request (push of a button).
But, if you train with one your muscle memory may train to always turn it on when you don’t want too.
One of my EDC has a Varidian light system on it, it automatically comes on, or the laser comes on, or both, upon drawing from holster. That is nice, but once again what if I don’t want to expose myself.
I think Crimson Trace makes a light and some others but I could never find a holster that would accommodate them. So, it’s back to what I’ve trained with. Harries.
I have both. A streamlite TLR-4 on my gun when it’s in my nightstand, but I take it off for pocket carry.
I’ve also got a 1040 lumen flashlight in my nightstand drawer next to my gun.
Then a little 150 lumen light in my multi tool case on my belt.
I have never used a mounted light and prefer keeping it in hand to be able to control it separate from the weapon.
I also have both. My bedside pistol has a Streamlight TLR 8 mounted. It has constant and momentary on modes. I have mine set up to display the light while also projecting the laser dot. Since I can easily control the light, I feel it is the best of both options. It also lets me keep both hands on the pistol.
The light is 500 lumens, and in my mind a defensive weapon in its own right. It does limit your holster options right now. At this time I would have to order a custom holster for around $100 to keep it mounted full-time.
I’m old fashioned, but to me the weapon light just gives the bad guys an aiming point in the dark. Also using the light on the weapon means you’re pointing both at the same point. Instead, I keep a very bright flashlight on the nightstand right beside the pistol. If needed it is held as far from my body as possible while the handgun is held strong hand and centered where it can easily be aimed as needed.
One thing I have trained on is holding the pistol low and away, using the laser dot only to direct my fire. I have managed to get a real good zero on the laser. I could keep most of my body concealed and, while peering around a wall or door, take only my right or left hand and deliver accurate fire. In this circumstance I could fire with only exposing my hand and about half or less of my head. Just something I have trained on lately.
I’m thinking of buying one. I don’t plan to put one on my carry gun. I don’t really see the practicality in that. I have a home defense full size Gun set up I would like to get a light for. Right now I have a flashlight separate next to it, I would prefer to have the gun in both hands if I needed it.
Like any other tool, context is important, and training with those tools in those contexts is important.
My HD firearms all have lights mounted (pistol and rifle). I have a myriad of independent flashlights available, including on the nightstand.
My EDC firearms do not have lights mounted on them. 99.999% of the time I have an EDC flashlight on me.
When I’m out and about, my EDC light gets used for illumination. I definitely don’t want to go around flagging everyone/everything if the only light I have available is on the firearm. I don’t oppose flashlights on an EDC, I just don’t personally use them.
At home, though… If I pick up my firearm, it’s because I’m at least considering there is a lethal threat. And I’d like as many hands on the firearm as I can, which is why I dont have a seperate light in that scenario. There are a great many myths around using lights indoors. YouTube has some good videos if you can’t/don’t want to take a low-light class.
I subscribe to the “you can’t have too many lumens” philosophy. Some folks will say you’ll blind yourself, but with just a teeny tiny bit of practice you know where your mirrors/reflective surfaces are, and putting a substantial amount of light downrange has some obvious benefits. If they are blinded, they are not returning any sort of accurate fire. If you leave the light on constantly and walk around the house, then sure maybe an intruder would take aim at the source (since they aren’t blinded). The proper way is to use quick bursts of light, you know where all your stuff is and should be able to recognize what is “different”, then continue moving.
You can point the light down at the baseboards or up at the ceiling for “umbrella lighting”. That will illuminate a lot without directly pointing at anything. Of course, if you live in an apartment building and have neighbors above/below then you may want to adjust.
Aaron Cohen w/Sage Dynamics has some really good videos around low-light. If you have a few minutes check them out…
Explaining why you can never have enough lumens
Using a Handheld light only…
Using a Weapon Mounted Light only…
Transitioning from WML to Handheld…
I keep the weapon mounted light at home. A pocket light leaves the house with me.
I know this is old, but this video reminded me of this post. It’s a story where the weapon mounted light ended a break in (possible any flashlight would have worked).
Have you been able to find a Holster for you weapon? I have the TLR-8A and I’m not having any luck. I was going to take a training class where I need a holster, but haven’t been able to score any yet.
Yes sir I did. I ordered a custom holster from Black Point Tactical. It is an OWB Kydex rig. They offer IWB as well. I have not gotten mine just yet. They take 7 to 8 weeks to be delivered. They are needing an additional 1 to 2 weeks due to Covid. They are in Georgia. They also make holsters for Sig. Great reviews. I will post a review when I get mine next week.
Thanks, I’ll check them out. I just found some from Legacy Firearms, but they are a bit expensive. Of course at this point my options are so limited I may have to break the bank. They are about 8 weeks out as well - bummer.
How do y’all feel about a rechargeable fun light? I’m looking into this one. It’s well liked,
I just started thinking about adding a mounted light on an HD weapon yesterday. Was planning to do more research, but I had put several in my AmazonSmile Shopping List yesterday. One of them was a Crimson Trace CMR-208, $120 retail, $84 on Amazon. I checked the Shopping List this morning and they had dropped the price to $63, and it is supposed to be here today:
Like I said, I had planned to do more research, but at that price, why not?
Edit: Just thought about this, I wonder if it comes with a battery 
Edit 2: It does come with a battery
I have a hand held light for checking out bumps in the night since all the bumps in the night at my house are my wife and son heading to bathroom or getting in or out of bed late or early. Fortunately they have distinct walking styles and paths so I typically don’t have to get out of bed to check out their nightly wanderings.
But I do have a weapon mounted light on my home defense pistol in case I need to drop the hand held light and grab my son to bring him to our safe area.
It’s not for me.
To me, I’m not drawing my concealed handgun out in public unless I have already identified an imminent deadly threat/imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death. If I still need to “PID” a threat, I’m not drawing my gun yet.
I also don’t like that many light compatible holsters necessarily (depending on make of pistol and model of light, etc) leave openings big enough for a finger or something else to pull the trigger of the gun while in the holster. That is not something I am personally comfortable with. SPeaking of holsters, there is also the downside that finding a compatible holster at all is much more difficult when you have an attached light.
I also find it pretty unlikely that I’ll be needing to defend myself in lighting so low that I can’t even ID the threat without a light, when out in public. INtermediate lighting where sights are hard to see, or the front sight is just a black shadow, and maybe the threat is in an illuminated area and I’m in a darker area, and I want night sights to see that front sight better, or a fiber optic to grab what light is available, yeah, okay maybe. But needing a light to ID the threat? Doubt it.
A handheld is where I land. It’s useful for boring mundane daily stuff, and can also be used to help disrupt an OODA or distract someone or even used while also drawing or holding or firing a pistol
Now, for home defense, different story. I figure I’m much more likely to have a gun in my hand, legally, in my own home, before an imminent threat has been identified. But then I will have a long gun so a mounted light is required because you can’t really use a carbine and a hand held light at the same time very effectively, just mount it. I also like that the activation of the carbine or shotgun mounted light happens far away, physically, from the trigger, and always with the support hand (for all of my long guns and their setups). I like that
I meant for HD in my post to be an acronym for Home Defense. For me, this is not intended for Concealed Carry in public.