Pistol mounted lights

jimbobborg · May 5, 2016

I'm looking to get a light for one of my pistols. Question is, should the shiny part of the light not go past the end of the muzzle? If it helps, the light would be installed on my Keltec PF9 and may get switched to a bigger pistol depending on when and where I'm carrying. Hope this makes sense.

alucard0822 · May 5, 2016

It will get dirty, and take a beating from muzzle blast, but won't hurt a good light, I've run TLR1s, TLR3s and GLOCK lights on compacts without a problem, solid state LEDs in a rugged housing are really tough. Just be sure to shoot it enough to verify reliability, the added weight and pressure on the rail can change POI and occasionally reliability issues on some models. The TRL3 is short, made to run on compacts, it will fit on short rails where not much else will, good matchup for a pf9.

Not mine

bitterkenny · May 5, 2016

Even if the light doesn't go past the muzzle, it'll still get dirty if you shoot with it on. So think about possibly covering up the lens when at the range, or removing the light prior to the range. If you do keep it on and it gets dirty, wipe it down afterwards. If carbon really builds up on it, I found using a bit of tooth paste to polish it up works well.

mopar92 · May 5, 2016

Streamlight TLR-1 is a great light but oversized for anything but OWB carry. If you want something for a compact gun the Surefire XC1 is a very nice piece. As Alucard mentioned check for reliability with it mounted. 3rd gen Glocks had issues with the Streamlight and Glock redesigned the followers so be aware of that.

I like having the bezel of the light forward of the muzzle it gives standoff distance in contact shooting and can serve as a brace against a barricade for longer distance/more precise shots.

PapiBarcelona · May 5, 2016

I think Glock 23's had the most issues with lights on them. The common reoccurring internet theory I've seen on message boards is that tightening up something heavy on the 40 Cal 23 made the frame rigid, increased the slide speed (dwell?) and failure to feeds were occurring.

I think there are reports of the Glock 22 doing the same, but less.

One of the "fixes" seemed to be putting the fullsize 15 round mag springs into the 13 round mags. 12/11 whatever coil versus 9 coil.

No other Glocks but the 40 caliber has this common issue that I've gawked at on the internet.

mopar92 · May 5, 2016

PapiBarcelona said:
I think Glock 23's had the most issues with lights on them. The common reoccurring internet theory I've seen on message boards is that tightening up something heavy on the 40 Cal 23 made the frame rigid, increased the slide speed (dwell?) and failure to feeds were occurring.

I think there are reports of the Glock 22 doing the same, but less.

One of the "fixes" seemed to be putting the fullsize 15 round mag springs into the 13 round mags. 12/11 whatever coil versus 9 coil.

No other Glocks but the 40 caliber has this common issue that I've gawked at on the internet.

Pretty much, the tightening of the light on the dustcover made the frame more rigid and it had less flex (the flex in a typical Glock frame helps absorb recoil energy) and all the unused energy redirected itself to cycling the slide which increased slide speed (which decreases dwell time) and the magazine couldn't present the next round fast enough.

Have no idea if the Glock 23 had more issues buty G22 did it.

jimbobborg · May 5, 2016

Thanks for the recommendations. Fortunately, I don't own a Glock, so the problems mentioned won't affect me. How wide is the XC-1? It seems most of these lights are designed around Glocks, whereas I'm putting one on a single-stack, sub-compact 9mm.

BigT5g · May 5, 2016

Be careful to not over tighten the tlr3. The rail mount is polymer and can break if over tightened. I have experienced this. The tlr1 is metal and has no such problem but of course is twice as big. That being said I am a fan of streamlights wmls. For the money they are excellent.

BigT5g · May 5, 2016

As far as the light getting dirty I just cover the lense with electrical tape at the range. Pulls right off and you have a clean lense.

swinokur · May 5, 2016

The Glocks affected by the light issue wrere Gen 3 Glocks in .40 S&W. I think glock fixed the problem witrh a stronger RSA. There is mention of it on the Streamlight FAQ page from a while back.

screamingeagle · May 5, 2016

I use the Veridian C5 on my Glock 17 and Sig MK25.Its a laser/light combo.
Does not protrude beyond barrel.Very compact and bright for the size.

Blaster229 · May 5, 2016

screamingeagle said:
I use the Veridian C5 on my Glock 17 and Sig MK25.Its a laser/light combo.
Does not protrude beyond barrel.Very compact and bright for the size.

For those who Google, it will be the C5L, which is the light/laser combo.

Mike OTDP · May 5, 2016

jimbobborg said:
How wide is the XC-1?

The width of a Glock 17/19 frame. About 1 inch. It's really an impressive bit of gear. Not the brightest light, but incredibly compact.

photoracer · May 5, 2016

My bud Robby Orent put together a promotion YouTube video showing what you can do with the Viridian. Among other things you can watch him do the Mel Gibson smiley face thing for real on a USPSA target with no other illumination than the Viridian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVi26_0bEYs

jimbobborg · May 5, 2016

photoracer said:
My bud Robby Orent put together a promotion YouTube video showing what you can do with the Viridian. Among other things you can watch him do the Mel Gibson smiley face thing for real on a USPSA target with no other illumination than the Viridian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVi26_0bEYs

That's pretty cool. I'm liking the Serpa-like holster he's using.

AliasNeo07 · May 6, 2016

X300 protrudes past every muzzle on every gun Ive tried it on. Never a problem. Just throw some masking tape or painters tape over the lense when taking it shooting so you don't have to spend forever scrubbing it.

No experience with the streamlight models.

And I know this wasn't part of your question but...brighter is not always better unless you know youre going to be using this light primarily outside and in more of an offensive role (if that is your role, like LE/MIL or whatever.) Too bright inside a house and if your eyes are adjusted to the darkness and it will temporarily blind you or at least significantly reduce your vision.

Some people think that concern is BS but I suggest trying it for yourself. Everyone's eyes are different. I have a couple really bright flashlights (because I like flashlights and also I'm outside at night for work sometimes.) If you do too, if you wake up in the middle of the night to pee one night, lol, take your super bright flashlight into the hallway or whatever and turn it on. You may find reflection off of the white paint, mirrors, whatever, to be too bright. To me, the X300 and similarly bright lights are a bright enough but not over the top.

swinokur · May 6, 2016

A pencil eraser works great for cleaning the lens

screamingeagle · May 6, 2016

Here is my Veridian on my MK25.

Gives a view of how it looks on a rail,it doesn't extend beyond my Glock 17 either.

screamingeagle · May 6, 2016

Other side.

screamingeagle · May 6, 2016

Last one.

Pistol mounted lights

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