So what's the best pistol mounted light these days?

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  • erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,886
    Rockville, MD
    So you prefer shooting 1 handed then. Only in places where there are no doors to open or things to hold on to.
    Not to mention that the light holds I've seen demonstrated put your handheld light right up against your pistol anyways. The idea that you'd stretch your light and arm all the way out seems... dubious.

    As for the particular light, Surefire, Streamlight, Insight, or Inforce. Lots of good choices in those brands.
     

    MikeTF

    Ultimate Member
    I know I'll get flamed for this but...

    I've never believed in "gun lights" for pistols.

    Let's say...
    You're going through the house and trying to find the BG...
    The BG is hiding and waiting in the dark...
    He knows where you are because he watches the beam from your gun light...
    As you enter the room where he is hiding... He shoots at your gun light...

    [STOP AND THINK]

    What is directly behind your gun light?

    Your head
    Your hands
    Your torso
    Your gun
    Your life

    What gets hit by his bullet that was fired at your gun light?

    (see above list)

    I was trained with a two handed search mode...
    Hand gun in strong hand...
    Flash light in weak hand with thumb on switch... Only turned on for brief periods and held out a bit forward, to the side and away from my face and body.

    Bullets, like moths, are usually coming for the light... Don't be standing behind the light.
    I won't flame you because it follows one of the tenants of gun safety: point the gun in a safe direction. If you're not sure if there's a threat it makes sense to have the flashlight separate from the gun. There's another practical side to this: you can conceal that you're carrying a gun by putting the gun behind your back (or other ways). Examples of this are when you hear a bump in the night or outside of your house (dog going nuts). If you run into a neighbor, or a family member (guest in the house), or any number of other people where you don't want to upset/frighten them by pointing a gun at them, they'll see the flashlight first. The only weapon mounted lights I have are on rifles.
     

    Jarhead FLSTI

    Active Member
    Aug 31, 2008
    804
    Glen Burnie
    I have a TLR-2 that I bought years ago when I thought it was tacticool... I found that having an alarm system "armed stay" at night is a better idea. I also have blue LED night lights that turn on when it's dark in every room. Now my house is never dark enough to need lights to walk around at night and not bright enough to interupt sleep.
     

    vgplayer

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 17, 2013
    1,069
    King George, VA
    Might be a little too late but a lot of places were dumping the 500 lumen Surefire X300 Ultras for around $180. Now the X300 Ultra is 600 lumens so be aware which version you are getting.
     

    MikeTF

    Ultimate Member
    I have a TLR-2 that I bought years ago when I thought it was tacticool... I found that having an alarm system "armed stay" at night is a better idea. I also have blue LED night lights that turn on when it's dark in every room. Now my house is never dark enough to need lights to walk around at night and not bright enough to interupt sleep.
    Excellent contribution. I've never heard of using Blue LEDs. For hunting, Green LEDs seem to help retain night vision.

    My earlier post about the Streamlight TLR-1 Gamespotterf (green LED) was a joke. It is a long range light for hog and coyote hunting. No one got it. :(
     

    OrbitalEllipses

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 18, 2013
    4,140
    DPR of MoCo
    My Surefire XC-1 came in over the weekend and at first look I am impressed. Very small (I was surprised at how little it really was when I first opened the box) and plenty bright enough for my intended use (around the house). Currently I use a TLR-1 on the house G19 and its a great light.

    Didn't like the controls at all.
     

    Xshot

    Ultimate Member
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 14, 2013
    1,645
    Pasadena, MD
    Red allows night vision to remain 100%. Any other color will alter vision. The 'darker' the light the better but red is best.
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,534
    I won't flame you because it follows one of the tenants of gun safety: point the gun in a safe direction. If you're not sure if there's a threat it makes sense to have the flashlight separate from the gun. There's another practical side to this: you can conceal that you're carrying a gun by putting the gun behind your back (or other ways). Examples of this are when you hear a bump in the night or outside of your house (dog going nuts). If you run into a neighbor, or a family member (guest in the house), or any number of other people where you don't want to upset/frighten them by pointing a gun at them, they'll see the flashlight first. The only weapon mounted lights I have are on rifles.
    IMAG8938.jpg

    IMAG8939.jpg
    There's no reason to point the light at the mysterious object if it's over about 200 lumens or so. Splash it off the wall or ceiling and it's plenty bright to see everything in the room without trashing nightvision. As for hiding the gun behind your back, if you're in dark, you won't be able to see anything behind a light source. To the badguy, you're just a source of light in the dark regardless of if that light comes from a wml or a handheld.

    A handheld is great for ccw though, where the handheld allows you to readily scan around you without drawing your gun. Both is best for giving you options.
     

    RoadDawg

    Nos nostraque Deo
    Dec 6, 2010
    94,462
    View attachment 164036

    View attachment 164037
    There's no reason to point the light at the mysterious object if it's over about 200 lumens or so. Splash it off the wall or ceiling and it's plenty bright to see everything in the room without trashing nightvision. As for hiding the gun behind your back, if you're in dark, you won't be able to see anything behind a light source. To the badguy, you're just a source of light in the dark regardless of if that light comes from a wml or a handheld.

    A handheld is great for ccw though, where the handheld allows you to readily scan around you without drawing your gun. Both is best for giving you options.

    Also... The hand held, if used properly can be crossed over and used as support for your pistol when needed. But, as was pointed out by MikeTF... You don't end up pointing a loaded firearm at everything you point the light at while scanning the area.

    I like the idea of a subdued lighting in the house... Or the tactical practice of walking your house in the dark without any lights at all. Learning to walk through your house as a blind person would do is a huge advantage when checking a bump in the night. Knowing your surroundings better than the intruder can save you from being their victim.
     

    Hawkeye

    The Leatherstocking
    Jan 29, 2009
    3,971
    So I think I'll likely end up with a Streamlight. Possibly a Surefire, but we'll wait to see what Black Friday brings.

    As far as night vision.... yes, brighter is going to be more blinding or whatever, but any exposure to white light in the amounts that any of these flashlights make is going to trash your night vision pretty well anyhow.

    Some of the house lighting things that have been mentioned sound like interesting ideas. I've thought in the past about hooking my lights in the various rooms up to a smart home controller of some sort so I can light the whole house from my bedroom at night if I want to. I think that could have a lot of advantages. I'm upstairs, I can keep it dark up there, but suddenly every other light in the house goes on.
     

    RangerWillrett

    Active Member
    Jun 20, 2011
    378
    Mineral Co WV
    I have the protec laser/light combo and I love it... for about 80 bucks you get a nice bright light and a decent laser, and if you decide you dont like a light on the gun its on 80 for the combo and I think 40ish for just the light.
     

    ashershapiro

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Apr 11, 2014
    382
    For compacts like a Glock 19 the new Surefire HC1 is awesome. The viridian C series and the Crimson trace railmaster are all nice too. They are all compact and do not extend past the muzzle, which is great for CCW.
     

    Blaster229

    God loves you, I don't.
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 14, 2010
    46,604
    Glen Burnie
    View attachment 164036

    View attachment 164037
    There's no reason to point the light at the mysterious object if it's over about 200 lumens or so. Splash it off the wall or ceiling and it's plenty bright to see everything in the room without trashing nightvision. As for hiding the gun behind your back, if you're in dark, you won't be able to see anything behind a light source. To the badguy, you're just a source of light in the dark regardless of if that light comes from a wml or a handheld.

    A handheld is great for ccw though, where the handheld allows you to readily scan around you without drawing your gun. Both is best for giving you options.

    Why not point your light(pistol) at a mysterious object that may be the threat?

    So you "splash" the ceiling and there is a threat over in the corner of the room, then you have to adjust, move, and aim in on the target? Why aren't you searching with your pistol forward (and light) at the ready where you are scanning?
     

    Indiana Jones

    Wolverine
    Mar 18, 2011
    19,480
    CCN
    Also... The hand held, if used properly can be crossed over and used as support for your pistol when needed. But, as was pointed out by MikeTF... You don't end up pointing a loaded firearm at everything you point the light at while scanning the area.



    I like the idea of a subdued lighting in the house... Or the tactical practice of walking your house in the dark without any lights at all. Learning to walk through your house as a blind person would do is a huge advantage when checking a bump in the night. Knowing your surroundings better than the intruder can save you from being their victim.


    Until you SNAP an ankle on the dog bone like I did last time I went to take a pee and didn't turn the lights on. :)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    MikeTF

    Ultimate Member
    Until you SNAP an ankle on the dog bone like I did last time I went to take a pee and didn't turn the lights on. :)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Ouch! The good thing about a dog (or at least mine) is that she growls at things happening outside of the house without any visible light. It's as if she can see through walls. Normal stuff she ignores. Abnormal stuff we hear about. One of the best alarm systems out there.
     

    Z_Man

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2014
    2,698
    Harford County
    I have a streamlight TLR-1s. when pointed at the ceiling will fully light any room in my house (white ceilings). a wall or the floor will also reflect a ton of light. I like how i can toggle it on or lock it on. strobe is a double tap on the switch. the LED light is bright as the sun so there will be no lack of light. I have not used the light outside, but im not chasing the bump in the night outside.
     

    AliasNeo07

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 12, 2009
    6,561
    MD
    Well...for people worried about pointing their WML (and thus firearm) at something that may not be a threat...why not simply have a handheld light in addition?

    In your safe, pistol box, whatever, have your firearm with WML, an extra mag if you'd like, and a handheld light like a surefire. Then you can search with the handheld if you don't want to use the WML.
     

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