Pistol Light

teratos said:

Maybe, but you need to be prepared for every eventuality. No HD weapion be it shotgun or handgun is complete without a light. The spread on 00 buckshot at 10 yards is still rather small. You don't want to be caught with your pants down...

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Or be caught firing at a friendly.


*Unless your Dick Cheney, and "he looked like a bird..."

Mtairy Biker said:

I guess I just don't get the flashlight on a pistol deal . and the whole need for a rail thing for that matter.

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The basic reason is to give yourself more options to get information and limit the ability of a threat to see. It's why I have lights on all my defensive guns. If I'm using my nightstand gun for defense, it's likely going to be at night while I'm in bed. If I'm awake, I have a gun on my hip and the lights are on. If I KNOW there is someone breaking in to my house downstairs, the smart thing to do is call the cops and keep my hd rifle on the door. If someone tries to come through, I must address them.

As my door is opening, I've got to make a lot of decisions in a relatively short amount of time. The more information I have, the better chance I have of making the correct decision. By lighting up the door as it's being opened, I can first Identify if it is a threat or not. For all I know, it could be a fireman or some random drunk that thought he came home to the correct place. By lighting them up, I can look at what I'm dealing with and better determine the level of threat including what weapons they may have and how many people there are.

While helping with gathering information, the light gives me the ability to aim better, both by enabling me to better see the front sight and the attacker....annnnd by just using the light beam as a rough indexing point for where shots are going to land in quick point-shooting. While that's going on, the light has the effect of blinding the person coming through the door and making them deflect their eyes away from me(since 600 lumens on my rifle, or 200+ lumens in my hand or on the pistol hurt to look at).

If there's something going on downstairs and I don't know what it is and need to check it out, a handgun w/ weaponlight and a light in my hand give me lots of options. While lights give you a view of what's going on in a dark room, they also give away where you are, so a handheld light can come in handy there. Handheld lights have the advantage of being able to sweep a room without having to wave your gun around at what could potentially be a family member or other non-threat. There's lots of things you can do, from holding the light up and away from you(so if they shoot towards the lights, they're shooting away from your center of mass), to turning it on and lobbing it in to the room, to setting it up pointed at the door and then move to a position of advantage in the room so that anyone coming in would direct attention at the light and not towards where you are. Of course, the best option may also just be to turn your lightswitch on or use your nightlights you've got set up.

The weapon mounted light is a good backup to the handheld light and is stuck to your gun if you're waking up to someone coming in your room and don't have time to reach for your gun AND a light. Again, it just gives you one more option to solve problems that may come up.

Agreed. I've switched a few things up in recent years; one of the most important was going with lights mounted on HD gun(s), for the reasons Smokey0118 discusses.

Stay with CR123's.

Flashlight

Mtairy Biker said:

I guess I just don't get the flashlight on a pistol deal . and the whole need for a rail thing for that matter.

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*** I own the TLR-1, and TLR-4 compact and have them on my home defense arms - they work well and I have tested them at the range a lot to make sure they are reliable.

I'm a simple guy and want simple, practical equipment. If I have to get up in the middle of the night because I think someone is breaking into the home - the flashlight on the pistol gives me another option in case there are multiple attackers and I have to use the other hand to pull the TLR-5sh out:

All this talk about multiple attackers and seeing who is braking in your houses and drunks coming in at night . Maybe instead of spending you money on flashlights and guns you should save your money and get a real estate agent and buy a more stable neighborhood.
I do not think of my guns as self defense tools . I guess I have been up in the country to long and do not live life as scared .

I have never been a fan of a pistol light, but since my new 226 has a rail, I am going to try one just for kicks.

a good dog and shot gun should do the trick as far as I see it. The rest is a big sales gimmick playing on peoples fears.
Do the cops in Baltimore city or DC have flash lights on there pistols = NO they do not.

TLR1s is what I like on a budget, but you can break the switches with a tight fitting kidex holster. I have broken my switches but Streamlight sent me a replacement.

Surefire x300 is slightly more rugged but some dont like the switches. The new 300 ultra is SUPER bright. I really like them.

Those are the only 3 choices for me.

Mtairy Biker said:

All this talk about multiple attackers and seeing who is braking in your houses and drunks coming in at night . Maybe instead of spending you money on flashlights and guns you should save your money and get a real estate agent and buy a more stable neighborhood.
I do not think of my guns as self defense tools . I guess I have been up in the country to long and do not live life as scared .

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Dumbest post I think I have ever read on MDS.

clandestine said:

Dumbest post I think I have ever read on MDS.

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I lol'd.

Yeah I'm not sure what that post was. Maybe he's casing all of us haha

Mtairy Biker said:

All this talk about multiple attackers and seeing who is braking in your houses and drunks coming in at night . Maybe instead of spending you money on flashlights and guns you should save your money and get a real estate agent and buy a more stable neighborhood.
I do not think of my guns as self defense tools . I guess I have been up in the country to long and do not live life as scared .

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You've posted 5 times in here and have not really contributed anything helpful. You're entitled to your viewpoint and all, but it's not the information I was looking for when starting this thread. Getting a real-estate agent and moving to a more stable neighborhood(not sure I am able to buy an entire neighborhood on a teacher's salary just quite yet), is not a possibility while I'm planning and paying for a wedding.

The reality is that anywhere in the dc/metro/bmore area has a big enough threat from home invasions that it is wise to be prepared to deal with them. Do you wear a seatbelt? Are you in constant perpetual fear of flying through your windshield, or do you see it as a reasonable safety precaution against a potential threat?

Feel free to post more in here if you have some advice on which pistol-mounted light would be a good choice for me to put on my M&P45. Feel free to post if you have some holsters(like the raven kydex holster for the tlr3, als for the tlr1 or crossbreed for the crimson trace) that would work for the lights. If you're just posting in here to say it's a dumb idea, you're talking to a brick wall at this point, since I've looked in to this and have made my own decisions based on knowledge I've gained....sooo...it's not going to be a post that's needed.

clandestine said:

TLR1s is what I like on a budget, but you can break the switches with a tight fitting kidex holster. I have broken my switches but Streamlight sent me a replacement.

Surefire x300 is slightly more rugged but some dont like the switches. The new 300 ultra is SUPER bright. I really like them.

Those are the only 3 choices for me.

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hmm, hadn't found that problem with the switches in reading reviews, but it makes sense given the design. A fellow MSF member has a tlr1 he offered to let me steal from him, so I may go that route. It looks like the tlr1 has the most options for holsters as well. Thanks for the input

For a fullsize, the X300 is the gold standard, TLR-1 is probably the best on a budget, although I wouldn't buy one if I were you, or at least wait till after your birthday It has a little weight to it, but when concealment isn't an issue, and that pistol is polymer framed and already lightweight it helps control, and is a good backup to a handheld. They also have plenty of parts and accesories available, so you can set it up how you want, or fix it if it breaks, I tried out a co-worker's TLR-1 and it was nice, the switch is thick plastic, but easy to replace with a single screw and probably keeps the internals from getting damaged if it snags or the pistol drops, and rocking it on instead of sliding is nice for mounting on rails of slightly different dimentions. They are more than bright enough that just hitting the momentary and throwing some light on the floor lights up everything in front of you, and once you identify a target with indirect light, then you can use the light to confront and blind an already identified target. Seems that is the new hotness technique for rail mounted lights, use a handheld to make corners, and navigate in the dark, use the weapon mount to flash illuminate a room, identify, then engage a target. I have practiced, and like it, it works well for me where I use my handheld CC or HD, then slip on a rail light for HD, practicing to use both when both are available, or either one if the other fails.

alucard0822 said:

For a fullsize, the X300 is the gold standard, TLR-1 is probably the best on a budget, although I wouldn't buy one if I were you, or at least wait till after your birthday It has a little weight to it, but when concealment isn't an issue,, and that pistol is polymer framed and already lightweight it helps control, and is a good backup to a handheld. They are more than bright enough that just hitting the momentary and throwing some light on the floor lights up everything in front of you, and once you identify a target with indirect light, then you can use the light to confront and blind an already identified target. Seems that is the new hotness technique for rail mounted lights, use a handheld to make corners, and navigate in the dark, use the weapon mount to flash illuminate a room, identify, then engage a target. I have practiced, and like it, it works well for me where I use my handheld CC or HD, then slip on a rail light for HD, practicing to use both when both are available, or either one if the other fails.

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haha 10-4

smokey0118 said:

hmm, hadn't found that problem with the switches in reading reviews, but it makes sense given the design. A fellow MSF member has a tlr1 he offered to let me steal from him, so I may go that route. It looks like the tlr1 has the most options for holsters as well. Thanks for the input

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I can post pics once I feel better (Im realy sick). The kydex holster is a Baldetech molded for mu USP Tac/TLR1s. When the weapon goes in the TLR switches hang out just a bit on the sides and catches the holster. They got loose right off the bat and eventually broke off.

I modded the switches so they dont hang over on my replacement. Just something to look for. Maybe other holsters dont have this issue. I must admit Im rather rought on my guns/gear so it may be my fault.

Im sure whatever you pick wil be well thought out my friend. Please post your decision when you make it.


The anodizing will also wear off from repeatd holsterings too around the light head, but its normal for heavy use. Even surefires will do that.

smokey0118 said:

haha 10-4

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Looks like the light was chosen for you.

clandestine said:

I can post pics once I feel better (Im realy sick). The kydex holster is a Baldetech molded for mu USP Tac/TLR1s. When the weapon goes in the TLR switches hang out just a bit on the sides and catches the holster. They got loose right off the bat and eventually broke off.

I modded the switches so they dont hang over on my replacement. Just something to look for. Maybe other holsters dont have this issue. I must admit Im rather rought on my guns/gear so it may be my fault.

Im sure whatever you pick wil be well thought out my friend. Please post your decision when you make it.

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I hope ya feel better soon. jenni and I just came off of that flu that's going around. Luckily, my super-teacher immune system kicked it pretty quick but jenni was hit a little harder. No rush on the pictures. Concentrate on just getting better.

clandestine said:

Looks like the light was chosen for you.

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He's good like that. I got to be careful saying I want anything around the guy. Once when I was probably 10 or so, I liked some rollerblades at the sports authority, but they were way too expensive. Damned if they didn't come home in the truck with us.

In addition:
I use a safariland ALS mounted to my bed stand and a ALS as a primary holster for classes and range time. I have drawn both my glock and sig with TLR1 many, many times and have had no issue with the switches. Clandestine, have you tried a different (but same model) Bladetech, maybe yours is just slightly out of wack?

Does anyone have any experience with the new Inforce pistol light?

WML APL looks like a great light 200 lumens at $110 is hard to beat.