For those of you opposed to lights and accessory rails...

S

SVTNate

New member
I'd like to know why you WOULDN'T want a gun-mounted light (Tac Light, I suppose) in a home defense situation.

I just don't undestand it, I consider integral rails and a light to be essential in a home defense gun. At 3AM with all the lights in the house off, I would definitely need to know who I am shooting at. It just makes a lot of sense to me, and I would like to know why you don't find this feature useful/important.

I totally understand the uselessness of rails and lights on range and carry guns, by the way. I am speaking strictly about a gun that will be used at least sometimes for home defense.
 
In my case, I think they are expensive and awkward. Also there are plenty of times I want to light something up but don't want to point a gun at it. (Son coming in, dog roaming around, neighbor staggering by, etc.).

I do agree about having a light, I keep a powerful one right by the gun and use it (the light) often. I know I could have both lights but don't want to have to be switching around.

When we had "dumps", instead of "landfills", I used to go out at night to the dump and hold a tight-beam flashlight in one hand and a semi-auto .22 in the other. Hold them close and get a rat in the beam and pull trigger! Great fun, good training.

taa, cs:D
 
One reason is that to point your light at something, you have to point your weapon at it, too. That's great if that something is a something you'd consider shooting. However, if you're just IDing that something, it could be a cop or other thing you wouldn't.

Added bulk on any weapon.

I can see the use, but having only a weapon mounted light, doesn't seem particularly great. Perhaps a hand held and weapon mounted light would be a better combo.
 
For night time a good flash light is needed. I do not however like a tac rail on a firearm, it makes the gun look bad. I use a large 4cell mag light at home, and keep a small Surefire Centurion flash light in the car.
 
I'm with Shawn on this (that's a first ;)). Most Surefire lights put out more than enough light at household distances that you don't have to point the gun at someone to light them up. Point it at the floor or ceiling and you'll have more than enough light to identify the person.

Note that just because you have a weapon-mounted light, doesn't mean you can't use a handheld as well.

The only semi-convincing argument I've seen against a weapon-mounted light is that lights are shot magnets. Using a handheld light allows you to use the old fbi method (hold the light in one hand away from your body, shoot with the other hand).

M1911
 
I do not go on offensive missions. Defense only.

There is always a bit of light in my house and shop. If the power goes off there is a lot of light, emergency lights.

I can control the lighting level from from four seperate locations.

I will not point a gun at something or somebody I am not prepared to shoot. That's a cops job.

Sam
 
At night, my eyes are adjusted to the dark, especially if I just woke up. In the apartment complex I live in there is a light right outside the door and below the windows, so an intruder's eyes are not adjusted to the dark. There is enough light coming through the windows for eyes adjusted to the dark.

The light pinpoints where I am. The concept of backsplashing light works for intruders also. They now have a clear view of a room they had no previous familiarity of. So now I gave away another advantage, familiarity of terrain.

There are secondary identifiers I can use before I use a flashlight: sounds, body language, outline. For me, using the on/off switch on a mounted causes me to change my firing grip, something I don't intend to do. I'd rather be firing one handed.

I'd rather have an intruder come to me instead of vice versa.

It does me no good on a carry gun. For target shooting/competition the additional weight on the dust cover may help, but I'd rather not.

When I have the money to build a house, it will be designed with both defense and aethetics in mind. This will include lighting controls so I can turn on lights in different rooms without backlighting myself or giving my position away.

If it works for you, buy it. I just don't want it on my gun.
 
When I have the money to build a house, it will be designed with both defense and aethetics in mind. This will include lighting controls so I can turn on lights in different rooms without backlighting myself or giving my position away.
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Why do that? Just buy The Clapper and put one in each location. :p

Sorry, couldn't help it. :D
 
On some pistols, when lights began getting more popular, there were some relliability issues. My buddy got a surefire for his G22 several years ago and had several FTF/FTE. It had been a flawless pistol until then. I have one on my Beretta Brig, and the "kick" has a definite "twist" to it, compared to the regular recoil when it is not on. Mine is reliable with the light attachment on or off though...but then again it is a Beretta!:D ;)

Mike
 
I expect this says more about me than about a gun-mounted light, but I have reservations about such usage and prefer to keep the lighting separate from the shooting. Having a light control and a trigger control on the same instrument makes me uneasy. I'm concerned about potential momentary confusion and the possibility of pulling the trigger when I only meant to switch on the tac light--or vice versa. There's also a pointing issue for me, which I believe Sam refers to in his post.

At the same time, I'm willing to accept that these reservations could be overcome through proper training.
 
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ILLUMINATION TOOL vs GUN

At home, I am better served with a 4-D-cell Maglite and a gun.

Impact weapon, you know.....

My gun is a gun; my flashlights are not. I can point my flashlight at my kid wandering in late.
Make sense now?


ps My power goes out often; my backup lights are candles.....
 
The voice of inexperiance here:

I've never taken a self-defense shooting course (hope to remedy that this year), but if you have a flashlight mounted to your weapon & the light is on, wouldn't an adversary simply have to aim at the light & fire his/her weapon to either shoot your gun & render it usless, or shoot you & render you useless?
 
Lightsplash negates the advantage of good lights like a Surefire since they work best when shining right in someones eyes. Also doing this with a weapon light won't give me a good point with my weapon. Light in eyes, gun COM, need two hands.
 
I've never taken a self-defense shooting course (hope to remedy that this year), but if you have a flashlight mounted to your weapon & the light is on, wouldn't an adversary simply have to aim at the light & fire his/her weapon to either shoot your gun & render it usless, or shoot you & render you useless?
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That's a valid concern and one of the biggest problems with weapon-mounted lights.

However, most untrained BGs can't hit what they're aiming at under the best of circumstances, much less when they've suddenly been blinded by a surefire. So you may be better off having him shoot at the light. :D

Weapon mounted lights are nice primarily because they free up your other hand to open doors, call 911, etc. But it's certainly not a general purpose flashlight.

(Not going to get into the point-shooting-assisted-by-light debate...)


DJ
 
If I am using a light in conjunction with my pistol I like the light to be free so that I can manipulate it higer or lower with my weak hand while keeping my weapon pointed at low ready. Our swat team on the other hand has Surefire's mounted to their 1911 pistols. It is really a case of what works for you. I have a 1911 with a weapon mounted light and it works well, though it is not a carry weapon or my primary weapon for "house clearing duties."

There are always problems with momentary switches being turned on, which could give you away your position. I am a believer though that once a light goes on it should stay on. Your eyes can not adjust rapidly enough to a constant bombardment of 250 lumens and then complete darkness and then 250 lumens again, so if you are illuminating, stay that way.

Lights mounted on long guns are invaluable though. Since you are unable to hold a weapon and work a 12ga, a Surefire weapon light, or even a light clamped with a 1" scope ring to the bbl is highly useful. On patrol I used to bring an extra Streamlight Stinger flashlight and a roll of duct tape and tape my light to the barrel of my Ithaca 37. It works wonders, and there is no accidental illumination with a pressure switch.
 
SVTNate:


Just FYI: there was a long and reasonably contentious thread on this topic a while back - lots of responses, pro & con, on the use of weapon-mounted lights (WMLs) for home defense. Also debated were some of the tactics one might use. (Maybe you already did a Search and read it?)

While WMLs may have their place in certain situations, my concern is, as others have already posted here, that it's a signal to an unseen (by you) BG, "Please shoot here."

In other words, the light provides a hidden BG with a COM homing beacon on you (the one missed when you strobe-lighted the room doing some Steven-Seagal-movie-Commando "slice-the-pie" technique).

A light held in the off-hand can at least be extended away from your COM until you're reasonably sure that further advance into, or entry of, an unlit area/room is safe. Having the option of being able to move your light away from your COM, as the exigencies of the situation develop, is preferable to having your gun & lighting device locked together, the only option being the on/off switch (strobe-lighting).

A while back a poster mentioned a compromise option, where someone was marketing a light-mounting device that allows for instant disconnection of the light from the gun (it was for a Glock, I believe). For those who absolutely have to have the light attached to their pistol, but want to be able to separate them quickly if needed, this might be a good choice.
 
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I read an article once (I think it was by the knowledgeable Ken Good) about flashlights being a bullet magnet, even for relatively inexperienced shooters. That is one reason I don't particularly care for weapons mounted lights. There is also the fact that in my state (North Carolina) you can be charged if you point a firearm at someone without good reason. I would much rather go with an independent flashlight. I agree with CR Sam that we civilians are in a totally defensive posturing when it comes down to it. If you are on a police tactical team great, but if you are Joe Civilian what is the use of a WML other than the gadgetry factor (no offense to anyone with WML's). Now don't get me wrong, I definitely don't want to PO my fellow firearms enthusiasts here at TFL, but as far as my tastes are concerned I will hold down the fort w\o a WML.
 
As a cop thats done my shair of building searches and entrys I can tell you that a weapon mounted lights is the best idea since sliced bread and flip top pop cans. They free up your hands and allow you to shoot better. If I am having to use my weapon mounted light and I point it at you tough luck you should not have been there. ALso its ok so long as you don't have your finger on the trigger. In police work muzzles will cross people like it or not. Just keep it to a minimum. My ability to see the target is more important than someone being offended by having a gun pointed at them.

PAT
 
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