Anybody using weapon lights?

[chuck_roxas45]

I often do security checks inside and outside the house where we recently moved to. I found that opening doors and the gate while holding a light in my other hand and my trusty G22 in my other hand was a bit difficult. Well, the difficulty was immediately(I want to see things fast) illuminating the nearby area while manipulating door knobs and gate latches with the hand holding the light. Not to mention shooting with one hand if worse comes to worst. This made me decide to get a weapon light and the Streamlight tlr seemed to be a good one for the price.

This is a shot of the area in front of my house illuminated by a tk15.



My TLR-1 is on my G22 at the moment.

[Gunslinger]

A friend of mine sold his Glock and gave me his weapon light. I haven't really needed it yet, but I have to say that it is a very cool thing to have.

[Blerv]

Another option might be like a Zebralight H600.

http://www.zebralight.com/H600-Cree-XM- ... _p_72.html

[chuck_roxas45]

Another option might be like a Zebralight H600.

http://www.zebralight.com/H600-Cree-XM- ... _p_72.html

Thatsa good idea. And it's probably cheaper than a weapon light.

[JD Spydo]

Being the devout Surefire disciple that I've been for some time now I got to admit that I have never owned, bought or used any of Surefire's weapon lights that mount on tactical rifles and so forth. I've owned, used and relied on many of their great flashlights and some of their other accessories but never any of their weapon's lights as of yet.

You guys seem to know the straight scoop on this genre of flashlights so I just thougth I would ask someone with a lot more expertise than I have.

I do know that everything I've personally owned with Surefire's name on it has been great performing for me but again I've never ever used anything in that area of endeavor.

So is Surefire OK??

[Blerv]

I'm more a light fanatic than gun sage so take this with an ounce of salt.

A weapon light on a pistol is a bit tough to pull off. It adds a bit of bulk and you are limited with reflector size (throw) and length (runtime). I don't know much about the Streamlight one you guys posted but have to think if it has ideal runtime for the use, say an hour, it isn't pushing a ton of light. Likely very sufficient but not "the best". For me using a quality headlamp, even mounting it to a pocket or jacket, would be more preferable. You have FAR more flood and likely about the same throw if it's pushing enough light. The H600 does 3 mins of 750 lumens and then drops to a paltry 420; Zebralight is pretty accurate with it's out-the-front ratings.

Using a larger weapon light (like JD mentioned) makes sense on a rifle or even shotgun. You have far more body to strap something to so the reflector can be silly big without making the weapon unwieldy. You're also at an advantage with even more throw due to the effective range of the weapon.

In a snobby idealistic world what I would probably do is have a small weapon light (or large if a rifle) which is more throw oriented and wear a very floody headlamp somehow. That way you have range and flood for up-close. I also like the idea of not losing your vision if your weapon is dropped or shoved out of the way.

[chuck_roxas45]

@JDSpydo: Surefire weapons lights are excellent! They are just very pricey and I was on a budget. I did do a lot of research and found out that the streamlight was a pretty reasonable weapon light for the money. I also had a lot of feedback from the guys on CPF and from our local forums saying that the light I got is decently durable.

@Blerv: It's not desirable to have your short range weapon light very bright because if your illuminating nearby objects you won't be seeing much except for a whiteout. Around 150 lumens should be good. I also tried the headlight idea last night by securing my tk15 to a hat and it didn't work quite so well as the weapon light. Having the light behind the gun was quite a bother to the sight picture because it really took off my focus from the target and put it right on the sights(which is bad, for me at least).

[Henry - get both]

Good choice Chuck. Pistol lights are underutilized. I have been happy with my streamlight tlr2 and my G22 but ive never actually mixed those two LOL.

Surefire's new x300 ultra is excessively bright for a pistol light but I think ill get one anyway. I wish they had kept the old brightness but with the newer xml emitter to increase runtime. You know, in case i need to "clear" a small country in the dark. Color temp and blah blah blah CPF guy!

[chuck_roxas45]

Yeh, it was the x300 that I was looking at but it was a fair bit beyond my budget. Is the tlr-2 the one with the laser?

[Blerv]

Another option is that headlamp on a lower setting. They make 200 lumen single AA ones that are tiny and comfortable. High CRI warmer ones even.

[Henry - get both]

Chuck, the TLR2 is the same as yours but with the laser. I got a great deal on it at a gun store that was going out of business. I dont really use the laser.

Blerv, A head lamp will illuminate your arms and gun. Not good from a defense perspective. If you want someone to know your armed say "I have a gun".

[Blerv]

Chuck, the TLR2 is the same as yours but with the laser. I got a great deal on it at a gun store that was going out of business. I dont really use the laser.

Blerv, A head lamp will illuminate your arms and gun. Not good from a defense perspective. If you want someone to know your armed say "I have a gun".

There is a ton of benefit to not having to point a gun at something to see it. At close range there is a world of difference between 700 lumens of flood and 160 of a spot. Namely you don't have paranoid tunnel vision.

For civilians that sounds like a great way to kill something you don't intend to.

[Henry - get both]

Blerv,

Dont worry, I dont use a pistol as a reading light. I actually have a surefire 1-100 lumen head lamp that i like a lot... but alone on my own property ill point my pistol at anything i want so long as my finger is off the trigger. Perhaps I should have mentioned: the pistol light is easy to turn on and off with your trigger finger while holding the pistol vs the headlight which you would have to leave turned on.

[Blerv]

Blerv,

Dont worry, I dont use a pistol as a reading light. I actually have a surefire 1-100 lumen head lamp that i like a lot... but alone on my own property ill point my pistol at anything i want so long as my finger is off the trigger. Perhaps I should have mentioned: the pistol light is easy to turn on and off with your trigger finger while holding the pistol vs the headlight which you would have to leave turned on.

Good to know =) That would be pretty intense reading, lol.

[chuck_roxas45]

There is a ton of benefit to not having to point a gun at something to see it. At close range there is a world of difference between 700 lumens of flood and 160 of a spot. Namely you don't have paranoid tunnel vision.

For civilians that sounds like a great way to kill something you don't intend to.

That's true Blerv, but on the other hand, if there's someone lurking outside my house at 1 or 2 in the morning, I'd want my gun on him as soon as I see him. I'll trust to my trigger control in that situation then.

[racer88]

Our his and hers "bump-in-the-night" combo:

[racer88]

There is a ton of benefit to not having to point a gun at something to see it. At close range there is a world of difference between 700 lumens of flood and 160 of a spot. Namely you don't have paranoid tunnel vision.

For civilians that sounds like a great way to kill something you don't intend to.

Civilians? As opposed to??

Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I am confident of my ability to practice good trigger discipline. And, I like having the other hand free.

[Blerv]

Civilians: people who have folks trespass who aren't always enemy troops.

Just my opinion. I'm not knocking the weapon light concept. Just the current application of it. Slap a thousand lumens on a rifle and I won't argue .

[racer88]

Civilians: people who have folks trespass who aren't always enemy troops.

Just my opinion. I'm not knocking the weapon light concept. Just the current application of it. Slap a thousand lumens on a rifle and I won't argue .

That's an interesting definition of "civilian." If someone is in my house uninvited (forced their way in), they are "enemy troops."

Is there a group of people for whom "trespassers" of all kinds are granted a different status than "civilians?"

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just find your statements rather curious. Or perhaps I'm just not understanding.

[Blerv]

I didn't know this was a home invasion thread...

Lets wind back and refocus:

* Chuck asked about alternative lighting for yard searching
* I mentioned there are various styles of weapon lights and even performance headlamps
* I mentioned preferring flood or spot depending on application.

If you want performance lighting you won't get it from Streamlight or Surefire, especially in the compact world. Not if output per dollar is any part of the equation (don't argue, I'll win ). I've searched my yard before with lights ranging from a 200 lumen Zebralight to a 500 lumen thrower to a 3000 lumen Tri XML. My personal preference is flood and would even use the Tri-light to run through my house with. It does not screw up my vision; it aims the sun in a direction.

Is a weapon light a valid option? Sure
Is a headlamp (not the $20 kind from Sears) a valid option? Sure
Is strapping a powerful light to your arm, torso, head, an option? Sure

If we want to talk about beam performance I can prob add to the discussion. Lux, lumens, runtime, UI, tint, etc. If its a topic of shot grouping and tacticical techniques probably not.