All posts tagged LED Flashlights

Putting flashlights on all of your firearms

Since we have been in the holster business, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the designs of holsters, many customers have unfortunately found out the hard way after buying a holster thinking it would work for their gun just because it says it is for a Sig 229.   Well there are many things that can change your holsters fit with a firearm, one of them is changing the sights, and the other is putting a light or laser on it.   There are plenty of good reasons to mount a flashlight on a firearms, but there are also reasons not to.    For Carbines and home defense weapons, yes, they can be helpful, but many people don’t realize that now that your firearm has a light, you better watch out that you are not violating an of the safety rules.

If you have to move through your home and you are using your gun mounted flashlight, you will be pointing the gun at everything your flashlight is.   Something like the Ultimate Retention Device from the now defunct Section 8 Tactical is a nice device and you can still get them from us.   These work very well with the Streamlight flashlights like the Streamlight Scorpion or Streamlight Polytac.   I’d give the edge to the Polytac or possible the Surefire G2 Flashlight.  The harder surfaces seem to grip the device a little better.

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Streamlight and it’s competition

I was at several tactical conferences over the last few months from the NYTOA, NJTOA, and the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh.    I got into using Streamlight flashlights because they were well within my price range and seemed to be more worthy of being used with firearms than anything that Radio Shack had in stock.   I really didn’t  know what I was doing when I purchased a CAA mount on my M4 Carbine, but it got it to work after using a good bit of super glue.   I’ve found that everything you need to mount on a M4 rail needs loctite or super glue.  The mount I got for my Streamlight scorpion didn’t hold and it wasn’t just because of the mount, the rubber cover on the Scorpion didn’t grip the mount well at all.

Streamlight seems to have a good foot in the door for Law Enforcement and Firemen.   I was not impressed with the price margins on some of the Surefire flashlights that I cam across because spending more than $200 on any flashlight is something disturbing if you ask me.  Streamlight flashlights are price well and I still primarily push the Streamlight Scorpion and the Polytac flashlights for weapons mounting.   There are pressure switches you can use, but I have not had the need for them. The Profession Series are really nice for CCW because they are smaller to stow in a pocket but not too small they they need to be on a keychain or easily lost.

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Handgun flashlights should you mount it?

Should you put a flashlight on your handgun or should you keep it separate?   Go to an IDPA competition and check out the low light flashlight competitions and get back to me.   We see them dropped or competitors fumble them all the time.   We sell the Section 8 tactical Ultimate Retention Device which is a great an easy thing to add on to your finger when you are shooting but a less trained shooter is going to have some trouble getting use to using them.   Many handguns are now being made with rails under them and it’s becoming almost mandatory to have a white light on an M4 Carbine.

When you think about putting a light on a handgun, I would always suggest you think about what the gun is going to  be used for.   I believe that a home defense firearm should be configured to be used inside your home and sometimes that may mean not using a handgun, but an M4 Carbine or a shotgun with fragmenting bullets.   Streamlight flashlights can be mounted on handguns or rifles especially the TLR-1 light.   I’m a big fan of lights that are 110 lumens or more for home use because they will seem far brighter and easier to light up a room.

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Everyday carry flashlight options

This is something that seems to go with the 380 pocket guns these days, a pocket flashlight.   I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big on small flashlights because the smaller they are the easier it is to loose them.   I am seeing insight flashlights showing up at classes I teach but I don’t  have very much experience with them, flashlights really are new to me because the technology has changed so much that we’re really in a new age. Having a bright and powerful flashlight use to mean that you needed 3 or 4 D batteries and  you most likely were  using a mag-lite flashlight.   Those days are long gone.   You can get 130-180 lumens from a pocket light, but you better be careful how you carry them because I’ve seen guys on more than one occasion jump up quickly when they realized the light was on and they moved over and felt the heat on an inner thigh.

The pelican PM6 is a nice pocket flashlight and it comes with a clip on which will be very practical for a flashlight like this size.  I am not big on carrying lights on my belt line because after carrying a gun, spare pistol magazine and a cell  phone, it’ll get  harder and harder to conceal your weapon and gear if you have that much on you.   The Streamlight flashlights that I like the most for CCW are the Streamlight professional tactical flashlights.  They are small, reliable and most going to break the bank.   The PT-1 is probable the smallest flashlight I would consider carrying, but I really prefer the PT-2 because 180 lumens is so much that it actually might give you a few extra seconds in blinding a threat that didn’t see it coming.

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Pressure switches and manual levers

My first experiences with the M4 was with an M4 that had all of the bells and whistles on it that you could possible put there.   The first thing I noticed when I mounted it on my shoulder was that the Eotech holographic sight was canted because the forearm of the firearm was not leveled properly.   The second thing I noticed was that the pressure switch was coming off of the foregrip.   The third thing I noticed about it was the pressure switch didn’t work.   How’s that for a first time experience.   I’ve learned to not point out everything wrong in the world and kindly mentioned that mounting all of the gadgets on the gun properly must have been hard.    The owner mentioned that it worked for him.

I have a nice quad rail on my LWRC M6, but I have still the time or the want to actually put anything on all of the rails.   I have plenty of Streamlight flashlights in my  home because my experiences with them have been slightly better than Surefire flashlights.   I still avoid pressure switches because they snag, can come off and they are another thing that can fail you at the wrong time.   When it comes to handguns flashlights, I do like the TLR-1 up to the TLR-3 which seem to be simple and don’t have reliability issues that more complicated light setups are.

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Streamlight flashlights and CCW

I am finding harder and harder to not justify carrying a flashlight all the time now.  I finally found a light that doesn’t take up much room and has been holding up to lots of dropping and fumbling.   And the best part about the flashlight I settled on is that I’ve had it for over 2 months and didn’t lose it.   I’ve been seeing NRA specials on flashlights that cost close to $200 and with my luck, I’d just loose one of these things in a movie theater or camping trip and wish I just brought my Every ready radio shack flashlight with it’s clumsy D batteries.

The Streamlight Professional Series tactical light has a whopping 180 lumens which has more blast than my Streamlight Scorpion LED and it’s a lot smaller.   I could have gone with the PT 1AA but I thought that would be too small.  There are key chain flashlights, but  I have used my cell phone as a flashlight in really dark situations and if I’m going to carry a flashlight to spot wild animals or ID threats, I want Streamlight flashlights with 125-180 lumens.   I also love the strobe feature because it really does give you a good option for drunks or assholes that you might run into.

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Lights, Lasers and Strobes

I think people do get carried away with firearm accessories, but I have found that training with defensive tactics using flashlights is well worth it.   I don’t think a flashlight is going to stop a threat, but it surely can out a threat, identify innocent people, and possible distract an attacker for a few seconds.  Many of the situations that people have been in that were considered hostile and mostly women, could have been dealt with, with non-lethal force.   Pepper spray and mace are a good companion because firearms have far more legal ramifications.

When it comes to using lasers, that’s a personal preference, I personally find them to be more useful for less trained shooters to give them for confidence, and they work well for those in environments where using cover is more probable and having a laser may give you more accuracy while the majority of your body is out of the view of a threat.   Streamlight flashlights have a TLR-1, TLR-2 and the TLR-3 they  will give you the standard flashlight, laser, or the laser and strobe depending on the model you use.  I would give caution to putting too much on a firearm and put more into the training of the operator.   Manual safeties complicate firearms as much as putting too many switches on one.

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CCW options, gun, knife, mace, fists, flashlights and strobes

I think those about sum up your options for fighting and maybe if you are in good shape a good kicking foot will do.   I primarily count on firearms for self defense because there are levels of threats and levels of criminal intent and showing a gun is enough to deter most crimes when a knife or flashlight really might just make a bad guy laugh at you especially if he’s bigger.  I’ve seen first hand that a untrained person with a knife isn’t going to inflict much damage and unless you actually know how to move with a knife, don’t even try and wield it.   A tactical knife is a good accessory to concealed carry, but not something for the amateur to fight with.

Something to consider which is showing up more and more in CCW flashlight courses I have sat in on are the strobe flashlights.   Now, first of all, I’m not going to tell you that it’s something that is going to stop a threat, I’m just saying that it is something else to consider especially when Streamlight Flashlights only cost you about $50+ dollars and might give you something else to use on a dumb drunk that is really just an annoyance rather than a threat.  An unsuspecting drunk isn’t going to like having a 180 Lumen flashlight and a ” Hi, how are you” from a friendly CCW that flashes him in the eyes and then gets into a car and drives off.

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How much life are you going to get from your batteries?

That may not be the biggest question you are going to ask yourself when you are looking into carrying a flashlight, but as someone who  has seen what happens when an Eotech combat gun sight goes dead and the batteries need to be changed, there are times that you may be in a situation and the batteries are too low to be of use or your flashlight has just gone completely dead.   The great think about LED technology is that that the flashlights will fade in strength and not just burn out all of a  sudden at an unknown time.

The Surefire G2 is one of the most popular flashlights i usually see on M4 Carbines, but another company got smart and went with the Polytac cases for strength and durability.   Streamlight flashlights are my primary flashlight even though I know there are manufacturers in the same price range that are pretty good, there are concealed carry or defensive flashlights with a Strobe, and there are flashlights with the strobe that you can use on a handgun or rifle in need be.   It is another tactical worth considering.

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Handgun lights and lasers

We highly recommend Streamlight Flashlights for home or street defense.   LED technology has advanced so much in recent years that it truely is time to clear out your old flashlights and replace your home and travelling white lights.  The TLR-1 is one of biggest selling handgun tactical lights and is easy to mount and easy to use.  If you are looking for a light and laser combo, the TLR-2 tac-light is what you’re looking for.   The Streamlight Scorpion PolyTac is a good companion for travelling or for mounting on your M4 Carbine.   I highly recommend doing some training with weapon mounted flashlights and using a flashlight in your hand and firing a handgun.

When you are looking to mount a flashlight, I think it is worth considering if you are going to be CCW this weapon or just leaving it at home in a safe.   I suggest that CCW should be low key, and putting a light on a gun is going to mean using a specific holster for the gun which will add bulk and limit the ways you will be able to carry.   Carrying a Streamlight flashlight in your pocket or jacket is easy, especially if you are wearing a good CCW vest or jacket like Eotac wear securing spare magazine or knives and flashlights is easily done.

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