generates 15 lumens of light, enough to perform most routine tasks.
Cure Or Curse Despite their many advantages,
gun-mounted lights remain a contro- versial and misunderstood accessory. Maybe I’ve been around this game too long, but the arguments against gun- mounted lights sound an awful lot like those opposing flashlight assisted shooting techniques 25 years ago. No prudent person would operate a chain- saw or automobile without taking in some serious instruction. That same logic can be applied to gun-mounted lights. If used incorrectly, they can cause you all sorts of problems. But I prefer to look on the sunny side. Gun-mounted lights automatically
line up the light with the gun, can be brought into play quicker, and allow the user to fire and control the light with a single hand. Since the user doesn’t have to juggle a flashlight, ba- sic operational skills such as loading and clearing stoppages are far easier. Although gun-mounted lights af-
ford any number of advantages, you cannot simply affix a light to your pis- tol and go about your business. The mounting of a light can cause reli- ability issues, particularly with some polymer frame pistols. Be absolutely sure that your light/gun/ammo com- bination is 100 percent reliable before going afield. Secondly, you will need a light-bearing holster for your pistol. Those nifty little tactical light carriers for the belt represent wishful thinking and are best avoided. Users of weapon-mounted lights
need to be keenly aware that they are not a replacement for handheld units and should never be used for rou- tine searching and probing. Using a light with a gun attached violates just about everybody’s interpreta- tion of the General Safety Rules. But as a threat management tool, gun- mounted lights can’t be beat. A pistol with a gun-mounted light
is great for tactical ops, K-9 officers and a home-defense. I’ll give a quali- fied “yes” to uniformed patrol. The Marietta, Georgia Police Depart- ment has been running lights on their duty weapons for several years with great results, but they back it up with a comprehensive training program. I don’t fancy a light on my concealed pistol, as I feel it makes it too hard to hide, but that’s your call. Small, tactical illuminators that
can be quickly affixed to the acces- sory rail of your pistol are available from Insight Tech-Gear, Streamlight, SureFire and other manufacturers. Like handheld lights, incandescent
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM
Small, yet powerful flashlights like this SureFire Backup can be carried at all times.
The Strion LED HP from Streamlight puts out up to 180 lumens of intense white light and its battery can be recharged up to 500 cycles.
bulbs have given way to LEDs and that is certainly good news. Muzzle blast and other hard knocks
make nearly indestructible LEDs a better choice for gun-mounted lights. As an added bonus, some tactical
illuminators also feature an integral laser aimer. Light helps you locate and assess a threat while a visible la- ser gets you on target. Of late, I’ve been using a Stream-
light TLR-2S and a SureFire X400, both of which are great low-light shooting aids. The TLR-2S also fea- tures strobe capability to disrupt
the night acclimated vision of resis- tive subjects. Gun-mounted lights are even a bet-
ter deal on shoulder weapons and all of my defensive arms are so equipped. Although it is possible to use a hand- held light with a rifle, shotgun or SMG, it is neither pretty nor efficient. Once you factor in a little stress and movement, it all comes unglued. Many of the small tactical illumi-
nators designed for handgun use can also be fitted to shoulder weapons. A better choice might be the more pow- erful semi-permanent units dedicated
Dedicated SureFire Weaponlight is affixed to this Remington 11-87 shotgun.
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