{"id":13424,"date":"2016-05-31T19:34:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=13424"},"modified":"2016-05-31T19:36:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:36:15","slug":"handgun-mounted-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/handgun-mounted-lights\/","title":{"rendered":"Handgun Mounted Lights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SW-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The down side to a weapon mounted light is the exact same thing that makes it an asset; it\u2019s mounted to your handgun. This makes finding a holster that will work with your handgun more complicated and, if a weapon mounted light is all you have, it makes it impossible to search the darkness without pointing your gun everywhere you want to look.<\/p>\n

When should you disobey Rule # 2? Never!<\/p>\n

Just like the Glock pistol, laser sights, and smart phones, weapon mounted lights are not the end-all, be-all of personal protection with a handgun. They\u2019re nothing more than a tool, which in certain circumstances can be very beneficial to helping you solve a problem.<\/p>\n

The Three Ls<\/h4>\n

A weapon mounted light should offer no less than 100 L<\/strong>umens, because you want to put enough brightness in the eyes of a bad guy to make him close them. L<\/strong>ithium batteries should power it because you want them to last a long time. It should have an L<\/strong>ED bulb because they\u2019re more resistant to breakage and cast a cleaner beam. And finally – like with a handgun mounted laser – it should offer instant\/instinctive activation; you should not have work to turn it on.<\/p>\n

A perfect example of an ideal handgun light is the Crimson Trace<\/a> LightGuard<\/a>. I have one on my bedside 1911. The nice thing about the LightGuard for the 1911 is that an accessory rail is not needed; it mounts securly\u00a0to the front of the trigger guard. If you’re in need of a LightGuard compatible holster, Crimson Trace has those too. Or, you can turn to a holster company like WV Holsters<\/a> who\u00a0can\u00a0custom make a holster to fit your rig.<\/p>\n

\"SW-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For Shooting, Not Searching<\/h4>\n

A handgun-mounted light is not a search tool for the civilian gun owner. Yes, I know, special operations teams search with their weapon lights but they operate in a different world than the\u00a0civilian gun owner. In some locals you can be guilty of wanton endangerment if you just point a gun at someone. If you\u2019re searching with your weapon mounted light, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll end up doing.<\/p>\n

The purpose of a weapon-mounted light is to blind the threat – this gives you time. Its purpose is also to\u00a0allow you to better see the threat – so you can shoot it\u00a0more accurately.<\/p>\n

A handgun mounted light can also be especially useful for holding a suspect at gunpoint until the authorities arrive but it is not the tool you use to go prowling around in the dark looking for that bump in the night.\u00a0They make another tactical tool for that purpose. It\u2019s called a flashlight and its been around since 1899. But, have you tried shooting with a flashlight? Yeah. Well, then you know why we have weapon lights!<\/p>\n

This is an excerpt from the book, Handgun Training for Personal Protection<\/a>. It is available at Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The down side to a weapon mounted light is the exact same thing that makes it an asset; it\u2019s mounted to your handgun. This makes finding a holster that will work with your handgun more complicated and, if a weapon mounted light is all you have, it makes it impossible to search the darkness without pointing your gun everywhere you want to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2509,2579],"tags":[353,2671,1582,44],"class_list":["post-13424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defense","category-editorial","tag-crimson-trace","tag-handgun-lights","tag-lightguard","tag-personal-protection"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-3uw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6973,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/weapon-mounted-lights\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":0},"title":"Weapon Mounted Lights","author":"gunwriter","date":"May 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In my new book, Handgun Training for Personal Protection, there is an entire chapter devoted to weapon (handgun) mounted lights. I think a lot of shooters fail to understand their proper application and the things to consider when choosing one. You can read a condensed excerpt on this topic from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/136-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13013,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/lights-lasers-and-myths\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":1},"title":"Lights, Lasers, and Myths","author":"gunwriter","date":"February 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a number of myths associated with laser sights and lights on defensive handguns. There are also some given facts. For example, you cannot shoot the bad guy if you cannot see your sights. And, you have no business shooting at a bad guy unless you know he is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CT-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/CT-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/CT-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/CT-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/CT-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13549,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/beginners-guide-to-handgun-laser-options\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":2},"title":"Beginner’s Guide to Handgun Laser Options","author":"gunwriter","date":"June 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 There are a variety of companies offering weapon-mounted lasers, typically in three categories that include grip lasers, guide rod lasers, and rail mount lasers. Depending on your weapon system and the way you intend to employ it, you may find one suites your needs better than others. Recently there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"LL-21","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LL-21.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LL-21.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LL-21.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LL-21.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13244,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/laser-sights-the-early-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":3},"title":"Laser Sights – The Early Days","author":"gunwriter","date":"April 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The first handgun mounted laser sight I saw was in the mid 1990's. I was running combat style pistol matches for my Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge. For most of the matches we hosted I tried to keep the scenarios realistic with a focus on the shooter having to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"L-4","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/L-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/L-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/L-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/L-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11082,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/the-over-complication-of-personal-protection\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":4},"title":"The Over Complication of Personal Protection","author":"gunwriter","date":"January 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Personal protection and concealed carry have become very popular. There\u2019s no doubt more folks are legally carrying today than ever before. As with anything that becomes popular, whether it is Kim Kardashian or defensive handguns, the media (Yes, I\u2019m part of the media.) tends to gravitate to the subject and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"COL Cooper\"","block_context":{"text":"COL Cooper","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tag\/col-cooper\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"T-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/T-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/T-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/T-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/T-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13183,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/proof-of-the-lasers-edge\/","url_meta":{"origin":13424,"position":5},"title":"Proof of the Laser’s Edge","author":"gunwriter","date":"April 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2012 while\u00a0researching and working on my book, Handgun Training for Personal Protection, I worked with a local shooting club to put together a defensive handgun match. 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