Do you shoot any better with a light on your pistol?

[mrozowjj]

Fisrt off I debated if I should post this in the semi-auto pistol forum or in the accessories forum but decided on here so move if needed.

I'm asking because I shoot a Glock 45 in USPSA Carry Optics and the rules changed in the last year or so to allow people to use a pisotl light if they want to. A lot of people are gaming it putting the heaviest light they can on it (The Lok brass light is the gamer light of choice as it's basicalya 7oz chunk of brass) and the gamiest pistol light seems to be the TLR-1 at 4.1oz

And this kind of led me to this post asking the question is 4oz of weight out front really going to change it that much? Do you shoot better with a pistol light on your gun?

[rd62]

I do find the weight to help slightly. But its not significant (at least for me).

If I suck without a light I'm still going to suck with one and vice versa.

[YVK]

I've not done my own testing but I noted that a lot of strong CO shooters have added lights to their polymer guns. Not as much to TXG SIGs but quite a few Glocks and Caniks are wearing those lights now.

[GJM]

First the negatives. A light slightly interferes with my high support hand grip. It complicates holster selection. The light can slightly slow your draw, due to more edges dragging on Kydex. The lens of the light is always filthy.

On the positive side, there is a school of thought that if it reciprocates lighten it, and if it stays still make it heavier. There is also a trade off between weight helping splits, but hurting transitions.

I used a light on my M&P in CO, did not on the Canik Rival or 320 AXG, and do not on my timmie Open Glock 19. I would say I am neither pro or con a light, although I do note that most stronger shooters do not use a light.

[jnc36rcpd]

I think a PML may improve my shooting, but I put a lot of rounds through duty pistols with lights attached when I was a real cop. If you're mounting a light strictly for competition purposes rather than real world applications (nothing wrong with that), I'm consider GJM's thoughts on it slowing your presentation and balance that with any increase in accuracy.

[john c]

The lens of the light is always filthy.

When you oil your gun, put a light coat of oil on the lens of your light. The soot won’t stick to the lens.


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[GJM]

When you oil your gun, put a light coat of oil on the lens of your light. The soot won’t stick to the lens.


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I think I will need to oil my pistol more frequently!

[Oldherkpilot]

When you oil your gun, put a light coat of oil on the lens of your light. The soot won’t stick to the lens.


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I've heard you can use Chapstick for the same purpose.

[richiecotite]

A paper towe/ragl and toothpaste will clean that lens right up.


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[Joe45]

Hadn't heard of the Lok light. You Stent kidding about gameing..

"LED Light: The LED light is not intended to be used as a flashlight and is only included because it is required in USPSA."

[feudist]

I think it helps to return the sights in one handed shooting. Free style not so much.

[pastaslinger]

Like someone already said, I think it helps for ultra light guns (namely Glocks)

Someone used to run a G35 with wml filled with lead shot years ago before this rule change (in limited)... I think it was Seveigny

[Norville]

Like someone already said, I think it helps for ultra light guns (namely Glocks)

Someone used to run a G35 with wml filled with lead shot years ago before this rule change (in limited)... I think it was Seveigny

It was Vogel. Still allowed in Limited.

I found the extra x200 I had in the drawer helped with sight tracking on my CO 34, so I run it. Not a huge difference by any means.

[Grouse870]

I don’t know if i shoot better with one but all of my duty guns have had lights so it’s normal for them to be on my guns. But when I was shooting competition my comp gun did not have a light (it was almost an exact copy of my duty gun though sans sights) I always did the oil trick or I would toss on some masking tape over the lens for classes where I wasn’t going to use the light.
88245

[Clusterfrack]

Do you shoot better with a pistol light on your gun?

When the retarded USPSA rule changes occurred, I tried a light on a Shadow2. It took about a magazine for me to conclude that it was not something I wanted. I stuck with it for a practice session, and noticed:

The gun felt goofy
Muzzle rise was not noticeably different (but see below)
Muzzle dip on return was greater, and it took some work to deal with that.
Wide transitions were harder.
Doubles SHO, and especially WHO were significantly better, due to flatter tracking of the sights and less wobble.

[Utm]

A paper towe/ragl and toothpaste will clean that lens right up.


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Paragon wlc is probably the best option I've tried

[ECK]

Local GM I know experimented with it on his Legion X5. Said he liked what it did for his splits, but didn’t like what it did for his transitions and draw. I’ve played around with it a little, and I think it depends on the gun.

IMO (humbly of course) I think 42-44 oz is the perfect weight for a handgun with empty mag inserted. My Shadow 2s are 46 oz stock or 44.3 oz with SRO and all the slide milling that went with it (circa pre 59 oz rule weight change). My 1911’s that I grew up shooting and have umpteen 10’s of K rounds through are all in the 42 oz range. So shooting my Shadow 2 with a light on it for ~48-50 oz was not to my liking.

Shooting a Glock 34, P10C, or Beretta LTT with a TLR-1? Yeah I liked it even though it slowed my draw down a little. So my rationale is if I can take a light gun and make it a little closer to that 42-43 oz weight, then that is a good thing.

[GJM]

Local GM I know experimented with it on his Legion X5. Said he liked what it did for his splits, but didn’t like what it did for his transitions and draw. I’ve played around with it a little, and I think it depends on the gun.

IMO (humbly of course) I think 42-44 oz is the perfect weight for a handgun with empty mag inserted. My Shadow 2s are 46 oz stock or 44.3 oz with SRO and all the slide milling that went with it (circa pre 59 oz rule weight change). My 1911’s that I grew up shooting and have umpteen 10’s of K rounds through are all in the 42 oz range. So shooting my Shadow 2 with a light on it for ~48-50 oz was not to my liking.

Shooting a Glock 34, P10C, or Beretta LTT with a TLR-1? Yeah I liked it even though it slowed my draw down a little. So my rationale is if I can take a light gun and make it a little closer to that 42-43 oz weight, then that is a good thing.

Shooting my Glock 19 with a comp, it draws and transitions like a 24 ounce gun, while handling recoil like a 45 ounce gun.

[JCN]

Local GM I know experimented with it on his Legion X5. Said he liked what it did for his splits, but didn’t like what it did for his transitions and draw. I’ve played around with it a little, and I think it depends on the gun.

That was my experience with a shadow as well. I think as Clusterfrack suggested it’s more of a balance issue. Too much nose heaviness for some chassis.

With an open gun and 30 rounds in a mag, that system is heavier but better balanced.

[Wake27]

Fisrt off I debated if I should post this in the semi-auto pistol forum or in the accessories forum but decided on here so move if needed.

I'm asking because I shoot a Glock 45 in USPSA Carry Optics and the rules changed in the last year or so to allow people to use a pisotl light if they want to. A lot of people are gaming it putting the heaviest light they can on it (The Lok brass light is the gamer light of choice as it's basicalya 7oz chunk of brass) and the gamiest pistol light seems to be the TLR-1 at 4.1oz

And this kind of led me to this post asking the question is 4oz of weight out front really going to change it that much? Do you shoot better with a pistol light on your gun?

I’ve almost never shot without a light on my gun [emoji2373]


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[Jimichanga]

A paper towe/ragl and toothpaste will clean that lens right up.
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Pencil eraser takes it right off the lens.

[mrozowjj]

When the retarded USPSA rule changes occurred, I tried a light on a Shadow2. It took about a magazine for me to conclude that it was not something I wanted. I stuck with it for a practice session, and noticed:

The gun felt goofy
Muzzle rise was not noticeably different (but see below)
Muzzle dip on return was greater, and it took some work to deal with that.
Wide transitions were harder.
Doubles SHO, and especially WHO were significantly better, due to flatter tracking of the sights and less wobble.


This break down was very interesting.

The general consesus so far seems to be if I need an actual light on a pistol then obviously good idea to use it and train with it. For competition it seems way less clear cut.

I think for my Glock I might give it a go but I won't be in any rush to do so.

[AMC]

For keeping the lens of your WML clean....two words: THYRM CLENS.

[Mark D]

I think I shoot better with a WML on my pistol.

I use the Five Yard Roundup and The Test to benchmark my performance. And I perceived minor performance improvements in both drills with a WML. It's most noticeable with SHO and WHO strings.

Drills that require transitions might yield different results.

FWIW I'm using TLR8s on a brace of G19s.

[Casey]

For keeping the lens of your WML clean....two words: THYRM CLENS.
This. Chapstick works, but it's messy. I keep the CLENS on all my WMLs and find that carbon doesn't stick to them much, so all I need to do is a quick wipe with some 725 or an alcohol wipe after each range session. In a pinch, you can also just pull the CLENS off and immediately have a clean (albeit now unprotected) lens.

[pastaslinger]

It was Vogel. Still allowed in Limited.

I found the extra x200 I had in the drawer helped with sight tracking on my CO 34, so I run it. Not a huge difference by any means.

Ah thanks
I had been tempted to try that in limited then never really finished my limited builds

[Archer1440]

I’ve run the exact same pistol (VP9L) both with and without a light, in SCSA competition over the past few months. Same ammo, similar rigs. PHLster Floodlight for the Uboat and a Comptac International, off the same Boss hanger on the same belt with the same height and the same location.

Factoring in the same courses of fire, over 4 months of matches, there is a consistent ~0.3 second overall difference per match between the two in favor of no light, no matter how I dice up the results. (I’m a B class in steel challenge, with occasional A scores on some runs, so very average level as these things go).

Too many variables to definitively state that I’m better at shooting steel without using the light, but some data beats “a feeling”.

However, as a certain laconic internet gun guy likes to say, “you decide” if “it’s enough difference to make a difference”. I carry a pistol with a light, for reasons.

[El Cid]

I do t know who specifically uses weights like these but I’ve seen them on competitors guns before. It makes me think there is an advantage.

https://stores.sjcguns.com/sjc-glock-frame-weight/

For myself I treat matches as training. My duty and carry guns have lights so I shoot matches with the lights. Of course I only use OEM triggers and draw from concealment when they allow me so I’m a bit weird. Lol!