Weapon light question

[Lomshek]

My original statement was carrying both a wml and a hand held? If my gun is out as a civilian, I am in danger for my life or my family. so with that in mind how is having both a bad thing?

Having both is not at all a bad thing.

I was responding to this when I quoted (sort of) Nyeti.

If I am moving and fighting, wouldn't a wml help me?

Like Blue noted in a separate post- Some of this is getting lost in translation as we each interject our life's experience into our answers.

Pretty hard not to sweep non-hostiles when you go in on a warrant or other entry and there are one or more BGs in the location as well as potential family or non-hostiles. That goes for with or without a WML.

I'm so far out of my lane that I'm on the wrong highway.

Serving warrants is a whole 'nother monkey than normal day to day life like finding my house door partially open and wondering whether the teenage son forgot to latch it or homeless junkies are having a soup kitchen in my living room.

[breakingtime91]

Thanks for the responses Lomshek, I wasn't trying to be rude. I was honestly 100% curious because I truly didn't understand what was being said. Completely agree that wml not only adds benefits but other things to think about while employing it.

[Lomshek]

Thanks for the responses Lomshek, I wasn't trying to be rude. I was honestly 100% curious because I truly didn't understand what was being said. Completely agree that wml not only adds benefits but other things to think about while employing it.

Didn't take it as rude at all. Teh interwebz is a place fraught with misunderstanding so I was just trying to clarify.

[spinmove_]

Why would you say that?

Because most of the shooting techniques that involve a handheld light are generally done while shooting one handed. Unless you're one of those people who is practiced is using a handheld while shooting two handed, then that assumption wouldn't apply to you.


Sent from mah smertfone using tapathingy

[El Cid]

Not trying to sound like a dick, but you don't know what you don't know.

I'm not saying don't use a WML, I am saying that using it as a primary search tool is a VERY bad idea.

You can do a lot more with a handheld light than you can with a WML to mask your position and intentions. If you haven't worked this under pressure outside of the square range in solid FoF drilling, which most shooters haven't, then you can't speak from experience.

I thought things like the modified FBI technique were bullshit, until that first time I went through the then Sure-Fire Institute Low-Light Instructor school in the late '90s. The third time that week the bezel of my 6P caught an incoming round I started to get it.

With all due respect, your assessment of my experience and training is pretty far off the mark. Not surprising given we’ve never met. I do have considerably more experience than the square range, and have done more force on force than I can even count. I have carried a handheld light since the mid 90’s. Starting around 2008 or so I have carried both a handheld and a WML (24/7).

I never stated the WML should be used as a primary search tool all the time. And I didn't mean I don't understand what downsides exist for a WML. I'm saying I don't see a downside to having one on my weapon. Just because it's there doesn’t mean I have to use it. It also doesn’t mean I’m going to misuse it. We can sit here for days and come up with the various reasons a person’s support hand can be busy/injured. Having a WML in those situations is immeasurably valuable. And just because I may be searching with my WML doesn’t mean I’m muzzling people with my weapon.

And if your 6P kept getting shot with Simunitions I would ask… what happens in the real world after that? If you haven’t neutralized the threat, you now have a dead handheld light and possibly an injured support hand. I bet you’d be pretty happy to have a WML in that scenario – regardless of the situation/environment.

We don’t get the luxury of knowing what situations we will encounter. The bad guy chooses where, when, how, etc. If a person is just fending off a mugger then a WML is not a player. But if the person hears an active shooter in his kid’s school and runs inside to engage… a WML could be very helpful. So can a handheld. Having both lets the shooter decide which is appropriate for the task at hand. This is why I don’t understand your comment about only liking a WML for patrol/SWAT. If it’s because you assume everyone else will misuse the WML, then you should realize that will be considered an insult by the countless people out there who are smart enough to use them properly. If your reason is because you genuinely think a WML has no place outside Patrol/SWAT, then I’m eager to hear your explanation. Perhaps I’m wrong – it’s happened plenty of times.

[SsevenN]

An article in the most recent Rangemaster newsletter has me wondering something. To those of you who have experience using weapon-mounted lights: is it possible or feasible to illuminate a potential threat with the light without pointing your weapon directly at them? Do modern lights provide sufficient illumination? Would this only work at relatively close range?

I'm not talking about conducting a search using the weapon light.

I currently keep a hand-held light close to my HD pistol but I often think about the weapon-mounted options -- mostly because I'd rather have both hands on the gun if I have to shoot. I do practice shooting one handed, but probably not often enough.

I bet this has already been said but I think the technique is called "umbrella" lighting and "flood" lighting - pointing the light up or down respectively and using the spill to illuminate.