Low light shooting

[Nephrology]

My apologies if this has been covered before, but I was wondering what most people thought about civilian carry and low light situations. I would say personally, when I carry a firearm, 75% or more of the time I am carrying a Glock and have a Streamlight pocket light in my front weak side pocket. Another 25% of the time or so I am carrying in an OWB holster that accommodates a TLR-1.

I was pretty comfortable with this until I shot a low light IDPA match this past weekend. Now, I'll come clean - the past 2-3 months have been terrible, schedule-wise, and so my practice (dry fire and range time) has really suffered. However, I had never had a formal demonstration of how difficult the harries position is to actually employ, and it was really astonishing how much my marksmanship suffered. I was fine at 7 yards (other than attempting to clear a malfunction with a light in hand... really threw my head for a loop) but at 10 yards my accuracy was absolutely awful. At 7 yards I dropped maybe 2-4 points per target at worst, but at 10 I was pulling shots entirely off the target and dropping as much as 10 points each. Had at least one or 2 FTNs.

Now, admittedly, this was probably already not a great day anyway - really "out of shape" as it were, and had never sincerely practiced Harries with live fire, let alone in low light - but should I reconsider my lighting? Is it a big deal if I suck at harries and don't carry a weaponlight? I am probably better than a lot of people about carrying "enough gun," but rarely do I carry with a weaponlight. Should I a. practice more with harries or another low-light shooting technique or b. just buy an IWB with a weaponlight or c. stop worrying about it? As a weekend warrior I regrettably do not have the opportunities to train in low-light that many others do - certainly not with much frequency.

Hopefully this will be thought-provoking for others as well... if mods think this belongs better in another sub forum, then feel free to move it.

[Default.mp3]

When I took my low-light course, the instructor stated that Harries is a lot more difficult than people think, and that while it does have a higher plateau than neck index or offset (AKA FBI) hold, if you don't practice it regularly, Harries is generally a subpar technique, especially with the new lights that are pretty small and don't allow you to use the long length of the light to rest on your forearm (like with an old school MagLite), as you tend to aim the light low, and you're not getting very much isometric tension. Aiming the light low still allows you to engage the target for the most part, but you lose the ability to dazzle your opponent with the light at that point. You're also apt to muzzle yourself when getting into the Harries position if you don't practice it and have to form the position in a hurry. Harries also has minor issues for shooting around cover on your weak side, but that's a much smaller consideration, IMO.

I personally kinda went with the "buy an IWB with a WML", but you still have to think about what you're going to do with the handheld once the threat has been identified, assuming that's what you were using to search. All very dependent on the circumstance, but certainly something to think about.

I currently use an offset hold or else the modified head index for shooting one-handed with a handheld, as my short experience with Harries was subpar, and it doesn't really give me the flexibility the offset hold has, particularly since I always have my X400 with DG switch mounted anyways, nor does it give the repeatable index of the modified head index. I don't like the neck index because the light splashing on the sights has caused me issues with accuracy before; it might be something I can overcome with training, but since I don't have any opportunities to do any low-light training these days, it's kind of a moot point for now.

[Jay Cunningham]

Harries can kind of suck. It's easy for your hand position to fall apart and it can be fatiguing. I try to use a different technique if I can.

My favorite is indexing off the top of the left side of my head. Puts my light where my eyes are and lights up my front sight without blasting my rear sight. But I am a pretty solid SHO shooter, and I leverage this to my advantage with this technique.

A WML is swell, but is one of those things to consider whether or not it's too much on a CCW.

[jon volk]

I've tried the Rogers technique a bit with my sirt, but I've twice now bumped the mag release. I like the grip feel but having the mag fall out doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

[JV_]

I've tried the Rogers technique a bit with my sirt, but I've twice now bumped the mag release.

I have the same issue.

[TGS]

I think it's totally worthwhile to practice several techniques. I learned this when actually checking out that proverbial bump in the night. My preferred technique at that point was a jaw index.....well, I found a head index doesn't work too well with angles around corners going to the left, or going down certain formats of stairs where your view of the room below is limited, similar to looking underneath a table while standing. For these situations, I've played with a reversed/upside down Harries hold, as I didn't like regular Harries for the reasons already mentioned by others. I've tried FBI both around the house and in class, but my ability to index the light on my target area is so piss poor with the FBI method that I'm not sure if it's worth investing training time in.

In any case, I think multiple methods are wise.

[Jay Cunningham]

In any case, I think multiple methods are wise.

Yes. A WML is a terrific idea.

[GJM]

I agree that multiple techniques should be tested to see what works for your handgun/light combo and your anatomy. That said, absent a WML, it basically boils down to the Rogers technique or some flavor of one hand shooting. If you suck (and this isn't directed at the OP) at one hand shooting, you better figure out how to make the Rogers technique work for you. I think there is a learning curve with Rogers, and it was only my third trip to Rogers where I got the hang of it. Now it is easily my favorite technique short of a WML. All of this makes a long gun with a mounted light seem very attractive for home use.

[ToddG]

... well, I found a head index doesn't work too well with angles around corners going to the left...

Your head has two sides. You can put the light on either.

[Jay Cunningham]

Your head has two sides. You can put the light on either.

Then there's that.

No good reason not to be pretty much ambidextrous with your pistola.