Probably the most important thing you can add to your weapon, a light will help you locate, identify and engage a threat. Most gun owners and even shooters will not practice shooting or even dry fire with a light. The hard part of shooting with a light is working the switches and exercising light discipline, the mistake I see most often is people who don’t train enough will try to use their light to illuminate everything to recreate their comfort zone rather than being comfortable with the darkness and using lights sparingly to identify something specific.
Surefire light in 1 inch ring attached to FSB using Midwest Industries FSB rail, tape switch is secured by an elastic retainer band at 12 o'clock which allows ambidexterous light activation
For most long guns a light is easy to work as you will most likely have both hands on the weapon anyway, place the light far enough out to clear any obstructions, e.g. the front sight assembly, while keeping the switch close enough in to comfortably use the weapon.
For handguns it gets trickier since most will shoot better with both hands on the pistol than with just one, there are a variety of handgun/flashlight techniques which is beyond the scope of this blog post. The best option is to have a weapon mounted flashlight, it may not be necessary on every pistol but at least on any that you plan on using to protect yourself and loved ones.
Which light? Surefire is the standard, all others are striving to keep up. Nobody ever bought a competitor because it was more expensive, the fact is that if prices were equal- Surefire wins. Unbeatable warranty and proven track record make it an obvious, albeit expensive, choice. I have used Inova and Blackhawk lights in the past as well as duct taping a 2 D cell Maglite to the handguards of my M16 back when I was in the army but the majority of the lights I own today are Surefire.
My preference is for push button switches over pressure pads as it is less cluttered, provides more positive engagement and is less likely to have a white light Negligent Discharge (ND) if bumped.
Larue Dual Light mount holding Blackhawk Falcata light and Laser Devices visible laser
If mounted on a carbine, the light should be accessible without changing your support side grip if not using the light and accessible by your other hand if you need to switch shoulders, meaning your firing side hand is now your support side hand. This is an instance where a pressure pad, mounted to the 12 o’clock position behind the front sight base of an AR has the advantage as you can easily use either thumb to activate the light. The advantage of the push button, particularly the click-on variants, is that you can turn the light on and leave it on before switching shoulders.
How much light? While much is made of 6v or 9v and how many lumens a light has it still comes down to individual situations. You need as much light as necessary to illuminate the longest area in your house or the immediate area outside your house. From a tactical standpoint every time you activate your light you may be giving away your position to a potentially hostile adversary, therefore you need to be able to see as much as possible with each illumination.
VTAC light mounts holding Surefire G2's, redundant lighting as well as allowing light activation from either side
For example, if you hear something at the end of your driveway in the middle of the night and decide to investigate, the farther away you are the better. Especially if you have the range advantage of a carbine or shotgun. The only downside to “too much light” is the potential to blind yourself if illuminating things like mirrors or light colored walls in your home.
I also prefer incandescent to LED lights as my experience in the past has been that LED’s lack the “throw” to light up things, particularly if you’re in a well lit area trying to illuminate a poorly lit area. Downside to incandescent bulbs is they burn out quicker and may be less durable to shock and recoil.
