Flashlight With Laser For Pistol

There were nearly five million new gun owners in 2020. This trend of increased firearms ownership shows no signs of slowing down. People are waking up and taking responsibility for their safety. Being a new gun owner can be overwhelming. There is a vast array of accessories, do-dads, gizmos, and shiny, gimmicky items to adorn your new firearm. Even long-time gun owners are unaware of the proper applications and tactical uses of many accessories they already own.

For the purpose of this article, I will stick to weapon-mounted lights (WML) and lasers. I will also touch on the benefits of a handheld light. To be clear, when talking about lasers, I am referring to visible lasers, usually red or green, and NOT IR lasers.

Black Scout Survival is a collaboration of all things tactical and survival and goes over the practicality of mounting a laser or combined laser-flashlight on your pistol for home defense.
In short, EDC isn’t practical, but it may be a vital home defense tool.

Before spending time getting a laser, be sure to work on your basic marksman shooting with iron sights. Slapping a laser on it looks appealing but will not make you a better shooter. The advantage with a laser is that it can get you on target quickly.

Home Defense
Having a tactical flashlight is an added convenience so you don’t have to use the “Chapman” method. Placing your finger on the mechanism is all it takes while holding your pistol on target. Lasers have a huge advantage of acquiring targets quickly. A flashlight can help you identify who is in front of you and prevent tragedies before making that choice to use deadly force.

Red dot or laser for 15

If you’re already engaged in a firefight, you’re already in a combative situation; they already know where you are, and you know it. You may be firing at them. But, you know, in the military, guys used those with night vision—you know, the different PEC models—because it just gives you quick point-and-shoot-type capabilities. I think in the middle of the night you’re groggy, you just wake up, your dog wakes you up, the alarm goes off, your adrenaline spikes, you know someone’s in the house, and you put those well-placed shots coming from a deep REM sleep— you know, it could be problematic. Therefore, you will seek to gain every possible advantage.

Red dot sight for home defense

Alright, we’ll talk about flashlight use and that type of stuff later on. Today we’re just going to discuss lasers, and we’ll talk a little bit about flashlights. This is my favorite, the TLR-1 Glock 19. It has a light with on, momentary, and strobe settings. This is the TLR-4, a weapon that Jay, the man behind the camera, chose for his wife’s home defense needs.

This has the light, so you have the light. You can go straight laser, only laser, momentary on, or constant on, or you can switch to those modes. You can go constant on with a light and laser, and you can also do that momentarily. So you’ve got a switch for all those modes, which is pretty cool. You can employ whichever modes you prefer.

In low-light conditions, you may want to use the light and stuff like that—momentary on, quick, constant on, whatever. However, these features are quite impressive. The device boasts a lumen output of 175 lumens, which is quite impressive. It takes one CR23 battery, and I like the capability of being able to switch through the different modes. So anyhow, me and Jay are about to go down to the range; we’re going to shoot that, and then we’re going to go down to the clubhouse.

Alright guys, we’re down here at the range, and we’re going to show how bad this thing shoots. It’s pretty cool; it features a constant-on mode, a momentary-on mode, a red laser, and a light. It will be a viable option for you guys for home defense-type stuff, so let’s go ahead and pop a few rounds off.

Do laser sights improve accuracy

Lights provide huge tactical advantages in a self-defense/home invasion situation. Lights have become extremely compact and ultra-bright. Long gone are the days of carrying a huge 4D-cell Mag-Lite battery. I tend to choose quality American-made products over cheaper “foreign” ones. You can find decent-quality lights that are fairly affordable; just don’t expect the discount products to perform like the premier brands. You cannot shoot what you cannot see. In low-light or no-light situations, a flashlight allows you to see the intended target. The light can also help you identify, confirm, or deny that there is a threat. The light can also temporarily disorient or blind an assailant, giving you the precious seconds needed to engage and get off the proverbial “X.” For any shooting, there will be an investigation and possible criminal charges. Having a light can prove how you were able to positively identify a weapon or threat in the dark.

Conclusion

Lasers are probably the number one accessory I see used incorrectly. First and foremost, lasers have to be zeroed to a certain distance, just like any optic. This implies that you need to select a specific distance to zero the laser, given that lasers follow straight lines, unlike bullets, which do not. I generally recommend zeroing a handgun laser from 10 to 20 yards. As a general guideline, I strongly advise against new shooters using lasers during their learning process and when practicing on a static range. What I normally see with shooters is that they focus so much on the laser that they forget all the 100 other things they are supposed to be doing to fire a handgun accurately. It is impossible to hold an object completely still. When aiming, you will naturally move or shake, especially with a laser. Most people know this and try to hold the laser over the bullseye’s X. When they shake just right and the laser crosses the X, they jerk the trigger to fire the gun. This approach is incorrect and counterproductive.