I have an AR for HD/SD - SHTF/TEOTWAWKIT…
I’m thinking I need to add a light - but I’m second guessing if I’m simply getting caught up in the accessorizing of my AR.
I don’t see myself clearing a room, or wanting to turn a light on in a gunfight.
I guess I don’t know what I don’t know…so any education on why a light is needed - for discussion and persuasion - would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
How do you know what you’re shooting at in the dark without a light. Light is mandatory for a fighting/defense long gun.
Anytime I’ve had to shoot something, it was at night. Honestly I need to get some more mounts to spread to other rifles.
For years I thought a weapon mounted light just introduced an easy way to get killed in a home defense scenario. An easy way for a bad guy to identify your position. If I am awaken by a bump in the night and after confirming my wife is beside me I will be the guy sitting in the corner of my bedroom prepared to shoot anything that shows it’s face at my bedroom door. I don’t have dogs or kids so shooting at shadows isn’t a problem for me. I have now changed my position and have equipped my HD rifle and shotgun with lights. I reason that a light will enable me to clean up my mess if needed. Dead home invaders don’t have much to say in court! Get a light. It just sits there doing nothing if you don’t need it. GH
I share your initial line of thinking. Why give up my position? And there’s no way I’m pulling any trigger if I’m not certain of a threat. I’d rather try and stay silent…and in the dark.
I had a feeling - in starting this thread - of that saying “if you have to ask, you just don’t get it!”
Which is probably true - so I’m hoping to get learned. Light and training is more than likely needed on my part - but in general, the line of thinking is that an HD scenario needs a light?
I would highly recommend a light. How about you list me the disadvantages of having a light on a HD rifle? They aren’t overly cumbersome, and take up a small amount of rail real estate. I honestly don’t see a downside. Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.
If you’re worried about having it stuck on in a gunfight, get a light with a momentary on button.
Anything or anybody in my home that wasn’t invited is fair game in my state! As I stated above… All I need to do is know where my wife is. It is open season on everything else! GH
A light is a must. I run a TLR1 at 12 o’clock on both of my rifles. Great set up for me.
That’s well and good if you live in a stand your ground state, but just think about this for a minute. Anything that has made a sound in your house you’re going to shoot blindly at? So say you do have an intruder, and turn your home into a shooting gallery, and you fire oh…say 15 times. Let’s also say that every round has managed to miss said intruder. What about the damage done to your home? You’ll have to make a report to law enforcement, and more than likely have to deal with an insurance company for the damage. Again, I’m thinking worst case scenario.
I just can’t imagine not know that I’m firing at. Remember basic safety. ALWAYS be sure of your target, and what’s beyond it. I get that knowing whats beyond it in an HD scenario is highly unlikely to cross your mind, but again, Always be sure of what you’re shooting at in the first place. Get a light.
I’m a cop and have a light on EVERY GUN except my bolt action .270.
You can only control what you can see. This is real world advice I’m giving.
Snag an Inforce WML.
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Have you ever attempted to shoot your rifle in the dark? If you have, you’ll realize why a light comes in handy in the dark.
I light is a must. There is no way I’m going outside to investigate a sound without being able to see.
“Always be sure of your target, it’s foreground and it’s background.”
And then there’s the whole, coming out of sleep bleary eyed and immediately lighting up whatever comes through the door. Oops, that was your wife you lit up, who you failed to ID because you didn’t think a weapon light was worth it and failed to ensure that she was in the room with you because you just woke up.
Oh, and just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it is moral.
In 2014, a RDS and a WML are pretty much mandatory for a defensive long-gun.
Lights are way easier to fire up than NODs when rolling out of bed.
People seem to forget that interior spaces, when the power is out, have varying levels of ambient light available.
It’s typically dark 50% of the time. If you intend to deploy your weapon in 24-hour state of readiness, you will need a WML.
Even during daylight hours, parts of some structures can still be easier to assess with a flashlight, so even when the sun’s up there is an application for a WML.
The worry about being a targetable lighthouse isn’t unfounded, but using a WML with momentary switch operation works remarkably well, especially if you train to have the light on when you want it, and off when you don’t need it (ideally move afterwards).
If in doubt, the amount that can be learned from one airsoft night event is worth about as much as the cost of entry for a night shooting course, but much cheaper. It’s amusing how hard it is for even somebody decent at shooting to actually hit a point light at night, more so if it’s moving. The value of having a couple hundred lumens outbound is indispensable, and less of a liability than most people assume with regard to being a projectile magnet. Considering that sketchy stuff disproportionately happens in low light, a WML is something I consider mandatory for primary AND secondary weapon systems, as is having a tertiary light. I’m sure I could make do with $2k less in SureFire hardware, but having a weapon system without a light is like having a car without headlights - they’re great as track cars (and range toys), but pretty much limited utility beyond that.
Dude…wow.
I’m going to assume you’re making a funny here. If not, try to keep in mind that there are folks who read these forums as ways to cherry pick posts and make shooters/enthusiasts look like crazies.
I’m glad you have a light now. Good choice.
If you want your rifle to be useful for more than 12 hours a day, get a light.
If you only think you’ll need a gun outdoors during daylight hours, don’t get a light. I really hope you don’t think this.
A light is also a great way to blind an intruder. I think a quality RDS and light are important for any home defense carbine.
Both as a career cop and a multiple deployed military reservist who worked at night most of the time a light is mandatory on a defense weapon. Any weapon that may be used for defense purposes wears a light. I’m partial to Scout lights and surefire pistol lights on my Glocks. As a HD weapon for me the light would come before a sling, RDS, or holster for a pistol. People that say it’s not needed just don’t know what they don’t know. It’s that simple.
This.
Not being able to see or “IFF” really sucks.
Ironically, per the airsoft mention here, this point was driven home to when I used to play paintball. After two nightgames of spending hours painstakingly crawling blindly through the woods, and having to guess who was moving in the bushes a few feet away, I said " never again" and jerry-taped a light to my barrel for the next game which went much smoother…
So when I started putting together my rifle, I made sure it had a light, even before I got an RDS…
Because you can’t just shoot suspicious shadows willy nilly… (unless you’re LAPD… :laugh:)
Consider also the “shock an awe” advantage you can gain, which may allow one to avoid blasting someone all together…