Josh Montgomery: Importance of Pistol Light.
When it
comes to pistols, most people take into account only the gun’s model, power,
stability, recoil, and so on. In short, few people actually consider whether
they should use a light on their pistol.
This is
because most gun users and owners don’t understand that, when it comes to
self-defense situations, one has to expect danger at all times and be prepared
for it as well!
In
unpredictable circumstances, visibility makes a difference and can help you
overcome an attacker with ease. As such, in today’s article, we’ll talk about
the importance of pistol light – and why you should choose mounted instead of
hand-held.
Carry
Convenience
As
mentioned above, we’ll also point out some of the reasons why you should always
pick a mounted light instead
of a hand-held one.
When
talking about light in general, we have to admit that having a
flashlight, for example, would mean having to carry an extra thing on you, at
all times. After all, by doing so, you can deter attackers at any given time of
the day.
On the
other hand, when using a light specially designed for a pistol, you don’t need
to constantly remind yourself that you have to grab your flashlight. Moreover,
if you conceal carry, it will be easier to manage a mounted light.
Recoil
Counterweight
Believe
it or not, a mounted pistol light does a very good job as a counterweight, as it can
help reduce the muzzle climb of a handgun.
As such,
a pistol light can improve your accuracy on any follow-up shots, in case you
are required to fire them. Naturally, this comes in very handy when you are
surprised by an attacker and you need to fire your gun quickly and experience
little to no muzzle movement as well.
On top of
that, competitive shooters are known to add such counterweights to their handguns
to increase their accuracy for follow up shots.
Target
Identification
Obviously,
this is one of the main reasons why you should have a pistol light – namely,
for easier target identification, especially during the night.
First of
all, a pistol light can be very helpful even in locations with dimmed lights as
you can easily search and identify targets or suspicious places.
Then, it
is worth mentioning that the majority of self-defense situations occur either
during the night or in dark areas. Therefore, a pistol light is almost
mandatory for those that return home during and after the sunset.
Easier to
Shoot with Pistol Light
As
mentioned, when compared to a hand-held flashlight, a special pistol light makes it much easier to shoot
with the handgun.
First of
all, if you choose a hand-held light, you will instantly lose some stability
and accuracy as you will be holding the pistol with one hand only. True, you
can use the back of your other hand to stabilize the gun, but it wouldn’t offer
the same stability as a two-hand grip.
Moreover,
it is much more difficult to hold both a flashlight and a handgun – don’t let
yourself fooled by all of those movies.
Overall,
with a mounted light, you avoid putting your safety in a one-handed shot
that you can miss quite easily. On top of that, not having to prepare a
flashlight also makes you much faster in terms of fastening the pistol, so to
say.
Blind the
Attackers
Obviously,
a source of light directed straight to your eyes doesn’t feel good at all –
especially if the light is quite powerful.
As such,
you can already determine what’s probably the best use of a pistol light. With
it, you can catch your enemy off-guard and blind them. As a result, you could
even take them down without firing a single bullet. All you need is them
closing their eyes for a split second so that you could approach and take them
down – if they are not armed, of course.
However,
the fact that you can blind an enemy basically means that you won’t meet any
resistance when firing your gun, if necessary. Blinding them will also provide
you with a couple of seconds when you can decide whether the perpetrator is
dangerous or not.
Home
Defense
Naturally,
a pistol light is not meant to be used only by authorities or the military. For
example, if your home is
attacked, you surely won’t spend time turning on any lights – especially if the
noise coming from your living room is heavy.
In such
scenarios, a pistol light can also scare the attackers away! The light will
help you scout your house without fearing that there might be someone hidden
behind your minibar or in a dark spot of a certain room.
The
Importance of Pistol Light
Let’s now
take a closer look at everything that we learned today:
Defending Your Home –
a pistol light makes searching your home and protecting yourself from attackers
a lot easier. Stun Gun – when
aimed properly, a handgun with a light attached can blind enemies and leave
them unresponsive for a second or two – just enough for you to make your move.Target Identification – naturally, a pistol light makes it easier for you to
identify your target and not shoot randomly or waste bullets.Recoil Counterweight – as mentioned, a pistol light can improve your aim as
it reduced the recoil of your handgun when it comes to any follow-up shots.
The
Bottom Line
As you
can see, pistol light can be very important, depending on the situations that
you may have to face. For example, most police officers think that one
shouldn’t be given a service pistol without a mounted light. Why?
This is
because, as a police officer, you are often faced with tasks that require a
free hand – opening a door or checking something, without lowering your gun.
On the
other hand, a pistol light is just as important for the common folk, so to say.
No matter whether you conceal or open carry, you should have a light mounted on
your pistol as it will increase your chances of successful self-defense!
