Do you see?

A one-eyed man is a king in the land of the blind.  

We attribute that to Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian in the 1500s.

I wonder what DER would have said about flashlights?

This blog was inspired by a Facebook post from TDI-Ohio asking if we knew how well our illumination worked at 10 and 20 yards.  It's an excellent question.  Since I like sharing my results almost as much as I enjoy experiencing other people’s results, I held a low and no light activity at Greenport Tactical on one of their outdoor ranges.

Shooters brought both pistol, long gun, and handheld lights to try during some basic courses of fire.  The results were surprising.  In the dark, every light illuminated the targets sufficiently to determine if they held a weapon or not at both distances.

We also realized that with targets set a yard apart, every light illuminated the targets to the left and right of the center one.   Even the older 60-lumen gun and flashlights were bright enough to accomplish this. 

Previous tests with ultra-bright lights outdoors created a spotlight on the target and produced dark, deep shadows that hid targets shifted 20 feet to the side.  I would expect different results indoors with more reflective surfaces.

I've concluded that most commercial lights are sufficient at expected working distances for identification purposes.  On my Glock, I run a Streamlight M-3 rated at 80-90 lumens.  The AR runs a Nightstick rated at 850 lumens.

Why the difference?  Anticipated distance between me and the target.  I see the rifle as the tool needed to deal with a lethal threat at 25 yards and beyond in open spaces.

If you jump into this red queen’s race of maximum illumination, you can be on top with the Streamlight HL-X rated at 1000 lumens.  Just know there is always a better/brighter light around the corner.

Think instead about your uses and needs.

Battery?  Are they CR123, AA batteries, or eight micro button batteries the diameter of peas? 

Rechargeable?  What’s your ability to recharge?  Does the battery come out of the device and into a special charging station?  I have several rechargeable devices, and they all need a special plug.  Will your phone charging cord work on your light?

 

Which plug fits which rechargeable?

Do you expect to be searching a no-light environment for hours?  Can you charge or change batteries in the field away from a power source like a car or building?  Can you use an emergency recharger?  And in any case, how fast is the recharge cycle?

How complicated is the lamp?  Does it have multiple modes the user has to select on the move?  Can you 'park it' in high or low?  How complicated is it switching between modes?  Is it a pushbutton?  Is the switch momentary on and off, or does it run through low, high, strobe, SOS cycle, and then off?  Is there a remote switch you can position where you want it?  Does your remote switch have both momentary and full-on positions?

How complex is the activation switch?

The activation switch is momentary only. Mounting is solved with a scope ring.

Tail switch or paddle?  Some tail switches are recessed to prevent accidental activation.  They can be challenging to thumb on and off when mounted on the gun.   Paddle?  Does down on the left side momentary activate the light while down on the right side locks it on?

One as a strobe mode and you activate by pressing a paddle twice in 2 seconds in a specific direction.  Which one was it ?

Does light focus?  Does it stay where you focused the light during recoil?

How fragile is the bulb?  Does the bulb break when it’s hot, and you bang into a wall or take a fall?  How easy is it to replace a bulb?

The same applies to handheld lights.  Besides the variety of ways to hold the gun and light, how do activate the light?  Is it a base button, a button behind bulb housing, or do you rotate the lamp housing on and off?

One is very easy to activate the other is "Where the hell is that button?" 

What do you do with the handheld light when you need to clear a jam?  Reload?  Open a door?  Do you have a lanyard on it?  Maybe it has a Thyrm flashlight ring so the light can dangle from your thumb, freeing up the fingertips for more dexterity?  Perhaps a drop pouch is your answer.

The light has several modes, but I can park it in bright or dim and let it dangle from my wrist.

How is the light mounted on the gun?  Do you need special tools to remove it?  Can you position it for thump or index finger?  If it is a handheld, where is it stored until the light is needed?

A simple mount and button, but can you mount the light where you thumb can reach it with your grip?

Let me give you some of my opinions based on my experience.  I carry concealed, and even the best holster for a gun with a gun light is challenging to hide.  The vast majority of us carrying concealed will never need to illuminate and shoot someone.  Most handgun confrontations happen at 10 feet or less.  At these distances, almost any lamp will suffice

I prefer both a handheld light I can use for searching and a gun-mounted light when I can conceal it.  When concealment becomes difficult, I move to a suitable-sized gun and handheld flashlight.

Classic 6Z combat light with rubber ring to assist your grip.  I've used the front of the trigger guard to activate the light.  Don't turn you back on older technology simply because it is old.

Larger flashlights, like a Maglight, have the advantage that it is always a flashlight, even when used as an improvised impact weapon.  I see more women carrying hiking sticks when walking the dog.  Even if she uses the stick to tear the diaphragm of someone’s solar plexus with a stiff jab, it is still just a hiking stick.

I like batteries as I can carry several spares in my car, go bag or pockets.  I don't always have an outlet available.  I prefer CR123 for purpose-driven lights but used AA and AAA for general lights.  Yes, different batteries create confusion.  You need to know the speciations of your tools.

Technology never stands still.  Smaller units with focused, brighter beams will eventually replace the large units we use today, making weapon lights even easier to conceal and use.  Expect VCA to adopt them.

Final thoughts: 

I have decided that identifying shoot or no-shoot situations is more important than dazzling them with brightness.  The environments I frequent have too much low-level illumination to dazzle a VCA.  I believe a VCA will point their gun at the light and pull the trigger no matter what they can see.

Lastly, I practice with my lights, either with dry fire or on the range.  These skills are perishable.