Which is better? A mounted gun light or a handheld tactical light? What is right and what is wrong?
Some tactics are wrong. Jumping out from cover to expose yourself to income rounds is undoubtedly wrong. Excluding that level of stupidity, the situation defines your tactics. Here success determines what is good or bad. For example:
A shooting school instructor spoke about a previous student who trained to make entry and kneel in the center of the room, checking for hidden corners and furniture placement. During a training scenario, he was second of a five-man train. They made entry, he took a knee, and the train knocked him down and stepped on him as they moved to their locations. That might have been a good technique misused.
The second thing you need to know is that no national, approved, certified standard of tactics exists. Not the FBI, the Marines, the CIA, or the NYPD ESU. And every instructor has their perspective based on their needs. Indeed, my views are formed by my training and experience, just as everyone else’s.
Let’s set one thing aside right now. A long gun requires a mounted light for serious work. Some techniques allow you to use a handheld light and fire your rifle. These are emergency-use applications that give up some control of the gun and limit your options.
Let's talk handguns.
The classic fencing stance with the weak hand thrown back and elevated was designed as much for balance as holding a lantern. Many nations outlawed dueling, and men resolved their affairs of honor under the cover of darkness. Hence the need for a lantern carried not to blind yourself. Illumination and weapons have a long relationship.
The current ‘Modern Pistolcraft’ evolved around the heavy steel Maglite. The best summary of its tactics and uses is found in "Defensive Tactics with Flashlights" by John Peters. Published in 1982, it still provides many useable techniques.
It obviously doesn't cover the advent of diode lights and the evolution of small tactical lights and gun lights.
All lights used in a tactical situation have one primary purpose: to provide illumination to determine if another person is present and most importantly, are they armed? Determination of danger is left to the defender.
Should you replace your weapon light with a tactical flashlight?
A theory proposed by some instructors acknowledges searching with the weapon light could result in you pointing your weapon at people you don't want to shoot. Like your children or other persons present but not involved.
Example: A late evening church sleepover event goes bad, the lights flicker out, and you hear gunshots. While searching for danger, will you point your gun at children? I hope you remembered the NRA's three rules of safety and kept your finger off the trigger.
The upside of a handheld light is you aren’t pointing the gun at anyone until you determine they are a hazard. The handheld lets you aim the light into their face, hopefully blinding them and giving you more control over the situation. You can, if necessary, give your flashlight to someone.
The Down Side.
The downside is despite all the classic flashlight gun techniques, including the elevated FBI and Temple Index, you have only one hand on the gun. Shoot a match one-handed and see the results of that. There is also a tendency to spend time aiming the light when you should be shooting. Reloads are complicated. Where do you place the flashlight? How do I hold one or more persons at gunpoint and call the police? Even if others call the police, you should want to be on the line to the dispatcher explaining who you are, where you are, and where the police are, so you can place your gun down. Remember, there are no good-guy citizen markers in these encounters.
Let’s move to the weapon light.
It's advantageous to lead with the light and gun when pieing corners. Illuminating areas does not require you to shine the light in their face to blind them. While useful, but not required. Weapon lights are typically easier to use. Most have an ambidextrous paddle you push down to activate and a single illumination mode. Many flashlights have a difficult activation button to reach (to prevent accidental activation) or a complicated system of multiple illumination levels. The weapon light leaves the weak hand unincumbered for weapon retention, reloading, and using your phone.
My gun is in my right hand as I approach the left side of a doorway. When approaching the right side of a doorway, I can efficiently and safely transfer my gun from right to left. How do I accomplish that while holding a flashlight?
Disadvantages of weapon light.
You can’t hand your light to someone else who needs it. Searching in a parking lot for dropped keys, looking at directions/instructions in the dark, or seeing the stairs in a darkened movie theater all require using your weapon. For your safety, following the grounding of the criminals, it is advisable to reholster and keep one hand on the gun. You can't do this with a weapon light. Placing potentially armed people in the dark gives them a significant advantage over you.
Let’s look at the tactics.
The notation LH stands for Light In Hand and the illuminated area is in orange. GH stands for Gun Light Hand and the blue represents the area illuminated. This is for a right handed shooter, flip the illustrations over if you are left handed.
Just a reminder, the map is not the territory nor the menu and food. Okay? Figures and photos are just for illustration.
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| Figure One |
Figure One: You are pieing the door to a kitchen from the left side, at the door edge. The door frame acts as a barrier to your light entering the room. The gun light, shown in blue, illuminates more of the room. The handheld light on is left of the gun hand and obscured by more of the wall and door frame.
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| Figure Two |
Figure Two is your drop-out from Figure One. LH still isn't illuminating the majority of the kitchen. I estimate that more than half the kitchen is still in darkness. But how dark?
The light projected into the area will bounce around and add illumination to the dark corners. Will it be enough to see and correctly evaluate the criminal? I don't know.
Also, remember some of the light from either source is being reflected and returned to the defender. You will not be as dark-adjusted as before turning on the flashlight. I suspect the shadows will be dark enough to hide an armed person.
One last observation about Figure Two. Note how what could be a dishwasher on the left creates a small, waist-high pocket of shadow. A tall object will create a larger area. In either case, you must clear those out. Remember, the drawing is 2-D, but things are 3-D with a clock running on the situation.
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| Figure Three |
Figure Three: Some of these problems can be reduced by moving the flashlight to the right side of the hand gun. One method is the Harries Technique. Figure Three shows the area covered by the weapon light and the flashlight are the same.
The Harries Technique moves the flashlight hand to the right side of the gun hand and essentially converts the flashlight to a weapon light. You still have recoil issues and the tendency to waste time aiming the flashlight when you should be shooting.
There are other techniques: The Cirillo, the Chapman, the Ayoob, all of which bring the flashlight into close contact with the handgun. All attempt to make the flashlight a weapon mounted light.
This still doesn’t give you the extra hand to retain a weapon, call 911 or reload.
One tactic with a flashlight or gun light is to light the floor or ceiling. I recommend shining a gun light on the floor as the weapon can be held at the bottom of your sight and does not obscure the target.
Photo One
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| Photo One |
Here’s my coat standing in as a bad guy illuminated only by the dining room light. I wasn’t able to find a floor plan and kitchen that matched.
Photo Two
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| Photo Two Can you see the target? How about floor tiles? |
With the light off, using only the ambient, low-level light from windows and outdoor lights, look into the kitchen. What do you see?
Photo Three
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| Photo Three Flashlight in non-shooting hand |
I'm illuminating the kitchen with a tactical light left non-gun hand. The bright spot on the woodwork isn't from the center of the beam; it is just closer to the camera and returning a hot spot. What do you see in there? Most people can see the maroon coat. Is there a weapon present? What you can see is from the narrow beam of light in Figure One bouncing around.
Photo Four
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| Photo 4 gun light illuminating floor, not pointed at target |
This is the weapon light illumination on the floor. There is significant light bounce to show the jacket and both ends of the sleeves where hands and weapons would be.
Photo Five.
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| Photo Five Defender snaps gun on target |
From Photo Four the shooter only needs to determine if it is a shoot situation and snap the gun on to target (Yes, it’s out of focus. The camera thought the shadow shooter was the subject.)
Summary
After weighing these images and considering my experience shooting in the dark, I want a gun light. But having an alternate light source is a powerful tool, if you can devise ways of freeing your hand for other chores like weapon retention. You need to be able to release the flashlight while retaining it. The best solution I’ve found is the lanyard.
Take the time before you rush into harm’s way to ensure the proper set-up of your rescue equipment. Getting shot or killed will not help the people you mean to save.
It’s that simple.
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