Tactical rails

I'm never going to put a light or a laser on a handgun, so regardless of their esthetics (which I think are poor), they're a moot point for me. I try to avoid them (and finger grooves) whenever possible.

I have a light on my bedside gun but don't really use them otherwise. I don't mind having options though.

I think they are ugly, especially on guns that were originally designed without them. But they sure are handy when there is a light on that ugly rail and you are in a potential (or real) gunfight in the dark!

Not all that crazy about how they look (especially on a M1911), but do like the way they work. This my current home defense set-up: a SIG P229R with a SIG STL-900L laser/light module. Easy to operate, doesn't weigh all that much to affect the way the gun handles, and I really like the strobe setting on it.

Just me but rails don’t make a gun all that ugly until you hang something from them. I get the utility for some but I’ll pass.

I won't have a beretta 92/96, 1911, or HP clone, with a rail. But a glock/ XD etc? They are ugly anyway. And any holster for those will fit a rail. The lights now are so light weight and compact they don't change the balance to the front anymore than firing the first 10 rounds in a mag changes it toward the rear. Gone are days of 6-D cell
mag-lights (yes I have one from circa 1990, silly as they were) pen lights can complete and surpass those now days.
I have two guns with lights I carry when I feel the need to. A sig 220 in 10mm (I'd rather not have the rail on any metal frame gun but meh) and a glock 22. The only drawback is finding a holster worth a crap to accept the light and be able to draw/ holster. I use a desantis (tac-lite I think it's called). But have used many and I'm not crazy about any of them. Duty holsters are plentiful, but not many that can be ccw
Obviously if you never need a light mounted then the rail is just an eyesore, but many modern guns don't exactly give you an option anyway.

The current production there isn't much option available. The old styled ones I do like the clean lines. Some with rails are cleaner looking than others like Glock.

The "beautiful lines" of a given gun are what you've come to expect to see, and that is often something you've learned to expect. I'd argue that In most cases beauty is in the eyes of the beholder -- and there's no accounting for taste.

I prefer rails because I can use them. Firearms are a utility item. So worrying about line or prettiness doesn't make any sense to me.

I guess I'm weird, but in most cases, I like the railed gun's looks better than the older non railed ones every time. I recently passed on a good deal on an older Sig P226 non railed one, because I already have a very similar gun. If it had the rail, I would have bit.

Depends on the gun. 1911 or HP? No rail. Absolutely not. Plastic service pistol? If it’s a good tool, I wouldn’t kick it out of bed, rail or not.

Blkhrt13 said:

Does anyone else think they ruin the lines on guns? I know it’s an asset to free up a shooting support hand. But I’m betting most never see the addition of acessories and they just ugly up the gun and make holsters bulkier.

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Agreed. I'm getting a Sig Sauer M17, which will be my first pistol with a rail. I'm planning on putting one of those rubber rail covers on the rail, so that at least the sharp edges don't catch on the holster.

I'd thunk a rubber cover would catch and drag worse that the rail itself especially in kydex. In all my railed pistols, metal or polymer, ive never felt the rail catch or rub at all. In leather nor kydex. It's an eyesore but nothing more. An older non railed 226/ beretta 92/1911/ etc holster could have issues with a rail but any holster for the 320/m17 is made for a rail.
Now if you mount a light they can certainly make holstering slightly awkward in some holsters to difficult in others.

Also note that different companies have different rails. My light for my sig wouldn't fit my glock as the glock has a narrower slot in the rail. (I modified the slot by the fraction of an inch in my milling machine and it's been fine for roughly 10k rounds but up to the owner, I wouldn't recommend it, but I would, and have, done it again. Lol) Nor would it fit my hk(s) without removing the lights "key" because they don't even have a slot. No way the HK could catch because it has no edges and the glock is very rounded. The sig uses a standard rail I believe but I carry mine in everything from duty safariland to a galco Miami classic and never had any issues at all. That's just my experience though

Oh, they are ugly as sin.
I do not like the looks of my gun wearing a light.
It is almost impossible to find a holster for a gun/light.
It throws the balance off like a pig on a shovel.
I wont be without one.

I had a light mounted on my Glock 17 for a period. I started to figure a flashlight mounted to my gun would help the bad guy as much as at would help me. Just start shooting at the light. Now I have night sights on my hd guns, motion sensors and dogs and do not miss my flashlight mounted gun. Just my preference.

I carry my g22 in a comp-tac by desantis. I use it on the farm not so much for sd against people. Ive fired thousands of rounds through my glocks with and without the light, I can't feel any difference in balance. Holstering is the only time I notice it. The one pictured is trade in I picked up last year.

Some of my polymer strikers have rails. I don't use them but they don't bother me. I like strikers but never thought of any as having lines.
I wouldn't but a steel gun with a rail.

Blkhrt13 said:

Does anyone else think they ruin the lines on guns?

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Yep. Totally. Especially on 1911s ... I accept them on the new SIGs, only because they're otherwise superb pistols. But I use weapon-mounted lights only on my home defense pistols. But given a choice? Nay. Been carrying a hand-held light option for years, have not yet had a compelling reason to change.

I’m not fond of the way they look and rather carry a bulky light separately. But my carry gun has a rail with a very lightweight and compact green laser on it and I wouldn’t want to go without one for that purpose now.

Not all of my pistols are BBQ 1911's.

My G23.4 wears an XC1 and rides in KT holster.

Go shooting in the dark with a handheld light in one hand and a pistol in the other......then shoot with a rail mounted weapon light.
See which one you like then.

As my distant neighbors would likely attest, I have practiced many times after dark. A weapon light does work quite nicely. On steel targets at close range one can pretty much center the beam and get good hits. And when used with good night sights it's a nice system.
When your tending to a cow thats calving a mile from an electric light bulb, with coyotes waiting for their next dinner its nice to be able to aim, scan, and shoot while the other hand may be occupied. Coyotes are usually happy to settle for the after birth but on more than one occasion we have saw them watching from 50 yards away while calves were born.
I almost never carry my light bearing guns for sd, but I do when i feel the need.

On some guns, like nearly all of the polymer striker guns, I pretty much don't notice them, since they've pretty much all have them, and for the most part (other than pre-Gen 3 Glock's) have been on those guns forever. SIG's I'm pretty much used to them, but the Beretta 92/M9 still look wrong, as do 1911's. In general, I don't care much one way or the other, but some of the 1911's and the Beretta 92's look like real holster gougers.

Regarding shooting in the dark, I often run these Tom Given's thoughts on the subject (my bolding for emphasis) ...

https://civiliandefender.com/2016/04/01/low-light-red-sights-and-tom-givens-glock-35/

Tom carries a Glock 35 with metal sights on it, and the front sight is painted with bright red/orange paint. He does this for severals reasons, but the chief reason being that in the 60 plus defensive shootings his students have been involved in, the lighting (or lack of lighting) was a factor in the outcome in exactly ZERO cases. Also, bright orange (or whatever color you prefer) sights are simply easier to see, and as we age, the contrasting color only helps more. Tom attributes the false urgency for night sights on defensive guns to the often misquoted crime statistics that are summarized as, “MOST violent crimes occur at night.” The statistics ACTUALLY show that violent crimes most often occur during the hours of darkness, which is 6 PM to 6 AM. Just because it is 2 AM, it isn’t necessarily dark! Tom said, “There have been times where I have seen my sights clearer at 3 AM outside of a well-lit gas station than I have at 3 PM on an overcast day.”

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