Which hand-held light/gun combo for low-light shooting?

[JTQ]

Something that may help your decision process is figuring out who makes a holder for what particular light. If you plan on using a holder, and have found one you like, knowing what lights they make them for may focus your choices.

Comp-Tac https://comp-tac.com/light-holder-holster-belt-clip-comp-tac-victory-gear/

 

[D.B. Cooper]

So, the M20SX has been replaced by the M23. Those are both big reflector lights that will throw.

The M20 is still listed on olight's website (that's how I found t), and also available on amazon.

It seems that both of those lights are designed to replace the big magliites as a "duty light" and to be carried in a holster on a gun belt.

 

[Old Dog]

Here are three types of lights I commonly carry off-duty and also use for low light/night shooting (left, Streamlight ProTac HL 2, middle, Fenix PD35, and the old version Surefire G2 (all my new ones are at work right now). Fenix lights are durable and a great value.

The Streamlight is the heaviest and the brightest, the Fenix (also available in a rechargeable version for $20 more); the Surefire the lightest and cheapest ... All can be had for under $80. But my new favorite pocket carry light is the Streamlight 1L 1AA (ultra-light, tiny, cheaper to feed and bright as hell, can't recall the lumen rating.

 

[Gridley]

What's the light you carry every day? I'd use that one - get in some training with the gear you carry.

 

[Jesse H]

Yes, all lumens are the same. They're an SI unit of measure. They can be measured to see if a manufacturer is over or under rating their light. They're just not as easy to measure as something like inches or centimeters.

That out of the way, yes, you can have too much light, depending on the situation. Ultra-low modes for navigation and/or dark adjusted eyes are incredibly useful. Ultra high modes are useful things like ID'ing potential targets.

I guess I should have specified that one light that's measured at 1000 lumens can perform differently from another light also measured at 1000 lumens. As you mentioned in an earlier post, candela also needs to be considered to determine what type of throw and hotspot you want to work with.

I will stand by my statement that you can't (currently) have too much lumens. Otherwise my team of over a dozen guys with 1500 lumen Surefires on our rifles would all have "too much light " going into dark houses during no-knock warrants at 5 in the morning.

We all go lights on once entry is made and none of us become blinded.

 

[6.8KT]

But my new favorite pocket carry light is the Streamlight 1L 1AA (ultra-light, tiny, cheaper to feed and bright as hell, can't recall the lumen rating.
View attachment 822350

I have an older Fenix LD10 like that. It's great with a fresh battery, but the battery life isn't good. Plus, the 'low voltage cutoff point' is set too high I think. It doesn't get dimmer; it just stops working. Pretty annoying; though, I'm sure the technology has improved over the years for these 'quality' LED torches.
I just get the cheap ones now though -- like the 5-pack of 1xAA LED flashlights for $12 on Amazon. Then I have a few slightly better $12 torches that run on a single 18650.
And I have a variety of ways to charge them, such as with a small 5-10 watt solar panel.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

View attachment 822350

Same light I carry everyday.

Saved my bacon on Evacuation night.

I like it a lot.

 

[herrwalther]

They do not replace each other, but if you actually have to manipulate a weapon in the dark it's hard to beat a dedicated WML.

A WML is very difficult to add to a revolver. Which the OP is using for the class. Although if you want to go with the 9mm auto, this thread would go a much different direction for WML recommendations.

Seems like the high output (500+ lumens) are sort of big. I've watched some videos on the Olight MS20X, and it looks huge. (Not as huge as my 2D maglite.) I like most everything else about it, but it's not going to ride around in my pocket.

Which brings me to my next question: should I be looking for something that fits in a pocket or not? I'm buying a light for this low-light shooting match, but they only do that once per year. How do avoid buying an expensive light that sits in a pack all year?

A pocket light is better. Especially with a pocket clip. This is going to be a light you will be clearing mock houses with. So a 2D or multi D Maglite is not going to be very fun to carry in your hand or pocket.

 

[bannockburn]

Old Dog

I have the middle brother to your Streamlight 1L 1AA and your ProTac HL2: the ProTac 2AA. A well built flashlight with 3 light settings, 250 lumens of bright light and 43 hours of run time on low.

 

[WheelGunMan]

I have two units...one is a 350 lumen Bushnell Pro 350 and the other is 400 lumen Lux-Pro LP600V2.

The upside of the Bushnell is the tactical aspect of it. It can be used as an aggressive weapon via the sharp edges machined into the aluminum case. It has a clip to hold it in your pocket. The first click of the push switch puts it into hi-beam. It has a twist lock switch feature that keeps it from discharge by accidental bumping the push switch....The downside is it's powered by 2 - CR123A batteries which are not sold everywhere and are rather expensive.

The Lux-Pro is the same height as the Bushnell but is slightly larger in diameter. It has the same style push switch with the high beam coming on first. It has no clip and is relatively smooth sided. The up side it's powered 4 - AAA batteries.

I like them both. My favorite is the Bushnell for its tactical capabilities. I'm in the hunt for rechargeable batteries for it.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

What's the light you carry every day? I'd use that one - get in some training with the gear you carry.

I don't have an EDC light. Never really needed one. 4 months of the year, it never gets truly dark up here.

 

[6.8KT]

I don't have an EDC light. Never really needed one. 4 months of the year, it never gets truly dark up here.

What about the 4 months it never truly gets light.
I'm with you though. I don't EDC anything... except wallet, keys, phone, lighter, rolling tobacco (eww!)
I've certainly tried to incorporate more stuff and faithfully carry it: ...flashlight, knife, gun... but I wear jeans and there's just no room.
I have a tactical man-purse and an "operator" fanny pack... but I'm not leaving the house with those things on my person. Why did I even buy them?

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Spent some time out at the range after dark today. The maglite XL50 200 lumen ain't gonna cut it, if for no other reason than it takes a dozen taps on the tail switch to get it to turn off, and it sometimes comes on in strobe mode. I'm probably using it wrong. Then there's the fact that it barely lights up a 9" paper plate at 7 yards.

Then again, part of me has to ask the question, what did cops back in the 70s use? (Maglite and a Smith Model 10) They seemed to have done okay.

So I guess I'm down to a.) small pocket sized, b.) ONE light setting c.) a lot more than 200 lumens. There is an LGS in town that carries surefire (and probably some others); I'll go in there tomorrow or Wednesday. Whatever I'm going to do, I better be for doing it. Twelve days till the night of the shoot and amazon is horribly slow shipping to Alaska.

PS: Shooting with a flashlight uses a lot of muscles I don't normally use, and said muscles are not happy.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Here are three types of lights I commonly carry off-duty and also use for low light/night shooting (left, Streamlight ProTac HL 2, middle, Fenix PD35, and the old version Surefire G2 (all my new ones are at work right now). Fenix lights are durable and a great value. The Streamlight is the heaviest and the brightest, the Fenix (also available in a rechargeable version for $20 more); the Surefire the lightest and cheapest ... All can be had for under $80. But my new favorite pocket carry light is the Streamlight 1L 1AA (ultra-light, tiny, cheaper to feed and bright as hell, can't recall the lumen rating.

Yeah the Fenix looks like a pretty good light. (I had never heard of them.) But that rechargeable battery weighs 5+ ounces! (more than the light weighs) Brings the total weight up to just over 8 oz. 2 ea CR123A have a combined weight of just over an ounce. Would cut the total weight in half.

 

[JTQ]

The maglite XL50 200 lumen ain't gonna cut it, if for no other reason than it takes a dozen taps on the tail switch to get it to turn off, and it sometimes comes on in strobe mode.

This is why I only choose single output lights.

 

[ugaarguy]

Yeah the Fenix looks like a pretty good light. (I had never heard of them.) But that rechargeable battery weighs 5+ ounces! (more than the light weighs) Brings the total weight up to just over 8 oz. 2 ea CR123A have a combined weight of just over an ounce. Would cut the total weight in half.

Where are you getting that number? An 18650 battery weighs about 1.5 to 1.75 ounces depending on capacity and if it's unprotected or protected.

I wouldn't buy a Surefire. Their support for anything but CR123 batteries is very poor, and if you use your light with any regularity that gets expensive. Streamlight has gotten pretty good about supporting 18650 batteries. Fenix and Olight fully recommend them.

 

[Al-jim19]

I would probably do the following:

1. Your best solution is hands down a light mounted on a semiautomatic pistol. I know you said you were leery of that option, but let me explain: with a handheld, think about how you’ll reload or clear a malfunction or any two handed maneuver. It’s challenging at best. This option also leaves you two hands to grip the pistol which will be more accurate and faster.

2. I have a Fenix PD35 which is bright and relatively cheap at $60 or so. It’s never failed me in like 4 years of carrying it every day. It even opens bottles if you like that sort of parlor trick. If you had to use a handheld light it would work great.

3. Start carrying a light with you. Even during the day they can be very helpful.

4. I would not choose a revolver over a semiauto for almost any practical reason. If you’re going for speed, the semi will be a lot smoother.

 

[6.8KT]

I was looking more at these Sofirn lights, some of which were designed by enthusiasts over at the "budget light forum", and some of which are crazy powerful.
I think I'll get one of those next.

 

[6.8KT]

I would probably do the following:

1. Your best solution is hands down a light mounted on a semiautomatic pistol. I know you said you were leery of that option, but let me explain: with a handheld, think about how you’ll reload or clear a malfunction or any two handed maneuver. It’s challenging at best. This option also leaves you two hands to grip the pistol which will be more accurate and faster.

2. I have a Fenix PD35 which is bright and relatively cheap at $60 or so. It’s never failed me in like 4 years of carrying it every day. It even opens bottles if you like that sort of parlor trick. If you had to use a handheld light it would work great.

3. Start carrying a light with you. Even during the day they can be very helpful.

4. I would not choose a revolver over a semiauto for almost any practical reason. If you’re going for speed, the semi will be a lot smoother.

I think a weapon light makes good sense on a home defense platform. Less so for a carry gun which you'd presumably need to use at contact distance. It's a good idea to carry a small, powerful flashlight in your pocket though. Certainly in your car at least.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

I think 90 lumens is generally as low as you want to get for "tactical" use. But how much do you need? All of them. It is really impossible to get too much light, and the higher outputs really help with your umbrella lighting. About the only advantage the Maglite will have over something else is it's ability to be used as a bludgeoning weapon.



I EDC a Fenix UC35, which has a 1000 lumen max output and is rechargeable on the same cord I use for my cell phone. Very high quality unit and I think I paid about $65 for it on sale at my local Sportsmans Warehouse, although it looks like the price went up on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/UC35-Recharg...176023&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=fenix+uc35&psc=1

 

[MTMilitiaman]

I don't have an EDC light. Never really needed one. 4 months of the year, it never gets truly dark up here.

Yeah, but needing a flashlight to find a flashlight sucks.

 

[labnoti]

What about red light? from a red (~660nm) LED? We know that red filters have long been used at low luminosity avoid changing the dark adaptation of the eyes when reading a map or other close task. Now there are ~300 lumen red LED lights. I believe they're most popular with predator/vermin hunters who exterminate at night because the creatures are less sensitive/reactive to red or (sometimes like in the case of hogs) green light. Green is definitely going to affect dark adaptation. One could say red light's poor color rendering will affect target identification, but it might not be a bad trade-off if it doesn't blind you once the light is off.

 

[6.8KT]

What about red light? from a red (~660nm) LED? We know that red filters have long been used at low luminosity avoid changing the dark adaptation of the eyes when reading a map or other close task. Now there are ~300 lumen red LED lights. I believe they're most popular with predator/vermin hunters who exterminate at night because the creatures are less sensitive/reactive to red or (sometimes like in the case of hogs) green light. Green is definitely going to affect dark adaptation. One could say red light's poor color rendering will affect target identification, but it might not be a bad trade-off if it doesn't blind you once the light is off.

A high-powered side-by-side red and white LED flashlight would be a good idea. Dedicated switch for one or the other.

 

[Gridley]

A high-powered side-by-side red and white LED flashlight would be a good idea. Dedicated switch for one or the other.

I like that idea - quick google search turned up a bunch of low-output or awkward lights; know if anyone makes a good one like that?

 

[6.8KT]

I like that idea - quick google search turned up a bunch of low-output or awkward lights; know if anyone makes a good one like that?

No I don't. I just looked and found a few sure-to-be-weak ones. Lots of cheap red only ones that would probably be worth the $10 they cost.
It seems the red and white are more commonly offered together in headlamps.