I finally decided to do it

[Excaliber]

I am not a fan of lights on carry guns for most people. I think the basic premise stated for the need is wrong. It may be true for a home defense weapon that you cannot shoot what you cannot see, but in most self-defense situations you are going to be able to see the target. Think about all of your travels at night. When was the last time you were in a place that was so dark you could not see a person standing within a few feet of you? If it is an outdoor self-defense situation where you are limited tot he gun you have on your hip, you will be able to see the target you need to see.

For home defense, I advise not going in search of trouble, though I cannot say doing so is wrong. If someone were to break into my house, I have a defensive position I would set up in that prevents them getting into the bedrooms where my wife or children may be. If they are in the living room or kitchen, I will call the police and let them handle it. That is my call, of course, and I will not say taking other positions on this is wrong.

I may need a light on my home defense gun but not on the carry gun.

I have a light mounted on my home defense gun only, and not on any of my carry guns for exactly the reasons Steve outlines above.

LEO's often carry weapon mounted lights because part of their job is to go into dark places after bad people, but I don't have much occasion to do that any more.

[crazy2medic]

In the military I was taught noise and light discipline ( no noise, no lights ), so I kinda favor not having a light on a weapon. I prefer not to broadcast my location or provide a target. But that is just my preference.

[crazy2medic]

If it's 3:00 AM in a home where only you and your wife live, your wife is next to you, you just heard a loud crash and there's someone else coming into your bedroom, your challenges and options are different than a situation where you also have 3 teenagers who sleep in their own bedrooms, you didn't hear anything unusual, and you don't know where each of them is at the moment


This is what dogs are for, your dog won't go nuts on your kids, but if they encounter a stranger you can bet even small dog will alarm!

[bmwrdr]

I like my old Surefire because I can just temporarily illuminate the potential problem. Can you also do that with a weapon mounted light?

I can do that with my TLR2 and assume most other products have the same features.

[parabelum]

In the military I was taught noise and light discipline ( no noise, no lights ), so I kinda favor not having a light on a weapon. I prefer not to broadcast my location or provide a target. But that is just my preference.

No lights for me.

[Excaliber]

If it's 3:00 AM in a home where only you and your wife live, your wife is next to you, you just heard a loud crash and there's someone else coming into your bedroom, your challenges and options are different than a situation where you also have 3 teenagers who sleep in their own bedrooms, you didn't hear anything unusual, and you don't know where each of them is at the moment


This is what dogs are for, your dog won't go nuts on your kids, but if they encounter a stranger you can bet even small dog will alarm!

Yep, the dogs are definitely a major part of my threat assessment and identification system.

[Jose_in_Dallas]

Just wanted to add my two cents to this.

2 of my 3 home defense/carry guns have a rail on them. I have dedicated light holster for those two guns so that I have the OPTION to mount my Streamlight TLR1 on either. And it's exactly that, it gives me the option to carry and use a weapon light when and if I need it. If I'm out walking the dog after dark and get accosted by anybody and need to get to both my gun and a light while holding back my dog, it's nice to have that option. Or if I'm camping out in the back country and hear something outside the tent, it's nice to have that light mounted to the gun and not have to fumble for both my glasses, my gun, and a separate flashlight.

Lots of talk that if a weapon light is used, it's a beacon to the bad guy showing where you are at. But it's nice to have the option to use it or not if you had to.

Oh and I carry a separate flashlight in my pocket whether I use a weapon light or not, usually my trusty Surefire U2 or UM2.