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Old 10-04-2014, 07:08 PM
marathonrunner marathonrunner is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Default HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?

Guys, I get so much great info on this site. I have the M&P 9c and a Gen3 Glock 19. I have night sites on both and I have an OEM Glock tactical light on my Glock 19.

For Conceal Carry, I plan on carrying my Glock 19 off body and in my Maxpedition Fatboy bag. Since I like the tactical light for night time use, I am wondering if it would be safe to just carry my Glock in one of the compartments. Since I will not have anything else in the bag, I don't see how the safe action trigger could accidently get pulled. I am thinking about getting the VanGuard 2 Holster to protect against accidental discharge.

OK my question is, do you all recommend a tactical light on a CCW gun or is that a waste? Is night sights all you need?
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Old 10-04-2014, 07:31 PM
Rpg Rpg is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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I am less sanguine than you about carrying your Glock in that bag without worrying about a ND: too many examples of folks touching one off when grabbing it.

I assume when you refer to a tactical light, you mean a flashlight attached to your pistol. I think such things are clumsy and generally undesirable: mall ninja stuff. If you are referring to a small flashlight operated with your weak hand, properly operating one while shooting requires training and practice under conditions rarely available at most shooting facilities.

I also have a low opinion of 'night sights': I find them distracting and slow. I shoot much better with plain black sights in low light conditions.

So, with your Glock with plain black sights in a belt holster and a small flashlight in your weak side pocket you're all set.

Just my opinion, of course.
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Old 10-04-2014, 07:49 PM
walkin' trails walkin' trails is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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The Modern Service Weapons site had a nice article on 3-dot and night sight configurations.

I have no problems with weapons lights or night sights, but prefer the Heinie Straight 8 or 10-8 Performance versions. I carry concealed 99.9 percent of the time and prefera hand held to a weapons light.

I agree witht RPG that you ought not to take chances with a pistol inside a bag without something g covering the trigger.
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Old 10-04-2014, 08:05 PM
marathonrunner marathonrunner is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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thanks! I guess regardless a holster must be used even if you have nothing in the bag to get caught in trigger. As far as drawing, I would always be careful to not just yank it out but then you lose time
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Old 10-04-2014, 08:28 PM
getoff getoff is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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house gun, G41 with an insite x3s and xs big dot nite sights. carry G17 or 19, still xs big dots, but a small flashlight in my off hand front pocket. lights and nite sights have a place, but no lights on my carry. at the very least, with g-lock, get one of those trigger guard covers in kydex with a leash... you will be much safer and no less accessible.
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Old 10-05-2014, 01:01 PM
Murdock Murdock is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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A light is far more important than night sights. Night sights cannot assist with threat identification. If you can't identify the nature of the threat, you should not shoot.

A railed pistol with a properly fitted light is hard to beat, and such a pistol (or carbine) works very well in a role like home or camp defense. Carrying a defensive sidearm with a light mounted is a bit cumbersome for routine concealed carry, although some seem to do this quite well.

Clint Smith wrote not long ago about how much better his many students perform with a weapon-mounted light compared to a hand held light. This was my experience at Thunder Ranch after using both hand-held and weapon mounted lights in the Terminator, with both pistol and AR15. So if you can manage a weapon mounted light in regular carry, you do so with my respect.

It is a truism that most defensive shooting takes place in conditions of low light. Learning how to use a tactical light -- hand held or weapon mounted -- is not something to be learned in a gunfight. Use of a light must be part of regular training. I suspect that many of those who reject the use of tactical lights out of hand have had no training in their use.

Personally I find that using a light mounted on my pistol for routine carry is difficult to manage. Instead in parking lots at night I have my flashlight in my support hand, usually while still in my pocket, and my pistol remains holstered.

The light can be used to find my dropped keys, avoid stepping in yucky stuff, and shining into the eyes of someone approaching me unexpectedly. If it's an innocent person, no harm done, and I can apologize. If it proves to be a threat, I have probably temporarily robbed them of some night vision and bought yourself time and distance.

And even in non-gun-friendly environments (I live in a free state but currently find myself working a contract in Massachusetts) the light can be used as a contact weapon (even without the slightly silly sharpened edges some have).
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Old 10-05-2014, 01:06 PM
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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First I have no use for off body carry because sooner or later you WILL forget the bag.

That said a weapon mounted light for concealed carry seems a bit much. I always have a flashlight with me though.
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Old 01-09-2017, 12:10 AM
buckyjames1 buckyjames1 is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Just my 2 copper pieces:

CCW: If you mount a light onto your CCW, you need to take a look at the size increase of the holster as well. Its an overlooked aspect. The over all package gets big real fast with a mounted light. Also, look at the burn time of a rail light vs. even a small AA EDC type light.
Bought a few of Fenix LD11 G2 LED Flashlight - Fenix-Store . and so far they are great little lights, single AA, 14500 compatible, good multiple power settings...did I mention Single AA!

No holster: would not do buddy. Revolver stuffed in a bag, sure, Glock...nope.

*Dont get me wrong, I love a rail mounted light, just not on my CCW.
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Old 01-09-2017, 12:51 AM
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Carrying off body is something I'm totally against, sorry but that's just the way it is. I highly recommend you reconsider. All of my carry guns have some form of night sights, but I'm not a fan of under mounted rail lights on a self defense carry gun.
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Old 01-09-2017, 05:00 AM
Wise_A Wise_A is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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I am actually of two minds when it comes to weapon-mounted lights.

One the one hand, they're bulky, and not very useful. Because if you want to illuminate a potential threat, you have to point your gun at it, which is known as "assault with a deadly weapon" in most jurisdictions.

On the other, it enables you to easily operate the pistol with only one hand, instead of trying to juggle a flashlight and a pistol.

But to be frank, most of us are rarely in the dark that much. Being in complete pitch black and needing a reload sounds rather unlikely.

Verdict: Rail-mounted lights are for SWAT teams and mall ninjas.

As for the rest of it...don't carry in a bag. Especially not that bag. For one thing, that thing broadcasts so badly you may as well be open carrying.

For another--every reason why women should select something other than purse carry applies. Any remotely competent attacker is going to separate you from it immediately. It's super-easy to keep you from accessing it, too.

You're carrying a Glock 26. Don't hang a bunch of dumb stuff on it, and it's a small, competent, easily-concealed pistol. Skip the magazine grip-extenders, as well. They do almost nothing and make the butt nearly the same length as a 19.

Try out a couple decent holsters. An IWB, a pocket, and an OWB oughta get you where you need to go. Get a couple pairs of jeans a size bigger than normal (Wal Mart, $10 a pair, cheap to try), and a couple longer-than-normal t-shirts. Experiment. "Practice" CCWing on range trips and at home.
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Old 01-09-2017, 08:52 AM
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Lights and lasers show your adversary where to shoot at, just as muzzle flash does. I consider muzzle flash to be bad enough without giving them a more steady target to aim at. The word tactical is so overused, I cringe when I see it.

Last edited by KSDeputy; 01-09-2017 at 08:53 AM.
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Old 01-09-2017, 09:25 AM
Arik Arik is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Several problems there

The major problem is that this is a 3 year old thread!!!!!!

1. Carrying off body is a bad idea. There may be a situation where you have to.....That's understandable....but bad idea when it comes to daily carry. If someone grabs that bag you are now going to be fighting for control of your bag instead of defending yourself. You can also be controlled by someone pulling on the bag, if the strap runs across your chest. It's not hard to get out of it but for a second or two you can be pulled in any direction just by having your bag pulled. And again you don't have control of your gun.

2. Fumbling with zippers, clips and fasteners is not a good idea when facing a threat.

3. The Glock will still need a holster so now your bag is unsecure, you have zippers and clips to get to and after all this you still have to draw and unholster.

Lights.

A light is more important than night sights but where are you going that it's completely dark? I have yet to be anywhere where there are no street lights, car lights, house lights. You literally have to be in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I would go with night sights

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Last edited by Arik; 01-09-2017 at 09:27 AM.
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Old 01-09-2017, 09:33 AM
win9639445 win9639445 is offline
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The only light I would use on a CCW pistol would be a SUREFIRE XC-1. It's so small, light powerful where it's not noticeable on a ccw gun. But the only gun lights I run full time on pistols are on some of my night stand guns. I run a SUREFIRE X400 light/laser combo on a Sig 220R and a Insight XTI Procyon with strobe feature on a Glock 19. But these are nightstand guns only. As for Night sights I run them on all my carry guns. The brands and sight configurations are all personal preference.
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Old 01-09-2017, 08:47 PM
Wise_A Wise_A is offline
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HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS? HELP! TACTICAL LIGHT W/NIGHT SIGHTS OR JUST NIGHT SIGHTS?  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arik View Post
The major problem is that this is a 3 year old thread!!!!!!
Bah! They got me!

Someone tell my Magnum I love her!
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