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Old 03-06-2011, 08:56 PM
cheezhead cheezhead is offline
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new guy with a new gun and looking to add some improvements. i know my sd9 has the trijicon front sight, which is really effective. but i'm thinking i want more. where can i get the night rear sight? also, should i go with a laser or rail light? this is for home defense. if i need to go out and about, i plan on removing the light/laser. i have a tac light with strobe, so i'm just wondering if i'm better off leaving it alone, and using the hand light, or something different. please keep in mind that i have little knowledge for tac stuff in the house. wife and i are planning on taking NRA pistol courses this summer.sorry so long winded
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Old 03-06-2011, 11:20 PM
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well being an ole skool fool I can tell ya from training that I would personally not put a light on my gun.. gives your position away, unless you activated just before you shoot.. does give night blindness to the perp though, rather do my searching with my free hand and a seperate light, so I would say laser. A laser will also help you with grip and trigger control used in conjunction with snap caps .with practice. you can keep the laser rock steady.
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Old 03-07-2011, 07:57 AM
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Default SD 9 Laser / lights

Here is the SD 9 with a TDR911 laser/navigational light attached.

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Old 03-07-2011, 12:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheezhead View Post
new guy with a new gun and looking to add some improvements. i know my sd9 has the trijicon front sight, which is really effective. but i'm thinking i want more. where can i get the night rear sight? also, should i go with a laser or rail light? this is for home defense. if i need to go out and about, i plan on removing the light/laser. i have a tac light with strobe, so i'm just wondering if i'm better off leaving it alone, and using the hand light, or something different. please keep in mind that i have little knowledge for tac stuff in the house. wife and i are planning on taking NRA pistol courses this summer.sorry so long winded
Take a low light course, or get some one-on-one low light training from a competent professional instructor. Each piece of low light hardware(handheld light, weaponlight, night sights, and laser) and each employment technique has its own peculiar strengths, weaknesses, and training challenges. There is no one hardware/technique solution that works best for everyone. Good low light training will help you figure out what hardware and what techniques will work best for you, your wife, and your particular situation.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that you'll get any low light training during the NRA pistol course.
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Old 03-07-2011, 09:23 PM
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i live in the sticks, so there is no one who's professional for 150mi. and the 1 i found wants $300/weekend, not including ammo. but you have to take the beginners course for $200 first. kinda out of my price range right now.
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Old 03-07-2011, 09:30 PM
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Quote:
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Here is the SD 9 with a TDR911 laser/navigational light attached.

where is that located on your site?
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Old 03-08-2011, 01:17 AM
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i live in the sticks, so there is no one who's professional for 150mi. and the 1 i found wants $300/weekend, not including ammo. but you have to take the beginners course for $200 first. kinda out of my price range right now.
Since money is a limiting factor, I'd recommend spending the money you do have available on training, not on hardware, right now. A handheld light and a front night sight will be plenty good to cover just about any situation, if you train for it.

Adding a laser actually increases, not decreases, your training challenges, because it adds new requirements to make good decisions under stress quickly. Example: Do I look at the front sight, or do I lower the gun a bit so I can see the laser dot on the target? (Generally, at any distance less than the zero range of your laser, having a good sight picture precludes seeing the laser dot, and having the gun low enough in relation to your vision to be able to see the laser dot precludes a proper sight picture). So this makes us choose. That decision takes time to make and time to execute. This is why lots of folks (me included)report that adding a laser actually slows down target engagements until they train enough to be able make that decision quickly.

I'm just trying to help you by giving you a chance to learn from my mistakes.
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Old 03-08-2011, 12:39 PM
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I would also add that if you want the rear sights to glow on the cheap you can ionvest in various paints and decals that will glow very bright with just a short burst of intense light, some from a flashlight. These items usually sell for around $5-10.

Glow-In-The-Dark Sight Paint Kit, Gun Slings, Shooting Accessories, Shooting : Cabelas.com
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Old 03-08-2011, 08:57 PM
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Thank you all for the advice. i think i will pass on the laser for now and invest in a good light and practice ammo. would it be prudent to get a couple of training videos? any recommendations?
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Old 03-08-2011, 10:59 PM
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Thank you all for the advice. i think i will pass on the laser for now and invest in a good light and practice ammo. would it be prudent to get a couple of training videos? any recommendations?
The instructors who seem to focus on training applicable to armed civilians versus mil or LE are the ones I'd look for.

The one whose insights I value the most is a guy named Craig Douglas, who does business under the name of Southnarc. He has a Practical Unarmed Combat video out there that is the best thing I've ever seen. His Fighting Handgun video is useful as well.

Another guy who does videos and seems to have an approach that I agree with is Rob Pincus.

You can probably pick up some good stuff from Gabe Suarez videos too. I haven't seen his videos but I have several of his books. His book on Force on Force training is IMO very good.

Anything by Paul Gomez would be excellent.
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Old 03-16-2011, 07:58 AM
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Here is the basics on navigational lights. As oldtexan I am a firm supporter of lots of good qualified training.

In simple terms, the reason for navigational lights is to be able to illuminate an area and have enough light to identify objects & people without having your pupil’s contract. They are designed to be used on a pistol with a handheld bright white light as backup. While using the blue or red led lights to move around in near to total darkness your pupils are in the dialated stage and are adjusted to the ambient light. If you should turn off the light for any reason as to hide and listen for signs of someone moving around your pupils are already at the night vision, (dialated) level. If you were using a bright white light to look around and you turned it off it will take a few seconds to a few minutes for your eyes to re-adjust to the surrounding darkness. By using a soft dim light to navigate around your are able to see in the dark & in event the navigational light is turned off you night vision will not impaired.
These are not new in the law enforcement field. Surefire has had them for years on the M900V vertical pistol grip for AR15 format. They are new in the pistol industry.
The small led’s are designed for CQC type scenarios, like moving around & clearing a house. Not for the longer distances of a large warehouse or outside. This is the reason for having a larger bright flashlight in your off-hand.
A standard bright light has approximately 100-170 lumens. When turned on to illuminate a subject you will have an instant blinding effect on that person. Depending on the intensity of the light, it will momentarily activate all light sensitive cells in the eye, making vision impaired or impossible to see for a few seconds to a few minutes until the eye restores itself to its normal state. In the same instant, you being behind the light, also will have diminishing vision due the same blinding effect, although in less amounts because you are not in the direct line of the intense beam.

Hope this explains the reason and theory behind navigational lights.
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Old 03-16-2011, 11:07 AM
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tdr911- thanks for the information. i just ordered a hand held, 190 lumen light with the strobe function. i haven't decided if i'm going to add anything to the pistol yet. i'm thinking about adding the rear night sight, as i really like the front. i will definitely keep your products in mind when i'm decide what i'm going to do.
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Old 03-17-2011, 12:59 AM
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After practicing with my TLR-3 at the range just before dusk, I find that my SD9 shoots almost dead center of the light out to 15 yards with my 124g +P Gold Dots. It's bright enough that I can point at the ground to ID the threat, and if I determine I need to fire it's as simple as putting that light at COM and pulling the trigger. Since there are no straight line distances in my house greater than 15 yards, I feel that this is the method for me.

I recently picked up an XD 45 and if I determine that it has the same accuracy with the light, it will move to 2nd in line for home defense and the SD9 will drop to 3rd. (6 rounds of 12ga 00BK will always sit in 1st position for me, til I get something that holds more)


Oh yeah, the TLR-3 looks good on the SD9
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Old 03-21-2011, 07:57 AM
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First of all, I agree with those who call for more training instead of more gadgets.

The only weapon I have with a tac-light attached is my Rem 870 Express shotgun because it takes two hands to manage the gun.

Other than that I have a hand-held tac light next to every self defense handgun. The reason is that I don't want to have to point a ready-to-fire weapon at someone just to light them up.

My close neighbors call me when they need an immediate response. Unfortunately, after Katrina in 2005, the ninth ward of New Orleans seems to have moved in to the apartment complexes nearby. It's rare that two weeks go by without hearing gunfire, especially on late weekend nights. Our neighborhood association collects money and pays for extra Dallas Police Dept patrol time.

My neighbor across the street called me one night two weeks ago. He heard something on the roof and the dogs were going nuts. I was able to check out his roof with my tac light without swinging my gun all over the place. Probably a raccoon. I digress. But, when the police come, all I have in my hands is a flashlight.

As for a laser, big cool factor but there are two ends to a laser beam and you will be one of them. If I'm facing a potentially lethal threat I'm not going to try to intimidate them with a laser, I'm just going to shoot.

As for tritium rear sights, are you planning on doing some target shooting under low light situations? If not, you don't need to see rear sights. With proper training and practice you may be amazed at how accurate you can be just using the front sight. I have several shotguns and none of them has a rear sight except for the slug barrel of my 870.

Whether it's ducks or doves or your local home invader, you will be shooting at a moving target. That SD has no rear night sight, it's not totally because S&W is trying to carve more profit. In a once in a lifetime battle for your life you will not be lining up your tritium sights. Having said all of that go to the links in the #4 post of this thread to see some of your options. http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...ht-sights.html

Last edited by Zebra365; 03-21-2011 at 08:03 AM.
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Old 03-21-2011, 11:13 PM
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If you're looking to add night sights, check out the Truglo TFO series. I have them on my XD and they are BRIGHT in daytime, and plenty bright at night. They have a combo of a tritium sight and a fiber optic tube. I'm planning to get them for my SD soon, since it's just the sights for the M&P.
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Old 03-22-2011, 11:17 PM
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my S&W SD40 with light....for home defense nuttin beats a good L.E.D light



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Old 04-18-2011, 09:20 PM
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I also prefer the flashlight in the offhand, a good powerful light with a momentary push button like the surefire I feel is a much better option.
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