The revolver is one of my preferred defensive weapons. I recently purchased a hand-held defensive light. I did some research on Google and YouTube and found several videos and posts on how to hold a light and a semi-automatic handgun. However, there is very little information on how to safely and effectively hold a flashlight and a revolver.

Any advice, links, pictures, videos and/or experience on the subject would be appreciated. My goal is to learn an effective technique and practice.

Thank you

If you found "neck index", I think it will work just as well with a revolver as with a pistol. It's probably the most workable technique once you get used to it.

Flashlight: Surefire Fury, either the P2X or P3X, single output, with a clickie switch. Nothing comes close.

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NHI, 10-8.

The real problem isn't in holding the light, it's in the reloading process with the light involved. Try between the weak hand little and ring fingers. Weak hand reloading comes into it's prime here unless you have some way of strapping the light to your hand.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

During the time we carried revolvers we were trained to hold the light in our weak hand and away from our body. That way if the bad guy shot at the light it would not be anywhere near our vitals. I don't care for the present use of the light held on the gun itself right in front of our X-Ring.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

The light makes a good target for a pistol but it makes a super good target for a rifle with a glass eye. Larry

It depends on whether you're caught out in the open or working around cover. You need to be able to adapt to a couple of different methods. Most of the low light match scenarios and qualifications I've done are unrealistic and involve shooting bullseyes in the dark. A real gunfight in the dark will be quick and brutal, with a lot of lead coming your way. Incoming bullets will be at your light, and even if the light is held away from your body the bullets will probably miss the light and still hit you anyway. I think I'd be inclined to keep the light off and shoot at the muzzle flashes. Or simply retreat, if possible. I've never done it for real, but I once had an unarmed subject in a dark basement who I think was contemplating whether or not to try to grab me and attempt to disarm me. Fortunately my light was never on for more than a second at a time and I was always moving. I saw him before he could decide how he was going to handle me. So sometimes it's how you manage your light before you have to take a shot.

Dave Sinko

Makes sense..but acctually, they found out that by holding it that way, you were still lit up by the spill light and less likely to be shining the light in the bad guy's eyes. Also, holding one arm out was a bit awkward and made it harder to hit your target. On the gun lights might be in front of your x -ring, but with these new super high outputs, you are pretty likely to blind your threat before he can get off a decent shot.

If you don't have a light on your gun, we were taught a few different methods. For me, the crossover method worked best...light in off hand, thumb on back of it...gun hand over it with backs of hands touching each other.

Like this:



Another method is between the fingers but it depends on the size of your light...and it's not very stable.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Someone mentioned only keeping the ligh on for a few seconds and I forgot to mention part of the training was to click the light on and off, not keeping it on all the time.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

My preferred method would be to have someone else hold the light and stand a few feet away from me.I'm no dummy!

The way I know how to is to have hands crossed and palms back to back. That way no matter where the gun points the light points as well. Like the first picture above

Honestly, this is why I like semi autos and rails

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I little off topic, but what do you think is more effective in disorienting or blinding an opponent, keeping the light on or using it in strobe mode (assuming your flashlight can do this)?

I disabled the strobe function on all my handheld "tactical" lights....I found they disoriented me too. I don't want to have a shootout in the disco.

This is my set-up.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

If it's one of those really expensive, tacti-cool flashlights, toss it to your opponent. He'll pick it up and think "Now I'm tacti-cool too". That'll cause him to lose focus on you so you can then shoot him in the leg, like in the movies.

Hope that helps.


Sgt Lumpy

Excellent post. The picture helps a lot. I think I can make this work with a revolver.

How did you do that?

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Freedom isn't free.

This is how I was always taught.

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Retired Career Security Guard

Stream light has a ten tap programmable feature where you can run through several options and make the light do only high or turn the strobe off and make it go low power first before high as well as high/strobe/low.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

It's in the instructions on most lights...if you don't have them you get them off the website...

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Just remember to be careful with the technique pictured above with a revolver. Don't forget that revolvers belch flames out the sides like a top fuel dragster when they shoot.

My duty Sig 226 doesn't have a rail on it, so when I'm clearing a house, I carry my light (streamlight stinger) reverse grip with the flashlight barrel back by my neck with the flashlight off. I use momentary pressure on the button with my middle finger to get small bursts of light when I need it. Shine the light quickly, see the room layout, move, repeat. I can still manipulate doorknobs like this and can change the elevation of the light if needed. If I were clearing a house with a revolver, I'd do it the same way.

The Harries Technique is the first photo posted by Sipowicz, and is a good, all-round adaptable way of using a handheld light. As for what to do with the light during reloads, attach a lanyard. What you need to do is try out the techniques you saw and see which one best works for you. Even practicing room clearing at home with an empty pistol.

Every time I needed a flashlight the batteries in it were dead.Do they make 200ft extension cords for drop lights?

Yeah,Right! Like nobody else had the same idea but was afraid to say it.

I can not agree with the photo showing the right hand(pistol) over lapping the left hand(light). I would suggest putting the light hand on top of the gun grip hand to better control recoil.

Good Luck

The Harries sort of utilizes some of the mechanics of the Weaver if applied properly. That's one reason the support hand with light goes under the strong hand. The other is that anything you place above the strong hand when shooting a semi auto is going to get bit. Granted, the question was about a technique with revolvers, but a revolver shooter might have a semi at some point....

Walkin' trails, I have used the Harries technique and the reverse technique( my suggestion). I was shown the first technique in one of my defense classes. After watching several people try to control the recoil of their weapon and maintain the light placement. I tried the second technique while shooting a Sig 226 .40 and holding the light, faster target aquestion and the slide did not come close to bitting me.

Just my findings, ymmv.

Good Luck

Silvergoose - Do you have a picture of what the technique looks like? Or its name so I can look it up?

Miners Helmet for the win

I totally agree. If you could make it come on when you put it on it would work great for IDPA.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I was trained the same way and it always seems to make sense to me. I'm guessing we are dating ourselves. After seeing this new way on some of these TV shows I'm not not convinced that the old way isn't better. I would rather have the rounds heading towards my weak hand away from my body then right at me.

What to do with the flashlight when reloading?

1. Drop it.

2. Keep it in your hand as you reload. (Works with revolvers if you have some coordination.)

3. Hold it in your teeth. (I use this for my SureFire Nitrolon G2.)

Odds are, though, that you won't reload until all the shooting's over.

My only nighttime shoot in the civilian world was in a mall parking lot with plenty of light. I'm considering NVGs to go along with my active hearing protection muffs for nighttime home defense.

ECS

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

I'd probably drop the flashlight if I had to reload. As to hearing protection, I assume I will be partially deaf, at least for awhile, if I ever have to fire a gun inside my home. My guess is that it would be all I could do to get my eye glasses on and grab my gun to respond to an intruder event. I doubt that I would even have time or think to put on some hearing protection, which would at best give me protection but reduce my ability to use sound to help locate the intruder in the dark. I'm not sure what a 38+p would sound like in the quiet of my bedroom in the middle of the night, but I'm sure it would be very unpleasant at best.

Vito, my active hearing protection is a set of electronic muffs that limits sound over 85db and amplify softer sounds. (You can hear people whispering in the next room and hear their footsteps.) In the event of a break-in, my dog will be going nuts and may well be generating more than 85db on her own. The muffs are right on the nightstand with my glasses. (Yeah, I'm blind and deaf, too.) The wife has her muffs hanging on the grip of her revolver, so we can both hear and protect our hearing.

Most of my hearing loss can be chalked up to 20 years on tanks, but there was one occasion when I had to fire a 125 grain JHP .357 Magnum round in a closed hallway. I can tell you that can flat take the wax right out of your ears! (No one was shot in that incident, but someone else soiled himself.)

Depending on the situation, though, I have my Ruger Mini-14 handy with a couple of 30 round magazines of Hornady 55 grain A-Max. (Zombie apocalypse? Food riots?) Firing that at the indoor range draws attention, so the active hearing protection is a must if things go that far.

ECS

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

You have specifics on the hearing protection, possibly a link? Thanks.

I hold mine like this...

I can start you with a technique I was trained with at the the Massachusetts Police Academy in 1974. The theory was to hold the light with your weak hand, my left, as far away from you and a little in front of you to draw any fire away from you. The idea was your assailant would shoot at the light assuming you were behind it. It made a lot of sense back then but I'm sure there are new techniques being taught now.

Good luck with your search.

Sy Brule

Maybe the best solution is to keep night vision goggles next to your gun, at the ready, rather than using any sort of flashlight.

I have a lanyard on my light which is wrapped around my weak hand (non-shooting hand for those of you who like to keep up with with new terminology for old stuff to make it sound better). If I have to reload I just let go of the light and it hangs there until I am done. I prefer the Cross-over method most of the time. If I am carrying my 5 cell Maglite I tuck the light in my left armpit to reload or open doors etc.

I am a Viet Nam veteran and was a Military Policeman while I served. I was trained to hold the light as far away from the gun, and my body, as possible. The theory, and it makes sense, is that if the "bad guy" is in there in the dark and you pop up with a light, he's going to aim instinctivly at the light. He may not be able to see you behind the light, but it gives him a good point of reference.