Is my perception of an EDC self-defense pistol distorted?

lrrifleman

lrrifleman

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Greetings!

I will be honest, I am no different from the next guy, always intrigued by photos of what people choose to carry for self-defense.

However, I am a little confused. My take on engaging a threat requires that the threat be within 21 feet, give or take. What leaves me somewhat speechless, is when someone needs a tactical flashlight on their EDC to confirm their targets, then they start searching for an appropriate holster for said pistol with tactical flashlight..

Granted, I have older eyes, but I usually don't have a problem identifying objects and people in the dark at that distance. Wouldn't a tactical light on an EDC tend to impede the deployment of a defensive weapon?

Am I missing something?
 
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For searching around a maybe empty warehouse on first watch a weapon mounted flashlight has its issues. For searching around your own personal residence for something that went bump in the night, maybe not so much. A proper holster will not particularly impede deployment of a EDC weapon. I do not own a weapon with a mounted light. I see no reason to do so. I have been retired for 18 years. I no longer search maybe empty warehouses on first watch.
 
In addition to what you posted, I was told of a study that said SD shootings don't often happen with the shooter in a typical shooting stance.
Think Zimmerman and Rittenhouse. They were both on the pavement.
Humpback revolvers were made so they could be shot through clothing at close range.
Seems a lot of SD shootings happen with the assailant in the victim's personal space, or even in contact with the victim. Would you need a light or laser in a situation like that?
 
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I would say everyone's circumstances and needs/wants are different. It's nice to have the option for a mounted pistol light but can't say I think I'd ever need one. Maybe I'll practice with mine more sometime. :)
 
Mounted lights (and lasers) show precisely where you and your weapon are. A quality, bright flashlight held at arm's length and slightly forward in your weak hand is far, far less likely to pinpoint YOUR center mass. If you cannot reliably hit targets twice out to 20 feet with your sidearm in your strong hand, practice until you can.
 
Good points made already. A flashlight can give you away, in many situations it is of no help at all, and you can always carry a flashlight with your pistol.

I carry full size pistols, but even I don't like the idea of red dots or flashlights on a gun. At some point, the whole point of a carry gun is to carry it. Start adding a bunch of garbage to the gun, it stops being a pistol, or an effective carry pistol. Distorts and ruins the balance, starts to require larger and more cumbersome and complicated holsters, in what is supposed to be a simple and effective weapon.

It helps to ruin its carry qualities, and it hurts its simple nature as a pure simple weapon. If police wish to have them on duty belts, that is their choice. As for everyone else, it seems a bit a step in the wrong direction.

Keep it simple, stay on task and purpose.

A lot of people just bolt and duct tape things to other things because it is "an upgrade" and/or "an accessory". No thought goes in other than "moar is better".
 
Gun folks love gadgets related to firearms. Flashlights and lasers are gadgets.

I can't imagine a situation in my day to day life where a gun mounted flashlight would be worth carrying on a daily basis. I'm very familiar with the interior of my house. I sure don't need a flashlight on my gun to find my way around my darkened house. I can't imagine a realistic situation outside my house that I'd need a weapon mounted light. Weapon mounted lights would simply add bulk and weight without offering a realistic benefit.

Lasers are a different matter. They don't add significant weight or bulk but they add a gizmo that slows you down: you have to activate it and you have to hunt down the laser to shoot it. These features slow you down. You may think the laser makes it easier to get accurate hits but the laser teaches bad gun handling: using a laser has you looking at the wrong thing. Good shooting technique has you focusing on the front sight rather than the target.

I've no use for either a weapon mounted flashlight or laser sights.
 
StrawHat said:
In my house? I and my wife will be in opposite corners of the bedroom watching the door. Stay outside of the room and you won't know we are there. Come into the room, not a good idea.

Lasers, mounted lights, night sights, need not apply.

Kevin
Click to expand...
I too, can navigate in my house without turning on any lights. Even going down the stairs. Lived here 30+ yrs and know every inch of it. Besides, Do you realize how much the little LED lights, that seem to be on just about every electrically powered gadget in the house, Helps to navigate without illuminating a large area? I have firearms scattered all over the house. I can access them without light and probably no noise (hope I never have to find out). So, No flashlights on any of 'em.
 
I was involved in three on-duty shootings in my career, all w/an issued .38 well before auto loaders w/lights became common in policing. I got through all without a light, and in retirement my EDC is either a J Frame or LCP. You're not missing anything IMHO. It seems people are hanging all kinds of stuff on their weapon in hopes of improving their chances in a dangerous encounter. Many eventually find these weapons too big & heavy for EDC and leave them home, or worse in the car.
 
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lrrifleman said:
Greetings!

....

However, I am a little confused. My take on engaging a threat requires that the threat be within 21 feet, give or take. What leaves me somewhat speechless, is when someone needs a tactical flashlight on their EDC to confirm their targets, then they start searching for an appropriate holster for said pistol with tactical flashlight..

Granted, I have older eyes, but I usually don't have a problem identifying objects and people in the dark at that distance. Wouldn't a tactical light on an EDC tend to impede the deployment of a defensive weapon?

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Couple of things - first, where did you read that to engage the threat must be within 21 feet? That is nonsense. There is no rule about 21 feet for engagement. It all depends on the circumstances. Read your state laws regarding self defense. Read about reasonable fear of grave bodily injury or death.

Second, as for the light, there are many, many, many stories of people accidentally shooting loved ones in the dark. Sometimes its a teen coming home after sneaking out. Sometimes it's an adult child coming home late at night. Generally, if you cannot identify the target, you should not shoot. Small lights are easy to carry in the pocket and can sit on your nightstand.
 
Pef said:
Couple of things - first, where did you read that to engage the threat must be within 21 feet? That is nonsense. There is no rule about 21 feet for engagement. It all depends on the circumstances. Read your state laws regarding self defense. Read about reasonable fear of grave bodily injury or death.

Second, as for the light, there are many, many, many stories of people accidentally shooting loved ones in the dark. Sometimes its a teen coming home after sneaking out. Sometimes it's an adult child coming home late at night. Generally, if you cannot identify the target, you should not shoot. Small lights are easy to carry in the pocket and can sit on your nightstand.
Click to expand...

For home situations, what kind of lighting are people using? In general. Leaving lights on in different parts of the house has many advantages, from making the place look occupied and keeping people from stubbing toes in the dark. It also means better light for identification of other things in the dark.

Unless the power goes out, or an attacker goes through the effort to cut power, a few house lights can be far better light than a flashlight. I always leave a few lights on for this purpose, and some others. Things like motion lights are nice outdoors when you go start car car in the dark, as well as shining a light on potential guests.

I still think that it is better to let someone in the house know you are there by sound rather than by sight. Yelling out to someone coming in the house has many advantages. If the kid is sneaking in, he know's he's been "had" and he might as well admit he's sneaking back in. It also lets many a burglar know, that, again, the place is occupied. Many will simply run off. And, I would rather have some sort of response, or not a response from someone coming in from further away, then to make the rude discovery at point blank range in sight.

As for conceal carry, that is another issue. Just where are you in this modern society where you need a gun for self defense and not have any type of lighting? Outside, you will have identified that there is a threat to begin with before pulling a weapon, and in those cases, you better damn well know BEFORE pulling a weapon. If you need to see what's going on, even in a light polluted modern society where you can see almost everything day or night on the streets, you better identify it with a regular flashlight, and not point a gun at someone you should not in the first place.

Even if you choose to carry a pistol with gun light, you will want a regular flashlight anyway for those types of situations. Regardless.

Many things to think about. Tell your kids a password to yell back if they get caught sneaking back in. What is your dwelling and light situation? And if you carry a regular flashlight, do you always need one strapped to the pistol?
 
Y'all should do some night training shooting and learn light techniques and discipline. Are lights always necessary? No! Can they be handy? Most definitely. Most of my home defense and some of my carry pieces do too. WMLs don't necessarily need the gun pointed directly at some for ID purposes. And I do also carry a couple spare EDC lights on me as well.

One spends a lot of their life in the dark. Especially in wintertime. If it's dark, it's because I want it to be. If I want it lit up, it gets lit up.

But, each one of us gets to make our own choices for what we feel is appropriate. If you don't want a light, then don't have one. But don't denigrate others who made the opposite choice from your world view. It doesn't make them wrong, they just chose a different method or tool for their survival.
 
Light

"If you can't see it, don't shoot it" says all you need to know.

I have taken night firing training before and after I retired, and we never used a weapon light.

Finding yourself in true darkness is not likely, there will be some ambient light unless you are in a mine, cave or some sealed off basement. Seriously - look around your personal environment in the dark, are you really in total blackness?

Other point - why are you hunting someone in the dark? Take cover, give a verbal challenge and wait a second, you can't take that shot back.
 
Like everything in the marketing driven gun world, lights, dot sights, lasers, magazine funnels, supercritical, half-ounce flat triggers with zero-point reset, and time travel vortexes are all super cool items to mount on a handgun. The manufacturers love it and keep adding places and ways to bolt-up more do-dads - rails, slide cuts, gas pedals as such. No different than the urge to stack the same goodies plus a miniature backhoe on an AR and go around explaining why it's "needed" to "win the fight!"

People do it because they can, because they have the disposable income, and for some I'm sure, because they genuinely believe they're going to carry a 20 ounce uber-compact with lights, dots, lasers, GPS and a satellite uplink in a custom holster with spares, plus another light, compact baton, tacticool knife, multi-tool with spade blade....they have to add 10" to their waistband size just to get all strapped up to venture down to the local supermarket, because they've been influenced by the photos and gaslighting on forums, and videos, many of which are just paid advertising.
 
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