All posts tagged 180 Lumens

Handgun flashlights should you mount it?

Should you put a flashlight on your handgun or should you keep it separate?   Go to an IDPA competition and check out the low light flashlight competitions and get back to me.   We see them dropped or competitors fumble them all the time.   We sell the Section 8 tactical Ultimate Retention Device which is a great an easy thing to add on to your finger when you are shooting but a less trained shooter is going to have some trouble getting use to using them.   Many handguns are now being made with rails under them and it’s becoming almost mandatory to have a white light on an M4 Carbine.

When you think about putting a light on a handgun, I would always suggest you think about what the gun is going to  be used for.   I believe that a home defense firearm should be configured to be used inside your home and sometimes that may mean not using a handgun, but an M4 Carbine or a shotgun with fragmenting bullets.   Streamlight flashlights can be mounted on handguns or rifles especially the TLR-1 light.   I’m a big fan of lights that are 110 lumens or more for home use because they will seem far brighter and easier to light up a room.

Top

Everyday carry flashlight options

This is something that seems to go with the 380 pocket guns these days, a pocket flashlight.   I’ve mentioned before that I’m not big on small flashlights because the smaller they are the easier it is to loose them.   I am seeing insight flashlights showing up at classes I teach but I don’t  have very much experience with them, flashlights really are new to me because the technology has changed so much that we’re really in a new age. Having a bright and powerful flashlight use to mean that you needed 3 or 4 D batteries and  you most likely were  using a mag-lite flashlight.   Those days are long gone.   You can get 130-180 lumens from a pocket light, but you better be careful how you carry them because I’ve seen guys on more than one occasion jump up quickly when they realized the light was on and they moved over and felt the heat on an inner thigh.

The pelican PM6 is a nice pocket flashlight and it comes with a clip on which will be very practical for a flashlight like this size.  I am not big on carrying lights on my belt line because after carrying a gun, spare pistol magazine and a cell  phone, it’ll get  harder and harder to conceal your weapon and gear if you have that much on you.   The Streamlight flashlights that I like the most for CCW are the Streamlight professional tactical flashlights.  They are small, reliable and most going to break the bank.   The PT-1 is probable the smallest flashlight I would consider carrying, but I really prefer the PT-2 because 180 lumens is so much that it actually might give you a few extra seconds in blinding a threat that didn’t see it coming.

Top

CCW options, gun, knife, mace, fists, flashlights and strobes

I think those about sum up your options for fighting and maybe if you are in good shape a good kicking foot will do.   I primarily count on firearms for self defense because there are levels of threats and levels of criminal intent and showing a gun is enough to deter most crimes when a knife or flashlight really might just make a bad guy laugh at you especially if he’s bigger.  I’ve seen first hand that a untrained person with a knife isn’t going to inflict much damage and unless you actually know how to move with a knife, don’t even try and wield it.   A tactical knife is a good accessory to concealed carry, but not something for the amateur to fight with.

Something to consider which is showing up more and more in CCW flashlight courses I have sat in on are the strobe flashlights.   Now, first of all, I’m not going to tell you that it’s something that is going to stop a threat, I’m just saying that it is something else to consider especially when Streamlight Flashlights only cost you about $50+ dollars and might give you something else to use on a dumb drunk that is really just an annoyance rather than a threat.  An unsuspecting drunk isn’t going to like having a 180 Lumen flashlight and a ” Hi, how are you” from a friendly CCW that flashes him in the eyes and then gets into a car and drives off.

Top
Page 1 of 1