Night time practice with weapon light

[mousegunner]

So if you're one of the "cool kids" with a weapon mounted light and red dot sight, do you actually practice in low light to dark situations with this type of setup.

I've done lots with night sights and reduced lighting but I'm going to a red dot and no weapon light. Why? For me I hardly go out at night and I have a variety of lights outside the home as well as infrared night lights in the home that would pick up on people moving around. That's not to say I don't have a good flashlight available if I need it.

I'm curious as to how the red dot shows up in conjunction with a bright tactical light. Is the dot centered in the beam of light, goes it wash out, how about muzzle flash affecting your night vision especially after multiple shots and seeing the red dot?

Yeah these guns look cool but more of a fashion accessory if you don't practice but I'm sure there are those that go a step beyond in practicing, police (I hope) military, spec ops, and others.

Lots of videos and doing the appendix carry fast draw with lights and red dots but haven't seen night time videos, at least on the search I did.

 

[beemanjohn]

OK, I don't use a weapon light on my handgun because they are pretty much a bullet magnet, and if you use it for a flashlight you are pointing a loaded gun at everything you are looking at. I carry a Streamlight micro usb in my back pocket all day everyday.
But I do have one on an AR that I use for hog hunting. It has a green light, and my red dot is, well, red. It shows up just fine.

 

[fkimble@charter.net]

And going outside your home to shoot someone can get real interesting to say the least. Inside, nite sights work just fine.

Frank

 

[mousegunner]

Not so much going outside to shoot as much as being outside and getting attacked then defending yourself but I get what you're saying.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Sounds like you need to move!! No way i could live in fear at my house. I have one of these in my truck door panel when im somewhere i think i may need it. Its actually very effective for pistol use and doesnt have any of the cons of a mounted light. This is how we did it back before rails under every pistol.

G2ZX-C-BK | Single-Output LED Combat Flashlight | SureFire

The G2ZX-C-BK tactical flashlight has a high-performance LED that produces 600 lumens of brilliant white through a micro-textured polycarbonate reflector so it provides optimal light distribution — excellent reach combined with significant surround light.

www.surefire.com

 

[Eagle Six]

There are pros and cons of weapon mounted vs handheld lights. Turn the brightness level down on the red dot when there is reduced ambient light, turn it up when there is brighter ambient light be that from the sun or artificial light sources such as a flashlight.

There is a reason many departments are issuing weapon mounted lights, because it can be an advantage. For those times a handheld is preferred the operator has options to use which best suits the requirement or even both!

For in the home I have a weapon mounted light on both defensive pistol and carbine. I also have a handheld (or 2, or 3) available. When venturing downtown or on the road it's a handheld only (barring a specific threat level where I am going I may option both).

As with any weapon manipulation there are good ways to handle and not so good ways. Explore the different styles to find the ones that work best for you and then a lot of self-training (and some professional training if available) to become familiar to the point you develop motor skills and it becomes 2nd nature.

Regardless of how safe and secure one might feel in their home and neighborhood, the big bad wolf could show up when least expected. Everyone to their own decisions.

As for a light being a bullet magnet, well not when it's turned off! Shooting in the dark, is shooting in the dark, it doesn't work well without some kind of light outside of point blank range. Light on/shoot-no shoot/ light off/move, as during daylight don't be a stationery target.

When in doubt, which is often, you may need an artificial light source to identify the target to determine if it is a shoot or no-shoot situation. Get the training, and use light to your advantage.

 

[D-4297]

Have a 600 Lumen Stream-light on my SKS, and a Red Dot . Turn the white light on when you have a "Target" . Put the Red Dot on it and take the shot . Light off , MOVE ! Train , Practice , and Train some more .

 

[ISS]

Best Answer Option: just send the 'Rotty out to do perimeter checks. He doesn't even like me, and I feed him.

 

[SecondsCount]

Well, once they get past the Doberman...

I have a surefire X300 but I have never trained with it. It just feels weird dealing with all that.

Instead, I use a handheld in one hand and a pistol in the other, and have had extensive training with that setup. The key is to use a momentary button to quickly light up the area and then go dark, and keep moving.

 

[mousegunner]

Sounds like you need to move!! No way i could live in fear at my house. I have one of these in my truck door panel when im somewhere i think i may need it. Its actually very effective for pistol use and doesnt have any of the cons of a mounted light. This is how we did it back before rails under every pistol.

G2ZX-C-BK | Single-Output LED Combat Flashlight | SureFire

The G2ZX-C-BK tactical flashlight has a high-performance LED that produces 600 lumens of brilliant white through a micro-textured polycarbonate reflector so it provides optimal light distribution — excellent reach combined with significant surround light.

www.surefire.com

I don't need to move or live in fear, you assume wrongly. Anytime anyplace something bad can happen, this is why we keep our swords bright and intentions true. Anywhoo as a former LEO firearms instructor with CBP I have lots of time and training in low light situations going back to revolver days. I have no issues continuing to work with night sights, just curious as to how much effort and training others put into low light shooting situations with a weapon mounted light who are not law enforcement and such.

One issue I see is having a range that will allow low light shooting to give people a chance to practice with mounted lights. I also think that if it is allowed it should go beyond shooting from a static position to something with movement but then again I had the opportunity to do that, not everyone can. Now I'm curious if indoor range IDPA shoots have low light stages of fire? I'll have to look it up.