Attached light or handheld?

[COB]

Hello, just looking for some opinions on which is better. I saw a TLR-1 pistol light at the gun store for about $120 and heard good things about them. Are they any better than a handheld flashlight in the other hand?
I was thinking a bad guy may see the light and if they had a gun maybe they would shoot at the light which in turn may hit me. If you had a flashlight in the weak hand you could hold the flashlight above/away from you and still identify the target...
I bought an LED flashlight while I was there because I almost blinded myself with it but a part of me wants that TLR-1.. Guess the question is if the TLR-1 is worth it(usefull)? I can buy alot of ammo for that kind of cash

[SD Monkey]

Handhelds are more useful and easier to control the momentary on/off if you bought a light that is capable. The TRL-1 is more tacticool and adds some serious weight the the business end of things. Personally I would save the money for other things.

What ever you decide on you need to train how to use it, best if you went and paid for some vs training yourself based on something you saw on TV.

What kind of light did you buy?
I have a couple Sure Fire and a Stream Light that I use. I've used my Sure Fire 8x for over 10 years now.

[leeindy]

i dont use weapon mounted lights on pistols.(long guns i do) there are things i want to illuminate with out pointing a weapon at them. add that to the fact a good holster for a weapon with a mounted light doesnt really exist. and a good handeld light is half the price or less of the mounted one. get a surefire g6 for 36 bucks at sportsmans. or spring the extra 15 and get the streamlight tlr2 led......... i bought mine 3 years ago and its still my favorite light.

[sqeeler]

gey both lights , they both serve a purpose and have their place. some will say the weapon mounted light is bad because you point the gun at someone, well thats when you use your handhel if you are concerned about it.

[Joeywhat]

I just have mine on my Glock to look cool and brag about it on online forums.

Get both, get training.

[Joeywhat]

Originally Posted by leeindy

i dont use weapon mounted lights on pistols.(long guns i do) there are things i want to illuminate with out pointing a weapon at them. add that to the fact a good holster for a weapon with a mounted light doesnt really exist. and a good handeld light is half the price or less of the mounted one. get a surefire g6 for 36 bucks at sportsmans. or spring the extra 15 and get the streamlight tlr2 led......... i bought mine 3 years ago and its still my favorite light.

Raven, NTAC, Safariland and Bladetech all make LC holsters...unless you have some real wacky gun and light combo there's options for you.

[joshua79109]

I won't use a light installed on a pistol. Hand held for me.

I will put a light on a long gun, but won't turn it on unless it is absolutely necessary.

Everyone has a theory on this. I learned mine while serving in the military... lights (like tracers) work both ways.

[corba]

i put a TLR-2 on my XD45, my 9SC's are bare (but have night sights), my AR has a green laser, and xenon light, shotgun has xenon, i also have a few xenon CR123 lights for handheld. XD45 is go-to house gun.

[NDB_MN]

I think lights can be very useful. I have one on my pistol under my bed, and the shotgun in my closet.

I don't think attached pistol lights are "required" and I like hand held lights too. The advantage of the gun light on a pistol is that it frees up one hand for other things... but I'm not sure how much this advantage would be worth, since you need to point the gun at anything you want to illuminate.

[leeindy]

Originally Posted by Joeywhat

Raven, NTAC, Safariland and Bladetech all make LC holsters...unless you have some real wacky gun and light combo there's options for you.

most good holsters latch onto the trigger guard for positive retention. everytime you put something wide in front of the tigger guard it needs something else to latch onto.... light technology has not been miniaturized enough for me to mount one on a pistol. i dont care for them or the holsters they require just personal opinion. im actually looking for a glock 19 gen 1or2 without a rail just for additional slimness. i dont like light rails and the ones i have i dont use for anything.