Glock Light Recommendations

Lazerus2000 said:
IMHO, a weapon light should be a SUPPLEMENT to your EDC flashlight. If all you have is a weapon mounted light, and it doesn't come off and on quickly and easily,
you could easily get in the rather bad habit of illuminating things that go bump in the night,
WITH A POSSIBLY LOADED FIREARM aimed at ...
whatever?

Not every situation that calls for light, calls for a loaded firearm pointed that way as well,
and LEGALLY,
pointing a flash light at some one is much different than pointing a weapon.

free opinions on the internet are often worth much less than you paid for them,
and
YPMMV,
[;{)
LAZ 1
Click to expand...


So what's the issue with pointing a firearm at something you feel may be a threat in your home?? If you exercise some trigger finger discipline along with target discrimination there isn't an issue. Do you think LE or MIL do it any differently? I agree that your weapon light ideally should supplement your handheld. Who cares what's "legal". If some scumbag is in my house he deserves what he gets. Identifying what's attached to the light or what's behind it is difficult. Even if said scumbag figures it out do you really think he's going to contact police and file a complaint? Light or gun, its tough to prove..

TDC
 
You don't need to point your gun at some one to use the pistol mounted light. If you have a light mounted that is 80 lumens or better all you need to do is use the low ready. With your pistol pointed down with the light on it will illuminate the whole room. Grab a flash light and give it a try.

Shawn
 
TIM_COX said:
remember when picking and choosing your light to also look at what holsters are available for the gun/light combo....
Click to expand...

shawn said:
You don't need to point your gun at some one to use the pistol mounted light. If you have a light mounted that is 80 lumens or better all you need to do is use the low ready. With your pistol pointed down with the light on it will illuminate the whole room. Grab a flash light and give it a try.

Shawn
Click to expand...

Both good points, hopefully the OP didnt over look the holster dilema...

I just got my Surefire X300 tonight. $249 to my door :dancingbanana:

Ill post pics tomorrow...
 
OK heres some pics, I had a chance to play around with it. This light is money. The quick detach is smart, simple and effective. The light itself is insanely bright, I accidentally temporally blinded my self...
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101_2381.jpg

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50calshooter said:
No, LED technology is way brighter, with a more narrow focused beam, The peripheral light around the beam is minimal compared to the xenon light. Also, the light in the LED is much more "white", compared to the "yellow" of the xenon...
Click to expand...
Warning: lots of jargon below, on why a 100 lumen LED appears to be brighter than a 100 lumen incandescent bulb:

Lumens aren't actually a unit of brightness. They're actually a unit of something called flux, which is a somewhat dense mathematical concept, but it can be easily explained in this context without any complex math. It's important to distinguish between how bright a light is (jargon: total emissive intensity) measured in candelas and how much of the emitted light is visible (jargon: total luminous flux) measured in lumens. Flux is intensity times the solid angle subtended by the beam on the measurement surface. To explain without calculus by way of an example, let's say I have a spherical bulb. It has an intensity of 10 candelas. If I just hold it up, it radiates light equally in all directions, so the luminous flux is about 120 lumens (4*pi*10, because the surface area of a sphere is 4*pi*radius^2). Now let's say I have another bulb with intensity of 10 candelas, but it produces a small focused beam. Let's say that the area of the beam at distance x from the lamp is 1/20th of the area of a sphere which has radius x. Then the luminous flux of my 2nd bulb is only 6 lumens, even though it is, in the region that it shines, just as "bright" as the first one. Conversely then, if I picked two bulbs, one with a broad beam and one with a narrow beam, each having the same luminous flux, the narrow beam bulb would have a higher intensity.

Because LEDs have less dispersion and thus throw onto a smaller area than incandescent bulbs, an x lumen LED is more intense where it shines than an x lumen incandescent lamp is on same area.
 
eigenvector said:
Warning: lots of jargon below, on why a 100 lumen LED appears to be brighter than a 100 lumen incandescent bulb:

Lumens aren't actually a unit of brightness. They're actually a unit of something called flux, which is a somewhat dense mathematical concept, but it can be easily explained in this context without any complex math. It's important to distinguish between how bright a light is (jargon: total emissive intensity) measured in candelas and how much of the emitted light is visible (jargon: total luminous flux) measured in lumens. Flux is intensity times the solid angle subtended by the beam on the measurement surface. To explain without calculus by way of an example, let's say I have a spherical bulb. It has an intensity of 10 candelas. If I just hold it up, it radiates light equally in all directions, so the luminous flux is about 120 lumens (4*pi*10, because the surface area of a sphere is 4*pi*radius^2). Now let's say I have another bulb with intensity of 10 candelas, but it produces a small focused beam. Let's say that the area of the beam at distance x from the lamp is 1/20th of the area of a sphere which has radius x. Then the luminous flux of my 2nd bulb is only 6 lumens, even though it is, in the region that it shines, just as "bright" as the first one. Conversely then, if I picked two bulbs, one with a broad beam and one with a narrow beam, each having the same luminous flux, the narrow beam bulb would have a higher intensity.

Because LEDs have less dispersion and thus throw onto a smaller area than incandescent bulbs, an x lumen LED is more intense where it shines than an x lumen incandescent lamp is on same area.
Click to expand...

:eek:
 
50calshooter said:
OK heres some pics, I had a chance to play around with it. This light is money. The quick detach is smart, simple and effective. The light itself is insanely bright, I accidentally temporally blinded my self...
101_2382.jpg

---SNIP---
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Have you shot your GLOCK with the light on it and turned on yet? did the light survive the recoil? how did it change the dynamics of the pistol ie balance etc?

Thanks
Don
 
Don Doucette said:
Have you shot your GLOCK with the light on it and turned on yet? did the light survive the recoil? how did it change the dynamics of the pistol ie balance etc?

Thanks
Don
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I haven't been to the range yet. But the light was built for recoil, it's widely used with LEO, Military, SWAT, etc. etc. If it's good enough for the pros its good enough for me. The light itself weighs less then 4 ounces, and I don't notice a difference in balance or anything. It is a solid light (full aluminum body). Like I mentioned earlier the quick detach feature is nice. If i want it off the gun to use as a hand held its off in about 2 seconds, A+ I recommend it...
 
"Have you shot your GLOCK with the light on it and turned on yet? did the light survive the recoil? how did it change the dynamics of the pistol ie balance etc?"

The light is designed to be used while attached to a firearm, there is no worry about it handling the recoil. Surefire and Streamlight put out excellent products.

TDC
 
Don Doucette said:
Have you shot your GLOCK with the light on it and turned on yet? did the light survive the recoil? how did it change the dynamics of the pistol ie balance etc?

Thanks
Don
Click to expand...

I have been running my glock with a surefire light since the X200 first came out on my glock17. I have put about 3000-4000 rounds downrange with the light on the pistol. It was a mix of flashlight on and off and have had no issues at all. The only problem I have ever had with this setup is the light getting dim and having to stop and scrap carbon off of the lens. Usually I notice this after about one to two hundred rounds. I just put tape over the lens when training during the day now.

The weight of the light make the glock slightly more nose heavy but ultimately it helps with recoil reduction. I only notice a very slight difference between the pistol with or without the light.

And for holsters it should not be an issue, most major manufacturers make holsters for the surefire glock combo. I am a lefty and I have no problems finding holsters, so it should be crazy easy for a righty.

YMMV

Shawn
 
shawn said:
... The only problem I have ever had with this setup is the light getting dim and having to stop and scrap carbon off of the lens. Usually I notice this after about one to two hundred rounds. I just put tape over the lens when training during the day now....
Click to expand...

Slightly off the topic, but a good hint I got when I contacted Surefire about their advice on this issue is to use the eraser on the end of a pencil to clean the lens without damaging it.
 
I found that my GLOCK 21SF shot better with my M3X light on it. The extra weight made me much more accurate.
 
I've got both the Insight and the Streamlight M3 Tactical Illuminators. Except for the branding logo, they are IDENTICAL. These are the older INCANDESCENT bulb units, with a focusing beam.

On my [ several ] Glock pistols, I actually prefer this model over many of the newer, more expensive dedicated weapon mount lights for the following reasons:

1.] INEXPENSIVE ... you can have a few, one for every gun, and leave them mounted rather than swap them around

2.] SIMPLE ... everything is mechanical ... no electronics to go bad

3.] Instant , simple, easy to use ON/OFF mount ... no screws to tighten [ and loosen under recoil ]

4.] The beam IS adjustable for focus .... wide for sweeping rooms indoors, narrow spot for outdoors.

5.] At least for my 60 plus year old, once melted/LAZERED eyeballs, the light put out by an incandescent bulb is better for seeing into brush than the light put out by an LED .... basically like comparing a real life 3D view VS a 2D view, as projected on to a screen.

As for the negatives;

1.] The incandescent bulbs DO run hotter, eat batteries quicker, and are more susceptible to breakage or burn out from using over voltage rechargeable batteries [ 4 PLUS volts ] .

2.] The incandescent bulbs are EXPENSIVE, and difficult to find. Even my local Police Supply shop, which flogs Streamlights as their main light brand, doesn't always have spare bulbs available. I will be stocking up from EBAY for spare bulbs.

3.] a 1'" regular hi powered LED flashlight is ALWAYS on my belt, and this light is less expensive and at a guess, three times as powerful as my M3s. For carbine or shotgun use, where size and weight are not as critical, a 1" regular round flash light mounted to a rail by a single QD scope ring [ I like the Leupold QRWs for this ] is probably a better solution for most applications.

This advice is offered for free,
free advice on the internnt is often worth less than you paid for it,
of course,
YPMMV,
LAZ 1
[;{)
 
TDC said:
So what's the issue with pointing a firearm at something you feel may be a threat in your home?? If you exercise some trigger finger discipline along with target discrimination there isn't an issue. Do you think LE or MIL do it any differently? I agree that your weapon light ideally should supplement your handheld. Who cares what's "legal". If some scumbag is in my house he deserves what he gets. Identifying what's attached to the light or what's behind it is difficult. Even if said scumbag figures it out do you really think he's going to contact police and file a complaint? Light or gun, its tough to prove..

TDC
Click to expand...

<.< We are talking about the country where convicted felons have successfully sued home owners for assault / negligence after said felon broke into said home owners house with intent of robbery and/or worse, but then tripped on a rubber ducky that the kid left on the floor and sprained his ankle.
 
Having played with all the current light options, I have settled on the Surefire X400. Ive got a few of these now, and they are really nice, although a little expensive for sure. The laser is a nice extra to have.
 
Starscream said:
<.< We are talking about the country where convicted felons have successfully sued home owners for assault / negligence after said felon broke into said home owners house with intent of robbery and/or worse, but then tripped on a rubber ducky that the kid left on the floor and sprained his ankle.
Click to expand...

a few years ago i came across an interesting bit of advice from an ex-cop in the USA. in essence, it was "shoot to kill. if it's gonna be my word against his in court, i'd rather he have nothing to say"
 
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