12:00 Weapon Light Nirvana

[TDC]

The 12 position has several advantages. If you run a clickie tail cap it becomes ambidextrous without additional hardware. With your light mounted at the 12 position it is somewhat protected by the barrel. The important part is that with your light mounted at the 12 position you need not expose anymore of the rifle and/or shooter than is necessary to illuminate your target. Seeing how the light must clear cover before the barrel you need only expose the barrel and nothing else.

TDC

 

[BigUglyMan]

I see what you're saying now. I hadn't thought of it that way but it makes perfect sense.

 

[TDC]

Make sense, yes. Easily achieved, no.

TDC

 

[BigUglyMan]

Make sense, yes. Easily achieved, no.

TDC

Especially on a standard SAN.

 

[Starscream]

Wouldn't that work just as well with the light at 6 o'clock position?

With a vert foregrip maybe, last time I used a flashlight on a carbine it was airsofting with a surefire M900 clone. Worked quite well at the time IIRC.

 

[TDC]

Especially on a standard SAN.

Ouch, yeah that is a challenge.

TDC

 

[Rotek]

P12.
If you buy into the roll out concept.The light mounted @ 6 o'clock even with a vfg you would leave the the light behind the barricade.thus the light bouncing off of the Baricade
and illuminating your self( the muzzle has cleared the barricade but light has not). Or you would have to come out that much more from behind the barricade to have the light clear the barricade therefor exposing more of yourself.
With the 12 o'clock, the light comes out ahead of the muzzle. And this works equally well with a left hand or right hand barricade.This the point about being ambi that TDC
was making.

 

[greentips]

+ the barrel shadow is at the 6.

 

[jaycee]

Been gone for a couple days, but yes, as others have added, two of the big advantages of 12:00 over 6:00 are no shadow cast over the part of your target you're aiming at, and much friendlier around corners.

One other big advantage is when shooting from behind horizontal cover - you have to expose less of your melon and upper body with a light mounted at 12:00 vs 6:00.