re: Light on EDC pistol

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I’ve never had a light on any of my pistols but a few guys I’ve talked to said it’s a must have for them.

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fudds/boomers will tell you that they're not needed, but they do make some good points when it comes to safety in lieu of function.


the point they make in regards to safety is when you point your mounted light around, your inadvertently pointing your muzzle around. it's better to point at the floor and let the bleed over from the beam be what's used to scan your surroundings.

Massad Ayoob on WML


he suggests carrying a separate light in addition to your gun with a WML. it's intended use is for searching. once you have a positive ID, drop the light and move to your gun. seems like a lot of time for something to go wrong in that scenario.

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Another vote for stock P365, an XL

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Looking at the XL. In your opinion does the extra barrel length have a negative or positive impact on concealment?

If someone kicks in my front door or winds up in my bedroom, he will see the flash before he sees my red dots. I certainly won't be worrying about my holster or the extra 8 ounces of weight. Mr Adrenline will be in charge.

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fudds/boomers will tell you that they're not needed

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It's not just being a Fudd

Handguns are not the easiest thing to master, and self-defense may require a rapid shot without much/any time to aim.
That old trope "beware the man who owns one gun, because he can shoot that one well" has a lot of truth to it.

You ideally want to be able to point-shoot a tight group of 3-5 rds within about 10 yds, without taking the time to "aim", with the pistol you may rely on to save your life in a worst-case scenario. That pistol should be able to be carried, and I would suggest it should be as sleek as possible. Not necessarily as small, it doesn't have to be sub-compact; but it needs to be able to deploy instantly. I personally don't want a light on it, because that's a bulky thing that may get snagged, adds weight to the front where it wasn't when I was training, and has doodads (buttons to push to turn on) that could distract and delay me. A red dot is just something protruding on the slide that might snag, too (in my estimation).

I don't mind lights, lasers, red dots and other optics on rifles, and on range toys. I put a red dot on a S&W 22A, but in all honesty it's play, I don't think it's helped tighten the groups any on that. At the range, at 15 yds I can shoot the clothes pins holding the target with iron sights with that.

Re lasers and red dots; at the range I've seen guys try to run lasers. I watch that dot bounce all around the place, and I've noticed people try to chase the dot instead of the target. When I have shot them, I notice that I don't really see the laser, as I'm focusing on the target. I teach my son to see the target, not the laser.

Again, on an AR, I don't mind them. We built my son an AR recently with a Crimson Trace light/laser combo mounted just in front of his front grip, at the very front of the handguard. A flick of the offhand thumb activates it, and I have the laser aspect zeroed with the 1-4 LPVO at 50 yds (we bounce back and forth between red dots and LPVO's with this gun).

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it needs to be able to deploy instantly. I personally don't want a light on it, because that's a bulky thing that may get snagged, adds weight to the front where it wasn't when I was training

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I can agree on "snagging on some of the longer lights extending past the barrel, but I have the setup below and have never once had an issue and I practice drawing regularly. My holster is made for the setup. As far as adding weight compared to training.....train with it on the gun. Why would you not? It makes my gun shoot flatter.



My smaller conceal carry has a red dot. I'm no more accurate with it. However I can shoot it with both eyes open and a clear target with a clear point of aim a million times better than iron sights. My situational awareness is better with my Hellcat Pro and red dot even though it shoots no more accurate than anything else. Again, never had a snag and the weight/bulk is not noticeable to me.

The only negative I ever heard was in this situation. You have kids or people at your house. You hear a noise or have someone breaking in and start going through the house. Let's say one of you kids make a noise or comes out their room and you shine the light at them that means you are also point you gun at them. That's about the only thing I can think of. I usually have an edc flashlight.

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I plan on hitting the range as much as possible between now and July 4th so I can get used to it.

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Dry fire practice is just as good or better that live fire practice.

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For home defense, have the biggest gun with the most accessories you want

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Yep, AR for HD here. No idea why you’d grab a pistol unless that’s all you have.

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I’ve never pumped gas at a pitch dark gas station that I need a flashlight to see someone nearby

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You'd almost have to be looking for trouble to be at a gas station that dark at night.