THE DARK ISN'T YOUR FRIEND

Choose a weapon-mounted light flashlight carefully. It can hurt as much as help you.

- JOSH WAYNER

Weapon-mounted lights have become quite common in recent years, yet there's still a great deal of confusion and disagreement between competing schools of thought. So, let's shed some light on, well ... lights.

PRACTICALITY VS. FUNCTIONALITY

The main reason I divide handguns from rifles and shotguns in this discussion is based on the crucial factor of weight and real estate. It's barely an afterthought to add a light to a shoulder arm, but it's a deciding crossroads of utility on a handgun. It takes little, if any, imagination to mount a large, intense light onto a rifle these days; most modern handguards are covered in Mlok mounting surfaces, in years past it was mil-spec Picatinny.

In fact, the minutia has taken over to the point that there are dozens of companies producing various means to manage your cables and pressure switches. Lights on rifles are nearly at a pinnacle; the science, while never truly settled, is in a comfortable rut, and I don't see that changing for some time.

BATTERY MADNESS

The CR123 battery is the most common power source for pistol lights. I sincerely hope that we start seeing a move to rechargeable batteries. In fact, I don't see a reason why a pistol light even needs to have removable batteries at all. I change the batteries in my carry lights every few months, or after taking a class. On an annual basis, I end up spending about $200 on batteries—they are darn expensive! Management of batteries between rifle lights, pistol lights, rangefinder, optics, and other accessories has me maintaining an inventory of six separate types. I'd love it if all I had to do was plug in a micro USB cable.

LOST DOTS