Pistol lights

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Rich Jordan
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Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

Most of the Streamlight and other small weapon lights are still big enough to stick out well in front of the muzzle. I think I'd prefer a smaller one for 'in house' use on a bedside pistol (service pistol sized). It doesn't need to be a barn burner (in fact too bright would be counterproductive). Strobe option might be nice depending on which self defense pundit you read. I'll also have a bedside flashlight for when more light is needed or for times when the muzzle needs to not be pointing at the things being lit.

The only one I have now is a relative toy sold under the Smith and Wesson Micro 90 name years ago. Its not that bad, and its tiny compared to the name lights but the switches are less convenient and it doesn't have a strobe. And it takes CR2 batteries which are oddballs.

So whats decent and not too expensive? I was looking at Streamlights because eBay had some on sale, but the shortest ones (TLR7/8) are still over 2.1" long and kick out a lot of lumens. And the older lower output lights are relatively huge.

And its for a normal pistol rail, not an oddball.

Thanks for any input. With Black Friday coming soon its possible even an expensive choice might be available at a nice price.
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g-man
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by g-man »

Currently running a Nebo Elite Protec HP190 on the bedside XD. It does have an easy to use strobe function, and is reasonably bright. 190 lumens is a good bit better than the Surefire I was running on my M4 a decade ago, but after seeing the output from my $20 Rayovac 500 lumen 2x AA light... I could see upgrading. The Nebo runs on 1x cr123a, so it doesn’t stick out past the muzzle enough to note. Also, ~$55 on Amazon, so reasonably priced.

Really interested in the Streamlight TLR-7, since 500 lumens for under $120 seems a pretty good deal. Mr Gunsngear on YouTube did a good review on it when it came out.
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Rich Jordan
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

Thanks, I'll take a look.

I've done a few middle of the night house walkabouts with my Micro 90 or my EDC light, a 2008 vintage O-Light T10 after waking up. I am concerned about the high output of the O-Light (I think it was 200 lumens when new) because even that light hitting our white painted walls is blinding to dark-adjusted eyes. I know that a very bright light in the eyes is generally disconcerting and effective on an intruder, and outdoors I could see the benefits of a real blaster of a light, but indoors with white painted walls...

The Micro 90 is 90 lumens; sometimes a little more light would be nice but it actually does a fair job out to 20 feet or so and if you catch it in the eye it'll still blind you somewhat. But those switches...
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Cybrludite
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Cybrludite »

I'm a fan of the OLight PL-2. Compact, does not stick past the muzzle of a mid-sized pistol. Downside is that it's something like 1000 to 1200 lumens, with no reduced power mode.
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Rich Jordan
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

I had a credit at a flashlight site; I picked up an OLight PL-1 II on special. I'll have to see how it works on the XD(M) but there's no front to back adjustability finer than the rail slots, and on the SIG P320, the farthest back it will lock in is too far forward. I can barely reach the switch buttons, and I don't have small hands. With the lug removed it slides far enough back to be usable but probably won't stay in place.

Worst case it will go on a rifle if it also doesn't work on the Springfield. I haven't seen specs for most lights that lists rail lug to front or back of light distance so it may be a bit of a trial to get the right one unless I can find someone online who has tried different lights on the various pistols.
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g-man
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by g-man »

Bedside gun is the aforementioned XD, specifically an XD(M) .40. Let us know how it fits on the Springfield vice the Sig...
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Rich Jordan
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

Short response; the O-Light works better on the XD(m) than the Sig. The Micro-90 works better on both, it sits farther back and puts the switches in a more reachable place on both pistols.

I'll see if I can host some pics and post (running out of storage space...)
Rich Jordan
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

We'll see if this work with attachments; my image hosting is full.

Two pistols with the two lights attached. The Micro 90 sits much farther back, and indexes on the last slot in the rail. The O-Light controls end up in front of the trigger guard, and it indexes two slots forward of the trigger guard.

The distance from backstrap to the front of the trigger guard is nearly 1/4" longer on the Sig. I can barely use the O-Light switches on the Springfield but can't use them at all on the Sig without shifting my grip or using the support hand.
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Rich Jordan
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by Rich Jordan »

Couldn't get all four to attach
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g-man
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Re: Pistol lights

Post by g-man »

The O-light probably snugs up nicely on a Glock trigger guard, but on the XD and Sig, notsomuch. That’s quite a noticeable difference in spacing. That said, it at least looks useable on the XD.
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