INFORCE Blog — pistol light

“Crime and vice generally require darkness for prowling,” said Mahatma Gandhi. “They disappear when light plays on them.” These words have always been true for criminals since the dawn of civilization. Even though Gandhi was shot with a Beretta M1934 in broad daylight, most shootings tend to occur under the cover of darkness. 

Therefore, it should follow that after the invention of the flashlight, people who carried every day would have the forethought to strap a light onto their pistols. However, we cannot discuss how the modern pistol light rose in popularity without discussing how its predecessors failed. In 1911, George A. Seely invented the first hand-held battery-operated pistol/light combo. It was given the practical but unimaginative name “Night Sight for Firearms.” A technological marvel for its time, its recoil dampening system allowed a flashlight to be mounted to the frame of a revolver without breaking when it was fired. 

Regardless of how practical Mr. Seely thought this was, his invention was not widely adopted by the general public. This was probably because the light was never mass produced and would have been made by hand for every order, making it expensive and impractical. 

Flashlights eventually came into mass production, becoming sturdier and brighter. Certain people once again saw the practicality of using them with pistols. This especially became true during the Vietnam War, when American GIs and Marines had to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Viet Cong in their deep, dark tunnel networks with low ceilings. The Americans deployed tunnel rats to smoke the VC out of their hidey holes. These men, typically 5’5” or shorter, were trained to crawl into the darkness of enemy tunnels and engage the enemy with only a knife, pistol and flashlight.

Most times, the M1911 was used in tandem with an angle-headed flashlight for these underground operations. Unfortunately, not only did this loadout leave the tunnel rat with no free hands, but the M1911’s high caliber round was ear-shattering in the confined spaces of a VC tunnel.

When a unit had the resources, it could use a purpose-built .38 special revolver with a suppressor and flashlight. The idea was sound, but the execution was sloppy. This “tunnel rat special” revolver had its light mounted on the top of the weapon, eliminating its iron sights. While this was fine for the job it was meant to do, since tunnel rats would engage VC at arms-length distance, it would be absolutely useless outside of this one specific task. Once again – not something the civilian market would need.

It took several decades until the pistol flashlight took the form we see today. In 1996, Heckler & Koch released the Mark 23 MOD 0 pistol, otherwise known as the SOCOM. This 9.6 inch long handgun was suppressor-ready and equipped with a flashlight/laser combo called the Laser Aiming Module or LAM. With all its attachments, however, it tipped the scales at 5 lbs. The LAM was a well-conceived idea, but its proprietary rail rendered it useless to any weapon but the Mark 23 itself.

Picatinny rails, standardized the year before the SOCOM pistol was released, eliminated the problem of proprietary attachments forever. When the rails hit the civilian market in the mid-2000s, every company that produced firearms or firearms attachments recognized the diversity the picatinny rail offered. Some of the top pistols of the 2010s were the Sig Sauer P320, the Smith & Wesson M&P, and the VP40 – all of which were designed with integrated rail systems for underbarrel attachments.

The Picatinny made it possible for a firearms owner to mount a weapon light or laser on any compatible firearm, remove it, and mount it to any other railed firearm regardless of manufacturer if he changed his mind. This had massive appeal to consumers worldwide.

Not only that, but companies like INFORCE have developed smaller, lighter, and more powerful tactical pistol lights than anything seen in the previous decades. The lights from the INFORCE Wild series are true modern pistol lights, the culmination of decades of development in the tactical flashlight world. The INFORCE Wild lights are more compact, lightweight and powerful than anything that came before them, and with Picatinny and Universal Rail mounting for maximum compatibility, they make the perfect accessories for any modern pistol and a must-have attachment for anyone who’s serious about self-defense against criminals who hide in the cover of darkness.

Any gun owner who owns a pistol with a flashlight attachment will know the pain of looking for a compatible holster. Since weapons have to fit into their holsters like tailored suits, once an attachment like a laser or a light is added, whatever holster it once called home becomes a useless piece of kydex or leather. Fortunately, INFORCE has done the legwork and found several different holster companies that can accommodate your new pistol and flashlight combo.

1. Practicality: CrossBreed LDS 2.0 System ($99.95)

CrossBreed’s LDS 2.0 holster with Accomplice Magazine Carrier can accommodate a wide variety of firearm and flashlight combinations. Meant to be worn inside the waistband, CrossBreed touts this as a comfortable, adjustable EDC holster. The Accomplice Magazine Carrier can be attached to the holster piece and features adjustable retention, an ambidextrous design, and an adjustable cant angle.

2. Closed design OWB: Blackhawk Omnivore ($62.95)

The Omnivore is so-named for its ability to accommodate a wide variety of handguns with lights or lasers. It boasts compatibility with over 250 varieties of semi-automatic handguns with accessory rails and has a thumb-driven active retention mechanism for additional safety.

3. Variety: Safariland holsters (price varies)

The fact that Safariland sports not one but several holsters compatible with INFORCE lights says something about the versatility of their product line. Safariland holsters feature a variety of safety features unique to this brand such as the SLS (Self Locking System), which uses a rotating hood to protect the weapon from unwanted takeaways as well as the ALS (Automatic Locking System) which retains the firearm in the holster until it is released by the user’s thumb pushing a locking lever, allowing for a smooth, natural-feeling draw (see image). A complete list of all Safariland’s compatible holsters is located here.

4. Vehicle Carry: Hornady RAPiD Vehicle Safe (Available at Scheels for $249.99)

While not exactly a holster, Hornady’s RAPid is a side-console gun safe designed solely for your vehicle. Accessible only by a user with an RFID wristband, key fob or the correct PIN, the RAPiD is perfect for any parent who wants to carry in their vehicle. With the RAPiD’s security system, there’s no need to worry about a curious child reaching for the weapon and causing an accident.

5. Customizability: ANR Designs ($69.99 - $98.99)

INFORCE's holster of choice, ANR holsters are made from kydex to stand up to the rigors of intense activities like competition shooting. They come in a variety of custom molds and patterns for any style or model of semi-automatic firearm you need. INFORCE has an available holster for the Glock 19/17/34 and Wild2, but a wider array of options is available on the ANR website.

6. Modularity: Insane Kydex (price varies)

Offering an insane (pun intended) variety of holster types beyond ordinary IWB and OWB options, Insane Kydex caters to everyone from competition shooters and law enforcement to casual enthusiasts and collectors. Their holsters are tailored to every individual customer with a wide range of options for pistol, light and optic compatibility. Capable of housing any INFORCE light, Insane Kydex's holsters are known for their color options, which vary from the tacticool to the tacti-crazy.

We hope you find this selection of holsters for OWB and IWB carry helpful. What are your thoughts on your favorite pistol/light holster combo? Tell us in the comments below.

The first reaction of most gun purists to this photo might be “ew, someone put a rail on a classic firearm.” Then they realize someone put a rail on a classic firearm. Gun owners with M1911s, Browning Hi-Powers, M9s and so forth usually shy away from accessories like weapon lights because they don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of buying a rail for their weapon. Many of them logically believe that mounting a flashlight involves buying a very specific rail and paying a gunsmith to mount it then waiting several days to get the weapon back.

The truth is that a gun owner is more likely to use his weapon at night, or at the very least in a dimly lit parking lot. Undesirable elements need darkness to conceal their activities, and it would be wise to mount a pistol light for situations like this.

Thankfully, the folks at Recover Tactical have a solution to the rail problem that requires neither a gun smith nor a drill or any other special tools. Recover’s rail systems are attached with simple Allen keys or screwdrivers, and in the case of their systems for the M1911, act as both a grip and a rail. Recover Tactical offers a variety of grip and rail systems for firearms other than the M1911 such as the Glock and Sig platforms, M9/92FS, Browning Hi-Power and S&W Shield. For a price point of about $25, there are few better options.

Using the Recover Grip and Rail, I mounted Inforce’s WILD2 pistol light without any trouble at all. Designed for toolless installation, the WILD2 can be removed from its box and secured onto any 1913 or Glock Universal Rail by hand. Its ambidextrous paddles were easy to reach, and I barely noticed any difference in weight from the WILD2 while the ridges of Recover system provided a more stable grip.

The Recover Tactical rail system. Also comes in green and black.

Both the WILD1 and WILD2 fit perfectly on a Recover rail system without issue. With the addition of a powerful weapon light, the only major change I needed to make to my loadout was a new holster, and there were plenty of affordable choices available online.

I am a believer in the phrase that it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have, and having a pistol light is a great insurance policy. Whether you’re checking on whatever tripped over your living room sofa at 2am or anticipating the worst from a car that blocked you off in the middle of a dirt road in the middle of the night, a pistol and flashlight combo is the common sense decision.

Whether walking into a dark room, a poorly-lit alleyway, or an area with known threats in the dead of the night, if you value your life, you’ll need both your flashlight and your weapon. Enter with just your weapon, and you’ll be shooting blind. If you enter with just your flashlight, you’ll not only be unarmed but you’ll tell everyone in the room where you are.

Hence, being both armed and able to see is essential for dealing with threats in a low light environment. Over the decades, police, military, and self-defense professionals have developed several techniques for using flashlights with handguns. Some of them emphasize stability, while others emphasize light control or safety. In all these grips, it is important to ensure the flashlight does not obscure the firearm or vice-versa.

The most famous of these flashlight pistol grips is the Harries technique. Pioneered by Michael Harries, a US Marine veteran and prolific marksman, this technique was widely utilized by the LAPD SWAT before it caught on with the wider shooting community.

In the Harries technique, the flashlight is held in an icepick grip, with the shooter’s thumb on the tailcap. The hand with the weapon is set on the flashlight hand with the wrists nested together, which helps support the weapon. It’s important to note that the elbow of the flashlight hand should not be “chicken winged” out to the side and instead should be kept close to the body, without having the forearm completely vertical. If the elbow is flared too far out, you make yourself a bigger target and compromise your support of your weapon. If your elbow is in too close, you lose some of that support.

Reloading from this position is easier than it might seem. Unlike some of the other grips, the index finger and thumb can still be used to manipulate magazines, and with practice, a reload with the flashlight hand can be just as fast as an empty-handed reload. In the case of other grips, it’s much harder to get a hold of one’s magazine and rack the slide with the middle and ring fingers (see photo), but it can still be done.

There’s only one thing wrong with the Harries method. If someone lacks training and is not used to the technique, there is a very real possibility that in the heat of the moment, if a shooter sees something out of the corner of his eye, he may break his stance, sweep his flashlight to the threat putting his hand in front of his weapon and fire, shooting himself.

The Chapman technique prevents this. The technique is named after Ray Chapman, whose long career in the Marines and law enforcement gave him the foundation he needed for sports shooting. It is probably the most comfortable flashlight grip for pistol shooters who utilize the weaver stance, where one’s shooting arm is nearly fully extended and pulling on the weapon while the support hand is bent at the elbow, pushing on it to provide support.

In this technique, the flashlight is held with only the thumb and index finger, while the rest of the supporting hand pulls on the weapon for stability just like a regular two handed grip. The downside of this grip, however, is that it makes reloading awkward since the thumb can’t be used to pick up a magazine. Racking the slide would be equally tedious for the same reason. Another downside to this technique is that it limits the shooter’s range of motion in the same way the weaver stance does.

The Ayoob technique, by contrast, allows for much greater movement. This particular method was invented by Massad Ayoob, a Syrian-American former police captain and martial arts expert. The technique involves holding the flashlight in a sword grip, with a finger on the on/off switch (on the body of the flashlight) for activation. The thumbs of both hands touch, and the flashlight is held in place by the fingers of the weapon hand and the palm of the support hand. This makes it possible for this grip to be used in either the weaver stance or with arms extended.

While the Ayoob technique allows users to hold their weapons in both the isosceles and weaver stances, it is purpose designed for flashlights with buttons on their bodies rather than on the endcaps of modern tactical lights. For those, the syringe grip is more appropriate.

With the Syringe Technique, the flashlight is held between the index and middle fingers with the middle or lower part of the thumb on the endcap switch. The weapon hand is braced by the lower fingers of the flashlight hand to steady it, giving this grip the stability and of the Ayoob technique.

The Neck Index, on the other hand, is something completely different. In this one-handed technique, the flashlight is held against the user’s jaw in such a way that the light moves together with the user’s head. If the flashlight is a large Maglite type light, the body can be rested on the user’s shoulder, in the optimal position to be swung at an assailant if necessary. This is one of the most common techniques for one-handed weapon grips.

The FBI technique, meanwhile, allows for more freedom of motion while at the same time offering a small degree of protection through deceit. In this stance, the flashlight is held far away from the body. This is done so that the user’s exact position is obscured. Any bad guy that sees the light will be less likely to hit the user. At the same time, the flashlight hand and weapon hand operate independently of each other. Just like the Neck Index, this also means that the user will be shooting one-handed.

Whatever flashlight technique you prefer, there are a few universal truths that anyone doing low-light shooting should consider. One should always bring any spare batteries, especially those who work in the dark often, since most high powered flashlights only work for a few hours at a time.

On the topic of room clearing with a flashlight, Sergeant Paul Sneck of the Finnish Defense Force, who served in a close protection role during a UN deployment in Lebanon with additional experience in maritime security in the Caribbean, states that since most ceilings are white, it would be sound to point your light directly upwards if you want to illuminate the entire room, since white reflects light. Furthermore, if your flashlight is the only source of light in the room, the strobe function can be useful for moving from cover to cover. Sneck likens a gunfight with a strobe light to “fighting in a disco” since the rapidly flashing lights make it hard for your opponent to see you.

Any potential dangers in low light environments need to be met with a firearm you’re familiar with and a dependable, versatile flashlight like the InForce TFx. With 700 lumens on its high setting and a peak beam intensity of 12,000 candelas, this flashlight can be used as a self-defense measure in its own right, since 200 lumens even in broad daylight is enough to cause temporary blindness. Combined with a good weapon and used with proper technique, you should have everything you need for a self-defense scenario in the dark.