Shooting w/ tac light in off hand

[JaxonGAMC]

i recently got a high powered tac light for home defense, yet i haven't found a real comfortable way to hold the light in the off hand while supporting my shooting hand.

any tips on here, or links to pics that may be useful? thanks!

 

[Fred Fuller]

IMHO nothing beats a class from a good instructor to get you up to speed fast.

http://www.surefireinstitute.com/page/home and many others offer specific classes.

etc.

There are numerous magazine articles, books and training videos on the subject also. While they are not a substitute for hands-on instruction from a pro, these may offer you some avenues for exploration. Your favorite search engine will find hours of reading for you online...

http://www.paladin-press.com/product/577/27

http://www.americancopmagazine.com/articles/lowlightcombatives/index.html

http://www.afteraction.net/Articles.php?action=detail&g=content1210592261

etc.

hth,

lpl

 

[highorder]

welcome to THR!

What light did you get?

 

[possum]

well first good on you for relizing that you need a light. The majority of defensive encounters happen at night therefore the having and know how to use a light in a defensive situation is paramount.

I train in lowlight as much as possible, and i highly recomend that you attend a training course in low light.

There are many different techniques, that are applicable at different times. No one technique is gonna be best all the time, and work for every situation. There are a few books out there that will demonstrate and show you different techniques, probally better than i can explain them to you.
The book of two Guns by Tiger Mckee
Tactical pistol Shooting by Erik lawrence
and there are more but that will be a great star for you.

70% of the time i use a weapon mounted light. I also use a surefire handheld light for such things as the neck index, syringe, fbi and harris postions.

I am most comfortable with the weapon mounted, that is what i am best with. 2nd would be syringe as it keeps the support hand near the gun and allows you a little support.

so far there haven't been any situations that i can train for or been in during training that one of the three, weapon mounted, harris, or syringe couldn't get me out of.

 

[BOONER]

Lee thanks for posting that link of my low light class. in AZ.

we have found that the use of 2 lights is great wepons mounted, and handheld. we have also found in some situations that some positions have caused the user to be jammed up and we have been able to gain control of gun and light hand at one time. in CQB use and bling hallways and corners etc,so on.

I favor neck index for many reasons. for my use

 

[SWDoc]

Ditto last two posts. Handheld for ID and "pie"ing a room, weapon mounted once a thread is identified and engaged. Weapon mounted only makes me nervous in that I must laser the threat while identifying (or at least come close to doing so).

Training in low light is essential. Professional training is a super plus. You would be surprised how different it is than well lit. But lots of "Oh, Yeah" when done with an instructor behind you. Disorienting and high stress. Also keep training weak and strong one hand shooting. Very handy in quick, close, dark encounters.

Good sights visible in low light make a difference, too.

Good question. To actually address it, I like a modified Harries, with the weak hand holding the light and kinda cammed into the thumbswell of the strong hand master grip. On the left side of the grip (I'm right handed). It steadies the shot, more than supports the strong hand, but works OK for me.

Practice drill (even in daylight) is gun in hand low ready, light in off hand pointed downrange, pistol up, one shot, bring weak hand and light to left side of grip, a timed pair to a small part of the target. Repeat as needed.

Steve

 

[Rob Pincus]

I recommend keeping the use of the light and the firearm in perspective. Use the light to find & identify threats, use the gun to deal with them when appropriate. You shouldn't need a two handed technique for the overwhelming majority of defensive encounters in side your home. Using the light intermittently and indirectly is also a good idea. Here is a related article from a couple of years ago:

Flashlight Use Article

-RJP

 

[Deavis]

syringe is my favorite, supports the gun and easy to operate. Backs up my weapon light. Try them all out and do it for more than 30 seconds. You might find, as I did, that, for instance, a locked wrists hold hurts your wrists and caues you to use the light less effectively.

 

[Floppy_D]

Rob, I just clicked your link, and noticed you look like the guy in my Valhalla DVDs.

 

[RobMoore]

+1 for the surefire institute. The two guys I took instruction from were a little SWAT heavy (I don't REALLY need to learn team room clearing techniques), but their flashlight instruction was outstanding. My prefered technique for on-the-spot shooting is neck-index. Tested on the pro-timer, its quicker for me to shoot with at close range by a good .3-.5 seconds than any other technique, and I'd been well-practiced in the three other major techniques well before I'd ever tried the neck-index.