5 Reasons to Get a Light For Your Gun

While your trips to the shooting range are generally in near-perfect lighting and great conditions, the majority of times you will use your gun will probably be the exact opposite. You’ll probably use your gun when it’s dark, you’re tired, and adrenaline is pumping.

This means your plan on holding a flashlight while aiming your gun will be well north of difficult, and worst of all, you might not even be able to find your light when you grab your gun! Having a light on your gun is not only smart, it’s safe too. Here are five reasons you need to get a light on your gun so you can be safer and shoot better now.

1. Target Allocation

When lights are low and you’re sleepy or scared, it’s far too easy to think you have your target in sight and scarily enough have that target be a friendly that poses you no threat. Nothing’s worse than the idea of thinking there’s an intruder in your house and it being your husband or wife.

Having a light on your gun means that it doesn’t matter how light or dark it is, you’ll always see who it is you’re aiming at as well as what’s behind your target. Using your firearm safely is the single most important part of owning a gun, and a light is one of the safest ways to use a gun.

2. Better Accuracy

There are two things that can greatly improve your accuracy. The first is seeing your target like we covered in #1, and the second is having a better grip on your gun. By using two hands on your gun you can aim with far better accuracy and acquire targets more quickly.

Using an attached flashlight on your gun means you can always have both hands on your gun in the dark, so not only do you get the benefit of lighting your target, but you already have both hands on your gun steadying it and keeping your aim true.

3. Stun Your Target

The great thing about having a light on your gun in the dark is that anyone you are coming up on doesn’t know you have it. This means that if you see a potential target, you can blink your light on and temporarily blind and stun them.

This might not seem like much, but it can give you 1-2 seconds to act while your target is blind and confused. This could mean the difference between being able to safely stop a target and having to shoot them. Nobody wants to kill someone, even if they broke into your house. By stunning them you get the chance to disarm and subdue them, or at least see them and gain cover, protecting yourself.

Related: 5 Home Defense Gun Safety Tips

4. Weapon Safety

This one goes along with target allocation and accuracy, but is worth mentioning by itself. A light on your gun gives you an all-around level of weapon safety that when respected and used correctly, can help you be as safe and sure about using your gun as possible.

With a gun-mounted light you can see your target as well as everything around the target, so you don’t overshoot or miss and hit another person or unsafe item. If you’re outside investigating a possible break-in, you can use your light to make sure you don’t shoot near a fuel tank or at a neighbor’s house. This makes your firearm far more safe while giving you the ability to see where you’re going and what is around you.

5. No Chance of Dropping Your Light

The final tip in this list is important for when you fire your gun or see a threat. The shot of adrenaline that comes when you shoot your weapon or come across a threat can make you jump and overall scare you. This can easily cause you to drop your light, leaving you in the dark and open to attack.

By keeping your light attached to your gun, you lose the risk of dropping one or the other and the items you have to keep in your hands is reduced by half. Don’t underestimate the power of this, as when things get tough you want as few things to remember as possible.