Long Guns & Handheld Lights
A dedicated light mounted on the patrol rifle or shotgun you use at work (or on the same tools you use for home defense) is ideal. My work shotgun had a dedicated SureFire light by 1996. I mounted another Surefire light to my patrol rifle within a year or two. That said, there are times a handheld light will end up being used in conjunction with the long gun in your hands. Why? I’d venture [...]
Capability or Size? What’s Best For Pistol-Mounted Lights
Observations can be an interesting thing to consider. What catches your eye and – at least as importantly – why did it? In theory, it’d be an excellent discussion around a fire pit. But here is this week’s effort on an observation I had over two days at the Utah [...]
Two Days at SHOT Show 2026
While a few attendees might still be stuck in Las Vegas because of Winter Storm Fern, SHOT Show 2026 is done and in the books. Last week’s article HERE looked at things that caught my eye during the Law Enforcement / Military range day. This event was hosted by the [...]
Streamlight’s New Pistol Light – TLR-1 HL-X
In 2025 Streamlight released updated versions of their flagship pistol light – the TLR-1. One of these is the HL-X model. Essentially, better output and performance through a deeper reflector while being optimized for Streamlight’s own brand of rechargeable batteries. There are at least two more features that will come [...]
Pistol Light Switchology
With the recent release of another full-size pistol-mounted light, the topic of Switchology for those lights has come up again. Now, to be transparent, I was a little late adopting a pistol-mounted light. I put my first one on a duty gun in 1999. A Surefire 6-volt Classic on a [...]
Carbon Mitigation From Dark Matter Concepts
Cleaning carbon and other crud off the lens of your weapon-mounted light (WML) is a pain in the fourth point of contact (your backside). Aside from not having a light on your firearm – which is contraindicated in certain environments – your options are cleaning it regularly or preventing the [...]
Streamlight’s Wedge
There is a need for tactical equipment. And then there is a need for practical equipment. By that, I mean necessary gear that does not scream "tactical," but gives you (or someone you care about) the capability to work through an unplanned but foreseeable event. One of those items is [...]
Illuminating Tactics: Searching With A Weapon-Mounted Light
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of law enforcement agencies equipping or authorizing weapon-mounted lights (WMLs) on duty handguns, rifles, and shotguns. As technology advances, these lights have become more compact and powerful, making them a valuable addition to the law enforcement officer's standard [...]
Princeton Tec’s Charge-X — A Multi-Fuel Helmet Light
The Charge X® from Princeton Tec is a new helmet light that offers exceptional versatility and adaptability, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. Its utility extends beyond the tactical, although that's what it was primarily designed for. One of its standout features is its dual-fuel capability, which [...]
From One To The Next — Some Handheld Light Techniques
We are far more likely to use and need a hand-held flashlight than we are a pistol-mounted light. Never mind lights mounted on shotguns and carbines. Those are for another discussion. Before we get into the meat of the discussion, there are two things to address. First, none of these [...]
Candela & Lumens
Role “2: a function or part performed especially in a particular operation or process.” It's safe to say that "we" – the whole community of uniformed personnel and decent, normal humans who want to be prepared – have never been better off in terms of the availability of lights for [...]