At the shoot last Friday we did some close range shooting in low light/no light as the sun went down. At one point I shot Justin’s Mossberg 590 shotgun with a Surefire flashlight like this one mounted up front by my left hand. I was using my left thumb to press the tailcap switch, which keeps the light on temporarily. As soon as you release pressure from the switch the light goes off.
So I keep my thumb on the lightswitch, light up the target, pull the trigger and … OWIE! It sure hurts when 12 gauge recoil kicks the light back into your extended thumb. After that I rotated the tailcap switch to the constant-on position so I wouldn’t beat up my thumb.
Leaving your light on all the time isn’t ideal. You don’t want the light on all the time, because then you’re lighting up the area around you and giving the other guy a target to shoot at in the dark. On the other hand, using your thumb for temporary on hurts (see above) and anyway having to keep a thumb on the light switch means you have a weak grip on the shotgun.
It seems like the ideal lightswitch for that sort of thing would be more like the one on my Surefire Defender. You can half-press the button for temporary on, or press it on all the way for constant on. To turn it off just click it again, which is easier than rotating a tailcap.
(Question for people who use the Surefires with the rotating tailcap. Can you turn the tailcap switch on and off with one finger? I didn’t think to try it at the time.)
You could always use a remote switch. I had bad luck with the one remote switch I tried, but it was a cheapie TacStar model. Fool on me for cheaping out.
Surefire also makes a replacement shotgun foreend with a built-in light switches. Downside is that it costs $350 and adds a pound to the front of the gun. I’ve handled a shotgun with one and it seemed like it threw off the balance, but I admit I’ve never fired a shotgun with that set up.
P.S. SayUncle writes about the low-light shoot:
Everyone should do that. A few notes: lasers help. Crimson Trace laser grips are great for low-light shooting and night shooting. When shooting an AR with a light mounted, I can get off two rounds before the combination of smoke from the gun and the flashlight almost completely blur the target. I learned a lot shooting at night.
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Hi, Les, I think this is the kind of discovery that makes it essential for us to try out our kit exactly like we might be called upon to use it. For example, I tried the “Rogers-SureFire” technique (the G2Z light held in support hand, mated to stock) with my Glock for quite a while but could never secure grip on the gun that would remain after the first shot. So, I finally fastened a Streamlight TLR-1 on the rail of my Gen III Glock 17 and bought a Safariland paddle holster that would accommodate the whole light and weapon combo. Now, the support hand is freed up and I won’t fumble with the SureFire in the wee hours of the morning.
Glad you benefited from the low light / night practice and thanks for sharing this.
Mike
I cannot say as though I have ever done no-/low-light shooting with my shotty, but I can definitely say that the “tactical clicky” on the back of my 6PD makes using it on the slide a lot easier… Not having to hold it down constantly while shooting/operating the firearm makes life a lot easier, and affords you the option for momentary lighting if you need it.
Likewise, I would suggest a flip-up red filter for your Surefire – they make official ones, and I am sure there are knockoffs. Greatly reduces output, but also makes it more useful when your eyes are already adjusted.
Try running a Surefire X200 or X300 mounted on a piece of rail.
try running a pressure switch, i think wolf eyes flashlights come with them, they have 260 lumens and 2 hour burn time