In 2019 weapon lights are mandatory....convince me otherwise

[LockedBreech]

My use case is non-LE. About two years ago I went from WML on the nightstand gun to a uniform set of non-WMLs (Surefire 6PX Tacticals) on my nightstand, in my car, and when I conceal carry.

I have generally found it a change for the better. I find a good light handy pretty frequently. I also prefer how my guns handle without them.

That being said, for many years a G17 (G4 and G5) with TLR-1HL was my nightstand gun and I practiced with it as such. Was quite happy with that. I also have 92A1 with X300U-B that is just a wonderfully cool setup.

So I suppose I'm in the "no WML, but I don't feel that strongly about it, just works for me right now" camp.

[sigsag1]

sigsag1;
First, lasers do not work the way they're advertised. Unless you have a really solid index, they're very hard to acquire when drawing, and you end up fishing around for the dot when you should already have your sights acquired. In recoil, you will almost always lose sight of the laser when is shoots way up. In theory you can see the laser in awkward angles, but good luck with that. Red dots allow you to rapidly acquire the dot when drawing/aiming, and in recoil. Consider getting your pistol milled for a red dot and mount one. Cheap lasers are available for $50, get one and try it on your gun for a range visit or two before shelling out for a light/laser combo for a couple hundred.

Third, worrying about stand off for keeping your pistol in battery for contact shots is well into the realm of fantasy. Of the number of shootings in the US each year, I'm sure vanishingly few of them involve contact shots. If you're concerned about these, work on shooting techniques to keep the gun away from assailants. These techniques have broader uses in weapon retention.

Thanks John, good idea on getting a cheaper laser just to try out first. It does seem like lasers are pretty niche, and googling around, I couldn't find a single case of a (positive) CCW use using a laser. I did find a lawyers blog post that mentions when he defends clients who used lasers on their pistols - the prosecutors argument that lasers are a tool to threaten and intimidate. Which definitely doesn't help the defense.

I use lasers on guns that have terrible sights. Examples would be a Ruger LCP or a S&W 638. The laser is a massive boon to being able to hit at speed with those guns.

I don't have lasers on guns that have useful sights as I've not found them to really add any practical benefit to the use of those pistols.

As for novices, I don't find that lasers present significant benefit unless they have vision issues to the point where they can't see a useful sight picture. All most novices really need is a more effective model for the use of iron sights and the worries about that tend to disappear.

Great points TC. I think I'll go with the X300 for now, and maybe a cheap laser to just experiment with, if only for training purposes. In a real-life defensive scenario probably too much going on to even think about messing with the laser.

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Thanks to everyone for chiming in, always good to get a different point of view.