Affordable Weaponlight Setup

One of the rules of gun safety is to always be sure of your target and what is behind it. Since most defensive uses of firearms occur at night, it follows that a good weaponlight is important. For those who can legally own a handgun, a flashlight in one hand and gun in the other works fine. For those limited to long arms, however, a compromise must be made.

Most long arms cannot (or should not) be fired one-handed. Thus, a light attached to the weapon is a good way to insure good control of the firearm and illuminate potential threats. Hey, you may say, doesn't this violate the other rule of gun safety? The one where you never point your muzzle at anything you don't intend to kill or destroy? Yes. It is not ideal. That's why disciplined trigger control, another rule, is vital. Keep your finger off the trigger completely until you're ready to fire. With an attached weapon light, your light and your muzzle are generally parallel. A headlamp may be the best option of all, allowing you to light up your target without covering it with your muzzle, but this may not always be realistic in an emergency.

So, with the caveat that the use of a weaponlight is a safety compromise, let me add that many of the best lights are quite expensive. Some feature a pressure pad activator on a coiled wire that's well-suited for someone with a semi-auto but could be obtrusive for those relying on the home defense standard, the pump shotgun.

A simple, fairly inexpensive setup I recommend would be this: an ATI magazine clamp, which can be found for $15 shipped on eBay, and a Brinkmann Maxfire LX, going for roughly the same (don't pay the MSRP). The clamp is simply a two-ended clamp with one end attaching to your barrel or tube magazine and the other end holding your flashlight. The Maxfire is a cheap version of the Surefire G2 with a click on and off instead of a twist. These are somewhat difficult to find but, again, eBay's a good source, with WalMart and Target apparently carrying them on occasion, too.

Prior to discovering the Maxfire, I tried a Mini Maglite 2AA flashlight with an LED and tailcap switch conversion. This gives you a more recoil resistant bulb and an easy-t0-activate switch, but the light is just too little for this purpose. Though the Maxfire is not quite as bright as a SureFire, it is close and will actually accept the same lamp assembly as many of the SureFire models.

If you've found other affordable solutions, whether weaponlights or other shooting gear, let me know!