A missing concept to deadly force

[Matt Landfair]

I discovered a question that seems to make people uncomfortable. These people must not be overly familiar with use of deadly force and actions leading to it. The intent of the question was to help people think about concepts that aren't discussed very often. The question is for the EDC citizen-

During a deadly force encounter, at what point do you activate your pistol mounted weaponlight?

PID isn't getting people's personal info, it's assessing if they are a valid threat.

PID optimally is done before your gun is drawn.

In low light, my handheld illuminates unknowns. If deadly force is justified, handheld stays in hand and on the threat. One handed shooting doesn't have to occur but it shouldn't be avoided. There are methods of shooting using a two handed grip and still using a handheld to illuminate the target. Being familiar with multiple ways of doing this is a good idea.

There are things we use and carry and without thinking know how they apply to our lives and when to use them - I guess weaponlights aren't one of those things even though so many feel compelled to carry them.

 

[Stanislao]

Because I live alone I'm fairly comfortable with searching my house using the weapon light. This would not be the case if anyone else was in the house.

None of this applies even on my porch, let alone around town. So... the weapon light is less useful if even present. My usual carry gun doesn't have a light, and the only time I could think of using it would be if I for some reason dropped my light while engaging someone in a poorly illuminated area. In that case it's not for PID, but maintaining view of a target.

In theory a weapon light can be used as a threat of force, almost like a bayonet. I'm not a fan of "deescalating" by displaying force, but again the rules are different in my house. Even so, I keep a good handheld either on me or next to the holster.

All that said, most of the sketchy situations I've been in have been during broad daylight, and the exceptions I've been able to flee/hide long before force was necessary.

 

[pointblank4445]

PID isn't getting people's personal info, it's assessing if they are a valid threat.

PID optimally is done before your gun is drawn.

In low light, my handheld illuminates unknowns. If deadly force is justified, handheld stays in hand and on the threat. One handed shooting doesn't have to occur but it shouldn't be avoided. There are methods of shooting using a two handed grip and still using a handheld to illuminate the target. Being familiar with multiple ways of doing this is a good idea.

A handheld can fulfill many roles that many incorrectly perform with a WML, and it does not come with the burden of achieving certain circumstances to use that the WML does. Though misused and over-valued by the EDC civilian, It would be remiss of me to ignore the delightful quote I learned from P&S...."It's not the odds, it's the stakes"

Re: The light techniques with a handheld and a pistol are all well and good.

Now when we come OFF the range and introduce factors where a hand must do things OTHER than a hand-held or a weapon, the pistol-mounted light AND the constant-on switch of a long-gun mounted light starts paying dividends. Working doors, working locks/keys, using a phone, collecting/managing those in your care, etc in the event that circumstances are met for the weapon to be drawn/present.

 

[SeñorPanda]

As a run-of-the-mill EDC civilian, my mission is to stay out of trouble and a handheld light is my no. 1 most useful piece of gear for accomplishing that mission. I shine it at all kinds of things, all the time, and not one of them has ended up being something I'd want my gun pointed at. Besides, it's kind of hard to mount an X300 to a J frame.

 

[Redcat]

I'll throw this out there even though it's mostly coming from a work perspective, not EDC. I have trained to activate my WML on every single presentation of pistol to target, regardless of ambient lighting, for a number of years. Doing so made it muscle memory. I specifically chose a Streamlight over a Surefire because it's easier to activate the constant-on of a TLR-1 HL with your trigger finger. Before my index finger goes to the trigger on presentation, it's flicking down on the TLR-1's switch to activate constant on. When I come off target to the low ready, or workspace, the light gets turned off by my trigger finger or my off-hand thumb.

I had an instructor earlier in my career who wasn't a fan of the WML because, in his words, he'd never seen a video of a shooting where a cop even thought to turn the light on when needed. I agreed with him that you will default to your most-trained response under stress, but I chose to make my most-trained response to be, to activate the light even if I didn't need it.

When I finally had to shoot, the WML was incredibly useful and important as an aiming device in close quarters. It also, although I had already "identified the threat", very clearly and fully illuminated the weapon in his hand for both the sake of my naked eyes and the surrounding cameras. Take it or leave it, but I'm alive to fight again and I immediately bought a TLR-7 sub for my 43x after that event. I hadn't thought it was important enough to be worth the encumbrance on CCW gun until then.

No further elaboration available.