10/23/2025
The importance of the handheld flashlight over the weapon-mounted light (WML).
This morning I was rudely awakened by a loud crash somewhere in the house. I grabbed a handheld flashlight and my G***k 19L with a WML already attached.
The #1 best method of seeing through darkness in your own home is turning on the overhead lights, but sometimes that means moving through darkness to a light switch.
As I moved toward the hall and hallway light switch I searched first down the hall with the handheld and the light landed on a pair of legs.
I recognized them immediately as my oldest son’s. He had been awakened by the same noise and also came to investigate.
By searching first with a handheld and not with the WML I was able to completely avoid pointing a firearm anywhere in his general vicinity.
I conducted the search of my home without ever turning on the WML, using instead my household lights and, where appropriate, the handheld flashlight.
A WML can be a valuable tool in many contexts, but when guns have lights attached to them, the temptation can be strong to treat a firearm like a flashlight rather than a firearm.
While there are safer ways to use WML in searching, you’re far better off using handhelds or overhead lights to mitigate the risk of mishandling a firearm and pointing it at something you wouldn’t want to shoot—especially if you’re also foggy from being pulled out of sleep.
I never did figure out what made the noise, but to quote my son (after he playfully mocked me at breakfast for my sleepy household search), it was nice knowing everyone in the house was safe and protected… especially from me and my own response by using the correct tool and technique for the job.
-Melody
