There are numerous types of weapon lights available. Each one has its advantages, depending on the situation. Before buying a weapon light, ensure it’s the right kind for your needs. 

Whether you’re an avid hunter or like to spend time in the woods during hunting season, having a reliable weapon light is essential for staying safe when hunting at night.

These compact and affordable pieces of kit provide illumination to help you see in low-light conditions and reduce the risk of misfiring due to poor visibility.

That being said, many different types of weapon lights are available, so it can be tricky to know which is best suited to your needs. To help you find the suitable weapon lights that you need, here are some of the most common types of weapon lights available.

The Three Types of Weapon Lights

Three types of weapon lights are currently available: handheld-type weapon lights, rifle-mounted weapon lights, and pistol-mounted weapon lights. They have different applications depending on the situation and what you need.

The Handheld Weapon Lights

Hunting or law enforcement duties always require you to keep a flashlight in your toolbox, especially in the dark, where you can’t see your target clearly when you can’t simply pull out your firearms and shoot anything that moves. 

A high-output handheld light may penetrate darkness as the first line of defense without endangering a brandishing charge. Handheld lights are frequently just unmounted rifle lights. Invest in a portable light if you can only have one. With the right training, you may utilize a handheld light alongside a weapon to achieve performance comparable to that of a specialized weapon light.

The Rifle Mounted Weapon Lights

It is highly recommended that every personal defense carbine be fitted with rifle-mounted lights, particularly those intended for home defense, which typically use CR123 or 18650 batteries to provide the highest brightness level.

You often have a few alternatives when putting a light on a rifle, allowing you to place the flashlight in a more comfortable position. Excellent offset mounts are a specialty of Arisaka Defense, Magpul, and BCM. In the end, the optimal light mount will rely on your handguard, the mounting capabilities of your light, and your preferences.

Several lights use the Surefire Scout-style mounting method. The Surefire mounting mechanism is used with lights from Modlite, Arisaka, and SureFire. Additionally, you can utilize the same tape switches because they both have compatible tail caps. However, the Unity TAPS is excellent if you need a rugged dual control for IR devices. SureFire tape switches have become the industry standard.

The Pistol Lights

Similar to their bigger rifle-mounted cousins, pistol-mounted weapon lights serve the same purpose. However, pistol lights must be small enough to fit in a holster. The more popular pistol lights from SureFire, Inforce, and the majority of holster manufacturers can now fit Streamlight.

Due to the small size of pistol lights, many employ an ambidextrous wing switch that slides along the sides of the trigger guard. With the aid of either their trigger finger or support hand, the user can control the activation thanks to its design.

Some pistol lights come with an extra red or infrared laser. A valuable tool for night vision work is an IR laser. For close-range point shooting, the visible red laser is helpful, but it’s crucial to keep in mind that red lasers can expose your position as a flashlight can.

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