Operator’s Choice #2: Weapon Light

We’ve all heard it; You can’t hit what you can’t see. Sounds catchy, but it’s not true. You can put a lucky round in a fleeting, backlit target before you can accurately identify it. How do you know it’s not a friendly? Better to flood a shadowy recess with a momentary blaze of light to look for bad guys. Superbright rail-mounted LEDs with remote switches allow rapid identification of a target without affecting your weapon grip or readiness.

What they said: “During close-quarters battle, most buildings will have limited visibility inside, even during the day. A white-light illuminator, combined with the proper training, allows the war fighter the ability to maneuver on the enemy and rapidly engage the threats accurately. The white light illuminator should be mounted on a weapon with a pressure pad or momentary type switch allowing the operator to activate the light only when necessary without changing his normal grip on the weapon.”

Operator Favorite: Surefire M600C Scout Light ($425)
The Scout Light is the lightest (3.5 oz) and most compact rail-mount light available in its brightness range. It’s a simple, single-brightness LED light that will light up a target at 150 meters while still providing good peripheral light. It runs on two CR123s for two hours, which is typically a few weeks downrange. Surefire’s modular system of heads and bodies means you can replace the KX2C LED head for an incandescent head if you need white light with the capability to use an IR filter.

Also mentioned: Surefire G2 ($40)
The inexpensive polymer-body light can be weapon-mounted with a separate rail mount and is compatible with many Surefire heads and switches.