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Joseph von Benedikt

Recommended Nightstand Guns – Part 2: Revolvers

Nightstand guns: Revolvers.

Not a lot of revolvers make what I consider great nightstand or full-blown, apocalyptic-scenario sidearms. Those that do are double-actions in .357 Magnum caliber, with 4- to 6-inch barrels. Much as I love the bigger .44 and .41 magnums, they are just too hard for the average shooter to shoot well and shoot quickly. Good medium-size, steel-frame revolvers in .357 Magnum are powerful, easy enough to shoot even with full-house loads, accurate, and reliable. Here are a few of the best.

Ruger GP100

Ruger GP100Overbuilt for pure durability, the GP100 will take as many full-pressure magnum loads as you care to feed it without issue. One of the heavier mid-size double-action revolvers, it’s easy to shoot because that weight tames recoil. Triggers can be heavy and sometimes a bit rough—if you purchase one and the trigger doesn’t smooth up within 500 rounds or so, you may want to consider having a professional trigger job done.

Capacity is six rounds, and weight is a hefty 40 ounces. Like most revolvers, GP100s don’t have a light rail, so pair it with a good tactical flashlight. Though suggested retail for the blued model is nearly $700, and the stainless model tops $750, street price is usually much lower. It’s a lot of gun for the money.

Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus

Nightstand guns: Revolvers.There are those who would disagree, but I consider the S&W 686 Plus to be arguably the single most versatile, ergonomic .357 Magnum revolver available. The dead-reliable actions are smooth, trigger pull is crisp and clean, and they are typically very accurate. Add to that the “plus” feature—an additional round in the cylinder, making it a seven-shooter—and you’ve got a fantastic all-around double-action revolver.

All 686 models are constructed of stainless steel, and are robust and durable enough to pound nails with and then go outshoot your buddies at the local bowling pin revolver match. Weight of the 4-inch model is just over 38 ounces. Paired with a good tactical flashlight, it will serve yeoman’s duty on your nightstand. They aren’t cheap: suggested retail price is $849. The only double-action revolver that could possibly be better is its suped-up, combat-configured sibling, the S&W M&P R8.

Smith & Wesson Model M&P R8

Smith & Wesson M&PThis is a state-of-the-art fighting revolver, and much as I love the slightly smaller L-framed model 686, the N-frame, eight-shot double-action M&P R8 is a better personal-protection gun. The “R8” designation indicates characteristics vital to its superiority: a light rail machined into the barrel shroud, and eight-round capacity.

Designed from the ground up for duty carry and combat, the eight-shot cylinder is cut for moon clips (which allow shooters to reload very quickly), but functions just fine with loose rounds too, courtesy of the rimmed design of the .357 cartridge. Built on a scandium alloy frame with a stainless cylinder, the M&P R8 is light—only 36 ounces— and is completely finished in matte-black.

I once ran a series of rather challenging tests on an M&P R8, and it performed impressively in every department. One of the most memorable was the series of 100-yard groups I fired with a handgun scope mounted; they measured between 3.5 and 5.0 inches with a variety of ammo—very good accuracy indeed.

Pushing the high $1,200s, it’s not cheap, but it will be accurate, smooth, and tough. Get a handful of moon clips for it, learn to use them, pair it with a good light such as SureFire’s X400, and you’ll have one of the most unstoppable nightstand and SHTF guns anywhere.

Colt Python

Nightstand-Guns-11Known for extraordinary shootability and ultra-smooth actions, the Colt Python is a fighting revolver with history and panache. Built like a Swiss watch, Pythons are a pure joy to shoot, and typically prove both reliable and accurate.

The Python has two Achilles’ heels. The first is the flat mainspring, which gives it its legendary smooth action but is more prone to breakage than the coil springs in competing designs. The second is an unfortunate byproduct of time: Pythons haven’t been made for many years; most are coveted and protected to the point where they are not shot much any more, and as a result, gunsmiths adept at tuning, timing, and repairing them are becoming few in number.

If you drive a classic convertible, carry a pocket watch, and smoke a pipe, your only real choice (aside from a vintage Colt 1911 semi-auto) is a Colt Python. They cost, but they bring refinement and charisma to the defensive revolver world.

Part 1 covered the best semi-auto choices for the nightstand.

Recommended Nightstand Guns – Part 1

Glock G17: Most full-size handguns make good nightstand guns. It’s hard to go wrong with any hand-filling, reliable pistol that accepts a weapon light.
Glock G17: Most full-size handguns make good nightstand guns. It’s hard to go wrong with any hand-filling, reliable pistol that accepts a weapon light.

The author explains his thought process in choosing the best nightstand guns for home defense. In Part 1, he reaches for semi-auto pistols.

Glock G19 and G17

The Glock 19.
The Glock 19.

Many are the handgun models that have stood night guard beside my bed, but the one currently drafted into service is a Gen 4 Glock G17.

Why that one? Because it’s easy for me to shoot rapidly and accurately, because it holds 17 rounds in its magazine, and because my Surefire X300 light fits it beautifully. Among other reasons.

My preference is the 9mm G17, with a 17-round capacity, closely followed by the G19, with a 15-round capacity and a slightly shorter frame. I don’t get warm fuzzies over the .40 S&W cartridge; personally, I consider it less than a .45 in power and less than a 9mm in capacity—thus, a hybrid that attempts to fill the function of both yet fails to match either. However, it is a good cartridge, and for admirers of the .40 S&W, the G22 is really hard to beat.

I don’t recommend messing around much modifying a Glock. The reason they have such a stellar reputation for reliability is that the factory design and parts work, and work every time. The only two mods that I occasionally suggest are to fit a Ghost aftermarket trigger with a lighter pull and an overtravel stop and to replace the plastic factory sights with metal ones, preferably night sights with tritium inserts.

Finally, Glocks are a very good value when you go to exchange your hard-earned dollars for a personal protection tool. Standard models, new, bring around $550 to $580; guns in good used condition can be had for around $400.

Smith & Wesson M&P

Smith & Wesson M&P9
Smith & Wesson M&P9

The full-size M&P (Military & Police) semi-auto is arguably the most ergonomic polymer-framed pistol ever designed.

That’s a pretty lofty statement, but it’s well founded. M&Ps are extraordinarily comfortable in the hand, and they come with three different-size grip inserts to finesse the grip size until it is just perfect for the owner’s hand. The grip angle is the result of intensive research on the natural angle of the human fist in relation to the arm, resulting in a pistol that points itself as naturally as granny’s naughty-finger when you’re caught with your hand in the cookie jar. The grip itself is very high in relation to the axis of the bore, minimizing muzzle jump and enabling the shooter to control recoil well.

In addition to being engineered for absolute reliability under the most adverse conditions imaginable, Smith & Wesson’s M&P semi-autos have two unusual features. First, the fire controls are ambidextrous (dual slide-catches, magazine release button is reversable), making this one of the best possible choices for left-hand shooters. That feature can save a right-hand shooter’s bacon, too, should their shooting hand be injured, or occupied fending off an attacker. The second feature is the fact that M&P semi-autos can be purchased with or without a thumb safety, which—if present—is located in a classic 1911-esque position.

Many versions exist in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP, offering various sights, barrel lengths, colors and so on, and all of them have a light rail on the dust cover in front of the trigger guard. Speaking specifically of the full-size models, you can’t go wrong with any of the variations. Prices are comparable to Glocks; new M&Ps can be had for $560 to $700, depending on bells and whistles, and good used versions can be purchased for around $400.

Springfield XDm

Springfield XDm.
Springfield XDm.

A refinement of the very popular XD pistol, the “M” version is sleeker and perhaps a bit lighter, depending on variation. I like how it looks better, too. Made in Croatia, these semi-autos have gained a huge following courtesy of good prices and solid performance. Personally, as with most polymer, double-stack pistol designs, I much prefer the full-size models to the compact and subcompact models.

All XDs have trigger-shoe-type safeties, which prevent the pistol from firing unless the trigger is pressed rearward. Additionally—and my favorite feature of the XD series—they have a 1911-type grip safety. In essence, the gun can’t fire until it is firmly grasped by the shooter’s hand. Theoretically, this means that the shooter has control of the firearm before it can fire.

The only technical nitpick I can make is that the axis of the bore is—as polymer pistols go—somewhat high above the grip, making for a design with more muzzle jump than others.
While I like the 9mm (with it’s outstanding 19-plus-1 capacity) and .40 S&W versions, I particularly like the .45 ACP version with it’s 13-plus-1 capacity. It’s one of the better-feeling high-capacity .45s I’ve fired. Price runs around $550, depending on accessories.

Ruger SR9 & SR40

Ruger SR9.
Ruger SR9.

Retailing at $529, with a street price of under $500, the Ruger SR9 is probably the least-expensive polymer-frame pistol that—in my opinion—really makes the “depend your life on it” grade.
Technically, it’s a striker-fired pistol engineered for reliability and good recoil control. The axis of the bore is low against the hand, helping maximize muzzle control during rapid fire.

Containing 17-plus-1 cartridges, it offers ergonomic concessions such as a reversible backstrap and ambidextrous safety and magazine release. Endurance tests by abusive gunwriters have proved it robust and capable. While it’s available in .40 S&W and .45 ACP, my preference is 9mm.

SIG Sauer P226 & P229

SIG P226.
SIG P226.

This handgun takes us from the realm of polymer frame pistols to that of metal frames. In my opinion, no polymer-framed handgun ever has or ever will balance as well as a good metal-framed model, and SIG’s P226 is one of the most ergonomic of them all. Its sibling model, the P229, has a slightly shorter barrel, but it is an excellent pistol too.

Of double/single action design, these SIG pistols employ a decocker for safe carry. Translation: When a cartridge is chambered by working the slide, the external hammer is left cocked; pulling down on a lever on the left of the slide, about where a typical manual thumb safety would be located, drops the hammer without firing the cartridge. If the pistol should be needed in a hurry, a long, heavy double-action (both cocks and then fires—thus “double” action) trigger pull will cock the hammer and fire the pistol. Every shot thereafter will be single-action, since the slide leaves the hammer cocked after kicking out the spent cartridge case and chambering a fresh round. If the shooter ceases shooting before the magazine is empty, pulling on the decocker will lower the hammer to the safe position again.

I can’t stress enough what a quality pistol SIG builds, as long as you stay with the metal-framed versions. I’m not partial to the company’s polymer-frame guns. This isn't to say that they’re bad, it’s just that the metal-frame guns are so good.

Capacity is 15-plus-1 rounds for the P226, 13-plus-1 for the P229, and price starts just under $1,000. That said, street price is usually considerably lower. Optional night sights are available, and highly recommended.

SIG Sauer P220

SIG P220.
SIG P220.

Imagine a big brother to the SIG P226 with a single-stack magazine in .45 ACP, and you’ve got the P220. Of very ergonomic, shootable design, and carrying 8-plus-1 cartridges, the P220 is in my opinion second only to the classic 1911 in .45-caliber pistol design; indeed, it offers a couple of features that many shooters prefer, such as the decocker, easier disassembly, and so on.
It’s a full-size fighting pistol. In other words, unless you’ve the stature of an NFL player, don’t bother attempting to stash it away out of sight on your person. Price starts around $993 and runs up from there depending on options.

Model 1911 (various makes)

Without a doubt the most popular, legendary semi-auto of all time, the 1911 is also the longest-lived.

Why is it so well loved? In short, it’s incredibly ergonomic, is easy to manipulate while under stress, and is very robust and reliable. 1911 handguns made in recent decades tend to be very accurate, too.

Remington 1911 R1
Remington 1911 R1

Many sizes of the 1911 exist, from little 3-inch-barreled compact models up to 6-inch long-slide versions, in calibers from .22 Long Rifle to .45 ACP and even bigger. For personal protection purposes, my recommendation is to stick with a full-size, steel-frame model in .45 ACP. It’s what Browning designed, and it’s the most balanced of the lot in mechanical function.

Alloy-frame models are popular among folks intending to carry a 1911 concealed, and they make a good option, as do “Commander” versions, with a 4-inch barrel. My favorite 1911 carry gun is just that, an alloy-framed Commander with a rounded butt, in .45 ACP. However, for a proper nightstand or full-on disaster-handling gun, the full-size, steel-framed versions tame recoil better and offer the utmost in reliability.

Most experts agree that not only is the .45 ACP the most reliable cartridge in the 1911, it makes the most sense. If you’re set on shooting a 9mm or .40 S&W, get something with a double-stack magazine. (There are adaptations of the 1911 that accept double-stack magazines—some of them very good—but at its best, the 1911 is a single-stack design.)

One perceived drawback for a dedicated nightstand gun is the lack of a light-mounting rail on most 1911s. If it concerns you, get one with a rail—they are available from most major manufacturers. Otherwise, just learn to pair it with a good hand-held tactical flashlight, which is what I do.

Part 2 covers top revolver choices for the nightstand.

Carry Guns: Semi-automatic vs. Revolver

Revolvers are less susceptible to dirty, adverse conditions than are semiautos. If your time is spent in the outdoors, and you prefer a low-maintenance approach to your gear, you’re likely best served with a revolver.
Revolvers are less susceptible to dirty, adverse conditions than are semi-autos. If your time is spent in the outdoors, and you prefer a low-maintenance approach to your gear, you’re likely best served with a revolver.

Revolvers and semi-automatics are very different beasts, though both are capable personal protection arms. The key to solving the semi-automatic vs. revolver debacle is knowing the differences and choosing what best fits your environment and needs.

With practice, a revolver can be reloaded quickly via the use of a Speedloader.
With practice, a revolver can be reloaded quickly
via the use of a Speedloader.

Semi-automatic handguns are typically the better choice for suburban and in-home use and, when cared for and kept clean, are the flavor of the day in what I’ll term combat zones—whether an Afghanistan outpost, a disaster area overrun by consequence-free crime, or an apocalyptic end-of-days scenario.

Revolvers, on the other hand, are the better option when sand, dust, and involuntary neglect add up to an environment that may challenge a semi-auto’s reliability. They are just more reliable in very dirty conditions. Also, revolvers tend to be chambered for more powerful cartridges—sometimes much more powerful—than semi-autos. While this is an advantage in the backcountry or around livestock and heavy predators, it’s a disadvantage in an urban neighborhood composed of thin walls and sleeping children.

Can the two vastly different handgun types cross over in usefulness? Absolutely. However, each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Revolvers

Since revolvers don’t depend on harnessing the energy of a cartridge to function, like semi-autos do, there’s just one less thing to go wrong. Squib loads, dud primers, a tight cartridge too stubborn to chamber easily—none of these affect revolvers. Additionally, since human muscle works a revolver’s action, bits of sand, lint, dust, or fouling that would choke a semi-auto can be overcome by, well, a little more muscle. Just ear that hammer back and let fly.

As mentioned earlier, the magnum cartridges frequently chambered in revolvers can offer quite an advantage for rural use, too. They provide more downrange reach, more downrange energy, and typically a great deal more penetration—important when scraping an enterprising black bear out of the bacon griddle next to your tent, or trying to kill a wigged-out saddle horse that’s running like a banshee while you bounce along the cactus-covered ground with your boot stuck in the stirrup.

Revolvers are slower to reload. With practice and a good speedloader (a device that holds the bases of a cylinder-worth of cartridges, and drops them into the open cylinder of a double-action revolver at the twist of a knob) or moon clip (a spring steel device that holds a cylinder-full of cartridges, and goes into and out of the gun with them), a good revolver man can get back into action pretty quickly. But, speedloaders and moon clips are awkward to carry, and it takes good training to achieve speed and surety. Single-action revolvers are even slower. Much slower.

On the plus side, your revolver will never turn into a one-shooter because you misplace your magazines. And if you’ve got a little survivalist in your nature, you’ll appreciate the fact that empty cartridge brass is easy to collect—just dump it into your pocket after ejecting it. With care, you’ll never loose a piece, and you never have to hunt for little sparkly brass bits flung indiscriminately away by your greedy semi-auto.

Some revolvers are cut for moon clips such as those shown here. With practice a good shooter can reload as quickly as a semiauto shooter. But moon clips are awkward to carry.
Some revolvers are cut for moon clips such as those shown here. With practice a good shooter can reload as quickly as a semi-auto shooter. But moon clips are awkward to carry.

Revolvers have the appealing virtue of simplicity. Neophyte shooters intuitively grasp how they function, and the lack of slides, slide stops, magazine releases, decockers, and safeties of various flavors is attractive. Many women opt to carry a compact revolver for that winsome simplicity, frequently compounded by the fact that petite women sometimes struggle to pull back a semi-auto pistol’s slide in order to chamber a cartridge.

As I see it, the revolver has only a few drawbacks as a prime personal protection sidearm. They have limited capacity, they are slow to reload, and the cartridges for which they are chambered are often overpowered for city and in-home use.

The first two drawbacks are what they are, and shooters opting for a revolver should plan on spending time practicing reloading in order to even the odds a bit. The over-power issue, on the other hand, can be turned to the owner’s benefit by choosing ammunition with hollow-point projectiles designed for dramatic expansion, in a light-for-caliber weight. The effect is two-fold: With less mass, projectiles will penetrate less, and the large, on-impact expansion will slow bullets down, dumping more energy into the bad guy and reducing the chance of a pass-through that could potentially endanger family members or neighbors.

It boils down to this: With the correct ammunition and some quality practice-time manipulating the gun, a revolver will do anything you’ll ever need it to.

Semi-automatics

Semiautos are often the best choice for personal and home protection. Just be sure you get one you can operate comfortably—many shooters with low hand strength struggle to function the slide of a big semiauto, especially under stress.
Semi-autos are often the best choice for personal and home protection. Just be sure you get one you can operate comfortably—many shooters with low hand strength struggle to function the slide of a big semi-auto, especially under stress.

As far and away the most popular type of sidearm for personal protection, the semi-auto’s primary attractions are high capacity and excellent rapid-fire capability. With correct maintenance and quality ammunition, good semi-autos are very reliable, too.

I grew up carrying a revolver while working cattle in Southwestern desert country. None of the guys I knew owned a semi-auto because prevailing opinion was that they couldn’t cut the mustard in the country and conditions in which we worked. I’ve since learned differently—a good semi-auto can take an awful lot of abuse and still function reliably.

When I first started carrying a semi-auto (a Colt Gold Cup 1911 in .45 ACP) it wasn’t for high capacity, it was for the rapid-fire characteristic. The Colt didn’t really offer much in the way of additional round count—my surplus G.I. magazines were seven-rounders. Heck, my single-action .44-40s held six. But I couldn’t shoot a single-action as quickly as a semi-auto, and though I could hose rounds downrange pretty quickly out of a double-action, I couldn’t shoot it fast nearly as accurately as my 1911.

Speed is one of the most important advantages that a semi-auto offers the average person. Sure, there are revolver shooters who can shoot faster and more accurately than 99 percent of the semi-auto shooters out there, but the reality is that, for most folks, semi-autos are a little easier to shoot fast than revolvers.

Throw in high capacity, and you’ve got a very supportable argument that the semi-auto makes a better personal protection gun than does a revolver. Truth is, most of today’s popular designs hold more cartridges than a wheelgun—usually a lot more. Even a modern magazine in a .45-caliber 1911 holds eight rounds, plus one in the chamber. That’s a total of nine, for a 50-percent increase on the capacity of most revolvers. Throw in high-capacity guns, such as Glock’s G17, Smith & Wesson’s M&P9, and Springfield’s XD(m), all of which contain 17+1 to 19+1 rounds in the magazine, and you’ve got three times the capacity of a revolver. Three times! Add a couple of easy-to-carry magazines in innocent-looking belt sheaths, and you can comfortably carry over 50 rounds on your person.

You can argue that, in most of today’s typical defensive encounters, you shouldn’t need even a tenth that number. You’d be right. However, what about that non-typical encounter? Or—admit it, we all think about it—an end-of-days scenario? There are a lot of situations in which it would be mighty comforting to have 50-plus rounds available.

Semi-autos do have some drawbacks. They are clean freaks. They are also picky about subpar ammo. Whereas a revolver will accept anything that fits properly into a cylinder chamber and will dutifully fire it downrange, a semi-auto must have cartridges with the correct bullet nose geometry for reliable feeding, enough propellant to fully function the slide but not so much that it batters the internal mechanics, correct case length for proper headspacing… all this within spec so that it flows into the chamber and out again without hanging up in a gun powered purely by energy harnessed from the explosion of the cartridge itself. Looked at from an informed, objective position, that’s a lot to ask. It’s a marvel than so many semi-autos are the reliability champs that they are.

Most semiautos are clean freaks. Treat them with care, and they will always take care of you.
Most semi-autos are clean freaks. Treat them with care, and they will always take care of you.

The very magazines that provide high-capacity firepower can—if lost or damaged—cripple a semi-auto and, in essence, turn it into a single-shot. Or worse, incapacitate it completely if it’s one of the models with a magazine disconnect safety that prevents it from firing unless a magazine is inserted. These days, we take magazines pretty lightly, as most of us have a spare or several. But in the early days of semi-autos, folks considered the potential more gravely. Many early models—especially those of European design—didn’t allow magazines to fall freely when released; this influence extended up through the first-generation Glocks.

Limited energy and penetration are another characteristic of shots fired from most semi-auto handguns. In many scenarios, limited penetration is an advantage. A 9mm hollow-point projectile is much less likely to penetrate through walls than a classic soft-point .357 Magnum projectile. But it does limit a semi-auto’s suitability for certain tasks. I know of two Alaskan bear guides who carry semi-auto .45 ACP pistols for backup. What tomfoolery. Even the more powerful revolver calibers (until you get to the obscenely powerful .500 S&W Magnum) are unsuitable for stopping a bear with uncivilized intentions, let alone a semi-auto with very limited penetration and (in bear terms) not nearly enough energy on impact.

However, we’re discussing personal protection firearms here, and none of the above semi-auto drawbacks really apply. Shoot quality ammunition, and purchase plenty of magazines and keep track of them diligently. As long as you attend to those two details, a good semi-auto makes more sense than a revolver most of the time.

What to Look for in a Home-Defense Handgun

home-defense

Plenty of ink is spilled over choosing the right revolver or pistol for concealed carry, the same is not true for home-defense handguns. But there are important design features and attributes that should be taken into consideration when searching for the right gun to defend hearth and home.

Handguns that pull night duty are vastly varied. Most gun owners just use whatever they have or whatever they’re most comfortable shooting. Those are both good reasons to use what you use, but the truth of the matter is, there are characteristics that make some handguns more suitable than others.

Those characteristics can be defined as the attributes that make for an honestly capable combat handgun. Attributes that will help you deal with whatever threats you may face when that bump in the night tells you that it’s time to patrol the home front. Whether you end up facing a single assailant with deadly intent or a civilization-wide state of emergency caused by foreign invasion, you want that one handgun to be the most capable, versatile tool possible.

Full Size
Full size is what allows a proper combat-capable handgun to be all it can be. Hand-filling grips aid recoil control and enhance rapid-fire capability. Generous magazine wells (the inside part of the grip that houses the magazine) provide room for high capacity magazines. Longer barrels offer accuracy-enhancing sight radius and aid velocity, which translates into more downrange energy and thus better projectile impact performance. And so on.

Controllable
Several things tame recoil, weight and grip design among the most important. Weight is the most effective, but a gun can get cumbersome if it’s too heavy. You want a gun that is light enough to carry. I particularly like polymer-frame high capacity semiautos in the lighter calibers (9mm and .40 S&W), because they provide a good balance of an adequate cartridge that kicks comparatively little, plenty of rounds, and quite light weight. I’m also partial to a good metal-frame .45 ACP—the weight in the metal frame dampens recoil and aids quick follow-up shots—but they are heavier. An alloy-frame .45 ACP is a good compromise for a full-size gun that will be carried a lot.

Reliable
In full-size semiautomatic handguns of reasonably good design, it could accurately be said that almost all malfunctions are caused by one of two things: poor ammunition or faulty magazines. Assuming you use correct, high-quality ammunition, consistent malfunctions can usually be remedied simply by discarding the magazine or magazines causing the problem, and replacing them with top-quality mags. (I’m not ignoring revolvers in this section, it’s just that they don’t suffer from bad magazines.) Other, less common causes are neglect, where the owner overlooks the need to clean and/or lubricate his or her firearm. A good, thorough cleaning and oiling works wonders on tired, abused semiautos.

Accurate
Contrary to popular opinion, short, compact handguns aren’t necessarily less accurate than their full-size counterparts. Rather, they are simply harder for humans to shoot accurately. Locked in a machine, many compact guns shoot very accurately. Locked in a fist, full-size guns do much better. Why? Two primary reasons. First, a full-size gun fills the hands better, making it easier to hold steady. Second, it has a longer sight radius (the distance between front and rear sights), making it much easier to achieve a consistent sight picture.

Light Rails
I used to mentally scoff at the concept of attaching a flashlight to the bottom of my handgun, but I kept my contempt to myself in case that attitude might eventually prove me an idiot. Good thing, too: I’ve grown into the realization that anyone who does not do all he can to have illumination—very, very powerful illumination—available during a potential nighttime encounter with a person of deadly intent is foolish indeed.

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt of the book Firearms for Personal Protection.

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