[igor]

A fascinating topic, and the depth of discussion on the level that brings one back here. Kudos to all involved!

A viable take on the theme would be to acknowledge the weapon-mounted light to be a valuable addition to the arsenal of the well-tempered pistolero, but IMHO always secondary to a separate, primary light operated with the weak hand.

I'd like to argue that the weapon-mounted light should only be lit when actually firing the weapon, whereas the primary light should be used for everything else up to that point, and afterwards.

There should be a selection of techniques for using the primary light at the operator's disposal. The principle should mostly be to aim to distract any potential threats in the vicinity while gathering information - flash, register what was there while already changing position, angle and disposition. The pistol would be held strong-hand only in positions varying from a compressed readiness position close to the shooter's rib cage or chin level, out to an almost ready-to-shoot position where the weapon is only slightly lowered from sight picture index so as to avoid the Rule 3 violation and to optimally avoid obscuring one's field of view with it.

The primary light could be deployed in a belt holster or ring at first, but for a subsequent presentation it should already be hand-held and its deployment orientation varied. A small flashlight could very well have a wrist lanyard but a large baton-type torch not. The assumption is that if an imminent threat is identified, the primary light may be discarded as the weapon is deployed, using the weapon-mounted light and probably going for a two-handed firing grip. The lanyard on a small tactical light will allow for falling back to the primary for further scanning for threats as the smoke clears, always flashing instantly and changing position and orientation immediately.

There are many assumptions these thoughts are based on, which may not be unambiguous. Please point out any obvious flaws in this thinking!