To rail or not to rail?

[DA_TriggR4Ruger]

Well, I'm purchasing a handgun pretty soon. This particaular one has several variants offering models with and without accessory rails. I recently owned a railed version and really liked the gun. My Dad owns a non-railed version and I really like that one too.

What is the general consensus about accessory rails. (WITHOUT GOING INTO the long mall ninja thread) that this question may inspire. LoL

I'm leaning towards the non-railed version... NOTE: If I want to add a laser, CTC as well as several other models are available for this unit...

Looking more for personal opinions and experiences with this (sharing of knowledge)

 

[Clovishound]

I seriously doubt anything will ever be added to my rail. I might play around with a laser at the range, if a friend lends me his just to see what it's like. I cannot see me purchasing one and actually leaving it on the weapon.


YMMV

 

[Quarterbore]

It really depends on what you want the gun for. I am a pretty big Glock fan I like them for their durability, ease of maintance, and reliability. I upgraded all of our Glocks (except 1 G-26) to newer models with the rails. I have a G-19, pair of G-17s, and a pair of G-21s for disclosure.

Now, where this matters is at night and I never want to have to fight in the dark where I do not have enough light to see and fire at an opponent. I train with a handheld as well as the weapon mounted lights but in a home defense situation I would have both on and in use. I never want to fight in the dark where I may not be able to see as well as I want!

I have a pair of Glock 21s, both have 2-color nights sights, lasermax lasers, and Surefire weapon lights mounted. One stays by the bed at night the other is where I can grab it quickly downstairs.

The other Glocks I don't normally keep lights on but I can mount one if needed and I do have extra older lights that would work fine if I needed my newest one on the G-21s. None of my other handguns have rails (1911s, S&W Autoloaders, Rugers, etc) as I only feel I need them with my primary self defense guns and those are my Glocks. I would never buy another Glock without the rail however!

 

[Rei40c]

I put a laser on mine last month. I should start by saying in my opinion the great thing about the SR's is they can be just about anything you want em to be, home gun, range gun, concealed carry, even all of them in one and you can't say that for a lot of pistols.

Well, I put the laser on and it suddenly became one thing only.- A range gun. I wouldn't even call it an ideal home gun anymore because of how quickly the batteries went dead. I could not holster it anymore, conceal it in a pants pocket because of the added bulk, or even stick it in the waistband anymore because the exposed laser switch would activate and run dead or nearly dead before you even knew it was on.

I ended up taking the laser off and returning it after only a few days, I had other problems with the laser itself which made the decision easier.

In short I really wanted to make it work with the laser, it simply did not, for me. Like Clovis said if I ever buy another it will be when I own a second gun thats used for fun at the range. Currently its my only one and I'm not willing to gimp it in other roles, as cool as I think the laser is.

 

[oldiron1]

Why wouldn't you want a rail?

With a rail, you can mount all kinds of pointless goodies on them that if nothing else, make for really fun discussion with your buddies!

(Like my pistol bayonet!)

 

[Rei40c]

Sweet! You should practice throwing it at targets like a dagger or throwing star in case of jams or if you run empty to be honest.

 

[freedomcosts]

Considering the rail will not be a problem if you decide NOT to get a flash- or laser light for the pistol, I would get the model with one. It won't hurt having it, but if you decide later you wanta add a flask light or laser- you can't unless you have the rail.

 

[eveled]

I say go for the rail.......unless we are talking about a1911 then NO! Just my $.02

 

[ILikeRugers2]

Having a light on my home defense hand gun brings a lot of peace of mind. I've investigated some weird sounds around the place at night, and having the light was great. That said, I carry a completely different rig when out on the town. What do you plan on using the new gun for most of the time?

 

[edgalang]

...
What is the general consensus about accessory rails.
...
Looking more for personal opinions and experiences with this (sharing of knowledge)

I have an SR9c. I USED to think a rail was required when researching for my 1st pistol. Now that I have it, I'm having 2nd thoughts.

Why?

I originally had a compact laser but decided a light is more important for HD, so I swaped it out. I later experienced that going to the range and shooting with your light attached isnt a great idea since carbon deposits will eventually coat the lens. Now I swap the light on and off everytime I go to the range, however if I keep the light on I can't use my holster.

 

[Quarterbore]

There are plenty of good holsters for hanguns with their lights attached. A good test, if you can find a place to do it, is set up targets in a relatively dark situation and then try to engage them without some type of lights. They try it again with lights. I don't target shoot with lights attached either, but I do train with them occasionally and yea you have to clean them when you clean the gun.

Like I said before, I use both a handheld light and a weapon mounted light.

That is an older picture as I have upgraded to the Surefire x300. I still have the M3LED weapon light however and I think that is currectly mounted my 870.

Take a training class that teaches night shooting and self defense! A handheld light works great too and certainly it is a safer option BUT two lights are always better then one if your life depends on it!

Anyways, this works for me!

 

[freedomcosts]

I have a fflashlight on my bedside gun, want a laser for it and my carry gun. I want a rear-sight laser for the carry-gun, cause I paid too much for holsters to have any other. The bedside gun rarely gets carried, so holster is of no consequence.

 

[blume357]

My humble opinion... get one with a rail or not... your choice but I absolutely believe that putting a light on a gun is a very bad idea... i know lots of folks do... but it violates one of the cardinal safety rules... and I don't care what folks with flash lights on their guns say... it just seems like a very bad and dangerous idea... the only one I saw recently here that seemed to be practical was a 10/22 with a light for taking out night predators on a farm.

 

[freedomcosts]

Guess you mean you end up pointing the gun wherever the light shines- there are ways to prevent that, like pointing the gun slightly off-target, using the wider part of the light beam- guess nothing is perfect, but seeing what you're aiming at can't always be bad...especially if you sweep the room, then use the wide part to see who it is.

 

[Quarterbore]

Just remember, just because you CAN mount the light on a weapon doesn't mean it has to be mounted on the rail! Also, there could be a time you need to be on the phone (with 911) or herding kids and in that time having the light mounted on your weapon allows you to have that free hand.

The best answer is get both a rail mounted light and a hand held, or at least that was the best answer for me... I hope I never have to prove I am equiped to fight at night but if I need to prove it I am confident in my training and gear such that I sure wouldn't want to be tring to enter my home after killing the breakers as I can stack a lot of boddies before I would run out of bullets or light to see what I am shooting!

 

[blume357]

Here's the deal, on two occasions in my life I have been scared to the point where I did not recognize the person that jumped out in front of me.... they looked like a total stranger to me for about 5 or 10 seconds...

if something goes bump in the night you need to have time to access the situation and maybe a second will save you, then again it could save someone else.

 

[DaGrinch]

I see this as pretty much the same as the thread whether or not to have a weapon light http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=145297

and I'll reiterate pretty much what I said there....

I had a light on a SIG for a couple of years in my previous employment. Loved it. BUT! Only used it for the job, not HD. One of the cardinal sins is to sweep across someone you have NO intention of pulling the trigger on. Imagine having a light on your weapon, hearing a noise and upon checking it out, you shine the light on your teenage son who just raided the fridge. Yeah, you just pointed a loaded weapon at your son. And don't think you can't pull the trigger on someone you know. Being startled, people pull triggers when they don't intend to. Happens more than you can imagine. Had it happen to one of our guys on the job. Fortunately, no one got hurt, but it was a reaction. There's a name for that reaction and I can't think of it right now.

Hopefully, your weapon won't be used for HD, because accidents DO happen. Use the rail for a laser or light, but use that weapon for anything but HD.

 

[DA_TriggR4Ruger]

My biggest concern about using a light on a hundgun is the possibility of giving your position away to an intruder. You have lost you element of surprise in a dark location.

On the other hand if you use it right, you can blind an intruder, I suppose each version has its merits.

 

[Quarterbore]

My biggest concern about using a light on a hundgun is the possibility of giving your position away to an intruder. You have lost you element of surprise in a dark location.

On the other hand if you use it right, you can blind an intruder, I suppose each version has its merits.

Here again, weapon lights have switches designed to be used while the light is on the gun. I can turn mine on or off without taking my trigger finger off the trigger if needed. Just because you have a light doesn't mean you have to use it BUT if you don't have the light you have no choice but not use it. Personally, and I have made that clear enough already, I like having the choice.

as an aside, my brother and his family went through a home invasion many years ago now. The FIRST thing these thugs did was kill the main breaker so there was no power in the house. Two armed men then proceeded up stairs and long story made shorter my brother got shot and mi sister in law got tossed from a car on the highway when they made their get-a-way. My SIL has perminant disabilities and may never be able to return to work while my brother recovered fully.

MORE DETAILS -> http://www.home-invasion.com/showthread.php?t=2

My home is my fortress and I train to fight and I fight to win. My tools to defend my home have been carefully selected and they are not necessarily the best but I have absolute confidence they will give me the edge I need if I ever need to use them in anger.