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What is a candela? What are lumens and how many lumens are ideal for my application? Or what all modes do flashlights have and what are they for? You can read all this and more in our guide to the world of flashlights in the category of gun flashlights.

Effective range of pistol flashlights

As it has already been written, pistol flashlights have a relatively high power considering their size, but again their range is not so great. However, this is not a disadvantage, because with pistols we will not be shooting at long distances. In short, these lights are sized mainly for fighting in buildings typically CQB. The manufacturers know very well that rifles are used for long distances, not pistols. Therefore, the beam of light has a larger dispersion to cover as much space as possible, such as a room or corridor.

Pistol flashlight control

When selecting a flashlight, we highly recommend that you test your chosen model not only in your hand, but also try to put the flashlight on the pistol.
Each flashlight has a different design for the way it mounts on the gun and the controls. The key to a flashlight is comfortable and quick operation.
The operation of a pistol flashlight depends on its model, but most operate on a similar principle. 
The most common are rocker/lever, push-button, rotary or a combination of these switches.

• Rocker switch (lever) - located at the rear and allows momentary (temporary) switching on when pressed or permanent switching on by switching to a fixed position. We often find two of these levers on a flashlight and each has a different function. 
• Push button switch - some flashlight models have a classic button (push button) on the back or side that must be held for momentary illumination. Or switch the mod.
• Rotary switch - especially on tactical flashlights, allows you to choose between light, strobe and off mode.

But usually all types of flashlights can switch between fixed light, strobe, pressure light. If you are looking for a suitable flashlight for the so-called LOW LIGHT, we recommend those that can light up when pressed and go off immediately when the lever/button is released.

Each control is specific and it may happen that after putting it on the pistol we will not be able to operate the flashlight comfortably (in other words, the controls will be too much in the front and we will not be able to reach them).

Pistol flashlight mounting on pistols

The next aspect is the actual attachment to the gun. As already written, we can encounter both universal mounts and optional mounting plates, designed for specific models. For most guns, the 1913 designation is used, but for glock-based pistols, a special plate with the glock designation is used. If an improper mounting plate is used, the flashlight may not stay firmly on the gun and the flashlight may detach spontaneously and fall off.

Which airsoft gun flashlight manufacturer to choose?

Again, as with rifle flashlights, the best manufacturer of gun flashlights is generally considered to be Fenix, which makes flashlights for edged weapons. Therefore, Fenix produces very durable and high quality flashlights, but the price tag of these lights corresponds accordingly.
Another very durable manufacturer is Vector Optic, which has its flashlights also adapted for sharp weapons, so they are very oversized for airsoft.
The most popular flashlights lately for airsoft are the flashlights from WADSN, which offers many models of both flashlights and accessories. WADSN flashlights and accessories are also used by the majority of the Actionshop team, so they are tested by us and we can recommend them for airsoft with a clear conscience.