One of the blogs I regularly read is Women's Outdoor News. I am a firm believer that more women need to be exposed to firearms and shooting activities, and by all means carry one for personal self defense. That said I can not get my wife to participate at all. Every time I go to the range when she is around, I invite her to go, but she always declines. She has her Kommiecticut pistol permit, but she is reactive not proactive. It will take her getting assaulted and robbed or carjacked to finally consider carrying a firearm. Anyway I found this post from the other day interesting and dropped a comment that got a positive reaction from the author Michelle Cerino. Read my comment for the little reminder saying I came up with for remembering where to aim when closer or farther than the set aim point. It got me thinking about my own laser equipped pistol.
I have a Streamlight TLR-4 laser/flashlight combo. It was mounted on my Colt Government Series 70 1911 with a Recover Tactical grip/rail system. I also have the Recover Tactical active retention holster that locks onto the grip/rail system and accommodates the TLR-4. It has been just sitting in the safe set up that way unused for a long time. My home defense firearm on the nightstand is my Glock 21 Gen 3, a spare mag, and my SureFire E2D Defender flashlight. I went with this combo years ago when my daughter still lived at home. The thinking was, not to go searching for the source of noises in the dark with a gun mounted flashlight because what if it was my daughter coming in late? Pointing a gun to light up and identify someone I would not want to shoot to me was a bad idea. Those days are over. My wife is in bed with me, the dogs sleep secured in our room, so anyone/anything causing "bumps in the night" are unwelcome visitors that probably need to be covered with my gun muzzle. I decided to go ahead and move the Streamlight TLR-4 to the Glock. Both guns were removed from storage, ensured they were cleared, and had a bright yellow chamber flag inserted in the chamber. I then pulled out the storage box containing the spare mounting parts for the TLR-4 and rubber Pachmyr 1911 grip. I took everything down to my basement gun bench to do the swap. There was no ammo or magazines involved or anywhere near the area I was working. I did have my Ruger SR9c in a holster on my hip because I am always armed after all.
I started with the Colt. Using my Wheeler 89-piece gunsmith screwdriver set, the TLR-4 was removed using the curved large bit designed for Redfield scopes and set aside. You're supposed to use a coin not a screwdriver, but this bit fits perfectly like a quarter in the slot without slipping or marring. I switched to a hex head bit to remove the grip screws, then a smaller one to disassemble the nuts and bolts on the trigger guard and rail. The nuts and bolts were put back into the rail and trigger guard for safe keeping. The gun was disassembled and lightly lubed, then wiped down with a silicone infused cloth. The rubber Pachmyr wrap-around grip was put on the gun as it once was. The gun was checked again to ensure it was cleared, function tested, a chamber flag placed in the open action, and it was set aside.
Turning my attention to the Glock, I had to change the rail adapter per the instructions for the TLR-4 from "B" for the Colt, to "C" for all Glocks with a rail. You have to remove the TLR-4 retainer bolt completely to change the adapter. It is held in place by an "e clip" so it can't come all the way out and get lost. I then mounted it securely on the Glock. Knowing where the gun hits, I adjusted the aiming set screw for elevation only. The windage was right on. The bullet strike and laser point are set to coincide for the seven yard mark. I will make a trip to the range soon to verify and tweak if necessary, but it should be fine for close quarter defense inside my home. Here is the finished setup.
I don't yet have a holster that will accommodate this setup, but for now with warmer weather, I won't be carrying this gun anytime soon. My favorite supplier On Your 6 Designs does not have a version of their kydex holster for this combination. I could send them the TLR-4 and have them make it up, but I would prefer to find one already made. If anyone has a suggestion, leave it in the comments.
