What's the best place to mount a weapon light on an AR-15? With modern Picatinny / M-LOK® AR-15 handguards, you can put a light pretty much anywhere, says Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant. If your light is controlled by a tailcap switch, you'll want it on the side of the handguard closest to your support hand's thumb, so you can easily operate the switch. If your support hand is your left hand, put the light on the LEFT side. Shooters who support with their right hand will want the light on the RIGHT. But adding a VERTICAL grip reverses those rules. Confused? Caleb shows us how it works. A remote pressure-pad switch gives you a lot more flexibility in where the light goes because only the switch needs to be close to your support hand. If you're an ambidextrous shooter, put the pressure switch where it's easy to operate with EITHER support hand.
Mount the light far enough forward on the handguard so it doesn't interfere with where your support hand naturally falls when you grasp the rifle to shoot. If the light ends up just behind the muzzle, that's OK - unless your AR-15 has a muzzle brake. Putting the bell of the light too close to the brake can result in a charbroiled weapon light! The closer you can mount the light to the handguard, the better. It's less likely to snag on stuff or get bonked when you're handling the rifle. Midwest Industries has a low-profile M-LOK® mount that snugs the light neatly into the 1:00 position next to the Picatinny top rail.
