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High-Tech Flashlights Sell As Defensive Tools

Shooting Industry, Sept, 2000 by Massad Ayoob

People didn't buy flashlights at gun shops when I was a kid, because gun shops didn't sell flashlights. Hardware stores did. Things are different now.

Admittedly, you won't get much of the "we need a flashlight in case the power goes out" trade. Those who come to you are mostly those looking for a tool they can coordinate with a firearm in a defensive situation. That flashlight might go by the bed or in the car. It might go on the belt or on the gun.

Your customer wants it to be compact, brilliantly powerful, and ergonomically easy to handle. If you've got the right product, he's willing to pay the price.

Target The Market

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The first flashlights that seemed at home on a gun shop shelf were the old Kel-Lites. These were the first of the "black police flashlights." MagLite later took over and defined the market. For a while, folks bought their MagLites at gun shops. Then Wal-Mart and the other mass-merchandisers got hold of it. The same was true of the wonderful little Mini-Mag flashlight from the same company.

Yet, you'll notice most gun shops have a few MagLites and especially Mini-MagLites on hand. They sell steadily in a couple of different ways. One is the impulse, add-on purchase. The other is the person who's buying gifts for the non-gun people on his shopping list -- he'd rather pay a buck or two extra and purchase those gifts at a gun shop. There are more of these than you might think. A lot of your customers who are Second Amendment activists get a bit of pleasure knowing that the birthday present they bought for their anti-gun brother-in-law came from a gun shop.

(A brief aside here. Have any of you tried attracting business with a sign that says, "Buy one of our knives, flashlights or multi-tools for the anti-gun people on your gift list. Buying it here will make you feel good!"? Give it a try and let me know what reaction you get.)

Today's Hot Sellers

The flashlights that sell in gun shops today are high-tech stuff. SureFire, Wilcox Industries, Insights Technologies and Tac-Star are probably the four biggest sellers. All are excellent. If you're going to carry just one brand, look into SureFire (Laser Products Inc.), because they cover the widest waterfront.

The most popular of the SureFire products is the splendid little 6P. Mitch Rosen created a market for belt pouches that carried this flashlight and a spare pistol magazine with his SOS (Speir Off Side) designed by gun expert Dean Speir. Widely copied in the holster industry, displaying the unit will help guarantee addon sales of flashlights.

The 6P flashlight provides roughly the light output of a big "police flashlight" (and will exceed that of the older styles of Kel-Lites and MagLites). Many customers buy one as soon as they've handled it and played its beam on an object. Many more will buy it if you can show them a way they can carry it with them all the time. Shortly after the 6P came out, I designed a horizontal belt carrier for it that hides in plain sight near the belt buckle. I sell a ton of them. You can get them through Blade-Tech.

A flashlight attached to the gun makes good sense. You can order flashlights from the above-listed companies to attach to any auto pistol that has an accessory rail and from SureFire for ordinary 191 is, Berettas, as well as for long guns.

Powerful Defense

The customer will ask, "Why a flashlight?" Remind him that it identifies the target before he fires. The person most likely to be in his home without his permission is often a member of his extended family to whom he has given a key. For intruders intent on doing wrong, the light blinds the threatening opponent. The old comment, "they'll shoot at your flashlight" comes from the days of two-cell hardware store flashlights. The SureFire's blazing, focused light hitting the eyes tends to snap the opponent's head away.

Don't neglect the most powerful models. I rank SureFire's Millennium very high. It's too big to carry with me all the time but I made sure my daughter had one at hand on Y2K night when Dad was out working for the police department. Her mom had at bedside, as usual, the splendid SureFire 12Z model. For home defense, compactness is not a big issue and the 12Z model does a good imitation of an airfield landing light.

One good bet is the neat little SureFire Defender D-2. It's small enough for constant carry with many wardrobes, comes with an attaching clip and was high enough in "coolness factor" that it received this year's Specialty Product of the Year award from the prestigious Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence. Need one say more?

Making The Sale

Lights that attach to a gun are expensive so your customer needs to know the benefits. Primarily, it's there, ready for duty. When you grab the gun, you've automatically got your identification and blinding tool in place. This is why I have a SureFire light attached to the Beretta I customarily keep at bedside. It's why SWAT cops have them on most of their MP5 submachineguns.

The powerful flashlights are the ones that will sell best for you. This doesn't mean you shouldn't market the little ones. Give each of your salespeople a MiniMagLite to wear daily. They'll find that if they stick it lens-down in their hip pocket next to their wallet, the wallet will hold it in position and it won't get in the way of taking the wallet out unless they're wearing the tightest jeans. Every day or so, they'll be looking for something small that fell under the counter and they'll be glad they had the MiniMag. They'll have anecdotes about that to tell the customers, who will suddenly perceive a real need to buy one.

High-Tech Flashlights Sell As Defensive Tools

Shooting Industry, Sept, 2000 by Massad Ayoob

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