Why not just flip the light switch?

M

motorhead0922

New member
There is a lot of discussion here about flashlights, rail lights, night sights, etc. If you think there is an intruder actually in your house, why not just flip on the light switch before entering a room? It's way brighter. I know exactly where every switch in my house is and can reach in, sweep the switch on, and pull my hand back in a half second. Why not do it? Otherwise, carrying a flashlight around only lets the BG know exactly where you are as you approach his location.

Your thoughts?
 
Duh!

Duh! I hadn't thought of that.

That's not nearly as cool as having a flashlight attached to your gun.
 
If Im on the street there is no switch to flip.. I cant guarntee what the environment will or wont provide for me....

Now I understand some people also want them for the home which isnt the worst idea unless you have power that never goes out and there is no way you might ever be subject to a civil disturbance or natural disaster.

After hurricane Rita I had no power at all for 8 days and people were going wild.... The odds of needing a light might be low but better to have it an not need it than need it and not have it.
 
Lol. Well, a Cornershot would be the coolest:
CornerShot.gif


I figure the odds of having a simultaneous power outage and break in would be astronomical. Here we get tornadoes, but I've only lost power here twice in 20+ years, other than a momentary blip.

Out on the street it's a different story, but carrying with a rail light is something I'm not interested in. In any case use of a rail light often violates 2 of the 4 rules.

Identify, then aim.

I was just wondering what I was missing in my plan to carefully flip on the lights if I need to clear the house.
 
Flipping the light switch can give away your position, and you'd loose the element of surprise. Also, with a flashlight, it's possible to temporarily blind and distort the aggressor enough to subdue them and not have to fire a shot.
 
Suggest you place, neon night lights..

in inaccessible corner of rooms of yur house.

Then anyone is silhouetted as they travel the normal traffic pattern.

Don't clear your house, let the LEO's do it, hold a secure location to prevent ingress further and get the cavalry a-coming and keep talking to 911.

You don't know the number you are dealing with!

Have you put motion sensor door light on exterior, same with yard lights?
Direct those lights, so that you are not illuminated but they are silhouetted.

Then you get idea of where entry is from or attempted.
 
I figure the odds of having a simultaneous power outage and break in would be astronomical. Here we get tornadoes, but I've only lost power here twice in 20+ years, other than a momentary blip.
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I believe the opposite to be true.

Looting increases dramatically after a disaster when the power is out. So if the power goes out and there is general disarray limited police effectiveness than the chances of a break-in will go up.
 
With my Surefire in my non-shooting hand extended out and my pistol in my shooting hand it makes it much more difficult for a intruder to locate my vitals. They would most likely take aim around the flash light that is arms length away from my body. I do not advocate a weapon mounted light for home defense because you are directly behind the light. this technique should be practiced at the range and it doesn't take long to get decent at home defense distance. I don't have a light in my house that is as blinding as 200 focused lumens in your eyes. If I flip on a light switch we are both effected by the light.
 
Hand held lights are great and I for one believe you should have one in every room of your house. But if there is an intruder in my home I want no lights on until I locate him then I really want to light him up with as much light as possible, Ie. room light. Hopefully this will accomplish two things, startle them and (hope I never have to) if I shoot this will help cancel out any muzzle flash.
 
Massad Ayoob gives a lecture on this topic. He has his place rigged, and recommends that others rig their places, so that he has a master lighting panel in the bedroom. He can turn on lights at will, without physically entering a room, while he keeps his defensive area dark.

This assumes power is available, of course.

Flashlights will always have potential uses.

I would not be so keen on flipping the switch on a room I was entering. It would illuminate me, and impact my night vision.

I think most instructors recommend use of the flashlight intermittently, so as not to give one's position away so much. Quick shot of the beam to scan the area (and ideally blur the BG's vision if he's there), then light out until the next check.
 
Massad Ayoob gives a lecture on this topic. He has his place rigged, and recommends that others rig their places, so that he has a master lighting panel in the bedroom. He can turn on lights at will, without physically entering a room, while he keeps his defensive area dark.
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I have night vision cameras all over the place with a monitor in the bedroom. There are kids all around the house too. So staying in the bedroom is not really an option.
 
Depending on your home's layout, you might develop a plan where everybody falls back to a particular spot. You could make the defensive point one of the kids' bedrooms. You could set up the place so that to get to the kids' bedrooms, somebody has to pass your chokepoint.

Some homes are just not laid out that well...

Place we're buying has a nice stairwell chokepoint. If I have a guest in the downstairs bedroom, that could put a kink in the plan. Otherwise, the stairwell becomes the "funnel of death," to use the term the house-clearing instructors used...
 
Good comments, everyone. Keep them coming.

Aiming a flashlight while aiming a gun sounds tricky in a very stressful situation, and it's not something I have tried. Gives me another reason to go to the range! :D
 
Get up in the middle of the night, get out of bed and flip the light switch. What happens to YOUR vision?

You are blinded and cannot see anything for a short while, that is why you don't flip the light switch. /thread
 
A lot of light switches unfortunately highlight the defender right at a "funnel of death" as switches are located at doorways and the beginning/end of hallways. Switch locations usually seem to give control to someone entering from the front door also. Convenient for most occasions, so if a house is used or a stock configuration that's what you're dealing with unless you tweak it.
 
I was just wondering what I was missing in my plan to carefully flip on the lights if I need to clear the house.
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This goes against the "shoot them in the dark without clearly identifying them first" strategy followed by many here in T&T.
 
Just a note - to clarify a little more: in order to use a light switch in the dark you must pause at an entrance to a room and "click!". From what i understand the entrance to rooms are the places you do not want to linger. Part of the whole"funnel of death" idea is that you create a nice picture frame around yourself that visually says "look over here and shoot in the center and you'll get me" And thinking of my own home : how many light switches do i have that would set off a bulb right above me while leaving adjacent areas dark? Contrast that with: How many do i have that would light up a room I am currently NOT in but want to enter?

The one time i would have less hesitation in using the lights is if I'm pretty sure the intruder is struggling with a door still. But I think catching someone in the very beginning of the breaking and entering process is less likely if this is waking me up from deep sleep. I'm not so sure i'd want to walk right up to the door they're working on either. Wishful thinking would have the break in attempt while i was still awake and alert and my eyes not accustom to darkness - which would favor turning on more lights if it could be done "safely"
 
"I figure the odds of having a simultaneous power outage and break in would be astronomical."
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Actually, the opposite may be true. During a major power disruption, such as during a hurricane, tornado, etc. Civil society can break down. Hurricane Katrina was an excellent and prolonged example, but the same happens during short-term widespread power outages.

... "Extended loss of power can lead to civil disorder, as in the New York City blackout of 1977." ... Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_man-made_disasters

It is good to train with a flashlight even if one's preference is to turn on lights.
 
There are a lot of modern eletronic devices out there to help with home security. Motion dectors are constantly talked about for outside. Why not for inside also. Rooms that light up if someone is walking around in them do two things: 1) let you know exactly where the problem is, 2) keeps the light behind the intruder and in front of you. A audible alarm can also be incorporated into such a motion activated system.

With home remote monitoring systems cameras can even be placed to scan each lit room from the computer you keep in your bedroom to monitor your security system.

http://connectedplanetonline.com/broadband/marketing/att_remote_video_102606/
 
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