Why not just flip the light switch?

BRobt., I don't have any kids at home. If there's anybody in my house in the dark, I didn't invite them. A non-problem here.
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I wouldn't be so sure. One of the stories told to me by an elderly shooter was one where he heard someone in his house. So he forted up in his bedroom and called the police. Someone comes to his bedroom door and it his neighbor checking on him because he saw someone over there and then saw the door to the house open. Luckily he announced his entrance well enough that the guy heard it.

However, my main point earlier was that a flashlight has multiple uses and that moving through your house is not the same as fighting in low-light.
 
Bartholomew Roberts said:
However, my main point earlier was that a flashlight has multiple uses and that moving through your house is not the same as fighting in low-light.
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Exactly. This is the Tactics and Training sub-forum and the ideas and personal preferences expressed by some posters in this thread are ill informed and not sound tactics.

Correctly using a hand held, or weapon mounted light for night time home defense is an important and potentially life saving skill.

I prefer a weapon mounted light, my 12 gauge, which is my primary HD weapon has a light mounted. Unfortunately none of my present handguns have rails. With no rail I prefer the Harries Hold, as pictured below, but there are several other methods. Also below is a link to the various methods and overview of how the flashlight should be properly used.

Harries Hold
jsw_hb_7-291x188.jpg


Handgun Flashlight Techniques
 
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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?
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Do you know the difference between cover and concealment?

Once you reach around and flip the light on, you're going to be hiding behind that "bulletproof" drywall?
 
Tactical light

I have a weapon mounted light on my handgun. It is VERY bright, if someone is in the dark and I light them up they won't be focusing on anything real soon. It also has the ability to strobe which is even more disorienting. I like that I have one convenient package, I can have a free hand should I need it. As for not giving the BG a light as a target, my guess is if he is trying to shoot into a bright light, he's using un-aimed fire. Holding the light off to the side (which feels awkward for me ) he might hit you anyway.
I would not be moving through my house with the light on and would only turn the light on to identify a possible target.
 
It is VERY bright, if someone is in the dark and I light them up they won't be focusing on anything real soon.
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Are you going to light up the center of the room, the left or the right first?

How do you know exactly where the bad guy is and where he's looking so you can shine it in his eyes before you turn on your light?
 
Tactical light

I keep a low wattage light on in the living room, my house is not pitch black. There is enough light anywhere in the house to see if there is a person there. The tac light would be to identify that person. I figure about 1/2 second for me to decide to shoot or not. If I don't know that person I will shoot until there is no more threat.
 
I'm a big believer in passive security when it comes to home invasions. An alarm system with a deafening siren, motion activated lights, re-enforced door frames and decent locks, 3 strong dogs...

If you can get through all that without breaking a sweat then you're part of a trained hit team and we're probably screwed.

If, as is more likely, you're Jethrow, Cleetus, and Billy Bob drunk and high on meth - you're going to announce your presence well ahead of time.

:rolleyes:
 
Dog

I have an old Labrador retriever. He won't bite but he'll bark. I really don't think anyone is getting inside the house without me knowing about it.
 
Properly positioned night lights are the key for me, . . . I can see anyone, . . . anywhere in my house, . . . silhouetted most of the time, . . .

Also, I, like others, . . . can go through my house in the pitch dark, . . . anyone else will be banging shins, making noise, causin a ruckus, . . . most of the time including my wife, . . . :p

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Night time intruders aside.


I wonder how many people don't realize how well trained they are to hit that switch?

Wait till the next power outage and count the number of times you reach for a light switch when you know there is no electricity.
 
. . . silhouetted most of the time
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If I don't know that person I will shoot until there is no more threat.
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Uh huh. Some people here seem to think that just confirming that somebody you don't know is in your house it 'good enough'. It's not. Sure, you can see in the dark. Can you see well enough to positively identify whether s/he is holding a gun, or a TV remote? Taking someone's life just for being in your house is generally frowned upon.
 
Depends on where you live. Some states have no problems with you opening fire on someone in your own house if they don't belong.
 
Depends on where you live. Some states have no problems with you opening fire on someone in your own house if they don't belong.
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Missouri castle law lets me use deadly force on an intruder. If you break into my house and I'm home, be prepared to have several hot pieces of metal coming at you at a very high velocity. I'm sure most states allow for use of deadly force to protect yourself in your own home. If I lived in a state that didn't allow it so be it, but the intruder still gets shot.
 
Had to wake some people up one night because their duplex was on fire. Didn't know them. Happy nobody shot me...
 
Something tells me when you went to wake people up during an apartment fire you weren't sneaking around their apartment quietly all ninja-like.
 
I see some have clearly stated that they would perforate anyone in their home, uninvited, citing the laws allowing them to do so.

That is an easy thing to type.

Now imagine that someone is in your home: you see a silhouette, fire 3 rounds of your .45 at centre of mass and he/she goes down. Dead. You acted legally but later find out that there was a perfectly inoccuous reason for his/her being there.
Perhaps not justified or logical, but benign and explainable. Say, out of state locksmith got back home to his/her friend's place late from a night on the town: got the wrong house, wrong floor etc...

Before anyone states that this "would never happen", saying that there is no conceivable reason for someone being in your home with neither an invite nor criminal intent is like sayin that there is no chance of you having an AD/ND because you practice the 4 rules.

My point is that if you do imagine feeling remorse at killing someone who made a mistake and meant you no harm, perhaps it is wise to apply rule number 4 and identify the target as hostile first...

I can well imagine that I would feel pretty devasted till the end of my days.

Food for thought.
 
Lots of incidents out there of homeowners killing family or friends who had quietly entered a home at night because they didn't want to wake the homeowner, and the homeowner didn't bother to identify them before shooting.

It's pretty obvious by the posts that very few people here have had any type of night fire training or even practiced shooting at night.
 
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