Gun mounted lights for Home Defense

[Mudcat]

I would not use a light in my own home as I feel it would give away my position and take away what home field advantage I feel as though I have. I know my home better than an intruder would. If an intruder would see me coming through my home with a flashlight poinjting at different places all he would have to do is stay down until he seen the light point to a different direction and he would stand a 99% chance that I would be looking away from him where the light was pointed. he could then rise up and take a shot at me while I am marked by the light and looking away.
My house is fairly open and does not get real dark do to some low level lights left on at night. I know where the potential hiding places are too.
That is my thought on home defense lights in my home. Now if I had to go out to the barn it may be a different story.

 

[WOLFEMAN]

I'm pretty basic, in my home, I feel I know it better than
the bad guy, even in the dark. That's an advantage to me.
A light or laser makes me an easy target.

 

[Steve MI]

I would not use a light in my own home as I feel it would give away my position and take away what home field advantage I feel as though I have. I know my home better than an intruder would. If an intruder would see me coming through my home with a flashlight poinjting at different places all he would have to do is stay down until he seen the light point to a different direction and he would stand a 99% chance that I would be looking away from him where the light was pointed. he could then rise up and take a shot at me while I am marked by the light and looking away.
My house is fairly open and does not get real dark do to some low level lights left on at night. I know where the potential hiding places are too.
That is my thought on home defense lights in my home. Now if I had to go out to the barn it may be a different story.

even if you know yoru own home it means little since they have all ready made entry and are there. and now know your home as well. again buy saying that he would see th elight coming is clue that you may have not had training on the use of lights. you dont run them on all the time... or your laser many how say these things havent really trained in there proper use to the Plus side of them vs the con side. light goes off and on in random pluses or even not at all until need for postive ID eyes light and weapon travel together. all dark holes and spots have threats.


while yo may know your home, which is good well now the BG know knows it as well he may see a upper lever and stairs Ok odds are you are up there sleeping. or now awake. he controls that level and its approach unless it s hard angle etc.....

I had a chance years back to talk to a metric ton of home invaders. about various internet talk and tactics and such..(they read these things too guys trust me). they all stated pretty much once they saw the layout they had one person watching the hallways for the home owners stair wells and or overall could hear when and where people were in the house.

lights and laser with improper use make you an easy target. not proper use.

 

[TFin04]

That video was just an example, we've done it with brighter lights. That was the only video I have of it.

My point, is that relying on a light to blind your attacker, is bad practice. Just like we can't expect them to immediately stop from good hits, we have to understand that determined attackers (or hopped up on something) WILL still fight through a lot of stuff that are usually game enders.

Use a light for target ID, but don't expect it to do anything other than light up your target. That's all I'm saying.

 

[rhino]

Another thing ... even if you don't need the light to navigate or to shoot, you might need it to positively identify that a threat is a threat. Even if no one else is supposed to be in your home, I'm sort of a fan of identifying something (and what or who else is around it) before I try to put bullets in it.

 

[offroadking208]

Another thing ... even if you don't need the light to navigate or to shoot, you might need it to positively identify that a threat is a threat. Even if no one else is supposed to be in your home, I'm sort of a fan of identifying something (and what or who else is around it) before I try to put bullets in it.

Agreed. It'd be a shame if a family member came back earlier than they were supposed to from vacation or something as a surprise

 

[Armed-N-Ready]

Finally someone got my other point.

Target identification is VERY important. I'd also like to stress that if a weapon mounted light is not a good idea someone needs to inform the military they are doing it all wrong. Many soldiers have weapon mounted lights and when used correctly they work wonders. The TLR-1 at 135 lumens will at a minimum make you turn away or close your eyes when flashed in your eyes. No they are not miracle devices that stop the BG dead in his tracks but a flashlight or weapon mounted light is still a good accessory.

What say the tactical course instructors?

 

[TFin04]

What say the tactical course instructors?

There's been a few with input already.

 

[EdC]

I keep a TLR-3 on my HD pistol, an XD45c. I shoot better two handed, wouldn't have it on all the time, and like having just one thing in my hand. Also, I disagree with having to point the light/gun directly at something to identify it. You'd be surprised how much you can see with ambient light with the light/gun pointed at an angle at the floor.

I other words, if for some reason all the lights went out in my house, and heard something that I felt I needed to investigate (armed), I could check it out without having to point the gun directly at whatever I'm trying to see. A real possibility in my case, because my 16 year old doesn't live with me but has a key. He drops by sometimes after I'm in bed, so target id is constantly on my mind.

 

[Agent 007]

.

 

[nahfuten]

May I ask how you hold your flashlight? The way I prefer is to rest my weapons hand on top of my weakside rist. That way the weapon and light move in the same direction. By doing so it does not obscure my line of site.

I believe I hold my light exactly like you are describing... I hold the flashlight in my non-dominant fist with the bottom of the firearm grip resting on that arm.

 

[nahfuten]

Can anyone suggest a weapon mounted light with a strobe function?

I was looking at either the Streamlight TLR-1 or TLR-3...... No strobe there!

 

[TFin04]

Can anyone suggest a weapon mounted light with a strobe function?

Why?

 

[JohnP82]

as some have previously stated weapon mounted lights are nice, but do require some training since whatever you point the light at you also point the muzzle at.

 

[Shay]

May I ask how you hold your flashlight? The way I prefer is to rest my weapons hand on top of my weakside wrist. That way the weapon and light move in the same direction. By doing so it does not obscure my line of site.

I use a neck index for most of my hand held low light work. It's my common flashlight hold and transitions well for both light only and light plus weapon work. There are a few instances where another hold may work better than the neck index which is why it's good to practice a variety.

 

[Steve MI]

I use a neck index for most of my hand held low light work. It's my common flashlight hold and transitions well for both light only and light plus weapon work. There are a few instances where another hold may work better than the neck index which is why it's good to practice a variety.

100% om neck index if im using a handheld and a handheld and weapons light combo

 

[Cemetery-man]

I have practiced with a hand held light and a gun mounted light (finger activated, momentary on). Mentally, I think I prefer the mounted light. It just seems easier for me to move around the house and keep the light pointed where I want it. I notice that when using a light hand-held, when I activate the laser on the pistol, it is off-center of the target most of the time. With the gun mounted light, the laser is always centered in the beam and on target.

 

[Eddie]

Both

Also there is no rule that says you can't do both. Put a light on your weapon and carry a flashlight. Practice both techniques. That keeps your options open if you need to light up something you don't want to shoot or if you need your light to point in a different direction than your gun.

 

[Mudcat]

Great points. Some that I had not considered.

 

[Shay]

Also there is no rule that says you can't do both. Put a light on your weapon and carry a flashlight. Practice both techniques. That keeps your options open if you need to light up something you don't want to shoot or if you need your light to point in a different direction than your gun.