Cleared my house last night..

[Boris bush]

At 0130 my wife woke me up. There was some noise outside that she thought was coming from the kitchen.

Nothing spectacular to report really. I cleared the hall, she secured the kids (didn't even wake them up) in their room. I used my preplaned and practiced clearing.

Just a raccoon outside that got away. One thing I did learn is when you are just wokenup and you shine your light, it will be brighter than you remembered it being in practice lol.

Anyway I learned real quick that the nightsight I put on a couple weeks ago is worthless. I wanted a regular steel one but the funstore only had the oldfangled glowing one. Never helped identify the target and 120 lumens of light canceled it out anyway when I lit the kitchen up and check the yard. It was more dark than I thought it would be too.

I would have to say that the light was of more use than the G37 with the glowy thing on it.

All I really learned was the wife did her part perfect like in practice without even the need to remind her and it was more dark than I thought it would be when I am looking for targets. My light also lit the room up like it was day time..

Only change I am going to make is a night light in the hall that can have the light directed down the hall so I can see atleast a shadow or outline of a possible threat..

 

[dashootist]

Is there a tactical reason for not flippy the light switch?

 

[Boris bush]

yes there is.

 

[uspJ]

I learned real quick that the nightsight I put on a couple weeks ago is worthless. I wanted a regular steel one but the funstore only had the oldfangled glowing one. Never helped identify the target and 120 lumens of light canceled it out anyway when I lit the kitchen up and check the yard.

I've had night sites on two different guns and have come to just about the same conclusion. They work well when there is enough light to make out a target but that does you no good when there is little to no light available. Personally I like a weapon mounted light accompanies by a handheld light.

I also prefer my hd light not to be over 90 lumens. I've found that I can momentarily blind myself with a brighter light when it is reflected off the walls. I have a 125 lumen light on my Ak and shotgun but they serve double duty for coyote and hog along with HD.

 

[TDR911]

Have you ever tried a blue or red led navigational light. It will only illuminate the area just enough to identify the intruder but not effect your vision or blind you. This one is a laser & led lights. There are versions with lights only , laser only or combo of both.

 

[Boris bush]

A link to a retailer would be nice......

 

[bikerdoc]

Good Post

Can confirm the effectiveness of night lights. Try to place them in far corners so whatever it is, is backlit

 

[hso]

You can install remote controls for lighting different parts of the house using X10 outlets and switches. If all you need is to remotely turn on the room light on the other side of the hallway you can do it very inexpensively by replacing the light switch or outlet with and X10 unit and plugging the controller into an outlet in your bedroom. That gives you the ability to stay in low light while putting the room you're concerned about in light.

Alternately, put a motion sensor light in the room you're concerned about so that whenever someone is in the room there's a light that turns on. Conversely, whenever someone isn't in the room the light turns itself off (I mounted one in my daughter's closet because I don't expect her to remember to turn her closet light off all the time).

 

[TDR911]

Here is a link but they are not on the site yet.

www.auto-laser.com

 

[rduckwor]

You mean your flashlight and loss of night vision negated your glowing night sites? You should expect and train for that to happen.

Also, make sure you aim your flashlight down towards the floor UNTIL you identify a threat. Momentary switch is of great value in this situation. A quick flick to see what you see, then back to the dark. You are hunting on your own turf which you know well; use this knowledge to your advantage.

This method will give you plenty of light to see by and identify anything untoward in the area, but is less blinding.

Good for your wife.

Sounds like she actually listened to you when you guys worked this plan out.

RMD

 

[MikeNice]

Is there a tactical reason for not flippy the light switch?

You can become back lit. That means you become an easy target for someone in another room. However it allows them to stay concealed.

 

[Bovice]

You know what I just thought of that would be cool (in reference to the lights)...

What about trip wires for lights?

You set trip wires in front of all windows and exterior doors. Obviously, during the day, you can take down whatever ones you don't want to be running into. Then at night, if someone gets in from outside, the room they just got into is suddenly illuminated. Then, you (the homeowner) are in the dark, and they're out in the open in the light (backlit). Once they see the flash, its too late!

Just a thought.

 

[hso]

Bovice,

They're called motion sensor lights.

 

[Bovice]

Yes, but with motion sensor lights, your kids can trigger them just getting a glass of water at night. The family beagle can walk by and set them off. with a "wire" of some sort up against the window, the ONLY way to set it off would be to crawl through the window.

Plus, the only motion sensor lights for interior use that I have seen are small and usually plugged directly into a socket. Hardly useful for anything more than keeping your shins away from the coffee table.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Never helped identify the target and 120 lumens of light canceled it out anyway when I lit the kitchen up and check the yard.

Night sights aren't supposed to help you identify the target they are just to make it easier to see your sights and should be used in conjunction with a flashlight (it's purpose is to identify the target). 120 lumens sounds a bit bright for indoors at night and will definitely kill your night vision. I have some 60 lumen lights and they are more than enough at night.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Did you issue any verbal challenges (e.g., "Who's there?")?

 

[valorius]

Have you ever tried a blue or red led navigational light. It will only illuminate the area just enough to identify the intruder but not effect your vision or blind you. This one is a laser & led lights. There are versions with lights only , laser only or combo of both.

A green laser also works great for navigation. It lights the whole room up in a green glow when you trigger one of those.

 

[kris7047th]

Being able to identify your target and beyond BEFORE you fire , especially when everyone is in bed, dark throughout the home. I have a TLR1 on my Glock 19 for this very reason. I can *splash* off walls to make my way around safely and ID whatever easily. The light on the Streamlight TLR1 is VERY bright and will virtually blind a BG, buying me/you seconds to decide what to do, handle the situation more safely.


http://www.botachtactical.com/sttltali.html

Contact them first before ordering to make sure they have them in stock. Also, type in *stimulus* to get a discount, or ask a rep what the discount code is. I paid something like $87.00 for mine.

 

[Boris bush]

The green lazer sounds like a good idea. I have heard about that from a few people, but the price of the one I looked at was $200.00 more than the red version, ouch!!

Thanks for the link to that weapon light!

SD

I did not issue anykind of warning. We live in the same state. If you can find a legal reason why I should I might consider it for future practice. I didn't even think of it. So that means I would have to practice because I did it exactly the way I practiced. The fact we had a plan made things easier and flow more smooth. The lighting issues are being addressed and either a green lazer or that low powered light lazer combo....

 

[KodiakBeer]

My house is never so dark that I can't see indoors when awoken. I suspect most homes are the same.
It would seem like lighting a flashlight would destroy your night vision, rendering any opponent invisible until he's in the beam. It would also remove any element of surprise by telling him exactly where you are and the direction you're moving in. In effect, you're putting all the odds in his favor for no good reason.

I don't have any children in the house to worry about and there's enough ambient lighting to find my way around, but if the situation were different I'd find some other way to do it than by carrying around a bright "Here I am" signaling device that reveals my position while at the same time rending me blind to anything it's not pointed at.

 

[Boris bush]

KB

The here I am light was used twice. Once to clear the darker than I thought it would be hall because I am not going to go blind into an area I can not see into. The next time was in the kitchen. THere was enough ambient light, even in the kitchen. I dont know if you have ever lit up a person that was a threat to you. 100% of the time I have the first thing a person does is look away and cover their face. At work I used the 120 lumen light because it actualy causes pain in the eyes when they are adjusted to the dark. I now know in a civil setting I do not need that exact amount of power in a light.

My overall point was our plan worked exactly as we planned it. The safe words were even used before I even thought of moving back to the safe areas.

My advice is even the best of plans will have slight faults to them. The only way I realized these tiny imperfections was through actual use of th plan. My advice, if any would be look at your plan in even more detail than before. Tweaking of any good plan for the better can NEVER hurt.

FWIW the raccoon came back last night. Dug a few holes in my yard and pooped infront of my patio. I am in the process right now of alternative methods of elimination of the pest. Any one got some good advice?

 

[JohnBiltz]

I keep a 25 watt equivalent fluorescent light on all the time in my kitchen at 5 watts of energy use its cheap. I've place it pretty carefully. It pretty much means I'm coming out of the dark towards the lighted area and gives me enough light to move and make ID. If its dark and I heard a noise it means something else and I'm getting the shotgun and a cell phone and I'm hunkering down to control the bedrooms and not searching. Bullets are hard on the TVs and leather.

 

[Mudinyeri]

You mean your flashlight and loss of night vision negated your glowing night sites? You should expect and train for that to happen.

Come awn! You expect people to train with their equipment?

Here are a couple other lighting ideas. They work for me in my house but may not work for you.

1. My front door is actually a double door with heavy glass in both doors. My front porch and two side windows all have flood lights on over them. These remain on at night so the main entry is well illuminated back-lighting anyone who decides they want to come in the front door.

2. There are two rear entries into my house - one roughly opposite the entry I just described and one into my master bedroom. My back yard is completely fenced with a 6' privacy fence. The back yard is also illuminated. Anyone coming through either of the rear doors will also be back-lit.

I'm basically creating a fatal funnel with backlighting for anyone who enters the main area of my house (basically one large open area). There is little cover or concealment.

The only thing I don't like about the layout of our home is that our son's bedroom (we only have one child) is on the opposite end of the house from our master bedroom (across the large open area). I'm thinking about moving him to the finished basement (no walk-out).

3. My master bedroom is kept very dark with heavy curtains. This gives me two advantages - I'm not back-lit and my night vision will be much better than anyone coming in through the main area.

This keeps me from having to clear my house giving me a much stronger tactical position.

 

[Boris bush]

No need to train at all. Sprinkle some fairy dust on your equipment and all will be good....

Besides, the noise was thought to have come from the kitchen. Thats where my fridge is, guess where my pie is.

Look at my sig line.......

 

[KodiakBeer]

The here I am light was used twice. Once to clear the darker than I thought it would be hall because I am not going to go blind into an area I can not see into. The next time was in the kitchen.

I see. I just wonder if having done this, you might want to consider some sort of low-light fixture to illuminate the darkest areas instead of exposing yourself with a flashlight? Once you've turned on the flashlight, you've destroyed your night vision and are at a disadvantage.

At my home, there's a high and bright outdoor light over the parking area that gives some ambient light to every room except the bedroom. So, no problem.