HD: Light-Related Questions & Concerns

[Bobson]

I've been looking at setting up more effectively for HD lately. Have an AR in the works and I'm reassessing the gun I currently have in the role. Through all this, my attention is being drawn more closely to weapon mounted lights (WMLs), which I have not been running up until now. Couple questions and thoughts:

1. When you get up at the middle of the night, assuming you don't have your Mickey Mouse nighty-light right at your bedside, your eyes are adjusted to the darkness pretty well, and continue to adjust quickly. Seems like having a WML and activating that would be nearly as hard on your eyes as it is on the guy who broke into your home. I mean, you're not having a light shone into your eyes, but your pupils will still dilate rapidly and it will be enough to significantly disrupt your vision momentarily, at least. What do people do to get around that?

2. What about a red lens on a WML? Red light doesn't dilate your pupils the way normal light does, so it doesn't damage or "reset" your eyes' acclimation to darkness.

3. If possible, wouldn't it be better to switch all the lights on at first indication that someone has broken in? Seems it would have several significant benefits:

• From the street, a house suddenly full of lights at 3am could alert someone that you need help.
• The guy who broke in knows that you're aware of him, and may take that opportunity to flee.
• Lights being on makes it easier for you to see, should you need to venture into the rest of the home, to bring children to a safe area, for example.

I've been giving the "house full of lights" thing a lot of thought recently, and have been considering having a master switch wired into the master bedroom for this purpose, and only having a WML on the HD gun as a backup. But the perceived problems with the WML are still there...

I've never had light-related training, but it seems obvious you wouldn't want to use a mobile light to navigate the home. The cone of the light would be seen down halls and around corners and it seems like it would be easy for an attacker to ambush you. Again, I know it's advised to stay put, but I have very young children and going out to get them would of course be a first step.

 

[Jeff White]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=788712

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My choice is to have your safe room be the master bedroom, and it should be at the end of a long hallway. At the OTHER end of the hallway, have a nightlight to silhouette the intruder as he approaches your safe room.

Never let the bad guy know you're there until you drop the hammer -- keep the element of surprise and use it to your benefit.

 

[waterhouse]

1. When you get up at the middle of the night, assuming you don't have your Mickey Mouse nighty-light right at your bedside, your eyes are adjusted to the darkness pretty well, and continue to adjust quickly. Seems like having a WML and activating that would be nearly as hard on your eyes as it is on the guy who broke into your home. I mean, you're not having a light shone into your eyes, but your pupils will still dilate rapidly and it will be enough to significantly disrupt your vision momentarily, at least. What do people do to get around that?

My eyes adjust very quickly to more light. It is the reverse (getting adjusted to dark areas) that seems to take a lot of time. While it is rare that I wake up in the middle of the night, I work at night and use a powerful (at least for handheld) flashlight quite a bit. I've never had any issue with the time it look my eyes to go from the dark to seeing whatever my flashlight was illuminating. You can practice this yourself by placing a flashlight next to your bed and using it if you ever get up in the night.

3. If possible, wouldn't it be better to switch all the lights on at first indication that someone has broken in? Seems it would have several significant benefits:

While the non-drug related night time home invasion is exceptionally rare, they do happen. If it were to happen to me, I'd prefer the home field advantage of knowing my own house in the dark.

I've never had light-related training, but it seems obvious you wouldn't want to use a mobile light to navigate the home. The cone of the light would be seen down halls and around corners and it seems like it would be easy for an attacker to ambush you.

That only "seems obvious" because you haven't had any low light training. As you said, ideally you would stay put, but you may need to move to the kids. When moving with a flashlight in the dark, you will want to have a powerful light that you can angle off of walls and ceilings as you move. You will want to keep the light constantly and randomly moving. With a powerful light, you will still be able to see what you need to.

I have been to a few low light classes in simunition shoot houses. When you are playing the bad guy role, it is very disorienting to see lights randomly bouncing off all of the walls and it is fairly difficult to tell exactly where the flashlight holder is.

If I were a bad guy, I'd much rather have a homeowner turn on all the lights to even the playing field than face someone with a powerful flashlight in the dark in a strange house.

 

[Bobson]

Jeff, thank you for the link to that spectacular thread. Totally missed that one. Haven't read it all yet, but will be sure to go over it carefully.

Thank you for the rest of the replies as well. They've given me some things to consider.

 

[strambo]

#1, non-issue
#2, not worth it, won't work well at all
#3, if you have a light shining on them followed by lead and all they see is darkness surrounded by an intense beam...you have the advantage.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I am a fan of turning on lights inside the home in such a situation. There is plenty of technology out ther that makes it easy. Having said that, I'd still prefer to,stay put with the lights on in the common parts of the home and wait for help. I don't plan to go looking for the intruder.

The reason I like the lights on is that I think we as good guys are a disadvantage in the dark. As good guys we need to identify our target. Bad guns can just shoot at sounds or dark images. As such, I'd rather have the lights on. I do understand the argument of I know the layout of my home in the dark. I weigh more heavily the ability to see before shooting whereas bad guy doesn't.

 

[strambo]

That's the reason for the tac light sheepdog, ID the threat while disorienting them and leaving them in the dark. There is no downside to a bright tac light or weapon light.

 

[old lady new shooter]

That's the reason for the tac light sheepdog, ID the threat while disorienting them and leaving them in the dark. There is no downside to a bright tac light or weapon light.

I've been working with snapcaps on the night-time scenario using the tac light, it's hugely reduced my anxiety about such a situation. I feel being able to disorient the BG by flashing my light in his eyes is a wonderful advantage.

 

[strambo]

My advice would be not to count on any disorientation in any way. If it happens, that's gravy. Light on, ID threat, engage, light off and move.

Or (more likely in a HD scenario); light on, ID threat and engage, shoot them to the ground and stay light on them confirming they are no longer a threat (stop shooting immediately once they aren't a threat). Don't forget to scan for others, if there is another one, then light off and re-position or immediately engage as needed.

Out on the street is where you would go light on, engage, then light off and move (retreat, or re-engage as the situation dictates).

 

[old lady new shooter]

in a HD scenario); light on, ID threat and engage, shoot them to the ground and stay light on them confirming they are no longer a threat (stop shooting immediately once they aren't a threat). Don't forget to scan for others, if there is another one, then light off and re-position or immediately engage as needed.

That's what I'm practicing. And I have things set up to minimize the time between asleep and ready to fire.

 

[JTHunter]

Who knows the layout of your house better? You or a stranger breaking in at night?
Who is more likely to be able to negotiate the hallway in the dark without making a noise (if the kids have PICKED UP THEIR TOYS!!)?
You need to find a corner that gives you a view of an approaching intruder, get low to the floor to throw off what they might expect (kneel or lie down), and wait. When you see a slight change in the shadow or see a glint off something shiny (that shouldn't be there), then hit them with a very bright flashlight or the houselights and let them have it while they are temporarily blinded.
You will only have a couple of seconds so make the most of it!

 

[Tirod]

In practical terms, the existence of a perp inside the house at all means a complete failure of the exterior defenses. Someone good enough to get past electronic sensors, your family dogs, and avoid every squeaky board is either a family member or The Ninja Monk Of Death.

You definitely need a light to see it's your teen age daughter sneaking in late. The Ninja Monk Of Death, however, is so good you only get to wake up with his knife at your throat. I'm suggesting that weapons lights are necessary for entry teams who make their living busting down the doors to the Ninja Monk's hideout - we need to exercise a better plan of exterior security than to accept complete failure with only our futile last ditch efforts to resist.

Weapons centric forums tend to explore the fantasy of using high end firearms, reality indicates the use of driveway alarms, motion sensors, pets, interactive flood lights, a cell phone next to your bed, and a master wifi control panel controlling it all. With hurricane resistant storm windows capable of handling 2x4's at 100mph hitting them, you're money goes a lot further than a weapon light that will be outdated in just a few years. The windows won't be.

Home Defense is about equipping the home with features, not the inhabitants. IT is the primary tool - the walls, windows, and grounds around it. Living in a town that has survived an EF5 with 7,000 homes destroyed - the Ninja Monk is Mother Nature. If you need to resist entry, it's better remodeling the home to hurricane standards with masonry exterior and FEMA rated doors. Add other security and you don't come home to find they broke in while you were out and took the AR with weaponlight.

Refusing to upgrade homes and maintain code is how neighborhoods deteriorate.

 

[herrwalther]

The purpose of a high intensity white light is to disorient an intruder whose eyes are adjusted to darkness. Your eyes will be affected sure, but not nearly as bad if the light is pointed directly at the intruder.

A far more ideal solution to this problem is far from practical for most people. The military trains to clear houses using night vision and IR lasers. While IR lasers can be difficult for civilians to come by let alone train with, night vision is relatively easier. We only trained with white light as an alternative to night vision.

 

[psyopspec]

Tirod isn't wrong, but there's some pretty significant caveats for a lot of us. Renters for example probably can't harden a home. And there's the matter of costs; weapon lights for any need can be had in the $100-$300 range, which pales in comparison to the cost of a home remodel. If the buyer is a competent shooter to begin with, then the opportunity cost to train with it can be near nil given proper motivation to expand their knowledge and skill set.

 

[strambo]

Tirod is right...you should do all those home hardening things and (not or) if you have a firearm for defense it should have a light. There have been plenty of high profile violent home invasions in high end homes with presumably much better than average security.

Lights don't really become obsolete either, at lease not with the current state of LED technology, a 100-500 lumen LED weaponlight will be just as good today as a decade from now even though there will be better options on the market then, though we are at a point where a small light can already be too bright for indoor use depending on beam pattern.