I have a problem with weapon mounted lights
- Thread starter knzn
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Weapon mounted lights are designed for highly trained and skilled dynamic entry/SWAT TEAMS. If you think you're gonna do 'room clearing' and 'slicing the pie' ALONE with just a flashlight hanging off your Glock/Mossberg/Benelli you're just kidding yourself.
What scenario are you envisioning? An intruder breaks into your home at night? You begin wandering through your house waving your firearm and flashlight around looking for him, all the while he knows exactly where you are. Plus you're lighting up the room for him. He can see furniture, walls, etc., which you already know are there. He has plenty of time to aim and fire at you. You want the cover of darkness in you own home, because you know where everything is, and presumably he does not.
But, if it makes you feel 'tactical', go for it I suppose. Just don't be surprised when you get shot.
What scenario are you envisioning? An intruder breaks into your home at night? You begin wandering through your house waving your firearm and flashlight around looking for him, all the while he knows exactly where you are. Plus you're lighting up the room for him. He can see furniture, walls, etc., which you already know are there. He has plenty of time to aim and fire at you. You want the cover of darkness in you own home, because you know where everything is, and presumably he does not.
But, if it makes you feel 'tactical', go for it I suppose. Just don't be surprised when you get shot.
LoadedDrum
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Umm, do you live alone?
In my house there are bedrooms on the first and second floors. While I could hide in my bedroom with my 870 pointed at the door, what happens to the rest of the family? I could go out side that door and point my 870 down the stair case, securing the second floor. That would protect half the family. What about the people downstairs? Do I let them fend for them selves, since they are my unarmed and relatively old parents? Or do I go down and try to catch the bad guy in one of the few positions on the first floor where I have the tactical advantage. I may not be Carlos Hathcock, Richard Marchinco, or (insert your favorite pro here), but I am not going to sit in my room like a coward while my family is in danger. At the same time, I do not want to shoot any of my family, hence the tac light. I only agree with two of those rules anyway. Keep your finger off the trigger and be sure of the target and what is behind it.
In my house there are bedrooms on the first and second floors. While I could hide in my bedroom with my 870 pointed at the door, what happens to the rest of the family? I could go out side that door and point my 870 down the stair case, securing the second floor. That would protect half the family. What about the people downstairs? Do I let them fend for them selves, since they are my unarmed and relatively old parents? Or do I go down and try to catch the bad guy in one of the few positions on the first floor where I have the tactical advantage. I may not be Carlos Hathcock, Richard Marchinco, or (insert your favorite pro here), but I am not going to sit in my room like a coward while my family is in danger. At the same time, I do not want to shoot any of my family, hence the tac light. I only agree with two of those rules anyway. Keep your finger off the trigger and be sure of the target and what is behind it.
Ah yes, Riley, no one besides police ninjas have a use for something so "tactical." Least of all, a father that is trying to get across his house to get his kids to a safe area. Clearly his desire to have a light on his pistol so he can use his off hand to carry the offspring that can't walk and still be able to ID something that he might have to shoot at is misplaced. He should not have use of these tools because they are black and tactical and in use by ninjas.
The recent trend of belittling something you don't understand and doing so because it has the word tactical associated with it is amusing.
Ok, guy breaks into house. Techbrute grabs nightstand gun which is G23 with X200. Techbrute and wife go to children's room to get them. Each must carry armful of half asleep, barely mobile child. Riley, at this point, would like me to take pot shots at whatever random figure comes upstairs without me shining a light on them to ID them, because they might be able to tell where I am if I have a light.
The recent trend of belittling something you don't understand and doing so because it has the word tactical associated with it is amusing.
Someone breaking into my house when it's DARK.
Sure, that will work.
Ok, guy breaks into house. Techbrute grabs nightstand gun which is G23 with X200. Techbrute and wife go to children's room to get them. Each must carry armful of half asleep, barely mobile child. Riley, at this point, would like me to take pot shots at whatever random figure comes upstairs without me shining a light on them to ID them, because they might be able to tell where I am if I have a light.
Here's another scenario for you Riley. You're in bed, and hear a loud noise. It could be an intruder breaking in. Or it could be your gas furnace exploding and setting the house on fire. You still want to barricade yourself in the bedroom and wait?
You don't go waving the light around turned on.
You only blink it if you see something suspicious, and you immediately move from that position or change elevation (kneel).
I HAVE had to clear a house due to a situation in the dark, when my Surefire was in my truck, and I had only a Chief's Special. I stayed low, moved very slowly, and listened more than anything else. Everything moving was "hostile" as the young lady and her son with me were holed up in a closet. Not the wisest option but cops were 30 miles plus away even if we could have reached them.
Now I keep a Surefire on me 24/7.
You only blink it if you see something suspicious, and you immediately move from that position or change elevation (kneel).
I HAVE had to clear a house due to a situation in the dark, when my Surefire was in my truck, and I had only a Chief's Special. I stayed low, moved very slowly, and listened more than anything else. Everything moving was "hostile" as the young lady and her son with me were holed up in a closet. Not the wisest option but cops were 30 miles plus away even if we could have reached them.
Now I keep a Surefire on me 24/7.
NHBB
Member
I have to agree with the sentiment about giving away your position... now I think mounted lights look great and all from an aesthetics standpoint, but I will probably never own one.
sturmruger
Member
Why don’t we just debate 9mm vs .45 acp since we are pulling out all the dead horses and beating them.
Edited to correct spelling issues
Edited to correct spelling issues
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"The recent trend of belittling something you don't understand and doing so because it has the word tactical associated with it is amusing."
I agree. I have been laughing at this for some time now. Some people like to buy every high speed low drag gadget made. Then some people like to make themselves feel better about themselves by making fun of them. Yet others buy products that seem to fill a void they currently have and are not afraid to think outside the box and try new and improved products. The latter group usually identified these needs through actual training and experience. That is the group to pay attention to.
Not trying to be a jerk here, but it is obvious that some people have not throught this through,and there are others that have never REALLY tried something like this. Especially with a shotgun.
I agree. I have been laughing at this for some time now. Some people like to buy every high speed low drag gadget made. Then some people like to make themselves feel better about themselves by making fun of them. Yet others buy products that seem to fill a void they currently have and are not afraid to think outside the box and try new and improved products. The latter group usually identified these needs through actual training and experience. That is the group to pay attention to.
Not trying to be a jerk here, but it is obvious that some people have not throught this through,and there are others that have never REALLY tried something like this. Especially with a shotgun.
Vern Humphrey
Member
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Not trying to be a jerk here, but it is obvious that some people have not throught this through,and there are others that have never REALLY tried something like this. Especially with a shotgun.
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There is another step here -- setting conditions for success, and not failure. Several people have said they HAVE TO clear the house. Why not sit down for a minute and think about how we can change conditions so we DON'T have to?
In other words, use tactics, not gagetry, when the chips are down.
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Not trying to be a jerk here, but it is obvious that some people have not throught this through,and there are others that have never REALLY tried something like this. Especially with a shotgun.
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There is another step here -- setting conditions for success, and not failure. Several people have said they HAVE TO clear the house. Why not sit down for a minute and think about how we can change conditions so we DON'T have to?
In other words, use tactics, not gagetry, when the chips are down.
Well Vern, you are opening another can of worms.
FWIW, "clearing" my house would be a pretty simple operation. The master bedroom/bathroom is a full 1/3 of the house. More than likely, that is where I would be. From the doorway of that bedroom I can see 3/4 of the house (master bedroom, living room, kitchen as well as every door leading to the outside of the house (front/back/garage). If I seriously thought someone was in my house, the would have to be in one of the other two bedrooms and I would not attempt to go after them. However, this is not a usual situation. Far more likely would be when you either hear something, or have some reason to believe everything is not normal. You don't KNOW someone is in the house. You are not "clearing" the house in the sense being discussed here. You are investigating a noise or just giving your house a once over.
However, the thread isn't about clearing buildings: it is about weapons mounted lights.
The point I am trying to make is that a weapons mounted light is not a gadget. It isn't some mall ninja gear. It is a legitimate piece of equipment and serves a purpose for anyone that is intending to use a firearm for personal defense. If you (generic you, not you Vern) try to actually run a gun at night, you quickly learn that it requires a great deal of skill. It isn't something you try once or twice in the house with an unloaded gun and you are good to go. You quickly realize that a lot of this skill can be made up for by having the light mounted on the weapon. This is almost essential if the weapon is a shotgun. It is easy to pick up your shotgun at home, hold a flashlight next to it and say bang. It is another thing to actually try to search a building with a flashlight in one hand and a shotgun in the other as well as actually trying to fire live ammo at a target with a shotgun and a flashlight. If you (generic you) actually try this, it will be immediately obvious.
This is in addition to having a light anytime you pick up the weapon. There is nothing to forget. Nothing to think you don't need until you do need............
FWIW, "clearing" my house would be a pretty simple operation. The master bedroom/bathroom is a full 1/3 of the house. More than likely, that is where I would be. From the doorway of that bedroom I can see 3/4 of the house (master bedroom, living room, kitchen as well as every door leading to the outside of the house (front/back/garage). If I seriously thought someone was in my house, the would have to be in one of the other two bedrooms and I would not attempt to go after them. However, this is not a usual situation. Far more likely would be when you either hear something, or have some reason to believe everything is not normal. You don't KNOW someone is in the house. You are not "clearing" the house in the sense being discussed here. You are investigating a noise or just giving your house a once over.
However, the thread isn't about clearing buildings: it is about weapons mounted lights.
The point I am trying to make is that a weapons mounted light is not a gadget. It isn't some mall ninja gear. It is a legitimate piece of equipment and serves a purpose for anyone that is intending to use a firearm for personal defense. If you (generic you, not you Vern) try to actually run a gun at night, you quickly learn that it requires a great deal of skill. It isn't something you try once or twice in the house with an unloaded gun and you are good to go. You quickly realize that a lot of this skill can be made up for by having the light mounted on the weapon. This is almost essential if the weapon is a shotgun. It is easy to pick up your shotgun at home, hold a flashlight next to it and say bang. It is another thing to actually try to search a building with a flashlight in one hand and a shotgun in the other as well as actually trying to fire live ammo at a target with a shotgun and a flashlight. If you (generic you) actually try this, it will be immediately obvious.
This is in addition to having a light anytime you pick up the weapon. There is nothing to forget. Nothing to think you don't need until you do need............
Vern Humphrey
Member
Quote:
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You don't KNOW someone is in the house. You are not "clearing" the house in the sense being discussed here. You are investigating a noise or just giving your house a once over.
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Do you carry a weapon when doing this? Why?
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You don't KNOW someone is in the house. You are not "clearing" the house in the sense being discussed here. You are investigating a noise or just giving your house a once over.
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Do you carry a weapon when doing this? Why?
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