lights on during nighttime HD situation?
- Thread starter carterbeauford
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Jesse H
Member
Lights off. I'd secure myself and loved ones in the room with guns...but if one were to go out, lights off.
If you turn the lights on, bg identifies you immediately while he's still hiding in a dark corner. With the lights off you're able to paint the room with light without giving away your position. I'm no pro, just something I picked up while attending an ALERRT course on low light situations. Now if the house is wired so you can hit all the lights simultaneously, do that. Otherwise, walking from room to room to clear it and flipping lights on will make you an easy target for a bg hiding in the dark.
Personally, I'd stay put and call 911 with gun in hand.
If you turn the lights on, bg identifies you immediately while he's still hiding in a dark corner. With the lights off you're able to paint the room with light without giving away your position. I'm no pro, just something I picked up while attending an ALERRT course on low light situations. Now if the house is wired so you can hit all the lights simultaneously, do that. Otherwise, walking from room to room to clear it and flipping lights on will make you an easy target for a bg hiding in the dark.
Personally, I'd stay put and call 911 with gun in hand.
Well if a person was dumb enough to stand out in the open and light it up --- what would they expect ? Plus what makes one think a person who breaks and enters know when the lights are going to be turned on and be behind cover ?
Light it up and be behind cover .......... I stand behind my light it up decision .
choochboost
Member
Similar thread here: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216265
Jesse H
Member
And you're entitled to it your decision.
In my house, and most buildings, light switches are located near the entrance of a room or hallway. If a bg is hiding in that room and you flip that switch on, he'll immediately know you're there.
If a bg is somewhere else in the house and you flip that switch on, he'll immediately know where you're at (unless you've got a fancy remote lighting system). Even if you take cover (behind drywall, couches, and plywood doors???) the bg will know where you are.
If he's in another room which is dark and you've just turned the lights on in an adjacent room, he can see you but you can't see him. Even if you flip that switch on and take cover, don't you plan on entering that room to clear it? He'll still be hidden in that dark adjacent room while you enter the brightly lit one making yourself a very easy target.
FJC
Member
All good points, but my decision is to light the place up. 99.9% of the time, I'm really investigating whatever the cats knocked over, or one of the kids is up in the middle of the night and bumped something. I can play "sweep the area with a flashlight" and be lucky to see anything. I feel that if a BG is in a dark room, HE has the advantage if I'm using a flashlight - he can see EXACTLY where I am. If I light the whole room up with the room lights, he doesn't necessarily know exactly where I am.
Plus, I don't want to have to deal with possibly trying to fire on someone if I can't make absolutely sure one of my kids isn't in the line of fire.
Ideally, I need to set up my x10 light system with a panic button that cranks every light in the house on instantly for me. I'd expect most intruders would flee.
Plus, I don't want to have to deal with possibly trying to fire on someone if I can't make absolutely sure one of my kids isn't in the line of fire.
Ideally, I need to set up my x10 light system with a panic button that cranks every light in the house on instantly for me. I'd expect most intruders would flee.
TallPine
Member
I leave a 15w flourescent light on downstairs in a corner near the stairs 24/7
Doesn't use much power and that corner is dark even in the daytime. It's also in kind of an awkward place to get to so not easy to turn on and off - especially for an intruder unfamiliar with the house.
With the lights off upstairs, it lets me look down the stairs and see what's going on without exposing myself.
Plus it is just plain convenient if you need to go down the stairs for anything else at night.
Doesn't use much power and that corner is dark even in the daytime. It's also in kind of an awkward place to get to so not easy to turn on and off - especially for an intruder unfamiliar with the house.
With the lights off upstairs, it lets me look down the stairs and see what's going on without exposing myself.
Plus it is just plain convenient if you need to go down the stairs for anything else at night.
choochboost
Member
I'm telling you man, if you do that in the middle of the night, expect to be blinded as your eyes take several seconds to adjust.
SSN Vet
Member
you have 5 senses....
If it's a noise that alerted me.....the first thing I do is still my breathing and listen intently. We live in the woods and it's usually pretty darn quite, so I can hear a lot....certainly a human foot fall (I can hear the 8lb cat going up/down stairs).
Usually the next noise I hear is the sound of toilet paper being pulled off the roll by my 5 year old (she's a good girl and won't flush, so as to not wake up mommy).
That's as far as we've ever had to play out this scenario....but the rest of the plan is....
if it's a bonified intruder....I roll out of bed quietly and pop the gun vault (beeps are turned off)...up and to my "spot".....357 in right hand and mag light (turned off) in my left (this takes about ~10 sec. when I practice in the dark).
From my spot (near the top of the stairs)...I'm inbetween the intruder and the family.
From there it's sit IN THE DARK and wait and listen and control my breathing.
If the intruder crosses my mental "line in the sand", he get's spotted....
In my head their are now two questions and a decision....
Friend or foe?
&
armed or unarmed?
Foe + armed = BANG, BANG, BANG!
Foe + unarmed = potent, explative laden, accosting.... in my best "shock and awe" command voice (which is pretty darn good).
Not sure if the gist of the accosting is "get the *&$# out of here"
or
"on your face"
I know what it won't be....."I'm afraid...please go away"....
may have to start a thread to get input on that one.....
AS TO THE OTHER THREE SENSES.....
~6 months ago a woman and her 11 year old daughter were car jacked at knife point in Barrington, NH and the mother was raped in the woods, with the daughter left under threat, listening in the car. They both escaped and the BG is in the slammer awaiting trial.....their first indication that something was wrong was that they both smelled a strong stench of B.O. when they got back in the car from the convenience store!!
If it's a noise that alerted me.....the first thing I do is still my breathing and listen intently. We live in the woods and it's usually pretty darn quite, so I can hear a lot....certainly a human foot fall (I can hear the 8lb cat going up/down stairs).
Usually the next noise I hear is the sound of toilet paper being pulled off the roll by my 5 year old (she's a good girl and won't flush, so as to not wake up mommy).
That's as far as we've ever had to play out this scenario....but the rest of the plan is....
if it's a bonified intruder....I roll out of bed quietly and pop the gun vault (beeps are turned off)...up and to my "spot".....357 in right hand and mag light (turned off) in my left (this takes about ~10 sec. when I practice in the dark).
From my spot (near the top of the stairs)...I'm inbetween the intruder and the family.
From there it's sit IN THE DARK and wait and listen and control my breathing.
If the intruder crosses my mental "line in the sand", he get's spotted....
In my head their are now two questions and a decision....
Friend or foe?
&
armed or unarmed?
Foe + armed = BANG, BANG, BANG!
Foe + unarmed = potent, explative laden, accosting.... in my best "shock and awe" command voice (which is pretty darn good).
Not sure if the gist of the accosting is "get the *&$# out of here"
or
"on your face"
I know what it won't be....."I'm afraid...please go away"....
may have to start a thread to get input on that one.....
AS TO THE OTHER THREE SENSES.....
~6 months ago a woman and her 11 year old daughter were car jacked at knife point in Barrington, NH and the mother was raped in the woods, with the daughter left under threat, listening in the car. They both escaped and the BG is in the slammer awaiting trial.....their first indication that something was wrong was that they both smelled a strong stench of B.O. when they got back in the car from the convenience store!!
cassandrasdaddy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2006
- Messages
- 4,206
lights in right places
i have three acres lit from perimeter as well as from house some house lights create safe zones for bad guys. they make radio controlled switches that allow you to gang different switches and cicuits together i can light everything from upstairs downstairs and also from barn/driveway. without expensive electrician
i have three acres lit from perimeter as well as from house some house lights create safe zones for bad guys. they make radio controlled switches that allow you to gang different switches and cicuits together i can light everything from upstairs downstairs and also from barn/driveway. without expensive electrician
Spreadfire Arms
Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 1,312
you have two options. you can use light to your advantage if you know how.
if you aren't comfortable working in low light then you should turn on all lights in the room ahead of you but turn off all lights behind you so you dont silhouette yourself.
i went to a low light primer this week and i saw this light "fluttering" technique that works really well. it is similar to "strobing" your light for a few seconds, then moving quickly and quietly from one location to another. the reason why you would want to move after fluttering is because the bad guy will most likely shoot at the light, or at least his attention is directed there. now if you flutter then move, he will be looking in one place when you all of a sudden challenge him from another angle.
this is especially advantageous since you are most likely very familiar with the layout of your home. however alot of people aren't confident sitting in low light because it IS intimidating. but the idea is to turn the hunter (bad guy) into the hunted.
if you are going to engage a bad guy in low light you need to close the door as to shut off all light from the hallway, or another room. then you achieve total darkness. it takes someone about 20 minutes to be able to see in total darkness at all, so in that 20 minutes you really have maximum advantage.
if you are going to engage in this make sure you have a good flashlight with a on/off switch that you can flutter, like a Surefire with a thumb cap activation switch. they did not recommend Streamlight Stingers because the on/off switch is located on the head of the flashlight, but i think with some practice you can do it.
if you aren't comfortable working in low light then you should turn on all lights in the room ahead of you but turn off all lights behind you so you dont silhouette yourself.
i went to a low light primer this week and i saw this light "fluttering" technique that works really well. it is similar to "strobing" your light for a few seconds, then moving quickly and quietly from one location to another. the reason why you would want to move after fluttering is because the bad guy will most likely shoot at the light, or at least his attention is directed there. now if you flutter then move, he will be looking in one place when you all of a sudden challenge him from another angle.
this is especially advantageous since you are most likely very familiar with the layout of your home. however alot of people aren't confident sitting in low light because it IS intimidating. but the idea is to turn the hunter (bad guy) into the hunted.
if you are going to engage a bad guy in low light you need to close the door as to shut off all light from the hallway, or another room. then you achieve total darkness. it takes someone about 20 minutes to be able to see in total darkness at all, so in that 20 minutes you really have maximum advantage.
if you are going to engage in this make sure you have a good flashlight with a on/off switch that you can flutter, like a Surefire with a thumb cap activation switch. they did not recommend Streamlight Stingers because the on/off switch is located on the head of the flashlight, but i think with some practice you can do it.
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