Tactical Night Skul--Lessons Learned

[BerettaNut92]

I learned a LOT in the first five minutes after the sun went down.

1. Tactical black isn't. Nothing in nature is as light as white or as dark as black. Navy blue sucks, too. The guys wearing tac black stuck out, us guys wearing khaki were a little harder to see.

2. With a primary, secondary, extra magazine and Sure-fire, you start running out of hands fast.

3. Night sights are a good thing. My USP45C (sans nightsights) not pointing naturally didn't bother me during the day, but got real confusing last night. My Beretta has a Trijicon front but plain black rear. Wish I had a night rear with green or yellow bulbs.

4. There is no perfect light technique for every situation.

5. I have an excuse to buy a 5-shot .38. The P7M8 didn't work that well as a BUG in the left butt pocket.

Got home at 2240 last night. Yawwwwwwwwwn....

 

[Schuey2002]

That white stripe going down your back probably stuck out like a sore thumb, eh, Skunk..

 

[El Tejon]

Skunk, where did you go?

#1--colours found in Nature help.

#2--if you pack a smaller flashlight, it will help. Don't overlook the mouth, the third hand.

#3--night sights work, how was your carry ammo on flash?

#4--you don't make custom cabinets with only a couple of tools, it depends.

#5--O.K., you touched a nerve. Carrying in the pocket, why?

 

[Schuey2002]

I was wondering the same things..

Were you out in the..c..co.. country?? Or, were these Night Ops at a local range?

 

[Charles S]

Skunability;

I hope you enjoyed the class. My night class was one of the most fun things I have ever done.

Things I did at summer camp....oops wrong set of notes! Here we go.

Things I learned in my night combat class.

1. The handgun magazines that write articles that state that night sights are not needed are written by authors who have night vision or have never shot at night. In the course I shot we were required to shoot both with night sights and without, my scores (and all the other shooters) were dramatically better with night sights...I Must Have Night Sights!

2. Carry a flashlight.

3. Carry a second flashlight, they stop working at the most awkward moments, like when you are supposed to be shooting at bad guys.

4. Lanyards on tactical lights are a wonderful thing; really I have come to believe they are a necessity. It is really nice to be able just to drop the light to reload, the retrieve the light on the lanyard.

5. Know every single flashlight technique, each works for specific situations, none work for all situations. Each technique has its own unique strengths and weakness, be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

6. Never assume anything, the assumption that an area does not contain adversaries, just because you think it won't will get you declared dead. I know this sounds silly, but we passed the loading area, this area is live for fire, and there were "bad guys in this area" no one in the class ever even looked for them. We were told to go live as soon as we stepped into the berm area, but we never thought we would starting shooting in the first few steps.

7. Use the light as little as possible.

8. Stay in the areas of darkness, darkness can be concealment.

9. Assess the situation, terrain, and lighting before you act, when you act - act decisely.

10. As Skunability noted how you hold the handgun is critical, absolutely. The proper handgun grip in everything.

11. A backup gun is a great thing, I never used mine, but a friend shooting a traditionally very reliable gun (hey it was 22 degrees and humid) had a double feed jam, in the dark that is real pain, and had to go to his second gun

Oh-well...there is more, but this is a long post already.

Charles

 

[tommygun45]

S&W Bonus

I was fortunate enough to attend the S&W 2003 IDPA Winter championship (err nationals, no championship! Oh whatever) Of the many great experiences was the Surefire low-light seminar. The seminar was taught by Ernest Langdon. Lots and lots of excelent info and Langdon is a great instructor. A few points that hit home:

1: All black holes have guns.

2: Operate from the lowest level of light. Ie find that black hole and own it

3: Light and move

4: 20/400 is what happens to your visual acuity when you go from bright light to darkness.

 

[Charles S]

tommygun45 ,

Great points.

An important point I left out. I found that I utilized more ammo to solve the average scenario than I would have during the day.

I must strongly advocate, that anyone who carries a gun for social purposes take a course in night combat.


Charles

 

[CWL]

Yeah, night shooting teaches you alot. Movement is important, knowing how to do so in the dark is critical.

Reloads, FTFs and press checks take on a whole new dimension.

 

[M1911]

Might just be why I LOVE Olive Drab so much.

About a year ago I took a class at Sigarms Academy. One of the other students was an instructor for one of the larger Sheriff's offices in SoCal. He said the same thing -- black sticks out at night. As a result, he said their SWAT team uses OD Green, including their boots. Black just has too much contrast to the surrounding vegetation.

 

[BerettaNut92]

M1911, what sheriff's office was he from?

OD seems spiffy but khaki seems to lend itself more to socio-urban camo.

 

[El Tejon]

M1911, but, but black is sooo tactical. How can you be a Dreaded Demon of Darkness without it?

Colours found in nature are a natural choice.

 

[Denny Hansen]

Agree with OD being close to ideal. Slate gray is also great. Khaki works well unless there's a full moon that reflects available light.

Mixed feelings on night sights. While they help to hit what one's shooting at, they do nothing to ID the target--and we don't have free-fire zones stateside. A couple of good flashlights, designed for the task, are mandatory.

Denny

 

[10-Ring]

I still smirk at Skunk's level of preparedness(sp?) and lives on the mean streets of Orange County.

 

[El Tejon]

Was Sharon Tate in Orange or LA County?

 

[M1911]

Denny: I agree that flashlights are mandatory. But just cause you're using a flashlight doesn't mean that nightsights can't help as well. That is, even when I light up the target with my flashlight, the nightsights make it easier for me to find my sights. YMMV.

Skunk: don't think I'm at liberty...

Also, you can get dockers in olive green. Blends in with the corporate types without looking too tactical (which could be good or bad, depending).

 

[Denny Hansen]

1911-
We actually agree more than you may think. Got tritium on all my social guns. I was simply reflectin' that glow-in-the-dark alone won't cut it.

Denny

 

[M1911]

Denny: Ah, yes, it sounds as though we are in violent agreement.

 

[Quartus]

8. Stay in the areas of darkness, darkness can be concealment.

Oh, I like that! This man THINKS! He said, "can be concealment." He didn't say IS!


Oh, I know, it shouldn't be all that remarkable. <sigh> I'm just cranky today - tired of people passing off the fine art of assuming as thinking.

 

[gk1]

M1911-

You're not at liberty to tell the public which Sheriff's Dept. SWAT team wears OD? Couldn't the general public tell that by looking? What's the big secret?

George

 

[M1911]

gk1, he was a nice guy. He was speaking to me in confidence, not speaking as a spokesman for his department to be attributed on an international forum. As you should realize, many departments are pretty anal about who can make "public" comments and who cannot.

Who wears OD green vs. black vs dayglo orange is clearly not some secret. If it was, I wouldn't have told you.

But he spoke to me in confidence; he was not making a public pronouncement that I am free to attribute back to him. If you can't understand that, well, tough.

 

[Kevlarman]

I know Los Angeles County SWAT uses OD green. I don't know if its SOP for them to wear OD all that time, but I've seen them wearing it on occasion.

 

[4 eyed six shooter]

If you havn't tried this at a night shoot, do. When I was a LEO I always carried a Streamlight SL-20 and a Streamlight Stinger. During the shoot, I put my SL-20 on the ground, pointing in the direction of the BG's, then moved away from behind the light to another position of cover behind the light. It lit up all the targets and I cleaned them in record time without having to hold the light and gun and without giving away my new position (except for the muzzle flashes). It's fun to get tactical.

 

[Quartus]

Agree with OD being close to ideal. Slate gray is also great. Khaki works well unless there's a full moon that reflects available light.

What about brown? Something in a nice Hershey's chocolate, maybe? I'm serious though. What about it?


BTW, 4 eyed, you might think that's a nice trick, but I'll have you know that You Can't Do That! It's Not In The Rules!TM






Sneaky, that 4 eyed is!

 

[gk1]

M1911-

Who wears OD green vs. black vs dayglo orange is clearly not some secret. If it was, I wouldn't have told you.

That was the question, and you haven't told us. That's fine, as it's clearly not important, and I'd hate for you to think that I'm trying to get you to compromise your integrity.

If you can't understand that, well, tough.

I'm sorry that I upset you; I thought it was odd that you couldn't answer, so I asked why. I don't consider you under any obligation to answer me, and there's no need to get your boxers bunched. Forget that I asked.

George