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Operating in Low-light Conditions

Mudinyeri

Mudinyeri

20g
"Philanthropist"
I've been a part of a number of discussions about "tactical" lights over the years. Should they be attached to your weapon? Should they be in your hand? If they're in your hand, how should they be held? I'm going to try to steer clear of the all-too-frequent argument of weapon-mounted lights vs. handheld lights and would appreciate it if those of you who comment would do the same. These principles should apply whether you prefer weapon-mounted or handheld lights.

Many of my opinions about light use were formed about 25 years ago during some advanced Army training in which I took part. I'm going to try to recall some of the basics from that training for the benefit of our membership.

Excuse me while I knock off the rust ....

1. Never wander around a potentially dangerous area with your light constantly lit. Anyone in the AO with an intent to do you harm will have a very nice target at which to aim if you break this rule.

2. Use bursts of light. This is one of the reasons I like lights with momentary switches. You can quickly depress the switch, flash an area with light and simply release the switch to darken the area again. Using bursts of light accomplishes a couple things. First, it helps maintain some of your night vision as your eyes don't have as long to make changes to a brighter condition. Second, it can be more disorienting to someone trying to nail down your location - especially when coupled with #'s 3 & 4. Don't sweep your light around too much.

3. Move. After you've turned off your light from your burst, you should change location. Vary your pattern. Move immediately sometimes. Wait a second other times. Move vertically. Move laterally. Be unpredictable in your movements. Combine this with unpredictable bursts - duration, direction, etc.

4. Move to cover. Identify your next area of cover during your burst but try to avoid moving toward cover that was immediately in line with your last burst. For example, if you direct a burst of light at your 11:00. You may spot cover at 9:00 or 1:00. Do not move to cover at your 11:00 if you can avoid it.

5. If you are working with a partner. Do not silhouette your partner.

6. There's nothing wrong with a burst of light while you're on the move.

7. If you have identified a target, aim your light at the base of the target - as opposed to aiming directly at center of mass (COM) or the place you intend to fire. This will do two things. First, it will provide sufficient illumination of the target to allow you to hit it accurately without damaging your night vision. Second, you will not limit your vision by illuminating the smoke recently released from your weapon and creating unintentional concealment for your target. Admittedly, this is virtually impossible to do with a weapon-mounted light but I promised to avoid that argument. :lol:

8. If you know where your target's eyes are there is nothing wrong with a long burst of light aimed at their eyes to damage their night vision and disorient them.

9. These are basics. Your situation may dictate other tactics but they should be in line with these principles.
 
nice write up. never thought of using a light as burst like you explained above
 
Thanks for the insight; that could be some life-saving information for somebody for sure. I'm glad you pointed out what I've always thought was a pretty obvious detriment to using a light either on your gun or in your hand; and that is that it makes your face, which just happens to be right behind the light, into a bullseye. I'm no expert, and I can see the value of just such a setup for certain people in certain situations or environments; but in my own, the layout of my house makes movement (especially swift movement) right after a light burst virtually impossible.

For instance, if I'm moving down a hallway (as was pictured in a recent magazine article on the topic), and turn on a light, even for a split second, I've not only just given myself away, I also have nowhere to go when the intruder who's lying in wait fires rounds down my hallway at the light I just turned on. Essentially I've just committed suicide. Additionally, I simply don't have the room to be on the move like that because of the way the house and furnishings are laid out.

Obviously, to illuminate or not is a personal preference; but personally, I prefer having the built-in advantage of knowing my house in the dark better than the fool who just entered it. Besides, I doubt my German Shepherd would allow any intruder to stay hidden very long, if he even manages to get in the house at all.
 
We have tactical dogs too!!! :) Lots of good insight, and quite a few things I hadnt considered before, not just in this thread, but all over the board.
 
The tacticool dog is a highly effective alarm system and deterrent.

I would be cautious assuming that your knowledge of your home's floor plan trumps anything that an intruder (or intruders) might have to their advantage. I recently read an account of a man who awoke to his wife's screams at around 3:00 in the morning. He was disoriented from being abruptly awoken. He couldn't find his glasses. He fumbled to remove his gun from the safe near his bed and then stumbled through the house feeling very unsure of himself and unprotected in his boxers.

My point is, never assume. And never assume that something you have as an advantage is enough to overcome any/all disadvantages or advantages held by your attackers. Tactical advantage is an equation. Each individual involved in a scenario has something of a T-chart with positives on one side and negatives on the other. You can never be sure that your net total is greater than your opponent's. You can try to ensure that is the case, but you can never be sure.
 
I would think being prepared and understanding these things is part of the mental equation. Like runnning the scenarios over and over again in your mind. Like having an escape plan for a fire in the house. Not a substitue by any means for practice. Like being able to load/draw/function the firearm in the dark. Can you clear a jam in the dark by feel only?

I know somewhere down the road, plans are being put in place for Mossberg Owners to hold clinics and events where maybe instructors can be on board and help those of us with with little or no Military/LE experience understand the finer points of tactical defense. Maybe we could even call it something catchy like "Practical Tactical"? We could put together pros and cons of weapons and stage scenarios... I dunno, help me brain storm here, and maybe we'll start another thread and start generating some interest, see if anyone would want to get involved.
 
One certainly can't set aside being prepared or having a plan.

I was only cautioning against a false sense of security based upon being on your home turf. I wasn't necessarily saying that you had that false sense of security, but I've certainly encountered many who have.

We see it happen in sports all the time. Team A has the home field advantage and underestimates Team B's ability to counter that advantage. Team A has its rear handed to it at home by Team B.

I like the idea of "practical tactical" events. Far too many Internet Trainers/Experts (using the terms loosely) focus on tactics for law enforcement and military teams. Breaching and clearing are good examples. I'm always concerned about a lone individual attempting to "clear" their home after hearing a bump in the night. Most people have little, if any, training for such an undertaking. Additionally, a team of three is probably a bare minimum to adequately clear a building. Most SWAT teams use at least four individuals, IIRC.

I would never recommend that the average citizen attempt to "clear" his or her home or go on the offensive against an unidentified assailant or assailants. Certainly, there are considerations. For instance, are your children in a part of the house which can be protected with a defensive strategy? There are far too many variables to potentially address them all which is why I generally deal in the basics and allow individuals or families to develop their own specific plans based on those principles.
 
Yep I understand and agree, the variables would make it difficult at best to put together anything definitive in the way of a broad all encompassing training course. This is where I think the "practical" comes in, teach the basics, which to me includes getting the family behind the gun and making a phone call to the local PD. But I believe there are some general basics of defensive firearms handling that can be taught and shared, as well as some myths about the shotgun particularly that need dispelling. Like aiming vs. point in the general direction for example. Some range time would be appropriate, as well as safe handling and operation. I see way to many people load a gun by turning the sttrong hand, finger still in the trigger gaurd, and with the weak hand, drop a shell onto the lifter and then chamber the round. So just some really basic things like that. I figure if a fire escape plan can be put together, even though each house has a different floor plan, then a defensive plan can also be established using guidelines and principals, just as a fire escape plan is put in place with guidelines and principals.

I dont know if that makes sense, but I'm sure certain factors/principals/ideologies can be agreed on and then from there an individual can perform a diagnostics of their own home, assess and strategize accordingly. LE/SWAT has doctrines and philosophy and tactical principals that cover the spectrum as generalizations, then tailored for each individual task.

Again, I may just be rambling, but I bet there are enough great and experienced minds on here to help advise for training clinics and events.
 
Mudinyeri said:
The tacticool dog is a highly effective alarm system and deterrent.

I would be cautious assuming that your knowledge of your home's floor plan trumps anything that an intruder (or intruders) might have to their advantage. I recently read an account of a man who awoke to his wife's screams at around 3:00 in the morning. He was disoriented from being abruptly awoken. He couldn't find his glasses. He fumbled to remove his gun from the safe near his bed and then stumbled through the house feeling very unsure of himself and unprotected in his boxers.

My point is, never assume. And never assume that something you have as an advantage is enough to overcome any/all disadvantages or advantages held by your attackers. Tactical advantage is an equation. Each individual involved in a scenario has something of a T-chart with positives on one side and negatives on the other. You can never be sure that your net total is greater than your opponent's. You can try to ensure that is the case, but you can never be sure.
Click to expand...

Far from assuming my knowledge of my own home is the end-all to the equation, I was merely pointing out that the familiarity itself SHOULD be one of those advantages that rests in my plus column. However, it's certainly not unheard of that a determined burglar may have also done some homework (snooping) and knows a little something about the home he's targeted as well.

I know I don't have all the answers, and that's part of what attracted to me to these forums, education. The light issue is one of those pet peeves whose drawbacks seemed rather obvious to me, but never seem to get much attention in the various gun magazines. Light ads have gone right through the roof in the last few years, and magazines address the issue as if its readers are fully trained tac officers. Rarely have I seen it pointed out in any of these ads or articles touting lights that turning on a light gives your position away and makes you a target that would otherwise be invisible in the dark. Same thing with lasers, although to a lesser extent because of the smaller circumference of the beam. But, I ALWAYS try to place myself in the shoes of both the homeowner AND then the intruder when I visualize scenarios in my home.

If I'm a bad guy, and I don't really don't know the layout of the house, and I realize that I've just awakened the homeowner, what would I do to assure my escape? I'd wait until the homeowner came from the bedroom, and not make a sound as long as possible while waiting for him to make the first mistake. Turning on that light or laser would be the first and last mistake, if I was the bad guy with my gun trained on the direction the homeowner must come from to investigate. If I'm the homeowner and the intruder isn't approaching or threatening, I can outwait him while the ol' lady calls the police; and if he gets impatient and moves, then he's made the first and last mistake.

Of course, little of this applies to me; as was pointed out, my beast would make it virtually impossible for anyone to hide out in the house, unless my intruder is especially crafty and can somehow manage to subdue a 100lb. early warning set of jaws before he's even barked.

Seems like lots of folks, who may not have considered any of this, are just anxious to add the next "latest and greatest" new hardware to their HD weapon; and may be inadvertantly putting themselves in harm's way by not considering all the repercussions or consequences of just such an addition. And clearly, the companies who produce those lights and lasers aren't going to be quick to point out the potential shortcomings of their product; they're in business to sell lights.

Anyway, the lights and lasers obviously have their place and functions; but I would agree with the OP who suggests leaving the special weapons and tactics to the people who are trained in their use. And, if that happens to be a private citizen and homeowner, great. I just don't like seeing things marketed to people who mistakenly think that because they've bought and mounted a light, they're suddenly trained and capable of safely repelling a threat in the dark... and sadly, many do just that. The purchase itself is not a substitute for instruction.
 
It IS hard to argue against getting a cool, new piece of gear. :D However, you don't want your weapon(s) to end up looking like this.

tOOManyLights3.jpg
 
Mudinyeri said:
It IS hard to argue against getting a cool, new piece of gear. :D However, you don't want your weapon(s) to end up looking like this.

tOOManyLights3.jpg
Click to expand...

lol! Thats crazy! Do you have the assembly instructions still? Schematics for the wiring? What does the FAA say about such a beacon?
 
Wow, that thing's hilarious. I would ask if it still actually shoots bullets; but what's the point, once the owner turns on the lights the intruder is blinded for life anyway... provided the owner can actually lift that thing (looks like it'd take a weightlifter to use it).
 
I'd use a mounted light in quick bursts if I had to at all. You should learn to know your house in the dark. You have the advantage because you know your house. Don't give away your position!
 
Knowing the layout is one thing, knowing the target is something else completely.
The light is not used to navigate, it is used to verify the target.
 
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