flashlight question

[skoden]

i recently purchased one of those brighter "tactical" flashlights for home defense purposes. i decided to try it out a couple nights ago when i woke up in the middle of the night. i found the bright light to be blinding. what should one do when employing a flashlight after waking up to avoid this? any advice is welcomed.

[Raccoon]

If the flashlight has a red lense you can put over it, the red light frequency will not blind you when your eyes are dialated. You can make a cap with a red lense and just push it on over the light for night use. I picked this up from some friends that do star gazing. Their group uses red lights to keep their eyes able to see the dim lights of the stars. Other than that, you can cover the end of the light with your fingers and open them just enough to see a little light, but if the bulb gets hot it might burn you. Try to not look at the spot it makes, but the spillover light form the spot. At least this is a couple of things to try.

As far as home defense, remember, using a light to blind an intruder will get you a tacticle advantage if you use it, turn it off and then move.

Do some role playing with a friend and test these ideas so you see what effect it has on an intruder.

[Clark]

Great suggestion about role playing and practicing. I do recommend leaving the gun in the safe and only using the flashlight.

People that practice tough situations are prepared and can go through a disaster with a greater chance of survival.

In the book Armed Response by David Kenik he also talks about how the body changes under stressful situations. This would be a good reference for folks to take a look and think about how to handle emergencies. It is too late to think about one after the fact.

Skoden - great question thanks for brining it up.

[Genghis77]

In using a flashlight in a defensive situation I recommending holding it far to your armslength in your non shooting hand. More than helping you see, it is a becon for you as a target. And you certainly don't want to be standing behind it.

I go further to say skip the flashlight if members of household are excluded. Instead get on the floor and do the low crawl. You are less likely to be seen and you will pick up movement and likely shadow of any intruder. This also helps prevent shooting high as is common in the dark.

I once had a problem with a person shooting carelessly in a campground. Though I had guns, I chose to counter with a Barnett crossbow, same as we equipped Montenyards in Viet Nam. Gave me the advantage that he wasn't going to see any flash for target aquisition. I fired a warning shot very close to him and striking his motor home and resulting in his immediate surrender. Before taking action, I had called the sheriff's department about the problem and explaining my predicament by cell phone 3 times and was told they were unable to pay the overtime to send an officer out. And my excape route would have required hitching my trailer and driving no more than 6 feet from him. Besides his shotgun, he had a .44 mag Ruger. I seized both and told him where to look for them down the road and after he had sobered up. The assumption is the police are available to protect. But the reality, sometimes not. This is a big county of more than 4400 sq miles and only a handful of deputies, most of them not in the US Forest and BLM areas.

[VegasGeorge]

I've never used one of the new tactical lights, but I know they're bright. I read a post somewhere about the idea of flashing the light with one eye open, and one closed to acquire and identify the target, then switching eyes if necessary to continue searching in the dark. The idea was that the closed eye would still have its night vision capabilities, whereas the open eye would not due to the effects of the light. Has anyone tried out such a technique?

[Bill of Rights]

Medically speaking, I'm not sure how that would work, George. The eyes constrict and dilate together, but I'm not sure about rapidity nor equality of the reaction of the rods and cones in the retina. I've not tested it myself, so I don't know for certain.

Raccoon, if one has a red lens for the tac light, will it still have the same blinding effect on the BG? If so, is it doing any good, or just saying "Here I am, shoot me!"

Blessings,
M

[VegasGeorge]

There's a possible psychological factor to consider when using a red light. We've all been conditioned to Stop when we see red. That might cause the bad guy to hesitate or pause for at least a fraction of a second. That, of course, would be a good thing.

[Genghis77]

Always remember that in your home and in the dark you have the advantage. It is the intruder that needs light to see, not you. You know the layout while they will be stumbling into furniture.

In Viet Nam we always turned out our lights when there were infilterators. Once they entered or defensive perimeter, we wanted it dark. Using a flashlight would have been suicide. I really feel you should forget the lights red lens filter or not. Even laser sights have a draw back there. I recommend only turning them on immediately before shooting. You really don't want to be scanning with it looking for a target. Course putting the dot on someone's nose will probably get an immediate surrender. Little doubt with the consequences.

Another thing that may be of interest. Combat soldiers have very low kill rates with rifles. I have heard it took about 400 shots to kill or immobilize the enemy in Viet Nam. And close up the hits tend to drop even more. There is a built in adversion to killing a human, even one that is an enemy. Should you encounter a situation where shooting or killing is not an absolute necessity, expect to hesitate and the high probability of missing. This will prove true until you have experienced what it is to shoot or kill a man. The exception is a socialpathic criminal that lacks values. Even police with all their training are subject to this rule and sometimes costs them their lives. Believe me reality is not like the movies, video games or likely anything like you might prepare for.

[Raccoon]

Raccoon, if one has a red lens for the tac light, will it still have the same blinding effect on the BG? If so, is it doing any good, or just saying "Here I am, shoot me!"


Well, no. I was referring to being able to see to walk through the dark, on the way to the bathroom without blinding yourself, not encounter an intruder.

When encountering an intruder, bursts of light, in a figure 8 pattern on the wall will confuse the intruder into thinking there are more than one person entering the room. Try this at night. Have someone stand in a room around a corner, and you enter the room doing a figure 8 on the wall where they can see it. Turn the light on and off with a momentary switch while doing the figure 8. The person in the room will not know if there are 2 people or more. Your flashlight WILL give away your position, unless you are moving. A burst of light if you are looking will allow your brain to take a snapshot of the area. Then move. You will see someone and they will be blinded. But remember to move after the burst, so if they shoot where the light was, they will miss. Their muzzle flash will give you something to shoot at. The statement of the flashlight giving away your position, is true. Bad guys will shoot at the light as that is all they can see. So reposition or hold the light away from you when entering the room.

Better yet, use see in the dark night scopes. . . .

[packnrat]

Always remember that in your home and in the dark you have the advantage. It is the intruder that needs light to see, not you. You know the layout while they will be stumbling into furniture.

In Viet Nam we always turned out our lights when there were infilterators. Once they entered or defensive perimeter, we wanted it dark. Using a flashlight would have been suicide. I really feel you should forget the lights red lens filter or not. Even laser sights have a draw back there. I recommend only turning them on immediately before shooting. You really don't want to be scanning with it looking for a target. Course putting the dot on someone's nose will probably get an immediate surrender. Little doubt with the consequences.

Another thing that may be of interest. Combat soldiers have very low kill rates with rifles. I have heard it took about 400 shots to kill or immobilize the enemy in Viet Nam. And close up the hits tend to drop even more. There is a built in adversion to killing a human, even one that is an enemy. Should you encounter a situation where shooting or killing is not an absolute necessity, expect to hesitate and the high probability of missing. This will prove true until you have experienced what it is to shoot or kill a man. The exception is a socialpathic criminal that lacks values. Even police with all their training are subject to this rule and sometimes costs them their lives. Believe me reality is not like the movies, video games or likely anything like you might prepare for.

i belive i am lucky that i did not do time "in country" as they say.

true i do things to prepair for a "problem", with the intent to have it never happen, yes i walk the walk and talk the talk...but when the shit hits the fan............................................... .........


................ i hope the power is off.

but i do need more and better pratice, just in case.

.