Night sites vs. flashlight

[bigggbbruce]

IMHO, those whi think they're useless are confused about the proper application of night sights.

Same can be said for lasers.. to many think that they are for pin point accuracy. They are for rapid target acquisition.

 

[amazingflapjack]

CB3 has the right approach in my view. I want my home to exhibit characteristics that will make it very unpopular to any perpetrator or opportunist. An assessment of what is needed to accomplish that, possibly by a professional, will GREATLY lesson the chances for problems, which is what I want to create at my home, not a trap set to shoot someone. JM2CW.

 

[oink]

Turn on the house lights. It helps a bunch that it's your house but if I let myself I can get annoyed with the TV and movies that show the cops searching dark buildings with their flashlights or weapons lights. Turn on the effing lights!

 

[bigggbbruce]

I can get annoyed with the TV and movies that show the cops searching dark buildings with their flashlights or weapons lights. Turn on the effing lights!

Why, then the surprise jumping out of the shadows will go away...

 

[Doug M.]

Modern LE training is to have a WML and a handheld, as they serve different purposes. My ARs and shotgun have WMLs and Aimpoints, and I have trained with them. My handguns do not have WMLs, and only one has an Aimpoint. The transition to the Aimpoint after all these years is slow and laborious; I have not trained with a WML on a pistol so I chose not to have one.

There are only 2 people and 2 dogs that should be in the house if my wife is in town, 1 and 1 if not. The guns are the last line of defense, after all of the other things the offender has to ignore/overcome to get in. At that point, target ID has been addressed.

 

[NewToGuns17]

Both. I have tritium sights on all my guns as well as flashlights. Night sights do nothing with a flashlight on, they look black. I like them because I can spot the firearm IN THE dark. But if you can't see the person night sights won't do anything anyways.

 

[Rastoff]

The mistake in this thread is thinking that a flashlight and night sights are mutually exclusive.

...my solid core deadbolted bedroom door...

Really, I'm not worried.

Clearly you're worried about something.

 

[Geronimo2909]

Given we are homeowners not ninja's ........ target/thread identification is step one........ I have two sons age 18 & 21 who are known to come home well after the old man's gone to bed or fallen asleep in my chair!

We have night lights at or near the "choke points" in the house ..... bottom of the stairs, foyer and second floor hall........ these are very useful to the family on a daily basis; and are bright enough to help ID an otherwise "blob in the dark"!

By the bed I keep a;
My PHONE... along with a
1.handgun M&P 9mm with night sights with a Streamlight TLR-3 170 lumens weapons light; as well as a ............
2. Maglite XL50 200 lumen with strobe flashlight......
3. inexpensive Coleman 500 lumen CT-50 flashlight and.............
4. a set of electric earmuffs.

Lol, I have earbuds on sometimes. That way I can't hear anything. Youcould have a concert outside my room and for these noise cancelors, it is quiet.

 

[Smoke]

Lol, I have earbuds on sometimes. That way I can't hear anything. Youcould have a concert outside my room and for these noise cancelors, it is quiet.

Think about that statement in relation to home security

 

[StrawHat]

Anything you can see, you target can see as far as night sights are concerned. I had to carry a 4506 with tritium sights for a while - you could see exactly where all of our officers were even on the darkest nights. A flashlight should be held away from you body.

Absolutely. The sights illuminate your face and let people know where you are.

Unless you live in a bowling alley you should be familiar enough with your handgun to be able to secure hits without sights. The longest distance in my home is under 35 feet, not a great distance for shooting.

Kevin

 

[SoCalDep]

Absolutely. The sights illuminate your face and let people know where you are.

Kevin

And we're such ninjas that nothing else gives us away but the dim glow of a night sight? We're such ninjas that we crept through the darkness silently and we're right there... exposed without concealment or cover, and a dim nuclear glow gives us away?

What people know where we are? The people who see we have no tactics? The people who are ALREADY shooting us because of all the other things that let them know where we are?

If you're some badass .mil guy (I've trained with and currently work with several, so if you say stupid stuff I'll just... you know.... check....) and worked with NVDs and IR stuff (again, minimal personal experience but I know people and like to call out people who lie) then I get it... if not, this thread is starting to approach the event horizon... all the good info can't escape because of the sucking power of the inexperienced and those stuck in institutional inertia.

This is the Internet. Nothing prevents people from posting stupid ****. Be wary... be wary of me. I could be some thirteen year-old kid in my mom's basement posting ****.

 

[Smoke]

I could be some thirteen year-old kid in my mom's basement posting ****.

And you probably are

 

[SoCalDep]

... Yep.

And because of that you should totally be able to retort my statements right?

So tell me why I'm wrong.

 

[TripLeader]

Turn on the house lights. It helps a bunch that it's your house but if I let myself I can get annoyed with the TV and movies that show the cops searching dark buildings with their flashlights or weapons lights. Turn on the effing lights!

I think it's best to leave the lights off. When you have a good flashlight you have a tremendous advantage in the dark. Turning on the lights completely negates that advantage.

Moving under cover of darkness, blinding your foe, and masking your exact location by holding the flashlight away from your body are all benefits you need in that type of encounter.

And don't go crazy with the brightness of your flashlight for indoor use. A 50,000 lumen super light will blind you too when it reflects off the walls and other interior surfaces.

 

[SoCalDep]

Turning lights on depends on the situation. By leaving the lights off, a person in a familiar location with dark adapted vision has a significant advantage over the person coming in from outside. Turning on the lights when entering a location could work if one is familiar with the lighting, but turning on a living room light when one enters a house with all the hallway and bedroom lights off is a great way to get shot. If I can't turn on all the lights (which is almost always except in some large commercial structures), I probably want to keep them off even with the advantage given to the barricaded/ hidden opponent so I can control when and where the light goes.

Low light tactics are far too complex for cookie box "always do this" or "never do that" answers.

 

[Rastoff]

Absolutely. The sights illuminate your face and let people know where you are.

Night sights will not illuminate your face. Well, I guess if you're in a cavern they might a tiny bit, but then you couldn't see your target if it were that dark.

Also, if you're holding your gun up and on target long enough for them to find you, your tactics have failed. If you're not in the act of pressing the trigger, why do you have your sights on the target?

We are not the police. If you're pointed at a target, your life should be in danger. If you're life is in danger, you should be shooting the bad guy at the first opportunity. Otherwise, why do you have the gun at all?

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
Having worked many a night shift at the S.O.
The best setup would be a pistol or revolver [there are some]
with a light and/or a hand held light with a burst mode.
The gun light will be used ONLY if you need the other hand.
holding wife,kid,dog ,door ect....
he hand light is your working light.
Check things out [dog barking , bump in the night]
The burst is for the BG ,,, If you hit them with 500 to 1000 Lumans
in a burst , It is like a flash bulb going off.
Vision is GONE [most at night] They run , freeze[deer in the headlights]
and if they try to attack you have the advantage.
Ps. you know its coming so can close eyes or not look.
Maglite ,Surefire and the traditional lights are just catching up with the newer lights.
Look at Olite,Nightcore,and some others for led lights.

 

[biku324]

Turn on the house lights. It helps a bunch that it's your house but if I let myself I can get annoyed with the TV and movies that show the cops searching dark buildings with their flashlights or weapons lights. Turn on the effing lights!

Our training in NM LE was to never turn on the lights, but instead rely on flashlights,

 

[Boudiepitbull]

My plan would have been to keep eating carrots and be confident in knowing my way around my own house in the dark while hoping the intruder doesn't eat carrots and trips over something. Maybe I should rethink that...

 

[Fastbolt]

Night sights let you see your sights and flashlights let you see what's out in front of you. Flashlights can also be used to put someone else at a hopeful disadvantage.

I have night sights on many of my pistols (some of which need to be re-lamped, which is another issue).

Whether or not I'm using a pistol equipped with night sights, I always like to have a good hand held flashlight at hand.

If you have the opportunity to take a class that discusses and demonstrates low/reduced light shooting, you might be surprised by how well the appropriate tactical use of lights can make things, and how well night sights may be seen even against illuminated areas (with the sights "behind" the wall of light).

You might also be surprised by how well night sights can be seen in low/reduced light conditions after repeated muzzle flash.

I'm not a user of weapon-mounted lights myself, but that's a personal preference. The style of WML, and it's activation method, is something each potential owner/user needs to consider for themselves, against their anticipated use. It's another piece of equipment that needs to be safely and effectively employed under potentially immense stress in a dynamic, chaotic situation.

Having seen WML's suddenly fail to function in range conditions, having a secondary light source that may be employed, like a handheld light, is a prudent precaution. Knowing how to safely and effectively employ a hand held light is also a good idea.