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Light Discipline

Light Discipline

8/22/2011

While many know that it is unwise to flip on the lights when going to investigate a potential burglar in the home, many these same people will continuously run a flashlight when searching their homes. This is bad light discipline.

A good light lets you search while revealing any potential intruders, but it also reveals your position. It’s better light discipline to use a flashlight with a momentary button to quickly scan the room before letting the light go off and quickly stepping to the side. I repeat: After every scan, turn off the light and quickly, but quietly, move one to two steps to the side. This ensures that if a bad guy charges or fires toward the light, you will not be there to feel the brunt of the attack.

Practice light discipline in a dark room with an unloaded or inert gun to ensure you can hold, aim and fire while holding a light, and be sure to scan quickly and to move every time the light goes out.

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  • turtle

    8/30/2011 8:16:09 AM

    EvlBert, Police are civilians too. The correct word is citizen. You are also right in that it is not a good idea to go looking for the bad guy in your home, let him/her come to you and maintain your advantage. There are times when you have to leave the security of your safe space to go get your loved ones out of danger. Police are citizens, citizens are not police.

  • Peach

    8/29/2011 8:49:46 PM

    At the police academy, we were taught to turn on as many lights as possible. Why let the bad guy live in darkness?

  • Jim

    8/29/2011 7:08:57 PM

    EvlBert, many of us have family members that are in different parts of the home. There is no way for me to get my son and my wife together without clearing several rooms and hallways, for example. I'm not interested in chasing down a would-be burglar hiding in my home to start a gunfight, but if one is between me and my son I will find him -- with a gun and a light. I expect any other father to do the same.

  • madderhatter

    8/29/2011 5:49:40 PM

    Preferably one with a momentary switch attached to a picatinny rail. That's the setup I have on my Kimber .45 and my Tac 12ga. @ EvlBert - this may be true for civvies that have no idea what they're doing. I'm a civilian ... but also ex-military, as are a lot of people out there. I'd just about bet that most people that read American Rifleman have quite a bit of experience and practice handling themselves. Everyone else is on Facebook. :o)

  • EvlBert

    8/24/2011 10:28:57 AM

    This is a HUGE mistake to even consider. Civilians are not police, they are not trained to search and clear a home nor are they equipped to do so. A flashlight and a gun isn't even a start. Oddly this is also entirely contrary to the Personal Protection in the home training we NRA instructors are taught to provide. Secure your family, set up a defensive position, call the police, stay on the line with the police, follow instructions from the police though the 911 dispatcher. The NRA Personal Protection in the home IMPLICITLY states DO NOT search your home for intruders!!!

  • Nate

    8/24/2011 12:55:00 AM

    And then practice it with a live gun, and actually shoot. It's a whole different ball game when you add recoil to the mix.