Tac Light Recommendations Needed After Incident at my Home Last Night

[brusky]

I had an incident occur at my home last night that revealed a weakness in my readiness to confront a situation at night. Some jackass stole a vehicle less than a couple of miles from my home. A while later, the guy backed into my driveway, got out and started going through my wife's SUV. Just then my dog started barking and my wife yelled downstairs "someone's here!". It was 10:45 and we weren't expecting anyone so my spidey sense went off. Ironically I was downstairs organizing ammo in my gun safe. So instead of immediately thinking where's my closest gun, I asked myself which gun do I grab. I felt the Mossberg 590 loaded with 00 buck was the right tool for the job so I grabbed it and headed up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs my wife yells again "No really, somebody's here, in our driveway!". The tremble in her voice confirmed something was really off with the situation so I proceeded to rack a shell into chamber and pick up my pace. Once to the front door I saw what she was seeing so I instinctively flipped on the porch light to head outside but quickly flipped the light off so as not to make an easy illuminated target for him to hit. With the light off, I stepped outside and found cover only to see him get in his stolen vehicle and speed away. 30 minutes or so later the local sheriff's office spotted him and chased him 10 miles or so before he finally wrecked.

Long story short, I realized if I needed to light up the situation in front of me, I had no flashlight up to the task. So, I'm looking for recommendations. Is there a light out there that will be ready to go when I need it, can cross mount between my shotgun, AR or other weapons or be hand held if needed? I worry about batteries being dead when I need it or damaging rechargeable batteries by getting over charged and going bad from sitting on a charger all the time. Should be bright as hell and offer a strobe option to disorient. Thoughts?

 

[021411]

My thoughts.. everyone should ALWAYS have a light handy. Also learn how to shoot while manipulating said light. People learn fast that that they can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. IMO have a dedicated light for each home defense weapon you have access to or use. As far as brands I put my life on Surefire and Streamlight. Not saying others don’t work. Just my preference since I carry a few lights for work.

 

[Mxridr]

I carry Olight m2t warrior. Very bright and reasonably priced. Good size for pocket and fits hand well especially when drawing pistol. Good flashlight is great weapon. Hope this helps.

 

[Maelstrom]

Agreed with the above about a dedicated light for each weapon and leaning how to use them. The most lumens possible is not always a benefit. If you are outside great. The more lumens the more you can see but if inside you can actually be too bright and blind yourself. Strobes can be disorienting for both sides and if anyone in the family has any seizure issues they can actually cause a seizure. Modern lithium batteries have a 10 year shelf life normally but I still change batteries every year just as a precaution. It's cheap insurance to me. Don't rule out a light/laser combo for a handgun. The laser helps in a high stress situation where fine motor skills are diminished. I ran a surefire fore end on my shotgun at work for years until I had to turn it in. Light straight out front with the switches right where I would normally grip the fore end. I am not a fan of a light sticking out off the side of the shotgun. Just personal preference. I have run a variety of lights on my AR's over the years from surefire, insight, streamlight, and a few others. For pistols surefire, streamlight, and insight are my top 3 in that order. For handheld lights there are a bunch to choose from. I used streamlights at work for years. We were just issued a rechargeable pelican light that I have to admit is a pretty good light. I keep a couple rechargeable headlamps scattered around that house. They keep my hands free and the light goes where I look. Only issues is in a gunfight you better hope they don't aim for the light.

 

[021411]

Just FYI about the Inforce APL pistol light if it comes across your selection process.. I’ve used each generation of the APL and all have a drain issue. As long as you keep on it it’ll be fine. With that said I’ve had the same set of CR123’s in my handheld Surefire for the last 4 years since it doesn’t get used as much since it sits on my kitchen counter. Still has juice.

 

[The King]

I will only flat out trust stream light and surefire when the shit is going down. I have a streamlight on my Hd gun (sig rattler sbr)

 

[WATERWALKER]

There’s some solid advice given in the comments above. I’d also put a light on each weapon you intend to use for home defense. Rifle, pistol or shotgun will be based on personal preference, income, skill level, etc. Be proficient w/ whatever you choose to use.

I use Surefire & Streamlight rifle & pistol lights. They’ve both held up incredibly well over the years w/ zero issues. I’d recommend a 300 lumen light if you plan to use it both indoors & outdoors. Too much light indoors or on a light-colored surface & it’ll wash out. A strobe is a good option but be aware of seizure issues if it’ll be a problem for you or family members.

Train w/ your light. Practice activating your light. Practice de-activating your light. Practice w/ the strobe function if you go w/ that option.

A light for each weapon is how I set up my gear. Once a situation arises you won’t have time to change lights, pressure pads, etc. When it happens it’s “go time.” I get that people are cheap about gear, but can you afford to put a price on your life? Or that of family members? Train w/ your gear.

 

[slm9s]

+1 for Olight warrior

 

[W54/XM-388]

You might consider in that situation that a bunch of outdoor floodlights you can switch on all around your property might be a good idea.

The failing with leaving it all dark and just having a weapons light that moves around, is that it also makes it really easy for your opponent to see where the light is coming from if they see you before you see them, and send a pattern of rounds in the direction of the light source.

 

[brusky]

My wife and I have already discussed beefing up lighting with motion sensing lights and other deterrents around the house.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice regarding flashlights. I've got a good sense of what I need to do to get my home defense weapons up to snuff.

 

[021411]

Not to be a legal beagle but also check your state laws on defense of property. Here in Texas it’s open season on defense of property at night.

 

[Ric O'shay]

Not too sure going outside with the shotgun was the best plan. Seems like a number of bad things could have taken place in that equation.
Hitting the outdoor lights was a good idea, and having more of them is a better plan. Motion Lights are your friend.
Calling 911 and staying inside, while monitoring his activity would have been my plan. Any attempt for him to make entry and all bets are off.
Why was the car not locked? What was he looking for?

 

[brusky]

Not to be a legal beagle but also check your state laws on defense of property. Here in Texas it’s open season on defense of property at night.

I'm in Alabama. I'm good.

 

[brusky]

Not too sure going outside with the shotgun was the best plan. Seems like a number of bad things could have taken place in that equation.
Hitting the outdoor lights was a good idea, and having more of them is a better plan. Motion Lights are your friend.
Calling 911 and staying inside, while monitoring his activity would have been my plan. Any attempt for him to make entry and all bets are off.
Why was the car not locked? What was he looking for?

I didn't go out with the intention of using it in a confrontation. I went out to observe and gather information so I could pass it along to the sheriff's office if necessary. Turns out it was necessary but I had a solid weapon ready to go in the worst case scenario. He left without a major incident and only managed to grab an old GPS.

Turning the weak porch light on was a mistake as it would have backlit me and offered up an easy target. The amount of light it put off wasn't worth the risk it posed to me.

The wife's unlocked car was a mistake. It happens. Lesson learned.

 

[021411]

The only thing we can do is use incidents like this to improve upon plans and make them better. If you don’t have a plan get one going and drill. Drillers make killers.

 

[Ric O'shay]

Glad it worked out, and you all are safe.

 

[brusky]

Glad it worked out, and you all are safe.

Me too.

 

[Evintos]

You want all the lumens you can afford. Utilizing proper weapon mounted light techniques such as umbrella or baseboard lighting will prevent you from blinding yourself indoors. For reference, a 60 watt lightbulb is roughly 800 lumens. Candela is the brightness of the "hot spot." A higher candela rating has more "throw" or light projection at distance.

Streamlight or Surefire. Streamlights are more affordable allowing you to equip more than one firearm with WMLs. Streamlights have been just as reliable as Surefire for me. As with with anything in life, your mileage may vary. A Streamlight HL-X flashed at the ceiling will umbrella light a 20'x20' room (with various furniture) pretty well, could be better imo. Surefire M600DF will perform a little bit better indoors but has less of a "hot spot" compared to the HL-X and performs slightly worse projecting light to distance despite the higher lumen rating.

 

[021411]

I used to keep an 870 as a home defense weapon but in the past few years have kept an AR (SBR) with a can as my bed side set up. I don’t have any kids or a wife so God help you if you’re in my house.

 

[021411]

I have one of the new 1000 lumen X300 Ultras and have yet to blow out my vision while searching small spaces with white walls. I guess it really depends on your physiology.

 

[PDXGS]

I'd suggest an external flood lamp or lamps aimed at your driveway that are motion activated with an additional set of lamps that you can activate from inside the house.
Both should be on a circuit or circuits that you can kill if necessary.
I'm pretty sure that heading outside with the shotgun isn't on my list of things to do. But that's probably just me. I also don't like to illuminate my target until absolutely necessary for target ID.
As far as weapon lights....I'm liking my O-light Valkyrie that sits on my suppressed MPX.

https://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/olight-pl-ii-valkyrie

 

[bullseye13]

I prefer the x300's. Although the streamights are quality. I will agree with others that you need a light on all your go to home defense weapons, and a solid stand alone light.

 

[Novak77]

Surefire defender's sit right next to our pistols. I found them on eBay for about $100 ea.

As stated above gotta be careful with too much lumens. If you hit a light colored wall it can blind you for a second.

 

[thejeep]

Als

I didn't go out with the intention of using it in a confrontation. I went out to observe and gather information so I could pass it along to the sheriff's office if necessary. Turns out it was necessary but I had a solid weapon ready to go in the worst case scenario. He left without a major incident and only managed to grab an old GPS.

Turning the weak porch light on was a mistake as it would have backlit me and offered up an easy target. The amount of light it put off wasn't worth the risk it posed to me.

The wife's unlocked car was a mistake. It happens. Lesson learned.

Also check applicable laws on shooting people outside the house. You might consider a fishing pole and a tactical $20 to get them to cross the threshold.

This is for TN.

A person in lawful possession of real or personal property is justified in threatening or using force against another, when and to the degree it is reasonably believed the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property.

Use of device to protect property.
(a) The justification afforded by §§ 39-11-614and 39-11-615 extends to the use of a device for the purpose of protecting property, only if:
(1) The device is not designed to cause or known to create a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily harm;

Sounds like some Bean bags are in order.

Skip a few

Unless a person is justified in using deadly force as otherwise provided by law, a person is not justified in using deadly force to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on real estate or unlawful interference with personal property.

It may be hard to articulate “I just happened to be walking along with my 12g when this guy threatened me and I feared for my life or bodily harm.”

 

[021411]

^ The OP said he is good to go with ‘Bama laws.

 

[Novak77]

I used to keep an 870 as a home defense weapon but in the past few years have kept an AR (SBR) with a can as my bed side set up. I don’t have any kids or a wife so God help you if you’re in my house.

SBR with a can is straight up classy. Thats some not living in California anymore life goals right there.

 

[Maxduty]

Probably the best light for you is one you'll keep in your pocket. Then it's available for all of your guns. They come in handy working on cars or looking in less lit areas, even during the day. A light with a clip for your pocket and a small lanyard for your hand will probably serve you better than having to buy 3 or 4 lights for weapons in your home.

 

[021411]

If you want to use a handheld, check out the Thyrm SwitchBack flashlighr ring. Don't mind the theatrics with the twirling but it looks useful as a device to assist.

 

[The King]

I’m going to add to this thread a bit, but off in a different direction.

This applies more to my old house than now - now i live in an airstream trailer. The old house was at the edge of the South American Drug Gang expansion zone, so quickly becoming a very bad place to live. For example, I can tell you it costs $800 a bullet hole to have a body shop work on your car.

My home defense setup has a series of tactics that make it a tough nut to crack.

1. I have a ready stand with a pistol, sbr, and some other goodies like a set of soft armor.
2. Oddly one of the most important items on the stand was an iPad pro. It was setup with my camera system - and a dozen cameras.
3. My bedroom door was an exterior door, solid wood, anchored to the frame in a very hardcore fashion. Deadbolt lock.
4. At the bottom of the stairs was a pet gate. But a serious metal one not a wooden joke. Meant to give me some warning.

So if you think something is happening you hit the cameras and stay in the secured area armed.

If you have to respond, which is rare, then godspeed. There are very few situations that need a response - keep that in mind. Examples are loose kids that don’t know something is going down or some assholes filling molotovs out front.

The last time i had an incident it all started with my camera system letting me know one of the cameras was now offline. Crappy cameras do this all the time - the ones i had had never done that even once. It sent a text to my phone.

The daughter texts me and let’s me know a camera is offline, and that the kids were upstairs and had armed themselves per my guidelines.

When i investigated i found they had ripped my kitchen to pieces. They were looking for the super fancy key fobs to my “unstealable” mercedes. Turns out they took an old key fob for my mercedes station wagon i hadn’t owned in 10 years. I keep the car keys in the protected area.

So yeah - a little money spent on the premisis can make all the difference in outcomes.

If you need cameras and don’t want to spend an ass tonne of money, look at the WYZE cams. You can deploy 10 of them for $250 and they work great. If you have money and time to do a wired install the FLIR cameras are also great. the 4k ones.

 

[Sutherlandsd]

Cameras are a great solution, although they are pricier than the WYZE cams, I have about 11 of the Blink XT cameras around my property. They are AA battery ran and advertised to last 2 years (reality 6-8 months...). They are really nice though because you can put them in some pretty hidden spots (find someone who prints stickers and make them camo or wood for even stealthier placement, they also sell these on amazon). No monthly fee either which is a big plus.

Flashlight wise stick the surefire light on that Mossberg, I have it... LOVE IT.

 

[strikeeagle1]

You hardly never read about legal gun owners getting into trouble over equipment choices.

For me, so far the best information to emphasize is in the original OP post :
"30 minutes or so later the local sheriff's office spotted him and chased him 10 miles or so before he finally wrecked."

Law enforcement officers have an added layer of protection from the law that most of us do not enjoy; qualified immunity ! Sometimes they too make a Serious Mistake, such that even immunity is not enough, see end of post.

The Tactical Professor, hosted by Claude Werner, is an interesting source of information for topics such as this one.

https://www.facebook.com/ATLFirearms/

At the website, situations where law-gun owners (legal and not) converge there is a matrix wherein circumstance analysis results get cataloged and discussed.
1.Good Decision-Positive Outcome
2.Good Decision-Negative Outcome
3.Serious Mistake - Positive Outcome
4.Serious Mistake - Negative Outcome

Many 'to-do' lists published for gun owners are reverse engineered in the form of 'Mistakes Carriers Make' or the like. Those lists usually include topics such as: caliber, not carrying all the time, printing, touching, forgetting the firearm, wrong equipment (as in this instance) or clothes, not knowing the laws, etc.

While those are worth considering, it's also useful to think more about future results, both in terms of positive outcomes and negative outcomes. After all, the whole purpose of owning a weapon for personal protection is avoiding a negative outcome, to wit: death or serious bodily injury. However, as the saying goes: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Owning a firearm can also put us in the position of incurring negative outcomes.

What kind of negative outcomes could occur? How about the ones that will land you or an innocent person in the hospital or morgue? Ending up in prison is also definitely a negative outcome.

Examples of Negative outcomes are seemingly endless and can result from Serious Mistakes such as:

• Gun handling issues
o Negligent discharges - shooting yourself unintentionally
o Negligent discharges - shooting someone else unintentionally
o Losing or forgetting your gun in a public place

• Marksmanship issues
o Lacking confidence in your ability and getting too close to a criminal
o Shooting beyond your skill level and hitting an innocent downrange

• Tactical issues
o Shooting at someone without identifying the target
o Chasing criminals after they break off contact

• Legal issues
o Shooting when it's not justified
o Carrying where it's illegal
o Firing warning shots
* Threatening to use or use of lethal force to defend personal or real property.

Issues like that are things that gun owners often don't realize can hurt them badly. And don't think that 'common sense,' which is frequently preached, will prevent them. There is little common sense in the law; in fact, much of it is the opposite of common sense. And common sense, in general, is a conscious process. Unfortunately, gun handling and shooting, like driving a motor vehicle, are largely unconscious processes. We learn unconscious processes during the mechanical repetition of training and practice, not by reading and thinking.

New gun owners aren't the only ones with issues, either. Long time owners often are just tempting the law of averages or they have become complacent.

While it's usually not useful to dwell on what not to do, because you can't do a negative, it can be useful to think about what to avoid. Avoidance is the conscious observation of a known hazard and then going around it. That's something we can do, as long as we know what the hazard is. We do it every time we see a hole in the ground and walk around it.

It's one thing to formulate a situational Plan, it is quite another to fully think through the consequences of said Plan.

Serious Mistake Negative Outcome for LE
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/30/us/dallas-police-officer-botham-jean/index.html

Serious Mistake Negative Outcome for firefighter with shotgun in broad daylight! He missed and is still going to do hard time.
http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/loc...HtlPC57KtAsGi_pkxhS60H7neKU-9HdE3WcNzvfRb6ZPo

Since we are talking Mossberg, I have this 14" 590A1 with Surefire Compact Scout. Not at the bedside.

 

[The King]

It’s good to be informed about these issues, and key to not let them push you out of thinking that defending your person is still a good idea.

Shooting two trespassers in the back is damn stupid.

Shooting someone kidnapping one of your children in the front, back, side, or otherwise is a great idea. It’s a shame that we live in a country that is desperately trying to teach everyone that getting your kids back in a body bag is preferable to dealing with our legal system.

I used to teach personal defense, and in every single class someone asked “should i shoot someone when ... xyz... thing happens”

My answer eventually became “it costs $50,000 to shoot someone. legal fees, time off work, etc etc. That’s the average...”. So ask yourself if it’s worth $50k.

Someone taking my TV? Nope...Car....Nope...someone trying to rape my daughter? Yup. Murder my wife? Yup. Kill me? Indeed. It starts to make the decision making a little less dumb and easy to make on the fly.

It is best to let the police handle shit...and it’s best to make sure that you control the situation such that the shit getting handled is all about the perp and their future with the cops and not all about what your landlord is going to do with your dead body and all of your stuff.

You hardly never read about legal gun owners getting into trouble over equipment choices.

For me, so far the best information to emphasize is in the original OP post :
"30 minutes or so later the local sheriff's office spotted him and chased him 10 miles or so before he finally wrecked."

Law enforcement officers have an added layer of protection from the law that most of us do not enjoy; sovereign immunity ! Sometimes they too make a Serious Mistake, such that even immunity is not enough, see end of post.

The Tactical Professor, hosted by Claude Werner, is an interesting source of information for topics such as this one.

https://www.facebook.com/ATLFirearms/

At the website, situations where law-gun owners (legal and not) converge there is a matrix wherein circumstance analysis results get cataloged and discussed.
1.Good Decision-Positive Outcome
2.Good Decision-Negative Outcome
3.Serious Mistake - Positive Outcome
4.Serious Mistake - Negative Outcome

Many 'to-do' lists published for gun owners are reverse engineered in the form of 'Mistakes Carriers Make' or the like. Those lists usually include topics such as: caliber, not carrying all the time, printing, touching, forgetting the firearm, wrong equipment (as in this instance) or clothes, not knowing the laws, etc.

While those are worth considering, it's also useful to think more about future results, both in terms of positive outcomes and negative outcomes. After all, the whole purpose of owning a weapon for personal protection is avoiding a negative outcome, to wit: death or serious bodily injury. However, as the saying goes: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Owning a firearm can also put us in the position of incurring negative outcomes.

What kind of negative outcomes could occur? How about the ones that will land you or an innocent person in the hospital or morgue? Ending up in prison is also definitely a negative outcome.

Examples of Negative outcomes are seemingly endless and can result from Serious Mistakes such as:

• Gun handling issues
o Negligent discharges - shooting yourself unintentionally
o Negligent discharges - shooting someone else unintentionally
o Losing or forgetting your gun in a public place

• Marksmanship issues
o Lacking confidence in your ability and getting too close to a criminal
o Shooting beyond your skill level and hitting an innocent downrange

• Tactical issues
o Shooting at someone without identifying the target
o Chasing criminals after they break off contact

• Legal issues
o Shooting when it's not justified
o Carrying where it's illegal
o Firing warning shots
* Threatening to use or use of lethal force to defend personal or real property.

Issues like that are things that gun owners often don't realize can hurt them badly. And don't think that 'common sense,' which is frequently preached, will prevent them. There is little common sense in the law; in fact, much of it is the opposite of common sense. And common sense, in general, is a conscious process. Unfortunately, gun handling and shooting, like driving a motor vehicle, are largely unconscious processes. We learn unconscious processes during the mechanical repetition of training and practice, not by reading and thinking.

New gun owners aren't the only ones with issues, either. Long time owners often are just tempting the law of averages or they have become complacent.

While it's usually not useful to dwell on what not to do, because you can't do a negative, it can be useful to think about what to avoid. Avoidance is the conscious observation of a known hazard and then going around it. That's something we can do, as long as we know what the hazard is. We do it every time we see a hole in the ground and walk around it.

It's one thing to formulate a situational Plan, it is quite another to fully think through the consequences of said Plan.

Serious Mistake Negative Outcome for LE
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/30/us/dallas-police-officer-botham-jean/index.html

Serious Mistake Negative Outcome for firefighter with shotgun in broad daylight! He missed and is still going to do hard time.
http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/loc...HtlPC57KtAsGi_pkxhS60H7neKU-9HdE3WcNzvfRb6ZPo


View attachment 6983777


View attachment 6983778



Since we are talking Mossberg, I have this 14" 590A1 with Surefire Compact Scout. Not at the bedside.

View attachment 6983779

 

[LawnMM]

Didn't read all the prior, just skimmed, that said... You're being foolish

Why leave the safety of the house to confront somebody who might be armed? Is anything in her car worth potentially making her a widow over? Turn on the lights, call the cops, stay in the house.

Having said that, Surefire is top shelf, Streamlight is good but meh in my opinion, Inforce is a great value. APLc for pistols or WML for long guns. You do need to be able to identify your target in the dark. Just don't push a bad situation.

If they come inside, game on, struggling to think of something worth leaving the house over if your loved ones are already safe inside with you.

 

[Mike_Honcho]

Think of the power of a vis laser in such situations.......

White light is not always associated with a weapon on the receiving end, vis laser is. Dual output units are expensive but have their place. How it mounts and how you actuate it are part of what you pay for.

YMMV

 

[Rerun7]

I keep a hand held surefire by my bed and I have streamlights mounted on each of my defense weapons. I had an incident a few years ago that exposed some weaknesses in my defenses too. Learn from it and practice with everything you would intend to use until it becomes second nature. Especially getting into a safe in the dark and tactics of how you would get to loved ones in your home.

 

[021411]

Wish I had a GPNVG-18 and a helmet. Play in the dark with the turd and IR stuff. lol

 

[HogsLife]

My EDC light is a Fenix TK15UE. Great light.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

I like surefire for my weapon lights. I have multiple millennium series on all my HD setups. I like streamilights pistol lights, my wife runs TLR-6 on her Glock 27 and I run a TLR-3 on my Glock 35. I also keep a Viridian laser/light combo on my EDC FNS40 at night. My G35 stays locked up mostly nowadays and I run the FN bar during the day and Viridian at home at night.

I'm glad to hear that everything turned out ok. It's a great learning experience for yourself and family. It helps to form a plan and reflect on how to make these decisions in the future.

I do skimp on some gear, so I can shoot in the meantime until I can afford to upgrade. But I've put the best I can into my HD and carry guns. When it comes to lights on my HD pistols, the streamlights have proven very reliable. I use a Surefire M951 on my 300blk that is my HD rifle. I used to run an 870 with a surefire forend as my HD long gun but have found I can control and maneuver my 7.5" 300blk much better than the 18" 870. I feel better with the 300blk rounds than I do 00 buck. With practice I feel like I've got more control over the AR especially inside a house.

 

[TheGerman]

You need a weapon mounted light on any weapon you plan to use for home defense, period. Handheld lights around the house are fine, but nothing feels more awkward than having some sort of rifle like a shotgun or AR and trying to use one of your 2 hands to fuck around with a flashlight.

Secondly, don't pursue out of a secure location; especially when you don't know whats around the corners. If you don't have an eye in the sky or enough video cameras to know what you're up against, how many and where they are before going out, you don't, unless your house is on fire or something. Additionally you alerted him/them that something was going on when you flicked the light on and off. For all you knew, the guy you saw and were probably fixated on so much that you had tunnel-vision on him and only him could have had a friend around the other side of the vehicle and another checking out your neighbor's driveway; both could have converged on you within seconds and you wouldn't have known it.

Reminds me of the look I gave a county deputy years ago when I had an attempted break in at my house in Florida. Was up working on my computer but almost all the lights were out. Kept hearing this weird metallic scratching and realized someone was trying to 'track' my glass sliding doors on my lanai. What he didn't realize is that mine were 3x the normal size and weighed a couple hundred pounds a piece, so he was never going to be able to do it. But whatever, grabed the M4 with a mag in it and put 2x 30 rounders in my pockets. Stayed in a room that was 90 degrees to where he/they would walk in if they got the door open to basically ambush them; felt like I was standing there for 2 hours, but probably more like 2-3 minutes. I had no idea where I had left my cell phone, but focused on the mission at hand, that wasn't going to matter anyways. My main concern was that he was just the door guy, and there were more waiting once he got it open, or they would then try to enter with different methods.

Kid never got the door open. I figured he was going to end up bending shit or fucking up something so I walked to the glass, tapped on the window and lit him up with my weapon mounted light while my M4 was 2 inches from his face, on the other side of the glass. He got up, ran and ran into a metal bulkhead for my outdoor metal roof on the lanai. Got back up and ran out into the darkness. When the police came, the deputy asked me if I had pursued him outside to get a better look at him or whatever. I literally asked him if he was fucking stupid; for all I knew, I was going to run after him, and his 2-3 friends that were going to help him steal all of my shit were around the corner - what if one had a gun? What if they panicked and saw me running past with a gun?

A few things:

- Wife needs to learn how to at least hold/use a firearm to shoot someone that's hallway distance away. This behavior of freezing and hoping someone helps when some shit is going down is doing absolutely no one any good. The worst part is these are also the ones most likely to start screaming when its time to go to work; I fucking hate listening to the 'bystander screaming' more than I hate having rounds come past me.

- Stay in the house unless you can't; identify weak points as well as choke points where to set up. Designate a 'Alamo' position as well.

- It's your car; you have insurance. Plus it could have cost you way more than that. Stay in the house.

- Assume there are always more people to fight than you can see.

- Designated weapon light on EVERY HD gun. Put HD guns in specific locations in your house so both you and the wife know where they are. Have spare mags/ammo for each gun at their location as well.

- Practice with the light at night when you shoot. It's not as easy as you think as you have to insert a step into your process and it'll feel weird. Additionally, don't put the light on to look around for your target, find your target or the target area and quickly strobe it when you are ready to shoot.

- Lights are 2 way streets; if you shined a light on me in Afghanistan you ended up with at least 2 rounds fired right where the light was and me moving the second I fired the last shot. Don't search with the light, don't leave it on for any longer than you PID your target and engage, then move.

 

[308pirate]

struggling to think of something worth leaving the house over if your loved ones are already safe inside with you.

About the only situations I can possibly think of would be people shooting into my house or actively trying to burn it down with us inside.

Short of that, hard to imagine.

 

[W54/XM-388]

- Lights are 2 way streets; if you shined a light on me in Afghanistan you ended up with at least 2 rounds fired right where the light was and me moving the second I fired the last shot. Don't search with the light, don't leave it on for any longer than you PID your target and engage, then move.

Excellent notes there.

 

[Wyzrd]

To the OP, get some good bright lights for the crib and for your weapons. I would recommend Surefire and/or Streamlight for weapon lights.... Inforce coming in third place. Like a lot of guys have already stated, they’re a mandatory add-on for HD weapons. I carry a G19 daily and before I crash out for the night I put a Streamlight TLR1-HL light on it before putting it on my nightstand. I also have a 14.5” AR15 for HD that has a Surefire Scout light on it. My wife’s HD rifle is an M&P 15-22 loaded with CCI Stingers with a red dot and another Streamlight. Anyways, I’m glad to hear that that situation didn’t escalate into anything more serious.

 

[TheGerman]

Since its almost Christmas and all, sounds like you need to update your Santa list with:

KAC CQB Mod2 upper
EoTech EXPS2-0
Surefire scout light
Okay 30rd magazines
Pistol/rifle class for wifey and you

 

[PDXGS]

Decent sale on these now....
https://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/tactical/olight-pl-ii-valkyrie

 

[MULLINS2171]

In my opinion u need a light on each HD weapon. Then u need to train with said light and so does the wife/children. I make mine go threw training and drills with me once a month at the house.

 

[Alaskashooter]

In a surefire fan. I’ve given most of my family members one model or another of surefire as well. I personally carry a scout vampire because I’m tacticool like that. Really it’s because it was an added benefit for days when I’m running nv and I can always swap the bezel into a weapon light. I also liked the scout because the switch is protected. I spend a lot of time in a truck and I carry it everyday so i prefer not to accidentally be illuminating my pocket. My EDC and home defense pistol has an XC1 on it. Not the brightest light but has a good flood, which is most handy indoors IMO. I don’t run a streamlight anymore because the toggle switches are so damn easy to set off that they turn on if they bump clothing during a draw. Tried inforce as well. Decent light, weapon mounted light went down the road. Had it on a carbine and the rubber pressure pad in cold weather goes solid and can’t activate the switch (probably not an issue for most people but I’m in Alaska and it’s a real thing) anyway, hope you find a light that you like these are my opinions.

 

[david walter]

I didn't go out with the intention of using it in a confrontation. I went out to observe and gather information so I could pass it along to the sheriff's office if necessary.

I haven't read the whole thread to see if this comment has been made, but exterior cameras are inexpensive, even with IR, and record what you need recorded without exposing yourself to harm.

 

[elwarpo]

For a hand held I really like the eagletac T200c3. It is 1200 lumens but has a few settings. I also use the thrym switchback on it. for a weapons mounted light (long gun and handgun), I prefer something small and light so the Surefire x300 or the Streamlight TLR-1.

 

[bikeracer]

Botach has the X300 on sale for $180 - $120 off list.

 

[J-Ham]

Do people still order from Botach?