Self defense training.....in the dark
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2,999 Posts
Those who claim facial identification is not possible at low light levels where tritium night sights are needed should take one of these classes.
I've seen several online gun forum discussions where some make statements like, "if the sights are not visible (un-illuminated), then there is insufficient light to identify faces". Total garbage.
Your thoughts?
I've seen several online gun forum discussions where some make statements like, "if the sights are not visible (un-illuminated), then there is insufficient light to identify faces". Total garbage.
Your thoughts?
My thoughts? Don't develop any preconceived notions about shooting or fighting in the dark. Practice a bit in dark and low light, and make your own determinations and rules about what you will and will not do. Then, when it REALLY happens, you'll have to respond and evaluate all over again. And I'm sure not going to try to ell anyone what THEY should do unless I'm standing right next to them at the time.......
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1,511 Posts
I shot in very dark "fun"houses for a few years regularly and learnt that a powder with a flash suppressor isn't a bad idea. Some calibres and short barrels will have more flash than others, regardless of additives and a ported barrel will have a more deteriorating effect on the ability of its shooter to see in the dark.
Some calibres and ammo really lit the room up!
Some calibres and ammo really lit the room up!
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1,294 Posts
Here are my take aways....
- Gun flashes and flashlights not only can blind you but give your location away. So you need to be moving constantly especially from side to side. Use light to your advantage.
- If you move from low/no light to full light, the assault is on.
- Sights are nearly useless. Guys....I was mostly pointing and shooting. Not really much time to aim. Although, we were using double taps followed by hammer drops...where sights do help a ton on those shots. However...see below comment.
- Shooting with a red dot was a HUGE advantage in the dark. Wow. Every home defense gun should be equipped with one. I found red dots in the dark to be a big game changer.
- Flash lights should be turned on for less than a second. Just to illuminate the target, identify the target, blind the target, then acquire and shoot and move with the light off.
- Lasers are great too....but give away your position.
We also did target shooting in the dark too.....as warm ups.
We all started from 50ft with lights on. Shoot ten rounds.
Then later, turned lights off....shot at 50ft with 10 rounds. All we could do was momentarily flip on the flash light. It wasn’t pure black but very low light.
I was the best shooter in the group with this drill by a wide margine because I do it all the time. We were using a 25 yard tali’s fire target.
In low light, I hit all 10 rounds in the black, much to the dissmay of the instructor. What I found was that the flash light was a hinderence. I never used it. I couldnt find the red center but rather a black fuzy blob in the center. But the red dot allowed me to place the dot over the blob and bam....hit it 10 out of 10. Those with standard sights struggled. Some guys even missing the paper with some of their rounds. My low light target was better than my full light but that was also an issue of being warmed up too.
Red dots are fantastic in the dark!
- Gun flashes and flashlights not only can blind you but give your location away. So you need to be moving constantly especially from side to side. Use light to your advantage.
- If you move from low/no light to full light, the assault is on.
- Sights are nearly useless. Guys....I was mostly pointing and shooting. Not really much time to aim. Although, we were using double taps followed by hammer drops...where sights do help a ton on those shots. However...see below comment.
- Shooting with a red dot was a HUGE advantage in the dark. Wow. Every home defense gun should be equipped with one. I found red dots in the dark to be a big game changer.
- Flash lights should be turned on for less than a second. Just to illuminate the target, identify the target, blind the target, then acquire and shoot and move with the light off.
- Lasers are great too....but give away your position.
We also did target shooting in the dark too.....as warm ups.
We all started from 50ft with lights on. Shoot ten rounds.
Then later, turned lights off....shot at 50ft with 10 rounds. All we could do was momentarily flip on the flash light. It wasn’t pure black but very low light.
I was the best shooter in the group with this drill by a wide margine because I do it all the time. We were using a 25 yard tali’s fire target.
In low light, I hit all 10 rounds in the black, much to the dissmay of the instructor. What I found was that the flash light was a hinderence. I never used it. I couldnt find the red center but rather a black fuzy blob in the center. But the red dot allowed me to place the dot over the blob and bam....hit it 10 out of 10. Those with standard sights struggled. Some guys even missing the paper with some of their rounds. My low light target was better than my full light but that was also an issue of being warmed up too.
Red dots are fantastic in the dark!
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14,299 Posts
^^^^^Agree with that. I have laser/light combos and red dots on ALL my HD pistols. I like options.....enabling me to choose the right option to fit the situation.
Great info. I did a class liike this a long time agon, sady no nearby range wants this liability anymore.
My instructor threw children's toys, lego bricks, wooden blocks and other things, (much like most households with kids) so when you were sliding side to side to "get off the X" after shooting, you risked giving yourself away or even tripping yourself up and had to compensate. I was all nerves, just like the real thing, it seemed so realistic.
If you have the opportunity, IMO no/lo light training is essential.
My instructor's direction is also, he who moves fisrt is probably dead. then we had to face the conundrum in his scenario of getting across the "house" to get the kids, and of course not shooting them either. I reflected on this training for months afterward. I realized, if you cannot barricade, then getting out of the house and calling the cops is 90% of the time, the best solution.
If you've no experience in this realm, it will totally destroy many misconceptions you have, I promise you that.
My instructor threw children's toys, lego bricks, wooden blocks and other things, (much like most households with kids) so when you were sliding side to side to "get off the X" after shooting, you risked giving yourself away or even tripping yourself up and had to compensate. I was all nerves, just like the real thing, it seemed so realistic.
If you have the opportunity, IMO no/lo light training is essential.
My instructor's direction is also, he who moves fisrt is probably dead. then we had to face the conundrum in his scenario of getting across the "house" to get the kids, and of course not shooting them either. I reflected on this training for months afterward. I realized, if you cannot barricade, then getting out of the house and calling the cops is 90% of the time, the best solution.
If you've no experience in this realm, it will totally destroy many misconceptions you have, I promise you that.
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