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There are worse things
than being shot, and
killing your own child or
spouse is one of them.
name of article here
This is a continuation of our discussion from a previous
column (Behind the Line, CCM January 2011) concerning
shooting techniques for low light encounters.
To recap our earlier discussion,
there is a distinct difference between
the low light needs of a
SWAT police officer or a military door
kicker (who are both quite often tasked
with going into dark places to actively
seek out bad guys) and the role of
the private citizen in self defense. The
flashlight is a “proactive instrument,”
whereas the handgun is a “reactive instrument.”
In a typical street robbery,
carjacking, or similar crime resulting in
a need for immediate self defense, there
will be neither the time nor the need to
deploy a flashlight. These events do not
take place in total darkness, and the
range involved is typically quite short,
particularly in a low light environment.
Realistically, about the only circumstance
involving a flashlight and a
handgun at the same time for a private
citizen is in the home, at night, when
investigating the proverbial “things
that go bump in the night.” Here again
though, the mission is still quite different
for the homeowner and the SWAT officer
serving a warrant. The homeowner
should know the layout of the home, the
location of choke points and obstacles,
and have a general plan of action built
on that knowledge. He won’t need the
flashlight for navigation. Actually, the
primary purpose of the flashlight for the
homeowner will be target identification
and target discrimination. The armed
homeowner needs to know for certain if
that is an intruder in the hallway or his
teenage son sneaking in after curfew.
Unless you live alone, this is a circumstance
fraught with the possibility of a
tragedy of disastrous proportions! You
must know who that is before pointing
a loaded deadly weapon at them under
highly stressful conditions. There are
worse things than being shot, and killing
your own child or spouse is one of them.
Let’s start with weapon-mounted
lights, which are very fashionable right
now. Almost all current defensive handgun
designs include rails on the dust cover
to allow the attachment of a compact
light source, and several manufacturers
make rugged, dependable pistol lights
with high light output. Some years ago, I
felt that these were a sensible addition to
a dedicated home defense handgun, or
“nightstand pistol,” particularly if coupled
with a high capacity autoloader. If
the homeowner grabbed the gun in the
middle of the night, he would likely have
enough ammo in a high-cap pistol, and
the light source already attached would
not have to be found and grabbed separately.
However, recent developments
have changed my opinion.
In the past few months there have
been two negligent shootings (one fatal)
of unarmed suspects by police officers
with a weapon mounted light on a
handgun who were trying to illuminate a
suspect. In both cases, the officer meant
to activate the light, and unintentionally
fired the gun, striking the suspect.
Go back to the second paragraph above.
If you are trying to light up the shadowy
figure in the hall, but shoot your
child unintentionally, you will have to
live with the consequences. There are
several factors at work here that make
these tragedies more likely. First, few
homeowners are going to train with the
light on the gun to the point of learning
to work the switches without getting a
finger near the trigger, particularly under
high stress. I’m not talking about
getting practice firing the gun with the
light attached. I’m talking about practicing
using the light without firing the
gun. Second, the Force Science Institute
and other highly respected sources
have documented the phenomenon of
“trigger searching,” even among highly
trained and skilled SWAT operators. Do
a quick Google search on Force Science
and “trigger search” for further enlightenment
(forgive the pun). Third, if the
only light you have is a weapon mounted
light, you have to point the gun at
everything you look at; a clear violation
of Rule Two (never point your gun at
anything you are not willing to destroy).
Remember, the purpose of an illumination
tool is to identify and discriminate
a target before pointing a gun at it.
This is not possible if your only light is
weapon mounted. So, the bottom line
is, even if you have a weapon mounted
light (WML), you have to have a hand
held light, as well. The WML is strictly for
shooting, not for searching or for target
identification.
That brings us to hand-held flashlight
techniques. We’ll discuss these in detail
in the third installment in this series. H
Tom Givens is the owner of Rangemaster
in Memphis, TN. For over 30 years Tom’s
duties have included firearms instruction.
He is certified as an expert witness
on firearms and firearms training, giving
testimony in both state and federal
courts. He serves as an adjunct instructor
at the Memphis Police Department
Training Academy, the largest in the
state. Tom’s training resume includes
certification from the FBI Police Firearms
Instructor School, NRA Law Enforcement
Instructor Development School, NRA
Law Enforcement Tactical Shooting
Instructor School, Gunsite 499 under Jeff
Cooper, and more.