Blinded by the Light…
Humans are incredible creatures. It always amazes me how far some are able to push themselves to the limits. Just watch some of those Parkour videos to see what I mean. Sadly, one thing we’ve never been able to develop is the ability to see in the dark without some kind of external assistance. Until the day comes that they’re able to transplant a cat’s eyes into a human, we’re stuck with flashlights and night vision goggles. The transplant idea is still awesome though. Especially if I could do that thing where a cat’s eyes get all big and look all cute and stuff. Then I could talk my way out of any trouble I get into with Mrs. Noob. I’d just be like **big eyes** “Look how cute I am” then she’d be all “Aww! You’re so adorable! I can’t stay mad at you for hiding your socks all over the house.”
Side note: you’ve just had a rather disturbing glimpse into how my mind works.
Anyway, one of the greatest benefits of modern guns is the Picatinny rail. These let you securely attach any number of accessories to your guns in order to customize them however you like. From lasers and flashlights to bayonets a bottle openers, you can take your gun to ridiculous levels of practicality or ridiculousness.
If you have a gun and the words “home protection” show up anywhere in your justification for owning it (and it has rails, of course), you should look into a flashlight for it. Look up any article about a home invasion robbery. You’re going to have to work very, very hard to find one that doesn’t have the words “overnight” or “last night” in them. While it does happen, very rarely will a criminal kick down your door during the day. Why? Because it’s dark at night! People are asleep. People aren’t roaming around. It’s the same reason ninjas work at night: they’re less likely to be caught. You’re asleep so you’re already at a disadvantage. Rather than taking the time to turn on the lights in the room, you have a light attached to your gun illuminating everything your gun is pointed at.
There’s an added bonus as well that I’ve not seen many talk about: the nature of how 99% of flashlights work can give you a rudimentary target indicator. Pick up any flashlight nearby (and no, the light on your cellphone doesn’t count for this demonstration). You notice how you get a big, bright outer ring and a brighter, smaller inner ring? That inner ring can be used in a pinch to gauge where the bullet is going to hit. Usually, the impact point will be at the upper ¼ of that inner ring. This allows you to keep both eyes open which will help tremendously for recognizing and identifying threats in your home. That being said, it’s important to take your flashlight to a range and practice with it so you’ll know where in that ring the bullet will impact. Should you rely on it 100%? Never. Still, knowledge is power and anything that can help you should be utilized.
Some other gun flashlights even have the ability to use a laser and the flashlight at the same time. That’s the best option for home defense, in my opinion. The problem is that it’s not the cheapest option with most of those combo devices starting at $200 and shooting way up from there. Frankly, it’s worth it to be absolutely sure you’re shooting at a bad guy and not something else.
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