Sledgehammer - I quoted this, but IE is being weird, so here goes:
"And this may be the misunderstanding, crw... to me, pointing a weapon at someone is aiming your weapon at someone. They're the same to me. So, if you're pointing your long gun at someone so that the flashlight let's you identify them, you're aiming your gun at them! And I don't see how you can quickly identify someone without hitting them with a flashlight. "
I totally agree that pointing your schnitzel at someone is tantamount to firing it, which is why a separate light is needed if you intend to use a flashlight for identification of anything other than something you're already pretty sure you'll need to, or be willing to shoot.
As for the last part - you don't see how you can quickly ID someone without hitting them with the flashlight.
First off, I hope you don't run around hitting people with flashlights. Or anything else for that matter. It's not polite, and it could leave a bruise! Only hit them with the PHOTONS!!!
Ok, comic break over - in realistic situations, and keep in mind I'm picturing MY house, so adjust accordingly - but in typical situations where I have to ID someone or something in or near my house, there are always enough lights on to where I can see if it's one of my parents, or my dog, or one of my friends. There is a "feeling" (I hate talking about feelings, but that's how it presents itself to the conscious psyche) that you're looking at the outline of your loved one, and not the outline of some random douche that wants to rob the place.
In essence, your brain is looking for the curve of your wife's neck, the pattern in the hem of the night gown she was wearing, the scent of her hair, her height, her overall relative size and a variety of mathematically descrptable aspects of her form and movement. ALL of these things combine to identify and define an abstract data construct within your brain called "wife" (or honey, "my wife" etc.). When you see her shadow cast from around a corner, you'll have a pretty good betting chance that you "know" it's her, without seeing her. First, you likely saw where she was a few minutes ago, have an idea of her reasons for being wherever you two are, and have a guestimate on a range of trajectories she could have taken, and if the shadow lies on one of those trajectories, and it looks like hers, then you'll assume it is hers, and not have to wonder where she is - you'll walk around the corner and simply say "hey honey - i've been looking all over for you?!"
What you seem to be concerned about is exactly the opposite. So I'm in my hypothetical home, walking down the hallway, and I've gotten out of bed. I don't know where my wife is, which likely means I don't sleep in the same bed or bedroom, since if I did, I'd know immediately where she is (elsewhere) or is not (next to me) before grabbing my weapons and light.
I then proceed down the hallway, which is pitch black, and hear footsteps. I have to shine my flashlight towards the footsteps, and point my gun in the direction of the footsteps (because if it's an attacker I have just revealed my position). And here we are back at the conundrum, as far as I see it.
Either way, best practice dictates that the line of sight follows the point of aim and vice versa, you're not looking to the right while your gun tracks left - then you're pointing without aiming, right? There's SOME flexibility, however, in that you can muzzle your weapon slightly down or to the side, and shine the light on a loved one, or in front of them, without leading them into the muzzle line, but you're still pretty damn close to pointing your gun at them if you're going to maintain some modicum of control and proper form.
My solution is to use other clues, and to hone the skills required to read those clues as second nature, to determine who is where, and whether they belong there.
So here's my accurzied hypothetical, and hopefully it'll help you see my point of view, and maybe lend some ideas that you may not be implementing. (I've got a pistol, not a long gun. Tried a shotgun, and it just doesn't work with my comfort zone for moving through my house with all the twists and turns, and an AR seems like overkill, unless I coudl get an underslung shotgun that didn't make it a class III... I digress)
So, *bump, clatter clatter* Wtf was that?!
I bolt upright, as does my dog, if he's not already at the bedroom door ready to kick ass and take names. Snag the pistol with one hand, knife, light, and spare mag in the other. Spare mag gets tucked in the undies (Thank god for cold stainless steel and no pockets) as I move to the door, and the light gets clicked on, then pressed off - so it's now momentary on/off. This particular light has a laser pointer in it too. Not terribly useful except for distracting the dog for a few minutes of tail-chasing.
Anyhow, I move down the hall. I'm listening more intently than I'm looking, since all I'll see are faintly outlined figures via night light or moonlight. The dog goes ahead of me, and his reactions to folks in the hallway are always more keen - if it's a bud or a family member, I instantly know based on his reaction. Absent the pup, I know who's where simply by listening. I can hear the type of sound the feet are making - bare feet or slippers? gotta be someone that belongs here, and is up for a pee or a drink. Shoes? I'm the only one with a dog to walk, so it must be someone that came in from outside, likely uninvited. If I see a figure, the rate of movement is going to tell alot as well, as I move down the hall or the stairs, people that belong there are going to react slowly - "oh, you
re up! want some coffee?" vs. "oh shit, the homeowner's up, and this is huntin' country!"
Even in the shadows, body language can tell you a lot. I don't know if you simply haven't paid attention to that sort of technique, but it comes to me naturally, quite possibly because of time spent camping with my Dad, learning to identify animals by the sounds they made - voles moving through leaves sound like someone slowly tearing tissue paper, a deer foraging sounds like two men stepping in time because of the way they walk. An owl sounds like a hole in the sky - because of the way their wing feathers work, it creates a dead spot in the background sound, provided background noise levels are low enough for you to even tell the differnece. Bat's are kind of the same, but I think they sound like a flyback transformer getting ready to arc over, and the laminations are vibrating.
You can't really teach someone these sounds without experiencing them in the field, just like tracking requires hands-on practice. Maybe clearing a house, or specifically clearing YOUR house requires the same sort of learning process through practice?
Just my thoughts. Hope it doesn't sound preachy or arrogant or anything. I re-edited and snipped a few bits out that were duplicitous or just awkwardly worded, so it might be a bit disjointed. Just take it with a grain of salt - it's all meant to be helpful and stimulate discussion.
Anyhoo, since the sun is up...
zzzzz
Orion
