#1 Gun Accessory for Home Defense

(TacticalNews.com) – Roughly 1,230,149 burglaries were reported in the United States in 2018 according to the FBI. This proves that you need to be prepared to defend your family in the event of a home invasion, and choosing the right gun for the task is just the beginning.

Once you have selected an appropriate firearm to protect your family, you’ll need to decide which attachments are needed. There is a huge range of gun accessories for almost any imaginable weapon – but are all of these attachments necessary? When it comes down to defending your home, one accessory is arguably better than all the others.

Which one of these do you think will give you the biggest edge when your home is threatened?

Laser
Optical sight
Magazine extender
Tactical light

The answer might surprise some of you – it’s the tactical light.

If you find yourself defending your household from an invader in the early morning hours, having a mounted flashlight will be an invaluable asset. Even a well-lit structure sometimes has dark spots, so the usefulness of a light isn’t just limited to nighttime hours. You want to be able to see and identify your target before blindly firing away. If it’s your son or daughter trying to sneak into the house after curfew, or up to get a late-night glass of water, you don’t want to misidentify them as a burglar.

Too Bright, or Just Right?

One thing to consider here is which light to use. Mounted flashlights come in a variety of brightness levels, focuses, and intensities. When you decide to purchase one for your firearm, make sure you check these factors to decide which is right for you.

You will likely be asleep when an invader breaks in at night. Turning a blinding light on will distort your already sleepy vision even more. Sure, it may blind your attacker as well, but you do not want to be in a situation where you are gambling on whose vision will clear up first.

The easiest way to determine if the light will be too bright is to test it out. Set an alarm for two or three a.m. and immediately turn it on after you wake up. If you find it is too bright, you may want to diffuse it a bit. To do this, cover the lens with scotch tape to dim it down. You can also purchase a model that comes with dimmers built in.

To Use, or Not to Use…

Now that you’ve equipped your firearm with the tactical light accessory and tested it, you need to know how to properly use it. For starters, turning a light on in a dark house is a dead giveaway of your position. You don’t want your light to become an enemy if you chose to look for the intruder.

You have an advantage in this situation as you know the layout of your home, but your intruder doesn’t (unless they are someone you know or they have cased out your residence in advance). You should be able to get through halls without using your light, but make sure you don’t trip over anything while you’re doing it.

When you enter areas that the invader could hide in, such as behind doors, now is the time to use your light. Quickly turn on the torch to scan these areas and then turn it back off once you have verified the area is clear. Only leave the light on once you have confirmed your target.

To ensure you’re ready for such a scenario, remember that practice is the key. Turn your lights off and practice walking your home in the dark until you’re comfortable with it. Learn the places that could conceal someone. If you have kids, you can turn this into a game of hide-and-seek with a standard flashlight. Note some of the other things that can prove valuable in a survival scenario.

What objects in your home make it difficult for you to get around in the dark? Remember the longer you can stay in the dark, the longer you have the advantage.
What items might prove useful in a tactical situation as you make your way through your home? Is that vase a good place to stash a secondary weapon?
Who is the most vulnerable right now? Would the intruder have easier quick access to your child’s room in the dark, or yours?
What makes it most difficult for you to get around your house without lights? It may be time to rearrange the furniture a bit.

Don’t forget that, at close range, a tactical light is also a valuable aiming aid. Practice shooting with the light on. Start by using the sights, and note where your shots fall on the light’s pattern – if you can adjust the light so that’s in the middle of the brightest center patch, it’s ideal. Then switch to shooting with just the light. At the sort of ranges encounters inside the home happen, you should be able to hit reliably.

In closing, the best gun accessory for home defense is a tactical light. Be sure to practice with it so that you’re ready should you ever be forced to use it.