Lessons of longtime CCW...

[Brian D.]

As mentioned in another thread some time back, I've done a lot of traveling in Ohio over the last several years. Fwiw, I rate Youngstown as the worst of the Great Eight Buckeye big cities (Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown, alphabetically) as far as downtown areas go. Sluggish during the day, and dead dead dead after dark--in more ways than one perhaps!

But this is supposed to be a thread on CCW hints, guess I'll leave travel and tourism tips to AAA. However this downtown thing brings up another good piece of equipment that goes along with gun toting for me: A flashlight. In the underground garages every big city seems to have, lighting isn't so good there when all the lights are working, which of course is never.

Have spent enough time in those places that I rarely go anywhere now without a lithium 6v flashlight on my belt, or in my pocket. They're not just for nighttime after all.

[TunnelRat]

Have spent enough time in those places that I rarely go anywhere now without a lithium 6v flashlight on my belt, or in my pocket. They're not just for nighttime after all.

Yup, a little light keeps the cockroaches scuttling away...

I've got a Surefire Executive, 6v lithium flashlight, that I carry in my back pocket alongside my wallet.


http://www.surefire.com

It pretty much disappears in polite company, but it is instantly available to shed a LOT of light on a subject. I use it as often as my pocket knife.

[Brian D.]

These little flashlights have much merit. One time a few years ago, I was able to alert the "detail" cops up the street that a brawl was erupting from the front door of a bar I was passing by. This was in a busy entertainment district, with lots of foot traffic on the sidewalk, and it was noisy. So I stepped out into the street just a smidge and gave the SOS to an officer who was facing about 90 degrees away from me. Followed it up with a "get over here" wave, he stopped scowling at me, grabbed his partner, and they came running. Soon as they saw the problem they jumped in and solved it.

After the fracas was over, the cop who'd seen my signal thanked me and said "Good thinking, maybe all the doormen who work down here should have one of those." (No, I'm not a doorman, was just a passerby at the time.) Anyhow, I noticed that this cop had a SureFire on his belt, and he told me he'd been cajoling his partner about getting one. So he used this opportunity to bug his cohort again, much to my amusement.

My only gripe about the lithium flashlights is the relatively short lifespan of the batteries. They don't give you much warning between the time they get dim, and then die.

[SMMAssociates]

One of my hats at the former day job was "Security". We had a fairly long strike in early 1984, and I got into the habit of keeping a small "maglite" (about 6" long, 2 AA's) in my pocket.

When the strike finally ended, RS had a nice little penlight (2 AAA's) with a solid brass tube. I wore out several of those - the switches die.

Last time I needed a replacement, I ended up with a Streamlight "Stylus". A single blue (they have 'em in red and white) LED and a couple of itsy "AAAA" batteries. Looks like a black pencil. The RS light was a fairly good "stick", too, for unarmed combat. The Streamlight's a little light....

I also wear one of those little bitty "keychain" LED's around my neck pretty much 24/7 if I'm not in the shower. My wife's the type who will walk out of a room and leave 600 watts of table lamps on, but will then decide to turn off the one I need to get from "A" to "B" without breaking some body parts I need....

(When I'm in my "grubbies" there's a nice little "Maglite" styled 3-LED thing on my belt.)

All of these use fairly ordinary battery technology - I'd rather not fight the Lithiums.... Finding "AAAA"'s ought to be interesting, though....

Regards,

[TunnelRat]

My only gripe about the lithium flashlights is the relatively short lifespan of the batteries. They don't give you much warning between the time they get dim, and then die.

Yup, I used to carry a Mini-Maglite. I think it took AAA batteries. It was nice, slim, small, and handy. It would start going dim an hour or so before going out. My Surefire Executive throws out a whole lot more light, but it only gives about a ten second warning before it goes out. Then I am left in the dark...

[Brian D.]

By the way, anybody got a source for the 3v batteries at a good price? Once in a while somebody at a gunshow will sort of have a deal, and I'll stock up. Even Wally World doesn't have deals on these things, and Walgreens or CVS will about empty your wallet for a pair of them..

[GWC]

I buy mine at Gander Mountain. Buy the SureFire brand, they are a lot cheaper than the regular battery brands. You can also get them on the internet from Impact Guns ans other sights. If you buy a box of them, even with shipping you are way ahead of getting eveready or duracell.

[TunnelRat]

By the way, anybody got a source for the 3v batteries at a good price?

Your wish, my command...
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_ ... /sesent/00

[Brian D.]

Okay, thanks. There is one gunshow vendor who occasionally has that same offer, but the only place I normally see his booth is Indy..

[45akp]

Don't worry about the batteries, just wait until the bulb goes. Best price I can find is $17.00 and that is for the low power ones.
I have switched to LED. Not as bright but lasts a whole lot longer.

[Brian D.]

Yeah you're right 45akp, believe I've had to replace two bulbs so far. Dunno if it was burnout or because the lights got dropped..

[Brian D.]

Something a little different today. Situational awareness is something you must practice to stay in the habit of keeping alert. But, how do you train for this mental part of your daily routine? Dunno if it's worthwhile, but two little games I play in my mind seem to help.

1) Every so often while walking any distance, I'll suddenly ask myself: 'Okay Brian, if the fertilizer hit the fan right now, where is your cover?' Sometimes it would be easy to jump to relative safety, other times you're out in the open without being completely aware of it!

2) Whenever at a gunshow I try to spot my friends in the aisles before they spot me. Sounds a little silly maybe, but I've got them doing it too, and taking great pains in sneaking up on me and saying "Ha ha! I'm more tactical, saw you first!" There you are, at a reasonably friendly event, perhaps distracted by your shopping, can you still pay enough attention to outflank your pals? Try this for yourself, at the very least it's entertaining!

Brian

[GWC]

I sneak up on people at work all the time. It really unnerves them. I'm not usually even trying to be sneaky. I guess that's just the way I am.

[TunnelRat]

You two sound like a coupla perverts -- sneaking up on people....

But I understand what you are saying when you talk about looking for cover. I picked up the habit many years ago while on an all-expense-paid vacation in southeast Asia. Now, even when I am just walking my dog, I glance from cover to cover as I go along. I always know where my cover is and to which side of it I need to get to.

So far, there haven't been many ambushes...

[Brian D.]

Oh, c'mon Tom, at that Frisch's meetup you sat there attempting to blend in with the wallpaper for the first half hour or more, seeing if you really wanted to associate with the group or not. Sneaky in your own way you are, as Yoda might say.

Notice I said you were trying to remain unobtrusive at the Meet 'n' Eat. But..."I saw you first!" that evening..