I gave a lot of thought about where to put this review, and figured that it's an important enough subject to go in the “Mindset and Tactics” sub-forum. If this is the wrong place, feel free to move, delete, chastise, etc... as necessary.
As a short preface, I think a bit of background might help give context to my opinion of this book.
I've worked in law enforcement for some time and became somewhat obsessed with low light tactics while working patrol several years ago. In my current position I've completely re-written my department's low light program and have tried to attend as many low light training programs as possible, conducted studies related to low light tactics, and try to train and experiment as much as possible with low light tools, techniques, and tactics. Several people I've trained and/or who have been trained under our program have been involved in low light shootings and gunfights with successful results. I am by no means a master of low light, but I have some strong opinions with a bit of experience.
Now to the review. To spoil the ending... Buy this book!
I don't know Mike Seeklander besides watching some of his videos on youtube and Instagram (to get a time-frame reference I think I started watching his stuff when the Wilson 5x5 drill came out). He obviously has a solid resume of skills and when I saw this book get released I annoyed my wife and kids as we walked through Target while I ordered it on my phone.
I wasn't sure what to expect other than seeing his low light article in one of the gun magazines... I'm not sure if it was “Recoil” or something else. I liked the article, but in my mind there's a difference between writing an article and a book. A book is truly “yours” and I think many of us look at magazine articles as fluffed up advertisements, but a book with one's name on the author line is something you just gotta own.
Every once and a while I end up having a work schedule that requires me to stay in our family's little trailer because I'm working a night shift with a day shift following. Instead of driving almost an hour home and back to work, I stay in the trailer and forego general cleanliness standards to get some extra awake time coupled with some extra sleep time. I figured this was the perfect environment to immerse myself in this book... and it had just arrived at my PO Box that morning. I was able to about finish the entire book in that one sitting (it's 86 pages) with Clint Smith talking about shotgun defense on a DVD in the background.
The first chapter is sort of an overview of what Mr. Seeklander is going to address later in more detail and incorporates some “real world” information to support it... specifically some statistics and real-world information from Tom Givens. It's pretty good stuff (many of us have heard but still...) and there were few things with which I wasn't in total agreement. I love the fact that Mr. Seeklander continuously reinforces the importance of basic skills proficiency BEFORE trying to go “Tactical Timmy” with more specialized tactics and techniques.
The second chapter involved gear. I like gear. Gear is cool. Often people put too much emphasis on gear or think gear is the solution without thinking about the benefits and drawbacks... how to train to use that gear... and this will be my biggest criticism.
I agree with almost everything he says and in fact learned some things about selecting certain gear, but I would have very much preferred an extra several pages or chapters on training to use “specific” gear, from WMLs to lasers, combo units, hand-held lights, strobe, and some of the benefits, drawbacks, and training necessary to develop true proficiency with those tools.
I'll give an example. I've done a ton of shooting with a WML, a lot with CTC lasers, a lot of shooting with an M-4 with an EOTech, but at one point, I'd done little with a light/laser unit like a TLR-2 or X400. I got a TLR-2 and started practicing with it. At speed I was running through a “facade” course of fire I'd shot dozens of times. As I went through the course of fire, I decided to do some head shots along with the body shots. As I progressed through the course of fire, I'd done the same thing I'd done often when I saw a dot on the target and accommodated for the M4's 2.5+” height over bore and aimed high. When I checked my shots later I found that I missed high on all my head shots. Of course, I'd reverted to my standard response using the M4 with the sight above the bore instead of the laser which was almost the same distance below the bore.
The above story might sound dumb or “anecdotal” but at the same time I think that many people don't fully understand that low light is the same as bright-light and at the same time it isn't. I repeated the word “YES” several times during this chapter but I wish there was more “technique” with the weapon light and with specialized tools like lasers.
The next three chapters address tactics and techniques... broken down to addressing threats within and beyond three yards and searching – inside a structure. This is where I learned the most. Some of what he advocates are not my preferred techniques, but he uses sound reasoning to support his views. Seeklander definitely incorporates an understanding of hand-to hand combatives that many firearm instructors ignore or gloss over. He's developed a training methodology around incorporating firearms, flashlights, and hand-to-hand combat that seems very logical to me.
Some highlights:
Mr. Seeklander advocates for pressure switches on WMLs. I agree fully. If I were king every law enforcement officer in the country would be issued a WML with pressure switch and would be required to successfully complete training in its use. He's also big on what he calls the “eye” index (me too... though I've always used the traditional term “neck index” and explained it's more of a ”between the temple and neck depending” index point. I gotta say I like his terms better and will absolutely steal them with credit) and keeps things simple with only a couple of hand-held techniques and a focus on using them effectively in their proper context. While I don't think I'd approach the subject the exact same way, it's kinda like two paths to the same place. He likes lasers and I do too, but I feel that effective use of a laser requires some training and a lot of “understanding” and context. I wish he'd have dug deeper here. He does a good job of providing a basic overview of use of a hand-held light as an impact weapon and how to incorporate that potential into overall training with the hand-held light. This is something I haven't really thought about beyond the use of the old standby Streamlight SL-20 series as a weapon of necessity, but it makes a lot of sense to approach the training the way he advocates.
I like the way he addresses the use of strobe but I'd go a step beyond his caution regarding its use... I see potential but the technology isn't there (he mentions the Klarus lights, which (along with the clones) I think are about as close as possible to a truly usable strobe) and I think there's more development in training and experience to be done as well before I'd recommend it to anyone potentially going in harms way.
The last chapter addressed long-gun weapon lights. I liked his practical reasoning here and while I don't set my long guns up the same way (usually), I see his point.
This book is obviously intended to build upon the lessons taught in Seeklander's previous book (books?), which is referred to several times. I like the fact he doesn't spend tons of time re-hashing shooting basics in this book as I think it would dilute the subject. As a “user guide”, I think this is one of the most practical and sound books on the subject of low light training I've read. I do think it's a little shallow and leaves much room to get deeper in the weeds of both technique and tactics. As a “train the trainer” book, I think this will do more to elicit discussion and encourage moving out of the standard low light “box” many law enforcement agencies and even well-known instructors seem to live in than to provide all the information an instructor needs... but it's always great to get a different perspective. I don't see it as the “bible” of low light training but something to add to other books, videos, and -most importantly- training on the subject.
Pros: More than many other instructors, Mr. Seeklander seems to have a very pragmatic approach to the subject of low light. His techniques and tactics aren't flashy but they work and I've seen the very things he discusses in this book work in the real world. Were a moderately experienced shooter to read this book and incorporate the information into their training I would think they'd have a very sound basic proficiency in low light use of firearms for defense.
Cons: I wish the book was longer and more thoroughly addressed certain subjects like some more in-depth instruction on how to use WMLs, lasers, etc.. I also think there was a bit of over-simplification of a few subjects (I find it's often not “this is right and that is wrong”, but more like “when is this right, and when is that right?”) which included some tactical perspectives. He addressed the “how” really well, but I'd have liked to see more of the “why”. Of course, that's just me.
In short... I'm very happy I purchased this book. It reinforced some things I know to be true. I've learned new concepts. Some of the information challenged my view of what is “correct” and I'll be re-evaluating those things. It's a “new” perspective on an old subject that desperately needed an update. I feel this book is the right information at the right time and hopefully there is much more to come, both by Mr. Seeklander and by others on this subject in the near future.
Here's the link to purchase it:
https://www.createspace.com/6522745
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Originally Posted by SoCalDep
