Wilson's Night Master: Low Light Shooting & Flashlight Techniques

Hackathorn and Wilson cover low light shooting with a handgun and flashlight.Although the video is a few years old (ca 2003) all of the items shown are still available on the market. There have been significant advances in weapon mounted lights, so the one used in the video will look antiquated, but the comments on how to use it are still valid.They cover several popular methods of holding a flashlight; Harries, Chapman, Ayoob, FBI and Rogers. Demonstrations are done from a static position as well as on the move and from multiple camera angles. A variety of ammunition is fired to show the different levels of muzzle flash.Overall a well made DVD with clear video/audio and good advice from two respected individuals. I wish they had spent a little more time discussing flashlights and covered some of the terminology associated with them (i.e. lumens, lithium, LED, etc...).

In this film, Ken Hackathorn and Jim Wilson teach you the basics of low light shooting and using your handgun with a flashlight. In the beginning, Hackathorn and Wilson reason, why it is absolutely necessary to carry a flashlight if you are carrying a handgun. The flashlight is primarily used to identify target before shooting, and aiding with the aiming of the gun is of secondary importance. If you cannot identify the target, you cannot shoot.In the film, they present some popular shooting techniques using a flashlight with a handgun. They teach how the techniques are used, and urge the viewer to try them out in the shooting range before choosing the preferred technique. First they show the techniques in dry fire, and after that they present how they work in live fire. Sadly, they don't show all of the presented techniques in live fire. There were also some techniques and modifications missing I would have liked to see. But the techniques presented are all quite popular, and therefore they are chosen well for the film.Hackathorn and Wilson also give instructions on tactics (like that you should first illuminate the target to identify it, then turn the flashlight off and move laterally, and finally engage the target using the tritium sights of your handgun). They also show several practice drills, and give general instructions on practice. At the end, Hackathorn goes through a house clearing exercise, and they also compare muzzle flashes of several popular cartridges.The production of the film is good: On many occasions, they have used up to three cameras to shoot the action (one from the side, one from behind the shooter and one downrange), but sometimes they used only one camera, where two would have been better. But overall, the production is good. The techniques and tactics presented are somewhat basic, but they are proven to work. In conclusion, I would recommend this film to a shooter who has mastered the basic operation of a handgun, but has not much experience of low light shooting.Run time: 83 minutes

This is a great flick as an introduction to night shooting, best if watched before you go to one of Ken Hackathorn's class's or buy one of BILL Wilson's excellent pistols. later!