http://youtu.be/CZZQ1xHeNA4

OneIfByLand writes: According to the Safeseeker website, having a baseball bat (with a built-in flashlight) is “A statistically safer alternative then having a loaded handgun in the home.” Safer for whom? A would-be rapist, possibly? (I guess loaded shotguns are okay.) The un-cited statistic claims “10,000 children are killed annually with an in-home hand gun.” The website doesn’t cite (for comparison) how many children are killed with bats or fists.

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89 COMMENTS

  1. Considering there are ~11,000 firearm related homicides per year, I doubt 10,000 of those are children at home… so they must be including suicides. The problem is they ignore the other ~22,500 suicides by methods other than firearms.

    As I’ve also pointed out on some gun discussions on local forums, why are some suicides “merciful” and celebrated like the woman who decided to take the pill in Oregon, but anything with a firearm is despicable and evil?

    • Because this is the modern pussified USA where anything that is DIY is frowned upon. Real Americans are being replaced by Euroweenie influenced trash that needs the state to hold their hand to do anything including suicide.

    • Mark, I shot ~54 kids in the way to work this morning. And I wasn’t really even trying. I’d say it’s plausible.

      • Their statistic clearly says with an “in home” handgun. So unless those 54 kids were in their own homes, and you used handguns from their homes, the shootings don’t count.

    • The only thing I can find about 10,000 children injured by firearms is the Pediatrics journal article. It’s the article TTAG thoroughly debunked last winter.
      * It has no mention of where the firearm came from, or how the “child” was exposed to it.
      * Their definition of “child” is anyone under the age of 20.
      * “4,559 resulted from intentional firearm assaults.”
      * “2,149 of those injured were accidents.”
      * “270 were suicide attempts.”
      The MSNBC article.
      To paraphrase the TTAG article from last winter: 10,000 teens got shot as part of gang violence, and a small number of actual children got shot as well.

      You’d think a company trying to sell crap (both in the sense of their product’s value and their data) on the internet would realize that people can research that data on the internet.

      • Call the UN! Call the UN! If children are age 20 and under, OH MY GOD!!! Obama is committing war crimes daily with all of those weak and defenseless US Marines, Army Soldiers, Navy Seamen, and Air Force Airmen who are allowed to enlist and go overseas.

        IMPEACH HIM NOW!!! STOP THE MADNESS!!

    • God, these idiots are dense. The only way a bat is remotely effective is if the wielder has the physical power required to swing it. In my wilder days, I once saw a young man approach a much bigger dude with a bat thinking that the bat was giving him super powers. He swung it at the big dude’s head, who promptly caught the bat, ripped it from his hands, and proceeded to beat the living crap out of him with it. A bat is useless without the muscles needed to be effective.

      • Concur. Never saw a power hitter in MLB that was 100 pounds soaking wet. Baseball bat with a flashlight , did Joe Biden come up with this idea?

  3. Selling a useless home defense item with a sales pitch based on lies. Well done, lol.

    I would much prefer a normal flashlight or given a 30 second warning if the house is dark, a head mounted lamp if not mounted on the gun rail. Having the light in the butt end of the flashlight is gonna make it kinda hard to aim your swing in a dark room innit?

    10,000 kids shot with in home guns every year? They’re saying “killed or injured” which inflates the number a lot but still, I think that’s pushing it a bit. Swinging a baseball bat in the dark while panicking probably won’t do the little curtain climbers any good either?

    • Depending on how one swings the ‘bat of justice/pansiedom/ignorance’ I can readily see this thing not only leaving the target in the dark, but shining right in the defender’s eyes when he needs them most.

      Brilliant!

  4. having a baseball bat (with a built-in flashlight) is “A statistically safer alternative then having a loaded handgun in the home.” Any verifiable facts or studies to back up this claim? For whom? The criminal?
    Another liberal showing his true level of intelligence.
    Maybe I should put Sea Bass with head mounted lasers in my bathtub in my home?

      • Never trust a fish that uses an alias. Their real name is Patagonian (or Antarctic) Toothfish. 25 years ago they were bycatch and they’re actually part of the cod family. Marketing…

  5. Bizarre but kinda’ cool…I got a plain old baseball bat by the front door. I have no idea where they get those statistics. Maybe up e. Holders a##…no little kids in the house. just young adults with no ambition or jobs(sigh)…mom won’t “let” them even join the military. Gotta’ keep the peace…

  7. “10,000 children are killed annually with an in-home hand gun.”

    I heard it was more like 100 million-billion-jillion-mega-thousand-guhzillion. Admittedly, that’s probably on the ‘high’ end.

  8. Definitely one of the dumbest products ever produced.

    “A very bright and powerful flashlight with nearly 150 lumens” 150 is powerful? Haha…my handheld and weapon lights are 500 lumens.

    Friends don’t let friends use baseball bats with imbedded flashlights.

    • Anyone who claims that bat idea is stupid obviously didn’t watch the video. If you had, you would have seen how you can tap the flashlight to “S.O.S” mode. That allows you to sit by a window and silently call for help during a home invasion. I cannot think of a better way to get the attention and assistance of police or television news helicopters flying overhead. Why didn’t anyone think of this before?!?!?

      /end_sarcasm

  9. This is what I posted on their FB page:

    This is a product that answers a question that no one has asked, and introduces more questions than it is supposed to answer:

    Is this a joke? Are you going to back up your “statistics” with context by citing the sources – or just use hearsay to build false confidence in your potential customers – that are soon to become victims? Maybe it should be marketed as a dual-purpose novelty item that allows you to play baseball at night – that way, when it all goes to hell you can defend yourselves from prosecution by saying that your customers were using the item for purposes outside the limits of recommended usage – like using your shoe as a weapon. A burglar might be distracted by laughter, but in the USA, the cops kill you just for raising your hands – because, you know hands are deadly weapons at even a 50′ distance.

    And what are you going to do when your attempt at social engineering fails and you are presented with the likelihood of litigation after one of your customer/victims’ families get maimed or killed because they thought they would prevail with a stick and a bright light that will likely blind themselves – if and when they are in a situation to use it as intended – or by the burglar when they are maimed by an over-enthusiastic customer’s actions – as guided by your recommendations?

    How do you offer protection against escalation? If you threaten a lawbreaker, they are always ready for escalation. What does your customer do when they take a stick to a knife or gunfight?

    This is a recipe for disaster in terms of effectiveness and liability and I hope everyone figures it out before a real tragedy is realized as a result of your “expertise” being applied to this complex issue, which appears to have never been considered seriously in your company. Just because you carry a big stick that can be obtained at any yard sale for $3 doesn’t guarantee any measure of success, or that using such devices have anything other than pure luck in prevailing under critical circumstances.

  10. Too many assume the handgun is a one trick pony. 15 years ago I could lift a 200 pound patient out of a car and get them to a stretcher. Thanks to muscular dystrophy I can now lift 30 pounds tops. So I got my TX CCL so that I could protect myself. Target practice with compromised muscles is challenging, but definitely therapeutic. My weapons will probably wear out from cleaning before they do from shooting. So my gun is my self defense, physical therapy, and my hobby.

    • “6 cell MagLite”, Yep, that was exactly what I was thinking. And if you swing the MagLite hard enough to break it which would be almost impossible to do, the manufacturer will replace it free. I have a 6 cell Maglite for exactly this purpose. If a police officer sees me carrying it in a place like NJ or NY, I can just explain I’m afraid of the dark..

  12. I’m no expert in beating down a home invader with a baseball bat (primarily because I’m smart enough to own several firearms and understand the benefits of harming an intruder at range), but wouldn’t you want the flashlight in the other end?

    Think about it:
    * You’re walking down the hall searching for the bad guy, pointing the handle of the bat forward.
    * You spot the guy.
    * Since you’re an idiot with a bat, rather than an intelligent person with a firearm, you advance toward the guy.
    * Because you want the light to see him with, you keep the useful end of the bat pointed away.
    * The bad guy jumps you, and you’re unable to use the bat, because you’re pointing it away from him.
    * You get beaten, raped, and/or killed.

    Or let’s say you do get to swing it in time:
    * The light is now pointed down by your feet.
    * Your eyes are adjusted to the flashlight light, but now it’s gone.
    * You can’t see a damn thing except your bunny slippers.
    * You get beaten, raped, and/or killed.

    • NEBO makes a “bat-light” with the light in the other end… but for some reason the bat is wrapped in a “rubberized protective sleeve”.

      I’m still trying to figure out where it would be useful, but I am at a loss.

  15. So the light comes out of the bottom of the bat? That part alone makes this one of the stupidest ideas ever.

    • Agreed!
      I’m not to have something in my hand a thug can take and beat me. Think I’ll stay with Ruger LCR with XS standard titanium front sight.
      I do have a really nice Mesquite walking stick I carry when I walk my dog, to ward off aggressive dogs so I don’t have to mace them, pocket carry is back up.

  16. The entire population of the world has been killed by handguns in their homes while eating take-out pizza. It’s a fact! You can look it up and everything.

  17. You shouldn’t have a flashlight bat, the criminals will just take it away from you and beat you with it. Everyone knows that homes with flashlights bats are at a higher risk of being beaten with their own flashlight bat.

  20. I thought a bat with a flashlight in it was called a 4 cell Maglite?

    In the immortal words of Brock Samson confronted by a club-wielding Iggy Pop; “So, you want that up your ass?”

  21. Oh come on! Some doofus has the bright idea to stuff a flashlight in a drilled out baseball bat and wants his little chunk of the American dream. That guy would be happy to sell 50 of those things.
    How else is he going to market that rather ignorant idea? There was no “Bat fight at the OK corral”
    The west wasn’t won with a flashlight stuffed in a baseball bat and Joe Biden didn’t say to walk outside and beat on the ground twice with your Safeseeker. I never read anywhere in the Declaration Of Independence or our Federal or State Constitutions where is specifically mentions baseball bats.
    Scotty said “The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank!” I’m sure that comment would have lost a lot of meaning had he said “The best diplomat I know is a baseball bat”
    If I come off a little negative, it’s because…..well, I meant to come off a little negative. Face it, it’s a F—- stupid idea. All we have to do is watch late night TV to see the large number of ideas that are marketed. Every retarded kitchen gadget or weight loss exercise lame-ass idea is there. That flashlight in a baseball bat wouldn’t even make it on late night infomercials. The guy couldn’t be so lucky to have that picked up for marketing. Just think, a stupid five cent chunk of plastic to hold your bacon just perfect makes it on TV, but we will NEVER see the light in a bat! But wait, there’s more! OK, I lied.

  23. “A statistically safer alternative then [sic] having a loaded handgun in the home”

    They lost me after using “then” instead of “than”.

  25. This has got to be a joke. Please let this be a joke.
    It’s a wooden bat with a hole in the handle, into which is
    inserted a sub par tactical pocket flashlight. Only 150 lumens ?
    As for the flash yourself blind thing, I’ve actually used a D cell
    maglite on occasion to strike someone, and never had that problem.
    Of course this was in the pre zillion candlepower personal flashlight era,
    mine was a normal incandescent bulb. Adrenaline prolly played a role there, as well.
    So what’s their next model ? Nunchucks with cylume sticks taped to the handle ?

    • So what’s their next model ? Nunchucks with cylume sticks taped to the handle ?

      Saw ’em last night at the airport, being used by the ground crew to guide planes to the ramp.

    • Russ Russ Russ Russ, you’re NOT supposed to think about this, you’re supposed to wipe the drool off your face and buy it!
      It’s like religion, of course it’s stupid and of course it doesn’t make any sense, but people still flock to churches every Sunday and worship.

  27. Think about this; most people have just a cudgel for home defense, whether it be a bat, or a golf club (TERRIBLE as a weapon) or a tire knocker or what not. And yet, they insist we believe that “bats weren’t made for killing.” OK, WTF? What do they think the cavemen were doing, hitting dingers?

  29. In a world where the only weapons a criminal has are sliders and curve balls, this would be the ideal home defense weapon. All I could see once I stopped laughing at the video was a vision of “Star Wars Kid” wielding that bat-light in his garage for the camcorder making light saber sounds. So stupid.

  30. I could use those same stats to sell guns…

    98% chance if you are home that you will be a victim of violence
    68% of burglars are unarmed = 22% of burglars are armed

    In any burglary, if you are home you have a 21% chance of being confronted by an ARMED assailant. Maybe you should be armed as well…or better than he.

    Now buy a gun. And get trained!

    That was easy and I don’t even have a marketing degree!

  31. Okay… in 2011 there were some 48,000ish home fires caused by or involving an electrical source. Over 400 people died, including children. When will we ban electricity?

  33. Their “statistics” always turn out to be lies and misrepresentations of data. Pure propaganda. It frustrates me that we have to spend time and money to rebut their claims so that we can show the low information voters once again that these statements are lies and intentional misrepresentations.

  34. Did anyone post this on shannon’s webpage and drool over how cool it is and better than guns? I would love for those “moms” to embrace this technology

    • I’m worried I could actually hurt a home intruder with this though. Do you think it could scare him off if I clicked the light on and off a few times?

      The poor, violent home invader is just a victim of society and I’d rather die a noble death with my conscience clear than have to actually injure him.

  35. Highlights:
    -A “SAFESEEKER” is a high powered flashlight inside a solid hardwood bat
    -Genuine, custom made, solid hardwood bat
    -A statistically safer alternative then having a loaded handgun in the home
    -A very bright and powerful flashlight with nearly 150 lumens
    -Three flashlight modes: a solid bright light mode, a high stun 6hrz flash mode, and a SOS flash mode for communicating the need for assistance
    -The Safeseeker is finished and lacquered in a beautiful furniture grade brown stain that displays the natural grains of the hardwood
    -Comes with a small stand to display on a shelf or mantle
    -Packaged lavishly in a stylish black foam cut protective insert with a hinged gift box

    These fools are selling a “lifestyle” product, not something actually designed to save your life.

    • I think the ad was abbreviated for efficient distribution. In actuality, one of the biggest selling points is displayed by the name itself. Once the intruder has either shot you to death or beaten you to death with it, he can use it in the “safe seeker” mode to find your wife and daughters, and eventually your valuables.

  36. Didn’t your daddy every tell you not to take a knife to a gun fight.
    Well, same thing here. Don’t take a bat to a gun fight.
    Also, don’t expect that flashlight to do any good when it’s in the butt of the bat and it’s pointing down at the floor. Good luck seeing what you’re swinging at.

  38. “IF” you want to use a bat, you need to go to the Evil Empire® (Wal Mart) and pick up a “T” Ball bat. Very light weight and easy to swing. BUT, I prefer my shotgun! BTW I also have a “T” Ball bat as a “in case all else fails” backup.

  39. My thoughts are that I don’t necessarily hate the idea. Look, some people are more comfortable with a bat than a gun, and I understand that. Here’s my thought thought though:

    Make no mistake, this is a weapon. If you smashed a burglar on the head with it and killed or seriously injured him, it might be easier to get off if you’d have used a gun since the presence of a flashlight specifically included on a baseball bat could give an overzealous DA a fit…..

    • Not everyone will find themselves with sufficient room to swing a bat. Do you have 6′ wide hallways at home? Using the bat as a poker or billiard cue instead of a swinging-away slugger won’t impress anyone, and the average jamoke who buys this thing won’t have the presence of mind to realize that there is any other method of using it that won’t result in it being imbedded in a wall or ceiling while s/he is desperately jerking on the handle to dislodge it. A recipe for universal failure.

    • They went offline right after I posted my rant (seen elsewhere on this page) on their FB page. If they did respond to my post, then I am so impressed with myself that I declare tomorrow a global holiday – take the day off, fellow citizens of the galaxy!

  43. Baseball bats are a good defensive weapon as long as:

    1) You are outside with room to swing it.
    2) You possess enough physical strength to deliver a disabling blow.
    3) Your attacker is standing still.
    4) Your attacker is not holding one of the millions of illegal guns that are in circulation.
    5) You are not being attacked by multiple assailants. (Remember that criminals tend to be cowards who hunt in packs.)

    So basically, baseball bats are great against a lone zombie or a threatening looking tree.

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