Good advice.TacShot wrote:Wow! Mom was lucky it was just a raccoon family! You need to sit down with Mom and warn her about the dangers of investigating nighttime noises armed with a flashlight. I tip my hat to you for keeping your cool while the adrenaline was surging. Similar scenarios have ended with "Son shoots Mom mistaking her for an intruder " on the evening news. Plan a course of action with Mom for the next adventure.
In general, going outside to investigate what may be a prowler is almost always a really bad idea.
The situation is much better managed with all the good guys inside and prepared to deal with a break on the perimeter, and law enforcement on the way.
Using a powerful light from inside to see if you can identify the source of the concern is OK too, but going outside is definitely the highest risk way to go, and almost always unnecessary in a residential setting.
A rural farm may present a different situation and call for different tactics.