Budget Dedicated Thrower?

[petefixer]

I am looking for a budget dedicated thrower for coyote hunting. I want to mount it to my rifle and would love to be able to clearly identify a coyote at 200 yards. Is this even possible and if so what should I get?

 

[880arm]

You might take a look at the JetBeam BC40. It puts out over 830 lumens, has "throwy" beam and is available in cool white or neutral tints, all for under $70. I don't own one (yet) but it's the first thing that comes to my mind when you say budget thrower.

If you're buying online don't forget to take advantage of the discounts some sites offer members of this forum.

 

[Pacecar]

A popular light for this application is a Uniquefire HS-802 (DealExtreme SKU 16538 for $25.51 including shipping). Some put an amber filter gel paper behind the lens.
Good discussion of specialty lights for coyote hunting is found here:
http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=3&page=1

 

[mtnkid85]

Ive been wondering about the use of optics to increase throw on some of the popular smaller lights. Say in a XM-L P60 sized light? That would really make the overall package easier handeling (on the rifle).

 

[jondotcom]

Ive been wondering about the use of optics to increase throw on some of the popular smaller lights. Say in a XM-L P60 sized light? That would really make the overall package easier handeling (on the rifle).

That's what I thought instantly when reading this. I bought an optic from DX and paired it with a Cree XR-E and it throws like crazy, so far that it's useless for pretty much everything but that.

You could get the whole dealio from DX for ~$20 or so. Search around for optics and you'll find the part #s.

I also tried it with my XM-L drop-ins but it doesn't work well, providing a hot spot that is too large and does not throw as well.

Regards,
Jon

 

[Blitzwing]

I do a fair bit of fox hunting at night. I've tried a few lights for this, namely the budget Ultrafire WF-008 recoil thrower from dealextreme, a Solarforce L2 with the XR-E R2 emitter, smooth reflector and 28mm aspheric lens from dealextreme, and the Solarforce Pro-1.

The Pro-1 is the best of them, by a clear margin. It will out throw the other pair by maybe 30%. And that's running a single 18650. Running the extension tube and two 18650's would give it a greater advantage again.

The Ultrafire and L2 with the optic are for practical purposes about equal. The Ultrafire doesn't focus quite as tightly as the L2, but the L2 loses a bit of oomph through the cheap lens. I am only using a .17HMR, so my shots are generally limited to about 150 metres, which is just about the edge of the effective range of the Ultrafire and the L2. You still get eyeshine much further out, but clearly identifying the animal isn't really possible. The Pro-1 would let me shoot to about 200m I feel, though it's outside the effective range of my rifle.

The Pro-1 will light a coyote up at 200y.

 

[willieschmidt]

Although not weapon mounted my Mag modded PT54 red 700lm lights coyotes @ 500m+. Have a wf501b green Cree XP-E (DX says Luxeon K2 but mine and others recently came with a Cree)over driven @ 1400ma with aspherical that would be good for 150m+ and it is weapon mounted.

 

[EZO]

For the money, the Solarforce Masterpiece Pro-1 is hard to beat if you want a dedicated thrower at a budget price. I bought mine last November just at the beginning of the Christmas shopping season when they offered them at an amazingly low price. I wouldn't be surprised if they offer a similar deal like that again if you can wait awhile. I believe it should work for your purpose at 200 yards if you run it with 2 18650s and the conditions are good. A little haze or mist in the air and you are probably down to 100 to 125 yards. Solarforce also offers some very nice weapon mounts and remote switches for their lights that are worth looking at. I see that solarforce-sales.com is also offering the Skyline I Long Throw infinite mode flashlight with the remote switch as a ready-to-go weapon light for 40 bucks but I don't know how it compares to the Pro-1. Perhaps someone else can comment about that.

 

[willieschmidt]

Have a Skyline 1 and it's ok with 6v but lacks with18650s. The best budget XML thrower is the Fandyfire STL-V6 at DX for $46. This light is identical/rebadged Sky Ray STL-V2. These are clones of the Olight M31 (?). From what I've read compares well with your SF Pro1.

 

[2100]

Just get the Fandyfire STL-V6. Very good.