Home defense, long gun mounted weapon light

[zbrewer]

I'm curious what everybody would recommend as a good long gun weapon mounted light, mainly in a home defense weapon scenario.

I currently own a Pentagon MD2 which I think is a well made light, but it has the IR side light not the laser so that part is of no use to me and I can't find a laser head to switch out with the IR head. Also I think it could stand to be a little bit brighter.

 

[Inebriated]

I'm curious what everybody would recommend as a good long gun weapon mounted light, mainly in a home defense weapon scenario.

I currently own a Pentagon MD2 which I think is a well made light, but it has the IR side light not the laser so that part is of no use to me and I can't find a laser head to switch out with the IR head. Also I think it could stand to be a little bit brighter.

Inforce WML/WMLx, Surefire M300/M600/X300/XC-1, Arisaka M300/M600 clone, Streamlight TLR-1, Surefire G2X/6PX Tactical... The real choice is really just what long gun you have, and how you want to mount it.

 

[zbrewer]

It will either go on my 16" AR or my 18.5" pump shotgun. Either one will mount to a picatinny rail system.

 

[Inebriated]

It will either go on my 16" AR or my 18.5" pump shotgun. Either one will mount to a picatinny rail system.

If you're going to use it for both, an Inforce WML, Surefire X300/XC-1, or Streamlight TLR with an integral mount would make sense. The beam on the WML and XC-1 is very floody, and works great indoors. The X300 has just as much spill, but a much, much more intense hotspot, and throws a whole lot further. No direct experience with the TLR's, but they're proven, and I don't know how the 500 lumen WMLx beam differs from 200 lumen WML, but it's an option. If it's just for the house, a WML would work fine, and is ergonomic enough that multiple mounting positions will work well.

 

[GZire]

XC-1 I agree is great indoors, but IMHO not the right choice for a long gun. My preference would be one that you could mount a tail switch to so you can run a remote to one of your rails.

Also XC-1 outdoors is bad. Even and very close ranges it goes quickly away from you because it is not focused enough.

 

[zbrewer]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I agree with the remote pressure pad but have not liked that there is going to be extra wire hanging from the side of the weapon.

I really like the design of the Inforce WML. Does anybody have personal experience with one?

 

[Str8stroke]

Personally, I always suggest around a 200 lumen max light for In Home Offense use.
Here is why: (I have posted this several times) If you do a few tests you will understand my logic. If you have a 200 lumen light and something like a 900+ lumen light, go to sleep set you alarm for say 2:30 am, when it goes off, instantly jump up and grab your light and flip it on and search your abode. Do this two nights with both lights.

You will likely find something around 200 lumen is the perfect balance between bright and not too blinding (blinding you), plus I think you don't want to over illuminate the scene. A light that is too bright could give off your position! If you have a armed intruder, the last thing I feel you want to do is have too much light that could celling bounce or wall bounce and show you! You also wouldn't want them to have visual clues of the room or home layout. Therefore, I prefer something like the Surefire TIR lens.

IMHO: The perfect home offense rig is a Remington 870 Pump with the older 200 Lumen Surefire Forend weapon light. The new series is 600 lumen. To me that has its applications, however in a average home I think that 600 lumens may be pushing it. But to each is own! Now, if you think you will be operating outside your home, or have a large area to cover, then 600 lumens may be perfect for your application?

It is worth mentioning, the cycling of a pump action cross all language barriers because it is multi lingual.

Opinions & situations may vary greatly on this topic, that is why I suggest YOU do a test to see what works best for YOU and your application

 

[Inebriated]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I agree with the remote pressure pad but have not liked that there is going to be extra wire hanging from the side of the weapon.

I really like the design of the Inforce WML. Does anybody have personal experience with one?

I have one, it's been reliable and survived on AR's and shotguns. Good beam for indoors.

 

[zbrewer]

Str8stroke- I agree with not wanting over illumination for in-home defense, (I'm assuming you meant defense instead of offense). My primary and first available is my Glock, but if the SHTF I would like a light on a long gun as well. And I completly agree with universal pump language haha!

Inebriated- That's a great bit of info, thanks.

 

[GZire]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I agree with the remote pressure pad but have not liked that there is going to be extra wire hanging from the side of the weapon.

I really like the design of the Inforce WML. Does anybody have personal experience with one?

My friend has one, but I've never actually talked to him about it. Also it's quite restrictive down here so it's difficult to run these at night to get a good comparison between the lights.

Regarding output I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Str8stroke. I agree about his assessment with overpowering your eyes, but IMHO once you light up your night vision is shot and the bad guy will know where you are regardless. If you are talking quick investigation peeks then I agree about going down on power, but once you are ready to fire, the light is on and it's on until the bad guy is stopped.

I know this is not really the older and accepted school of thought but after taking a class this past year from an ex-Delta guy the difference in how they look at things is truly interesting.

One huge drawback to the big lumen thing is getting flashback from your light on a light wall, glass, mirror where you blind yourself.

This being said I highly recommend you take some classes and some geared at night work. Nothing better than hands on reps that will help you decide which direction you want to go in and what will work best for you.

 

[zbrewer]

My friend has one, but I've never actually talked to him about it. Also it's quite restrictive down here so it's difficult to run these at night to get a good comparison between the lights.

Regarding output I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Str8stroke. I agree about his assessment with overpowering your eyes, but IMHO once you light up your night vision is shot and the bad guy will know where you are regardless. If you are talking quick investigation peeks then I agree about going down on power, but once you are ready to fire, the light is on and it's on until the bad guy is stopped.

I know this is not really the older and accepted school of thought but after taking a class this past year from an ex-Delta guy the difference in how they look at things is truly interesting.

One huge drawback to the big lumen thing is getting flashback from your light on a light wall, glass, mirror where you blind yourself.

This being said I highly recommend you take some classes and some geared at night work. Nothing better than hands on reps that will help you decide which direction you want to go in and what will work best for you.

I agree with all your comments as well, but keep in mind the class you attended was taught by a force that is all about rushing into a situation and accomplishing a mission. They are prepared for the mission before they begin, so yes kicking in a door and flooding the target with 900+ lumen's is great.

If I get woken up by a noise in the middle of the night I'm already disorientated, so going from my eyes being closed to 900+ lumen's would just disorient me that much more. And as you mentioned, that amount of light will reflect from any lightly colored surface and partially blind you as well.

I couldn't agree more with your last statement, practice, practice, practice.

 

[GZire]

I agree with all your comments as well, but keep in mind the class you attended was taught by a force that is all about rushing into a situation and accomplishing a mission. They are prepared for the mission before they begin, so yes kicking in a door and flooding the target with 900+ lumen's is great.

If I get woken up by a noise in the middle of the night I'm already disorientated, so going from my eyes being closed to 900+ lumen's would just disorient me that much more. And as you mentioned, that amount of light will reflect from any lightly colored surface and partially blind you as well.

I couldn't agree more with your last statement, practice, practice, practice.

The great thing about LED's is you can have the best of most worlds. Right now I'm down to two flashlights I'm evaluating for pocket/daily and weapons mounted options. They are the Fenix PD35Tac (the UC35 is probably what I should have gotten) and the Eagletac DX30LC2.

Fenix claims 1,000/500/200/60/8/strobe(@1000) lumens
http://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-pd35tac-led-flashlight-tactical-edition/

Eagletac claims 1,160-980/590/221/77/9/strobe/SOS
http://www.eagletac.com/html/dx30lc2/specs.html

So you can run the higher lumen if you want or you can set your default lower.........something to consider...........

 

[zbrewer]

The great thing about LED's is you can have the best of most worlds. Right now I'm down to two flashlights I'm evaluating for pocket/daily and weapons mounted options. They are the Fenix PD35Tac (the UC35 is probably what I should have gotten) and the Eagletac DX30LC2.

Fenix claims 1,000/500/200/60/8/strobe(@1000) lumens
http://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-pd35tac-led-flashlight-tactical-edition/

Eagletac claims 1,160-980/590/221/77/9/strobe/SOS
http://www.eagletac.com/html/dx30lc2/specs.html

So you can run the higher lumen if you want or you can set your default lower.........something to consider...........

Can you let me know what you think of both of those lights, they both look like nice edc's.

 

[GZire]

Right now my initials are the following;
Eagletac DX30LC2 - really small......really small, head is the same size as the body so it makes a really good pocket light. Good options as far as white/neutral light. Rechargable is basically a must if you use it on 1,000 lumens, but since it's so small it heats up significantly faster than the Fenix (and a Powertac E9 I'm trying out). It's nice to have the rechargeable option without having to pull the battery.


Fenix PD35Tac- good all around. My only issue is there aren't as many functions as the Eagletac and I really should have gotten it with rechargeable 18650. Fantastic with 123's but again with a lot of primary 1,000 lumen use you burn through the batteries very quickly. The head is not as small as the DX30LC2, but it takes noticeably longer time for the head to heat up.

 

[GZire]

^^^^
The next step is I'm going to put both of these on my AR to see how they hold up. Fenix says the PD35 is good to go and it's nice in that they have a replacement tailcap switch with a remote pressure pad mounting option. I've got an email in with Eagletac to get their input on the long gun usage and remote switch option.