Thrower - Top of the tree ??

[looman]

Just lost my Tiablo A8 (modded) in the field which is not good news.

I had been thinking of the Tiablo A10G R2 rigged for hunting but what are the current
top of the trees one should consider ?

Needs to be able to be rifle mounted so dimensions and weight are a consideration ?

Looking for long range throw flood is not so important in itself

Your recommendations please

Oh and Happy New Year

 

[lightforce2]

Hi Looman,

Purely for the purpose of illuminating the scope's field of view, nothing beats the aspherical versions of the Tiablo A8/9 or Dereelight DBS, and both can be modded to increase lux if needed

The A10 projects a very good hotspot but is heavier. Mine's the original version and I consider it too heavy for mounting on a sharp recoiling rifle. I still use it as a handheld light when spotting for another shooter

I have tried a few other brands of XR-E throwers but I still prefer the A/9's and DBS's

cheers

 

[looman]

Isnt necessarily going on a centre fire as my permissions are relatively small or CF is not appropriate. I am close to London so acres of uniterrupted vistas are not common :-)

If it does go on a CF, it will probably be a foxing or small deer species calibre up t a roe deer so possibly 243 max.

I dont think recoil is an issue for me in this instance.

I am not overly bothered about weight. I do a lot of pest control so more often than not, most of the shooting is from a vehicle as whilst the venues are not huge in terms of acreage, we need to cover as much ground as quickly as possible.

Thanks for your reply.

What about the new SST LED's ?

 

[maxilux]

I think the Tiablo A9 with Collimatorhead is one of the TOP Thrower, next week i get the Dereelight DBS with XP-G R5 Led, than i will see wich is the best Thrower,
You can use the DBS with Collimatorhead too, will see what the XP-G Led will bring.

 

[MattK]

Olight M20 should be considered.

 

[joshconsulting]

The DEFT is the top LED thrower, bar none. The aspheric A9/A10/Deerlight are all good, but simply don't hold a candlepower to the DEFT. However, chances are you don't need quite that much throw, meaning any of those (or possibly the Olight M20) would be good choices.

The new SST leds have thusfar been too floody to make good throwers; we have a few promising heads like the Solarforce Masterpiece, but as of yet no one has been able to make a good thrower out of them.

 

[MattK]

The LumaPower D-Mini VX Ultra is a pretty good SST-50 thrower for it's size but it's not really made as a weapon mount light - though it certainly could be utilized as one.

The ThruNite Catapult is a very good SST-50 thrower but it's too large, IMO to be weapon-mount suitable.

 

[brianch]

Look into the JETBeam RRT-1 with a pressure remote.

 

[lightforce2]

the RRT-1 was one of the other lights that I've tried, the beam profile was very good & the light easy to scope/rifle mount but having strobe on a hunting rifle used for pests was a pain in the a** particulairy when you rotate the mode ring for a low mode & go to far and get strobe.
Also this light is well regulated for cr123a but not 18650

The DEFT is the top LED thrower, bar none. The aspheric A9/A10/Deerlight are all good, but simply don't hold a candlepower to the DEFT

the DEFT is clearly the brightest but what does it weigh? how do you mount it to a hunting rifle? any pics of DEFT/hunting rifle mount? (On this forum we see a lot of lights that are mounted on tactial/military rifles but not hunting rifles)

 

[looman]

I am a DEFT owner :-) and it is (without question) top of the pile as a thrower.

It is not that heavy as one imagines but strapping it to a rifle - forget it.

I do use it for hunting but in the same way as you use a hand held gun lamp.

However, a tactical style thrower rigged with a tape switch solution is what I am after.

I will look at the offerings above but I would have though the Tiablo A10G R2 would have held up quite well against those listed above.

The collminator heads have the advantage of really tight throwy beams and no spill which is useful in one sense but a hinderance in another.

I am looking for a thrower with some spill not nil spill :-)

Thanks for the replies to date.

Shame the single die big boys are not yet cutting it fully on the long throw capability !

Still it is early days.

 

[Ryanrpm]

Sunlite 8w Far Projection.

It also comes with a remote pressure switch in 4" and 10"

I also throw a vote for the Jetbeam RRT-1. These 2 lights are my throwiest...;)

Thought I'd mention that both these lights will easily throw 800+ft.

 

[saabluster]

the DEFT is clearly the brightest but what does it weigh? how do you mount it to a hunting rifle? any pics of DEFT/hunting rifle mount? (On this forum we see a lot of lights that are mounted on tactial/military rifles but not hunting rifles)

The DEFT weights about 430 grams. Although I have several people who want to mount them to rifles I have not done any research into how exactly they are mounted traditionally. Seems there must be some kind of universal mount that would work for it but I have no idea. If there is not currently something out there that will work and there is enough desire for something like that I will look at making it available.

 

[looman]

Hi Michael,

The most common routes for mounting are either atop the rifles scope or attached to the stock underneath or to the side.

Fixing to the barrel is not necessarily the best method as a free floating barrel will droop if you put weight on it and over range, this drop in the point of impact could result in a miss or worse a wound.

It will also impart most shock than the other routes.

The Deft head is light enough on its own to act as a top mounted gun light if one could separate the head from the battery tube and as the DEFT runs long time on eneloop AA's, it would not be difficult to rig up an in line battery pack and slip in a tape switch to boot.

However, the DEFT does have one drawback BECAUSE it is so damned efficient and that is a rifle is capable of very close to very long range depending on the calibre and how much fuel it has poked up its backside !!!!!!.

The beam of the deft would probably need adjusting between very close shots and long stuff coz that lil ol beam is tighter than a ground squirrels bum cheeks when up close. :-)

Its simply too tight.

The likes of the A10G R2 (by way of example) has decent throw but also decent(ish) spill.

The importance of the light is not only to illuminate the quarry BUT to see what is behind it as this is likely where your round will be heading after it has struck. You got to know your round will be absorbed by the backstop behind the quarry in case you miss or you get shoot through.

The final consideration is elevation. the bigger the head the higher it has to be raised above the scope. Things can get a bit top heavy and the deft is unlikely to be used for endoscopy work if we are honest !!!!!!
It has a very wide grin

 

[looman]

Hi Michael,

The most common routes for mounting are either atop the rifles scope or attached to the stock underneath or to the side.

Fixing to the barrel is not necessarily the best method as a free floating barrel will droop if you put weight on it and over range, this drop in the point of impact could result in a miss or worse a wound.

It will also impart most shock than the other routes.

The Deft head is light enough on its own to act as a top mounted gun light if one could separate the head from the battery tube and as the DEFT runs long time on eneloop AA's, it would not be difficult to rig up an in line battery pack and slip in a tape switch to boot.

However, the DEFT does have one drawback BECAUSE it is so damned efficient and that is a rifle is capable of very close to very long range depending on the calibre and how much fuel it has poked up its backside !!!!!!.

The beam of the deft would probably need adjusting between very close shots and long stuff coz that lil ol beam is tighter than a ground squirrels bum cheeks when up close. :-)

Its simply too tight.

The likes of the A10G R2 (by way of example) has decent throw but also decent(ish) spill.

The importance of the light is not only to illuminate the quarry BUT to see what is behind it as this is likely where your round will be heading after it has struck. You got to know your round will be absorbed by the backstop behind the quarry in case you miss or you get shoot through.

The final consideration is elevation. the bigger the head the higher it has to be raised above the scope. Things can get a bit top heavy and the deft is unlikely to be used for endoscopy work if we are honest !!!!!!
It has a very wide grin

Similar to the one I had on my face the very first time I switched it on in the dark and similar to the one I have on my face when someone see the deft lit up for the first time.

 

[looman]

Sunlite 8w Far Projection.

It also comes with a remote pressure switch in 4" and 10"

I also throw a vote for the Jetbeam RRT-1. These 2 lights are my throwiest...;)

Thought I'd mention that both these lights will easily throw 800+ft.

Thanks Ryan, I am familiar with the Sunlite range - very well thought out modular system with interchangable bodies heads and lots of other goodies including head mounted stuff, colours and IR.

I am not keen on the barrel mount solution though as I shoot longs with free floating barrels so longer range will equate to POI shifts :-(

I notice we live in the same swamp (snowy) too

 

[saabluster]

Whats the closest you shoot with a rifle?

 

[looman]

One's foot if your an idiot
Someone else's if your not !!!!

Seriously it will depend on the calibre. Air could be 12 yards.

.22LR rimfire say 80yds

.177HMR say 120yds

Centre Fires whatever distance your light is capable of reaching so long as you can ID quarry and see the backstop is safe.

Biggest problem with LED is the lack of ability to dim. For closer range pest shooting - it is good to sweep with low level red filter then crank up to take the shot. The other problem is that if a torch does have a dimming capability, then it will either be thru pressing the rear button (a real pain) or by rotating a collar as in the U2 for example. Better but still a pain.

The dedicated shooting lamp I use has a dedicated on/off switch with a rotary dimmer on the end of a lead. I have never seen a linear dimmer for an LED but this would be a good idea if possible. Maybe even wireless but that is perhaps a step too far.

Are you asking for a reason Micheal ?

 

[heater]

I'm wondering about the new led in the dereelight myself, please let us know.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Look into the JETBeam RRT-1 with a pressure remote.

+1

That's the one to get, hands down!

 

[saabluster]

One's foot if your an idiot
Someone else's if your not !!!!

Good one.:crackup:

Biggest problem with LED is the lack of ability to dim. For closer range pest shooting - it is good to sweep with low level red filter then crank up to take the shot. The other problem is that if a torch does have a dimming capability, then it will either be thru pressing the rear button (a real pain) or by rotating a collar as in the U2 for example. Better but still a pain.

The dedicated shooting lamp I use has a dedicated on/off switch with a rotary dimmer on the end of a lead. I have never seen a linear dimmer for an LED but this would be a good idea if possible. Maybe even wireless but that is perhaps a step too far.

You have some very good ideas it seems. A remote dimmer can of course be done.

Are you asking for a reason Micheal ?

Yes.I am always trying to see if there is a specific need that I could fill. I wonder if the frosted or diffused lenses I created for the DEFT would make it work much better for the situations you run into. I can of course make a setup that had a combo optic for throw with a dimmer and red LEDs for the close up work. Anything can be done it is just a matter of whether there is a market for it.