weapon mounted light

[NY bouncer]

i've been looking for a good high power LED light to mount to my rifle for night time self defense and dangerous game recovery during darker hours. so far I am interested in the following

Fenix tk 30

Jetbeam M2s

Thrunite catapult - doesnt have a remote switch available

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations for any other high power lights that can be weapon mounted and have good battery life and atelast 700-1000lmn max out put ... in the $100-$180 price range

 

[clint357]

What type of throw distances are you looking for?

 

[shipwreck]

The TK30 is pretty damn big for a weapon light. Most people put a smaller light. I think the TK 11 would make a great weapon light. I have a couple of Inovas on my 2 rifles - but I will likely never actually use them outside. If I did, I'd likely get the TK11s, or the Eagletac T20C2 Mark II.

 

[NY bouncer]

The TK30 is pretty damn big for a weapon light. Most people put a smaller light. I think the TK 11 would make a great weapon light. I have a couple of Inovas on my 2 rifles - but I will likely never actually use them outside. If I did, I'd likely get the TK11s, or the Eagletac T20C2 Mark II.

Your rite but the TK 30 has nice big head which will light up everything in front of me. I'm not looking for a tactical light, I need something that is powerful enough to hunt/search for dangerous game at night or to get around through the woods nicely in the early morning and late evening hours. A nice bright light with big beam and good batterfy life

 

[NY bouncer]

What type of throw distances are you looking for?

I would say between 100 and 200 yards... no more then 200, no less than 100. The reason I like the jetbeam m2s and the thrunite catapul and tk30 is cause it has the brightness of a spotlight at high power, and also lets me switch to lower power settings to save battery life and for smaller tasks where huge light isn't needed. The downsite to them is that they run no more than 1-2 hours on the highest setting, If i could find something like those lights but slightly greater battery life. and about the same price maybe a little more.. i've seen some like the surefire hellfighter which are $325... thats too much for me

 

[M@elstrom]

As already mentioned those are some heavy lights to be mounting off the front of your hunting rifle aren't they gonna' get heavy after a couple of hours (they'll weigh more hanging off the barrel than in your hand)?

Another point to consider how will the lights hold up to weapon recoil? I know the Eagletac T20C2 has springs at both ends of the battery tube (tail cap & emitter module positive contact) that should cushion the internals somewhat...

 

[Solscud007]

This is outside your budget but you could try a Surefire m962 9 volt weapon light. Then you could use the TLS Tk4 600 lumen head or theumen factory seraph p7 at 850 lumens. Tons of light.

 

[LukeA]

...like the surefire hellfighter which are $325...

The Hellfighter is an HID searchlight that produces over 3000 lumens and uses an external (usually lead-acid) battery. It weighs 10lb (without battery) and costs $6000+ new. I think you may be thinking of a different model.

From your description of your task, I think you should consider a TK11 to mount to the rifle and a TK30 or Catapult to carry with you. It just sounds to me like you want a rifle-mounted light and a spotlight (not necessarily the same thing), and having a only rifle-mounted spotlight would be pretty unhandy. You'd have to cover anything you wanted to look at under any circumstance with your muzzle, which is a Bad Thing.

With this + this, you can double your battery life in any of the lights you proposed for under $10.

 

[SwatDude]

I offered up the perfect weapon light in this thread although some have questioned the durability.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=3152853

 

[NY bouncer]

Nice guns Swatdude, thats a cool way to mount that spotlight. Be safe out there. Thanks guys for all input i'm gonna most likely go with a jetbeam m2s with remote switch and use some 1" extra high scope rings I have collecting dust in the closet.

I don't want to use a tk10 or tk11 type light because this is not a tactical rifle, i'm not concerned about weight, nice thing about a jetbeam m2s type light is that I can use the low power mode which will last quite a while and is very bright, but if I need the 900 or 1000 lumens its there.

 

[Markm87]

Nice guns Swatdude, thats a cool way to mount that spotlight.

It's a modern version of Bill Murray's sniper rifle in CaddyShack!!

 

[500N]

Without having checked the specs versus your exact requirements,
have you had a look at some of the Wolf Eyes torches ?

A lot of SF/Police etc are using them over here in Aus
with great raps plus a lot of shooters, including me.

Very happy with them.

 

[mystryak]

Ive used wolf eyes and they are really hard to beat.

 

[shipwreck]

I just changed out the light on 1 of my guns to my Eagletac T20C2 Mk 2... Really, the brightest light there is for its size...

 

[SwatDude]

how do you like your PS-90? I just bought some Elite Ammo for mine but I haven't been able to test the new ammo out. It is supposedly alot hotter than anything from FN.