Suggestions/thoughts for a pistol/shotgun light?

Hello all. Little bit of a story, TL;DR at the end.
I originally just had a Mossberg 590 with a need for a light. I bought a Magpul rail & ring setup to hold pretty much any flashlight. I stuck a spare cheapo LED light on it like this one:
http://besttacticalflashlightreview...07/FordEX-Group-300lm-Tactical-Flashlight.jpg

Works ok but is bulky and drains the rechargeable AA battery pretty quick. Wouldn't want to depend on it but it works for the occasional night time pest control. I had been mulling over a nice Fenix PD32 or similar lithium battery based light to strap into the rings but never really got around to it.

Now I've acquired a Glock 17 and have been throwing around the idea of getting a light for it that mounts on the rail. The bonus is that my setup on the Mossberg 590, below the Magpul rings is a rail that would allow me to swap the same light from the Glock to the Mossberg.

I don't have an occupation that has me carrying either of these firearms and most of the time, I don't carry them. The flashlight's biggest purpose would be infrequent night time pest control with the Mossberg. It's a bonus feature that I could put the same light on the Glock. The light would likely spend most of it's time sitting on a shelf, unused. But when I need it, it may be for a half hour to an hour run time. When attached to the shotgun, it will likely get scratched and dirty so I don't want nor do I need an expensive Surefire or similar light.

I spent a fair amount of time researching and thought I had found the perfect light; the HiLight P20S. Quick mounts on a rail, takes a rechargeable lithium battery (I don't want to hassle with CR123's if I don't have to), puts out a decent amount of light for a decent amount of time, cheap and seems rugged enough for my needs via the reviews on Amazon. The rechargeable lithium was a pretty big requirement since most flashlights seem to use CR123's and I don't really like the idea of paying several dollars per hour of runtime. Quick mount is great so I can leave it on the shelf most of the time and attach it to a gun in seconds without tools. However, further research showed me 2 problems with this light; rechargeable lithium batteries are apparently not good for shock situations, like recoil from a gun. The other problem is that I'm not overly confident in the light's longevity since it's probably a lower-binned LED running at a higher voltage due to the rechargeable battery. With that info, I'm kind of back to square one and am not really sure what direction I should go.



TL;DR:
Looking for a flashlight for my Glock 17 and Mossberg 590 (on a rail). Rechargeable battery would be great. Not looking to spend a fortune on a Surefire, definitely prefer under $100. Will be tossed around, get dirty/scratched, swapped from gun to gun and will not be a gun cabinet queen. Not looking for daily use but reliability still a concern.

Are rechargeable lithium batteries a bad idea for weapon-mounted lights due to recoil?
What affordable options are there for rail-mounted flashlights?
Should I give up the rail idea and stick with a traditional flashlight to mount in the Magpul rings?


Thank you for reading, any insight is appreciated!

Hi there. Being a huge firearms guy and having alot of different setups I recommend a streamlight tlr-1. Have had a few and for the money very hard to beat. I have not tried the olight valkyrie but it seems to be solid and gets good reviews. Past 100 dollars it's a surefire x300 hands down IMO. I run them on a few pistols. I have a streamlight on my mossy as a matter of fact. I run primary cells so you are not left in the dark suddenly.

Do u know there a good mount for the x300 on an AE Baby Eagle (9 mm)

recDNA said:

Do u know there a good mount for the x300 on an AE Baby Eagle (9 mm)

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Interesting, i have a DE. 50 and a micro DE but surprisingly never handled a baby eagle or Jericho. I'm assuming they have a proprietary rail similar to the older HK and Walther p99.. I'm curious now.

I don't really need the flashlight on it but it might be neat to try it. I'm sure the place I purchased it could help me out but that was 20 years ago.

natenkiki2004 said:

I originally just had a Mossberg 590 with a need for a light. I bought a Magpul rail & ring setup to hold pretty much any flashlight. I stuck a spare cheapo LED light on it ... .

... Works ok but is bulky and drains the rechargeable AA battery pretty quick. Wouldn't want to depend on it but it works for the occasional night time pest control. ... .

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I apologize for not having an answer for your op. But I do have a question for you.

I'm curious. You said ithis rig works okay for occasional "night time pests."

It sounds like you have used it on occasion for these pests.

What kind of "pest" requires a 12 gauge? And where do you live?

I'm just curious.

Thanks

mick53 said:

I apologize for not having an answer for your op. But I do have a question for you.

I'm curious. You said ithis rig works okay for occasional "night time pests."

It sounds like you have used it on occasion for these pests.

What kind of "pest" requires a 12 gauge? And where do you live?

I'm just curious.

Thanks

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Not many pests require a 12 gauge unless you're talking about bear. Pests were just one reason for my getting the shotgun. The majority of my pests are fruit-eating birds, rabbits and gophers. Most of these could be dispatched with a .22 but when you combine the dark of night, my **** poor aiming, holding a flashlight in the other hand and the fact that the sights on my .22 rifle were off, at best it leads to unnecessary suffering. They may be pests but they're still animals. I chose 12 gauge because it's a great all-around gun. I can hunt and defend myself with it as well. There's more ammo available for the 12 gauge and it's cheaper as well. Using a 12 gauge affords me pretty much guaranteed one-shot kills. I had a real problem with rabbits in my garden/orchard and being that I didn't want to sling lead, I was able to get some cheap #6 shot steel loads, something that can't be done with a .22. I'll be the first one to admit that it's way overkill but it works well and hunting pests isn't the only thing it's used for.

I live in a rural part of north Idaho.

natenkiki2004 said:

Not many pests require a 12 gauge unless you're talking about bear. Pests were just one reason for my getting the shotgun. The majority of my pests are fruit-eating birds, rabbits and gophers. Most of these could be dispatched with a .22 but when you combine the dark of night, my **** poor aiming, holding a flashlight in the other hand and the fact that the sights on my .22 rifle were off, at best it leads to unnecessary suffering. They may be pests but they're still animals. I chose 12 gauge because it's a great all-around gun. I can hunt and defend myself with it as well. There's more ammo available for the 12 gauge and it's cheaper as well. Using a 12 gauge affords me pretty much guaranteed one-shot kills. I had a real problem with rabbits in my garden/orchard and being that I didn't want to sling lead, I was able to get some cheap #6 shot steel loads, something that can't be done with a .22. I'll be the first one to admit that it's way overkill but it works well and hunting pests isn't the only thing it's used for.

I live in a rural part of north Idaho.

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Question answered. And thank you for satisfying my curiousity. Your answer makes sense.

TLR-1. I have several and prefer the regular non strobe non high output model. Simple on/off/momentary light that just works. I bought several of mine for around $80 on Amazon. Usually they hang out about $100.

I prefer the Streamlight TLR-3 on a Glock 17 because it fits perfect and the TLR-1 outputs too much light for night-time, indoor use.

The TLR-1 is probably better for your outdoor purposes... If it were me, I would get a TLR-3 for the G17 and TLR-1 for the shotgun.

Overwhelming support for the TLR-1, interesting. I'll just have to get one then. I don't really like using disposable batteries but the TLR-1 takes care of the runtime by using 2 batteries. Being a quality unit and that it fits a lot of my requirements, I think I'll just save and go for it. Thanks for the pointers everyone

I think you'll be happy with the TLR-1. I have several Surefire X300/X300U WMLs as well as a TLR-2 and TLR-2G. I like the Streamlight lights and they are a great value for the money. I like the toggle function of the Surefires better for tactical use, and the remote switches for either when using a handgun, but for what you describe, the Streamlight will serve you very well.

Ended up buying a Streamlight TLR-1s last night with the current eBay $15 off $75 promo and a seller that has them $95 or make offer with free shipping. Done deal for $75 shipped. Pretty happy with that. That's the cost of 2 cheap chinese weapon lights and I have a lot more faith in the Streamlight to be there when I need it.

This isn't self-promotion, I'm not selling these but if you want one, here they are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172221521260?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The seller accepted my offer of $90 pretty quickly. The eBay coupon is C15MEMDAYPARTY and it's valid for the rest of the day.

natenkiki2004 said:

Ended up buying a Streamlight TLR-1s last night with the current eBay $15 off $75 promo and a seller that has them $95 or make offer with free shipping. Done deal for $75 shipped. Pretty happy with that. That's the cost of 2 cheap chinese weapon lights and I have a lot more faith in the Streamlight to be there when I need it.

This isn't self-promotion, I'm not selling these but if you want one, here they are:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172221521260?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The seller accepted my offer of $90 pretty quickly. The eBay coupon is C15MEMDAYPARTY and it's valid for the rest of the day.

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i have absolutely NO use for a TLR-1 with a strobe function, no use at all. Having said that, I sent an offer 5 min ago...:laughing:

Olight Valkyrie PL-1. The updated version with the tightening screw is set to be released at the end of June. 500 Lumens with the option of either a blue navy light or laser.

MaxStatic said:

i have absolutely NO use for a TLR-1 with a strobe function, no use at all. Having said that, I sent an offer 5 min ago...:laughing:

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Yea, I don't really have a desire for the strobe function but I read that you can disable it by tapping it 10 times, holding on the 10th tap. Besides, you don't have to use the strobe, it just is an extra feature. If I end up hating the light, it might appeal to more people if I decide to sell it. Good luck on the offer!

as has been said above either the TLR 1 or 3. Surefire can go to hell. I good friend of mine got conned into buying a Surefire CR123 light for his Glock 45 and man does it SUCK. Turning the Surefire light on and off means having to totally remove your off hand that is also holding the weapon in order to flick its horrendously designed and placed switch. Oh...it also fails half the time. I went over it with him. Made sure the CR123's were good and all that. He said the light itself was a couple hundred dollars. It weighs far to much and puts out a measly 300ish lumens if that. Now the Streamlights are far FAR better for a pistol light. I have not actually seen the new Olight pistol light in person but from the videos I have watched on it it looks like a stroke of genius.

Shotgun light. I also have a 590A1. It took a long time of consideration before I ended up bolting a straight up Fenix TK32 to the Mossberg and you know what? It is freaking perfect. I have put a couple hundred rounds through the 590A1 even heavy slugs. The TK32 has never missed a beat. It lights up far and wide. Fenix designed the TK32 specifically to be mounted to a long gun and it works perfectly. Even under the hottest loads I can put through it the light never lost connection under recoil. I use unprotected flat top Sanyo NCR18650GA cells exclusively. The TK32 has springs at both ends of the tube. I went unprotected flat top to ensure more surface area for the positive spring end to maintain contact with under recoil.

If you can find a old Surefire M951 weapons light and convert it with a new M61 it makes a really nice light for a AR. or on a shotgun. They were very shock proof.

natenkiki2004 said:

Yea, I don't really have a desire for the strobe function but I read that you can disable it by tapping it 10 times, holding on the 10th tap. Besides, you don't have to use the strobe, it just is an extra feature. If I end up hating the light, it might appeal to more people if I decide to sell it. Good luck on the offer!

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Offer excepted, paid, marked as shipped. And my comment had a healthy dose of sarcasm in it. I literally have zero need for any addition weapon light as I'm all set in that department...so it's only natural that I bought another one. It's the CPF way. Cheers.