special gun light

Groo here
Looking for a special light for my "cowboy assult rifle" [ aka leveraction.
I will be using a Safariland rapid light mount that will take .8 to 1in light.
I am looking for a single cell [ would like rcr123] light with a base switch.
Ideal would be a thrower with a low and high [high at any time,low selectable]
Low should be at least 50 L high 300 L or higher.
Trying to keep the cost down.
Thanks

First off, what are you hunting and where will you be hunting? That'll tell me a lot more about what kind of light you're looking for.

As far as single rcr123 lights, yeah there's some that can do most of what your looking for, but you're talking a huge tradeoff in runtime. In more than one way one. Smaller lights generally have to dim faster to prevent overheating vs larger lights.

If it's weight you're worried about, you have a mostly metal lever action rifle. It's already heavier than an ideal tactical rifle.

You might seriously want to consider an 18650 light. Something like an Eagletac S200C2 with an xpl-hi led if you really need the throw.

Another good option would be the Klarus X15 Falcon.

SimulatedZero said:

First off, what are you hunting and where will you be hunting? That'll tell me a lot more about what kind of light you're looking for.

As far as single rcr123 lights, yeah there's some that can do most of what your looking for, but you're talking a huge tradeoff in runtime. In more than one way one. Smaller lights generally have to dim faster to prevent overheating vs larger lights.

If it's weight you're worried about, you have a mostly metal lever action rifle. It's already heavier than an ideal tactical rifle.

You might seriously want to consider an 18650 light. Something like an Eagletac S200C2 with an xpl-hi led if you really need the throw.

Another good option would be the Klarus X15 Falcon.

Click to expand...

Groo here
Rifle is a rossi lever [ 4.8lb] Run time in high is not important as long as the high has a " burst" [instant access ] mode.
I did not exclude 18650 type lights but due to placement , a shorter light is better.[also have an Olight pistol light that used cr123 cells]
I may still go with 2x cr123 type light.
The interface is most important, low [ nav light] instant access high [ or turbo] for "burst" [aka eye ball shocker]
Ps, the throw is to reduce the light reflected back on the shooter by the front sight.[ the mount sets the light off to the side
so the off hand thumb can opperate.

Shop around for best price but this is a lot of light for the money. Dual fuel and comes with everything you might need.

The Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount 1 uses one CR123 battery OR 1 AA battery.

The protac series is a good option, especially the protac hl. All of the light is focused in the hotspot with low back splash. Only downside is the use of 17650 cells instead of 18650 in order to use rechargeable batteries.

The Klarus sounds like it might be worth the look for you though too. Instant access to Turbo or strobe. The eagletac would be a quick switch, but it requires removing your hand and turning the head of the light....

I do not know a lot about guns, so pardon me it this comes across as a silly question, but would it make more sense to have two separate lights? A lower output for navigation and the brighter one for mounting on the rifle? The reason I'm thinking this is so you know that the battery on the gun will be fresh (since you will only use it if you need to) and that it will always come on in high mode instead of coming on low or medium when you really need it in a stressful situation. Also, if you use the light on your gun for navigation, isn't the possibility of pointing the weapon at someone you do not intend to shoot really high?

groo01 said:

Groo here
Looking for a special light for my "cowboy assult rifle" [ aka leveraction.
I will be using a Safariland rapid light mount that will take .8 to 1in light.
I am looking for a single cell [ would like rcr123] light with a base switch.
Ideal would be a thrower with a low and high [high at any time,low selectable]
Low should be at least 50 L high 300 L or higher.
Trying to keep the cost down.
Thanks

Click to expand...

Where do you want to mount it? What caliber are we talking? One thing I'll say right off is that rechargeable protected cells and WMLs are not a great mix. Recoil can break the protection IC, rendering the cell inoperable. Are you looking for an option for hunting or is this home protection/zombie duty? Reliability may not be as big a deal for a sporting gun but I like primaries for HD.

By "base switch" do you mean a tail cap switch?

The caliber of the gun and the amount of recoil makes a difference. You don't list a specific budget; I can understand trying to save a few bucks but a few things are key. Personally I don't think a light is suited for weapon use if it's not sprung on both ends of the battery compartment. If the + end of the cell rests right against the circuit board of the light engine it's gonna batter it under recoil. That wouldn't be in issue for a lower recoil gun like a .22LR, maybe even a .38 Special in a carbine. My 9mm and .45 ACP carbines don't have a lot of kick but that direct blowback action does deliver a smack to the light.

I'm not aware of all that many inexpensive lights that meet the need and that are also 1 cell. The Elzetta Alpha or Alpha CQB would be superb but they're $150 or so. I'm guessing that might be more than you want to spend. If you can live with a 2-cell light the JETBeam BC25 works very well as a WML. I have used them on my Beretta Storm 9mm and my HK USC .45 ACP at times. They're sprung on both ends of the battery compartment and are quite robust. Just 2 levels of output, a lower setting that's still pretty bright and a 900+ lumen Hi (for the SE version, about 700 lumens for the older one). Maybe a slightly bigger light wont' be in the way on a long gun?

remember: girly lights = girly light-check out the Fenix TK22 for a weapon mounted light which I am beginning to question the wisdom of. The more thought I give the subject the more I am leaning towards using a real good headlamp-its always pointed in the direction you are looking; no weight/bulk hanging off the weapon and you can keep the weapon pointed in one direction while taking a peek in another. But I guess if this was such a great tactical advantage no one would be buying gun mounted lights.....

With a long gun having the light mounted as far forward as possible has a lot of advantages, especially vs a headlamp. Mainly it prevents the firearm from casting a shadow that obscures what you're try to illuminate. Besides, your head moves around a lot and would probably move a lot more if you were in a gunfight. Another big issue is that you need to be able to use a weapon light intermittently. You want to light an area and move, light and move, light and move. A well placed WML will allow you to active the light without changing your firing grip at all. With a headlamp you need to take one hand completely off the gun to mess with the light. Not ideal at all. Lastly, it's much better to have illumination in front of the sights or reticle vs behind it. Light from a headlamp will wash out your sights and eliminate contrast between them and the target. Shining your light into the back of an RDS (red dot sight) is also a bad thing.

I got a 3P "body" from NiteMods, used bezel from a surefire 6P I had already, Malkoff M31 drop in, surefire XM07 tailcap and tape switch from a deployment I had laying around. Great cr 123 X 1 setup. A WAY cheaper setup on another rifle, bought a surefire 6P for $40.00 on eBay, a sportac P60 drop in for $30.00 and cheap 1"light mount and tailcap w/ tape switch from Amazon $28.00. They both are rock solid cr123 options and I know they will hold up to some abuse. Just realized after writing this that I probably could have gone with one of the options mentioned to you by the other members and saved some money with very similar results. I did find a use for the parts I already had so I guess that was my deciding factor. Hope this helps you decide what direction you want to go.

rob, just seems to me that not having the light on the gun is the way to go; no recoil wear to the light-no compensating for the weight of the light but more importantly its alot easier to get your eyes back on target than it is to put the gun back on target should you have to take a quick look around; then again I have never been in a gun fight so I really don't have a clue as to what I am typing about....

Wonder what the Seals/Mossad have available to use?

Lol, reference to SEALS / UC Intelligence agencies. Law Enforcement might be a bit more applicable; but again, completely different purposes from hunting.


A) How would the SOP for night time combat for a special forces unit be applicable to walking down a hunting trail and relaxing with a buddy or two?

B ) Most SOP's for night time combat either call for NOD's or a WML. Usually the night optics. Leave the Monday morning quarterbacking to the guys who have to live with the results.


Also, having a light behind the weapon causes all kinds of glare and weird shadows. Not exactly helpful when you're trying to discriminate targets in a dark environment.

OP, my original suggestions still stand. Another option would be to have a general use hand held light and a rifle light to come on at Turbo when needed. Unless you're hunting boar in thick brush or wetland. In that case, disregard the hand held idea.

One thing you could do is go on a Gun Forum site and ask there what they are using? plenty of those sites around, even AR forums would be a good place to check out. As they are more than just AR's.

I would consider a light designed for weapons such as Streamlight or SureFire.They have many to choose from but I'm not sure about a high and low switch.Maybe a headlight would fill the void and would be useful for many other things.

Isn't a light the first thing people tend to shoot at? I would be tempted to keep mine off of my head.

OP, what are you using the rifle for?

There's a difference between a light for hunting and a light for defense.

Groo here
The rifle is a lever action 44 mag with a forward [ scout] scope mount.
The scout mount has a red dot and is just long enough for a Safariland light mount which offsets the light

Groo, did the Streamlight Protac HP look like a good fit for you?

It's simple, tough, tight beam.

The only other light with the mode access you want that I can think is a Klarus.

Groo here
That Klarus XT 12 is starting to look good.
Does anyone make a side switch version?

groo01 said:

Groo here
That Klarus XT 12 is starting to look good.
Does anyone make a side switch version?

Click to expand...

Here is a link to the Klarus website. It has all of their current offerings listed.

http://www.klaruslight.com/