Great Shotgun Light!

[bud45]

Awhile back, as "Bud", I asked around about flashlights/tactical lights for shotguns...well, two things happened: one, my computer crashed and I had wanted to get off of AOL for a long time because they're anti-gun, so it was an opportune time; two, I found a great light in Cheaper Than Dirt! It's a Xenon Tactical light made for shotguns. I got the two-battery version (three volt lithium), which comes with different colored lenses, for $34.97- a three-pack of lithium batteries and an extra bulb. The final bill was about $64.

And does it ever illuminate! Extremely bright, white light! It does better than my Maglites and is much lighter! Y'all oughta check it out!

Bud

 

[Coronach]

Is the light shock-isolated to withstand repeated firing? I would test this out before I put it on a 'serious' gun.

Inexpensive doesn't always mean cheap, same as expensive doesn't always mean good, but...

Mike

 

[Guyon]

Range report? Pics?

 

[bud45]

Xenon shotgun light

No pictures- this is a borrowed computer, until I get one built, but- go to cheaperthandirt.com, do a search on either LOW-614 (which I bought) or a LEG-145, which is the same thing, but with a belt case. These are two-cell lights; the one-cell is the LOW-614. For some reason, the one-cell light is slightly smaller than the two-cell...? Both are tactical lights, made for mounting on shotguns or for regular flashlight use....

When I called them, they indeed confirmed this light was for mounting on shotguns. There is even an AR-15 light mount made for these lights. Their claim is that it's brighter than Surefire. I haven't bought a Surefire, but, it is a very bright light- I have NO problem positively identifying targets at 50+ yards at night with it.

Notice that I do NOT hunt at night! This is mounted on a Defender 1300 for home defense. We have a neighbor who allows his 120+ lb. Rottweilers to run free at night, which have killed numerous other pets, both here & in other neighbors' yards. My kids can't even ride their bikes in the day now- they occasionally break out & run free. Needless to say, day or night, I intend for none of us to get hurt if they're around.

I went & got the card from the package- it lists that the light is "dependable in extreme conditions- 10 year limited warranty" they don't warranty leaking batteries, alteration, etc.- "...tested in boiling water up to 212 degrees & cold down to -68 degrees." The company's name is "Outdoor Companion", Los Angeles, CA, but they only list a FAX #: 310-858-7959. Of course, "law enforcement" is among the uses they list.

Now, as for some shock mounting AND to protect the light body, I used some thin rubber automotive window webbing. This gave it a positive seating in the barrel clamp. So far, I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it, but come a weekend when I'm not hunting, I do want to shoot it with both Aguila and regular 2-3/4" loads. It appears to be a good quality unit. One thing that made me mad was, "Made in ROC"- gee, thanks, Klinton & Ko.

More later!

 

[bud45]

Update

The LOW-615 is the one-cell light- sorry....

 

[JimJD]

We have a neighbor who allows his 120+ lb. Rottweilers to run free at night, which have killed numerous other pets, both here & in other neighbors' yards. My kids can't even ride their bikes in the day now- they occasionally break out & run free. Needless to say, day or night, I intend for none of us to get hurt if they're around.

Uh... Since your neighbor does'nt seem to care for the safety of those around Him, I'd contact the proper authorities and alert them to a disaster waiting to happen. Or do "they" know about these dogs already?
The fact your kids can't be kids in their own neighborhood is so very, very wrong.
I've seen some really nasty dog attacks when I worked with animals, and those were on adults. I shudder to think what would have happened if it was a child.
Can your local police dept/sheriff do anything? Animal control maybe?

 

[Badger Arms]

Did I miss it? HOW did you mount it on the shotgun? What mount did you use? Did you use a remote switch or one of them coil cord thingeys?

 

[clubsoda22]

i used the same light with some thick foam tape wrapped around the midsection and clamped. Before adding the tape, even if it felt very snug in the clamp, it would come out with 7 rounds of shot.

 

[Tomac]

I've been looking for an inexpensive "shoot me" light for my budget HD shotgun project and this looks interesting. However, I would be very interested in hearing how well this light handles repeated heavy recoil. Also, how easy/difficult is it to manipulate the on/off switch when the shotgun is shouldered?
Tomac

 

[clubsoda22]

there's a momentary push button on the back which is easy enough to hit with any finger when mounted infront of the forend. Twist the back of the flashliht and it's constant on. It's not difficult at all. As for repeated shock, it handles it well, before being mounted on my shotgun it was the flashlight i carried while working EMS and it took a good beating there. I now carry a streamlight twin task (because i can use the led's to check pupils whereas the xenon was just too bright).

 

[MrFreeze]

Club,

How do you like that TwinTask? Is the light bright enough to be used to light a dark room for say, HD?

I'm not associated with this guy, but his feedback on eBay is flawless. He also sells on GunBroker.com. He's got the Tac-Star flashlight available for $35, and it has 2 3-volt lithium batteries:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3645815630

I've also been looking at the StreamLight TwinTask. This model is also available in a one or two battery configuration. Again, no affiliation:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3642742483

Travis

 

[Sunspot]

TacStar seems to be a fairly nice setup. Whatever light you use, make sure it is not a bi-pin bulb. Recoil will pull it out of the socket. I would go with a shock isolated lamp as in the Surefire line. TACMIII makes a nice setup but the cost is more than $100. see www.tacm3.com
Surefire is releasing a new weapon light called the X220. It uses a 5w LED that outputs 65 lumens. I want one of them for my pistol.
This is what a shock isolated lamp looks like.

[/IMG]

 

[Sisco]

Couple of related questions;
How about the TacStar side saddle light mounts? Any advantages / disadvantages over the barrel clamp mount system?

 

[Sunspot]

One disadvantage is your weapon will be illuminated from the light forward.
I'm serious about weapons and lights
(I'm a flashoholic) and I want them to be able to withstand abuse and not fail at the wrong time.

 

[bud45]

Reply to JimJD

Yes, JimJD, "they" have been notified, numerous times. There is one little lady, about 5'2", working the WHOLE county for Animal Control; the county animal shelter runs like your typical government entity: they don't give a hoot about anything but payday, quitting time and beer (not necessarily in that order). That little lady can usually answer a call in about 2 weeks. The local (small town) police do what they can, but all two of them on the evening shift and maybe three during the day handle an unusual amout of calls (yes, drugs & violence has spilled over from the big city), so a 2am dog call gets a #2 position over speeders on the interstate. AND, where we live off the main drag, there's no good way to get here, so it sometimes takes 10 to 30 minutes to get here.

Since open carry isn't illegal in Alabama, I DO on my property and if I get an inkling that something's up, a long gun is with me, also.

I used to be a paramedic, so I know what animal bites are like; not pretty. I intend for my kids to NOT be victims.

Hey, I just had an idea: if the Rotten-weilers start coming back, I could mount an automatic game camera & catch them in the act! I only have one dog now, a black Lab, but he stays in at night, but it's an intersting idea anyway...or maybe set up a video camera & recorder....

 

[bud45]

Reply to Badger Arms

I already had a barrel clamp on the gun, which held a Maglight. When I mounted the new light, I used some rubber automotive window tape. I just got back from a hunting trip, so I hope to see how the light handles shock this weekend.