benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
My main rifle is a 2002 SAR-1. Here it was as of a year or so ago, bone stock except for a Kobra on the siderail:
And while I love the look, it was a little slippery in high humidity (endemic here in eastern NC) and I really wanted the capability of using a light, but there was no way to mount a light without messing up the wood.
I took my time picking out the light as I wanted something bright, but with good battery life. I eventually settled on a Surefire G3 LED, which is lightweight, bright enough (80 lumens, brighter than the original 6P incandescent) and offers >60 lumens for ~6 hours and usable light for another 3.5 hours. The tailcap switch allows both momentary-on and twist-on.
To mount the light, I installed a Tapco Galil style forestock with a single Picatinny rail on the left side (it came with three rails, but I only used one). A little fitting of the stock to the action was required, as they make it a little oversize to ensure it's not loose. The light is mounted to the rail with a GG&G ring. I also installed a vintage Romanian sidefolding stock that I had lying around, to make it a little easier to carry slung without banging the stock into things; it also simplifies storage somewhat, and it matches the new forend better than the factory stock would.
The new stock and forend did require re-zeroing the optic---the different recoil dynamic seems to have pulled the POI a little to the left---but it shoots well. I've shot one IPSC style match with the new stock and it worked fine. I wouldn't want to use it with a gun that recoils much, though, as the butt is narrow and would put a hurting on your shoulder if you were shooting something with significant recoil.
Closeup of the light and mount on the left side; note that the lens of the light is positioned forward of the gas vents to avoid excessive carbon fouling of the lens.
With the stock folded:
The light does stick out to the side a little, but not excessively, and it's comfortable to hit the tailcap switch from a normal shooting position.
The one thing I still want to do is thread the muzzle for a flash suppressor, but I am still looking for an economical way to do that (I don't want to pay $75 for a threading kit that I'll only use once). I really like the Smith Vortex, but for weight and cost reasons I'll probably go with a Phantom instead.
And while I love the look, it was a little slippery in high humidity (endemic here in eastern NC) and I really wanted the capability of using a light, but there was no way to mount a light without messing up the wood.
I took my time picking out the light as I wanted something bright, but with good battery life. I eventually settled on a Surefire G3 LED, which is lightweight, bright enough (80 lumens, brighter than the original 6P incandescent) and offers >60 lumens for ~6 hours and usable light for another 3.5 hours. The tailcap switch allows both momentary-on and twist-on.
To mount the light, I installed a Tapco Galil style forestock with a single Picatinny rail on the left side (it came with three rails, but I only used one). A little fitting of the stock to the action was required, as they make it a little oversize to ensure it's not loose. The light is mounted to the rail with a GG&G ring. I also installed a vintage Romanian sidefolding stock that I had lying around, to make it a little easier to carry slung without banging the stock into things; it also simplifies storage somewhat, and it matches the new forend better than the factory stock would.
The new stock and forend did require re-zeroing the optic---the different recoil dynamic seems to have pulled the POI a little to the left---but it shoots well. I've shot one IPSC style match with the new stock and it worked fine. I wouldn't want to use it with a gun that recoils much, though, as the butt is narrow and would put a hurting on your shoulder if you were shooting something with significant recoil.
Closeup of the light and mount on the left side; note that the lens of the light is positioned forward of the gas vents to avoid excessive carbon fouling of the lens.
With the stock folded:
The light does stick out to the side a little, but not excessively, and it's comfortable to hit the tailcap switch from a normal shooting position.
The one thing I still want to do is thread the muzzle for a flash suppressor, but I am still looking for an economical way to do that (I don't want to pay $75 for a threading kit that I'll only use once). I really like the Smith Vortex, but for weight and cost reasons I'll probably go with a Phantom instead.
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