So, you want a flashlight on your AR15?

BLUF: Get a surefire.

 

Click on image to enlarge

Many of you have never had a rifle with a light on it.  I remember my dad, just a few short years ago, go looking for the ultimate flashlight, and came home with a huge D-cell maglight.  If that’s the ultimate flashlight, then I don’t blame you for not wanting to mount it to your rifle.  By the way, in the late 80’s, that’s exactly what special operations teams did.  Maglight + electrical tape + radiator hose clamps = cutting edge technology.

Thankfully, technology in this area has evolved significantly in recent years.  The D-cell maglight has been exponentially outdone in terms of battery life, light output and size.  The only thing that maglight still has, is the striking power of a nightclub and the backbreaking weight of a small pumpjack.

4 D-cell maglites put out 122 lumens.  My Surefire Scout light puts out 200 lumens continuously for 2 hours on something resembling a roll of dimes, instead of a $1,000 roll of silver dollars.

All of the options I’m going to list can be had for cheaper on online forums, or just by a little shopping around the internet.

Lights come in several different platforms.  Let me put them in 3 categories:

Dedicated Forend Lights.

Click on image to enlarge

This option has recently faded in favor of the lighter, more versatile options, so I will spend little time on this.

A dedicated forend light changes out the whole forward handgrip assembly, for one that has an integral light.  For a shotgun this might include the surefire DSF (dedicated shotgun forend).  And for a long time the surefire forend lights proved to be the front-runner in the AR15 game.

I have the surefire model on my shotgun, and think it’s a real game-changer to have a light on my shotgun as I clear the house in the dark.  You don’t have to remove your hand from your platform to light up a dark corner, and if I were to find an intruder, it would be as easy as depressing a button to identify him, see if he has a gun, or hold him at bay with a flood of white light.

What this option does not give is modularity.  If you do not hold the forend in the way that the makers of the light envision, then your hands will have to be maneuvered over the switch they’ve molded in place.  Don’t like the shadow the light casts from your barrel and would like to move the bezel closer to the muzzle?  Out of luck.

Pistol Lights

Due to the availability, modularity and cost of pistol lights in recent years, it has become popular to mount a small pistol mounted light onto the forend of a rifle.  These lights are usually underpowered in my opinion, and offer some to be desired in terms of switches.

The Inforce WML is an exception to this rule, and from what I can determine, puts a satisfactorily bright light, all from a compact package.  It is cost effective, and the switch is intuitive.

The X300 series of lights from Surefire attempts this, but is usually a tad underpowered for the purpose, while the ULTRA series lights from Surefire, more than double the amount of light that pours out of the bezel.  The only downsides to the Ultra series seem to be the price point, and the same old switch.

Dedicated Weapon Lights (DWL)

Click on image to enlarge

The Scout light seems to be just the right ticket for the AR15.  This light can be had in 2 variants: the older 200 lumen, or the newer 500 lumen model.  The scout light has a slim profile, an intuitive switch, and the modularity to be run from various positions on the rail.

Personally, I run a 200 lumen scout light at about the 11 o’clock position on my rail.  It is mounted far enough forward that I get very little shadow in the beam.  These can be had on online forums and such for the 130-200$ range.

There is a cheaper option which replicates the scout light.  You can get the base model surefire tactical light (G2 model in several different variations), and buy an aftermarket mount for the light.  Vtac, IWC (Impact Weapon Components) and a gilion other companies offer really good mounts for the light.  The mount you choose should be solid and allow you the versatility to position the light where you want it.

Check ebay for other DWLs.  If you can, get an LED version and pay attention to the lumens.  Don’t get something under 120 lumens.  Sticking with known brands such as Surefire and Inforce (I’ve never owned a Streamlight, but some like them) will save you a lot of heartache.

The beam

With a light, you have to worry about spill and throw.  For our purposes the “throw” of the beam is how far it goes, and the “spill” is the amount of area side-to-side that it covers.  For a weapon mounted light, throw is often more important than spill.  You need that light to reach out and identify something at 100yds.  Is it a hog?  Is it a dog?  Is it a coyote?  Is it a calf?

Throw is what will identify your target.  Spill will help you navigate and be aware of your surroundings.

The last thing to think about in terms of lights, is shock isolation.  Why can’t I just throw any old light onto my rifle?  Well, filaments in lights are fragile.  Under the shock of repeated recoil, your filament will break with regularity.

With newer technology high-output LEDs the option is there for a bezel that does not need to be isolated.  An LED is not prone to the same breakage that a filament is, but the battery contacts need to be examined.

Most lights on the market use the same old technology to pull the juice out of the battery: bent spring steel.  Under the repeated recoil impulse of your rifle, that spring steel will lose it’s tension, and your battery contact will become intermittent – at best.  Those in the weapon light business have poured the necessary budget into development of battery contacts that can withstand repeated recoil impulse, assuring your light won’t go down when you need it most.

Flashlights are probably the most underrated AR15 accessory out there.  A flashlight can be used for target identification among a thousand other things.

One last word: batteries.  High output lithium CR123 batteries are now the industry standard in weapon lights.  You may like AA batteries, but the truth is that they simply can’t power a gun light for the length of time you’ll need it.  CR123batteries.com is a great place to buy them in bulk.  They have approximately a 10 year shelf life.  Also, rechargeable batteries were not made with weapon lights in mind.

Demonstrated need for a light.

Several years ago I remember riding along with my father-in-law looking for a cow who was supposed to be having a calf that night.  He had a very bright spotlight to help us find her in the dark, as well as his headlights.  While his headlights wouldn’t reach all the way across the field because they are designed more for spill than throw, his spotlight could really identify something a long way away.

Well, his spotlight went out, and we were left with headlights.  I remember shining my rifle light at a dark corner of the field 200 yards away, and the shock in his voice as he asked me what in the world that was in my hands.  It was my little 200 lumen scout light and it had plenty of juice to see the black cow in the back corner of his dark field.  I also remember a little disgust in his voice that my rifle was doing what his million candela spotlight was supposed to be doing.  Imagine what I could have done with the 500 lumen model!

The light has served me better than any other accessory I could get on my rifle – even a scope.  It can be turned on when I’m searching my backpack for my car keys, identify a target, or light up our kill for the obligatory post-carnage photo.

I’m a firm believer that next to magazines and bullets, the weapon mounted light is the most essential piece of gear that can be put on a rifle.  Every AR should have one.