#Light

Streamlight, manufacturer of various weapon lighting and laser systems has announced that the previously introduced TLR-6 combination laser / light is now available in a Universal Kit. The new kit includes adapters for 18+ sub-compact handguns.

Earlier here at TFB, we mentioned in an article regarding some new developments in metallurgy that titanium has not traditionally been used as a material for firearms manufacture due to the difficulty and expense of working it. This is true, but it’s also true that techniques have been developed that substantially help reduce the time and cost of working titanium, and one recent product of gun manufacturer Robar being shown off at RecoilWeb is proof of that: An AR-15 using polymer upper and lower receivers, and some titanium components that tips the scale at just four and three-quarters pounds. Expected MSRP? Less than two grand:

While most of our readers will be carrying a firearm when they can, those who live in restricted areas or in gun-free workplaces, etc may find this a distinct and concealable trinket. On top of being a faily-good flashlight, the ZAP has 1,000,000 volts on command to stun an assailant. Its also rechargeable!

How light can an AR-15 made entirely with off-the-shelf components be? Guns & Tactics sought to answer that question with their ultralight black rifle build project detailed in a recent article:

SureFire has produced the first ever commemorative flashlight celebrating Freedom Alliance’s 25th anniversary.

Although news of the Glock 43’s existence didn’t hit until last week, accessories are appearing with rather impressive speed. One comes from Lasermax in the form of their Centerfire WeaponLight. The light was launched at SHOT last January for the Glock 42 and, according to the company, fits the Glock 43 as well.

It’s imperative that if a firearm is expected to be used at night, that the user have the ability to see at night. This is why flashlights are such important firearms accessories, but weapon-mounted lights, while highly convenient, present a problem: What if you want to illuminate something, but not also point a firearm at it?

So you have a long gun, and it doesn’t have any sort of rail to mount accessories — in particular a flashlight. Perhaps this product will fit your needs. The Stik N Shoot is a 200 lumen green flashlight that has zinc coated neodymium rare earth magnets to secure it onto a barrel.

Hyskore, known for their shooting rests and hearing protection, has released a novel solution to mounting a light to a J-Frame revolver. The “Compact Revolver Grip Light” is a grip set replacement that incorporates a 130-lumen LED light onto duty-sized J-Frame systems.

The  Unity Tactical EXO is a replacement mount for Surefire’s X-Series weapon lights. The polymer mount adds protective wings over the light switches to prevent accidental activation during storage, which will drain the battery, or during a use, which could alert your target or other hostile actors to your presence.  The mount costs $29.99 and is compatible with Surefire X200, X300 and X300U lights.

SureFire is now selling new shotgun forend weaponlights.  Like the older SureFire shotgun lights, the DSF unit replaces the entire forend of a shotgun and has built in controls in addition to a white light.

Finding the right place to mount a weapon light on a carbine rifle can always be a challenge. Different shooting techniques, shooting positions, gas systems, rail platforms and accessories all have an effect on where a weapon light is mounted. In the latter part of 2011 Haley Strategic teamed up with Impact Weapons Components to create a series of light mounts. The mounts were designed to complement modern weapon manipulation, accessories such as lasers and IR illumination and leave room for proper hand placement. From their very successful genesis to the present, the mounts have continued to evolve. The Thorntail and the Dropwing were the first mounts available. The Dropwing was designed to attach to a rail via the rail slots and has various ring sizes to attach to “tubular” flashlights. The Thorntail was designed to attach to MIL-STD-1913 rails and is tailored for short barreled rifles. The Thorntail mount also utilizes a ring attachment method and was designed to push the weapon light forward to leave space for proper hand placement. The next mount that Haley Strategic launched was the Mil 620 Light. The light mount was designed for the Surefire Millennium and 620 series of lights.

When you really need to reach out far and light someone up, the Surefire Hellfighter is what you need. The 10-pound 3,000-lumen light can withstand the recoil of crew served weapons like the M2 Browning, the M134 Minigun and the Mk19 Grenade Launcher. It can be powered by one or two BA-5590 lithium batteries or by a 12v vehicle system. One BA-5590 gives it 1.5 hours of continuous operation on high beam.

Some of the world’s best shooters were there, including Katie Harris and Jansen Jones from Team Noveske, Jerry Miculek, and Army Marksman Unit shooter Daniel Horner. Honestly, I felt very much out of my league, but thankfully I filled a celebrity spot given to me by Iain Harrison (winner of Top Shot Season 1 who now works for Crimson Trace- thanks for paying it forward, Iain!). Seeing as this was only my second 3-gun match, and since my 3-gun rig wasn’t quite up to snuff, I was severely handicapped. I’ll review my gear in the next parts of this series.

Haley Strategic has developed two new flashlight offset mounts, the Thorntail SBR and MIL620 Light Mount. Both mounts are available in a variety of sizes and cost $50 – $70.