by Jorlcrin » 05 Apr 2024, 6:27 am
Over the years, I've been through a number of hunting lights, and have wavered between mounted and freehand ones.
One thing I know, is that you can NEVER have too many decent torches in the car when out at night...
We had a Lightforce 30w handheld rechargeable spotlight for some years; not a huge amount of light from the 30w bulb, but surprising how far it would reach.
For some years, I often used a LED-Lenser P17 torch, which only had a 200 lumen output, but had some option for focussing, and that was adequate for 50-75 metres most times.
I currently have a couple of Rail-Mount lights that run the 18650 batteries; One is some sort of Wolf-Eyes model which doesnt seem to be made any more, and one Hard-Korr model (KT-6).
Both have a barrel around the 25mm dia, and maybe 7-9 inches in total length(KT-6 is about 7 inches total).
Both have a Picatinny mount QD-style ring clamped to the barrel of the torch, so they can be mounted/removed in a few seconds.
Both are around 1000 lumens, which gives an hour or two run-time, though I note both get quite warm if running for longer than about 15-20 minutes.
Both have around a 44mm/1.5" diameter on the reflector, which likely reduces how far they can throw the beam, but makes them compact to fit neatly against the forestock/barrel.
Both mount to my rifles much the same as the setup stihl88 shows, though I really like that mount setup he's got.
The Wolf-Eyes has a tail-cap that allows for a remote switch, wheras the KT-6 simply has a button at the rear of the body.
I rarely use a remote switch when shooting; for my situation, it usually isnt much help.
So, for my type of shooting, having a torch mounted to the stock works okay most of the time, and the rifle/torch remains reasonable compact.
If I was doing more night shooting from a rest, I might either look at a separate spotlight, or possibly a scope-mounted torch(though last one isnt my preference).
I like that Z-Bolt Blazer setup that stihl88 shows; it would be a neater setup mounting than the rings I use on mine to get the same result.
I havent seen many torches that have mounting holes tapped and ready to go like that Z-Light..
My preference is for a light that doesnt mount to the scope, as I find the whole assembly too bulky/cumbersome for walking around.
My Ruger 10/22 has a rail mounted on each side of the front of the stock, and I find that great for night walk-arounds for pokking the odd bunny/cat/toad/etc.
My CTR .223 also has a little short section of rail that replaces the front QD mount(Vanguard??), so I can either mount a bipod or a light.
I hope this helps.