that work for my applications, and are relatively reasonably priced, are sum- marized below. First, though, we need to talk
Top: Wild West Guns magazine tube rail mount with UTG Swat Force light with remote switch. Bottom: Cooper 57M Jackson Hunter. Light is the SureFire 6P with TacStar Remote Pressure Switch installed. The switch pad can be positioned wherever it is convenient and is attached with sticky hook and loop material.
of less than 100 lumens, providing good battery life. The new Leupold MX 221 LED is
the most expensive of the lights I used. It has an LED bulb, runs for six hours on two CR-123a lithium batteries, and puts out 80 lumens of white light. This new Leupold light is a bit bigger than most lights of this genre. With a price tag of $249, the MX 221 LED is built from T-6061 aerospace grade aluminum and has double O-ring seals throughout. With the options of four different bezels, two bulb types, and two different main tubes, the new MX 221 LED tested is just part of a modular system that can be user customized for many applica- tions. Although not my favorite for gun mounted use, I’m very fond of this beefy light. I used it almost daily around camp on the six-week-plus 2010 varmint hunting trip to the West. It was left out in the rain, rattled around, and was sun baked on the pickup’s dash, and it ran the entire trip on one set of batteries. On the opposite end of the price
scale is the UTG Swat Force light I pur- chased at a gun show for $29. I bought this light as part of a kit, mainly to get the ring mount that came with it. The kit also included batteries and a remote pressure switch. I have no idea about the lumen output of this light but it was more than enough to take a hog at about 50 yards when mounted on my .45-70
Page 8 October — December 2011
Guide Gun last March. The other lights used for this
article were from SureFire and Wilson Combat. The two SureFire lights were the old standby Model 6P, which puts out 65 lumens and runs for three to four hours on two CR123 lithium batteries, and the new E1L Outdoorsman which gives 60 lumens and a run time of fi ve hours on one CR123 lithium battery. Cost for these lights is $62 and $79, respectively. The Wilson Combat Weapons
Light, like the other lights used for this article, has an aluminum body and be- zel but is unique in that it utilizes three readily available AAA-sized batteries to put out 83 lumens from its LED bulb, with a run time of 100 hours. Being able to buy batteries literally anywhere in the world is a big advantage, and the light provided by this unit was exceptional for shooting. This is currently my light of choice for all-around rifl e shooting in low light or no light situations. IT ALL DEPENDS ON
THE MOUNTING SYSTEM After taking a hog under a light
on the above described hunt (with the cheapest rig discussed here) I started paying attention to what was out there in the marketplace in the way of light mounting setups that would apply to sporting arms — mainly rifl es and shotguns. Some of the items I found
about the Picatinny and Weaver rail confi gurations which are similar but different. The Weaver rail has a male dovetail on the base and a matching female dovetail on the rings that mate up when the tightening screw on the ring is drawn tight. The Picatinny rail is fl at on top, serving as a foundation for the ring. It also has a male dovetail. The Picatinny ring, with its corresponding female dovetail, is pulled downward to contact the fl at when tightened. Both systems use cross bolts, with the Pica- tinny’s sometimes being square. There is some interchangeability between the systems. Do some research before mak- ing a purchase. While hog hunting on the Circle
WC ranch in Texas in March of 2009, Bill Wilson showed us a new Scope Ac- cessory Mount that attached directly to the tube of the scope on a rifl e and incorporated a rail for attaching the Weapons Light or other accessory via a quick release scope ring. Now in production, the system is available as a kit for $169.95. The light and mount- ing ring are available for $84.95 and the anodized aluminum Accessory Mount alone is $64.95. This is a very high quality setup. The base securely clamps around the scope tube and the ring mount clamps to it in a solid, non- rattling manner. Mounting the light on the scope eliminates the change of zero problem associated with barrel or magazine tube mounting. My Wilson Scope Accessory Mount permanently resides on the Burris Compact scope on my AWC suppressed Ruger 10/22. Similar to the Wilson Combat
mount above is the CNC machined aluminum Scope Accessory Rail by Tactical Night Vision. Available from Brownells in several confi gurations to fi t 1 inch, 30mm, and 34mm diameter scope tubes, this mount is a bit less bulky than the Wilson unit and will fi t on some low mounted scopes that the Wilson mount is not compatible with. Prices range from $78.95 to $84.95. I like the lower profi le of this mount better than the Wil- son unit and have it installed on several rifl es. All of the Tactical Night Vision Rails I have required a bit of dehorning to knock off some of the sharp corners.
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