I usually just lurk and don’t post, but I got a new flashlight and mount tonight and thought I’d share. I am no high-speed-low-drag operator. I’ve never seen combat nor do I ever hope to. I am just an ordinary gun nut who recently bought an AR to expand my competitive shooting to 3 gun.
My rifle is an M&P15 MOE, I am a big fan of Magpul stuff and since they’re local to me (I live nearby in Colorado) I’m happy to support them. One of my concerns when buying this setup was that I might be missing out on expansion options versus having a full length rail on my fore-grip.
I used to think that the MOE grip was somewhat limiting compared to a traditional all rail system because of the need for additional rail sections. I have seen a number of AFG’s mounted to rail sections on an MOE grip, and just feel like it’s not quite as clean and simple as it should be.
I debated a ‘weapons light’ versus a flashlight for awhile but decided in the end that the recoil from a .223 wasn’t a big enough deal for me that I needed to spend more on a dedicated weapons grade light. I’ve known plenty to mount the older G2 lights, so when the G2X came about at a more modern lumen rating, it seemed like a no-brainer.
You can’t go wrong with a surefire, and the new G2X finally made it reasonable to do so. Sure I’d love to have a Scout light, who wouldn’t? But this thing is plenty bright, feels rock solid, and if my wife asks me how much I paid for a flashlight I won’t have to lie. Now it doesn’t have springs at both ends, just on the tail cap. But since it’s a single mode only, I shouldn’t have to worry about it turning off and on or changing modes at random (at least that’s the theory). This thing is much brighter than the Chinese Cree 120 lumen flash light I’ve been using before, and the fill feels very even. It has a much nicer finish than my streamlight flashlight and feels much more expensive than it is.
Once I had decided that I wanted a G2X as a first light on this gun, the next step was finding a moun. I had considered the Elzetta mount, but I like the idea of something with a more traditional location for thumb push activation, and I didn’t like the appearance of the front sight post connector as much.
I first became aware of the IWC mount at my local gun club. Earl from Impact Weapons Componentshappens to shoot there and I saw an early prototype of this mount and the one for the M300A scout light. He had the G2X on a suppressed AR15 and the Scout on his ACOG equipped FN SCAR (putting your gear on very nice weapons sure helps draw attention). I decided to purchase the IWC Mount-n-slot TMC 1” OD which I understand was designed specifically with this light in mind.
I bought both mounts and the flashlight from IWC’s yahoo storeThe mount arrived in a clever cardboard box with instructions and the necessary hex wrench to install it.
One thing that really struck me was the attention to detail. Everything from the package, to the rounded edges of the metal, even the incredibly small logo they print on the equipment is clearly done to a very high standard.
In addition to the light mount, I also purchased the new style sling mount for the MOE foregrip. This is basically the same as the Magpul RSA adapter, except that it mounts directly to the MOE grip. It’s designed specifically for the Magpul sling clip connector. The flat surface is at an angle to provide maximum space and visibility for a quick connection, while using minimal space and weight.
Here you can see how this piece and the other connect to the inside of the MOE, it feels very secure and I have no concerns about strength. I believe the Delta ring mounting system is a weaker link than the screws through here.
One thing I hadn’t realized previously was that the metal has a small grove in it specifically designed to fit into the slot in the handguard, this keeps the sling adapter at a level angle and prevents rotation.
Now that we’ve talked about how it mounts, here’s some pics of the light installed.
I really like the way that it places the light right in front of my thumb. I can also choose to wrap my thumb up over the handguard and mount in a MD recommended style grip.
Here you can see how much the flashlight illuminates the barrel.
Here is pointing straight at the floor with it so you can see the shadow that’s cast.
Here’s the shadow from 10 feet away. The camera doesn’t do the beam justice. These pictures were all taken with all of my lights on, the SureFire is so bright that the picture looks dim of everything else.
When you look through your sights you can’t notice the shadow at all.
Overall first impressions are very good. I’ve only had a chance so far to check it out at home but hope to go to the range shortly. One of things that I’ve found to be very cool about the combination of the MOE handguard and IWC components is the modularity. I can buy a second foregrip for very little and easily swap between having one with or without a light mount. On the bottom piece, I can swap between a vertical grip, AFG, WWF, bipod mount, etc very quickly. I think that flexibility provided with a low cost and quick changing abilities, offers many benefits over a rail based system.
