Shock isolated bezels

[BWT]

So, long story short, I’ve decided I’m going to put a BattleComp on my AR, and I got to thinking, (though the muzzle blast is reportedly not changing, I was just thinking about muzzle blast and I want to mount a Flashlight to the gun, was thinking a Surefire G2 or something similar) I do plan on mounting a light to the front of the gun.

I planned on using the Midwest Rail that goes on the front sight base, and then attaching the light in some offset mount on it (Probably VLTOR).

(In case you’re unfamiliar with the said rail, configuration, there’s a URL below)
http://www.midwestindustriesinc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=94

I was thinking, with the light there at the end of the gun constantly exposed to that muzzle blast, does it take it’s toll on lights?

I’d imagine it does, but also most quality lights really stand up to abuse fairly well.

I’ve had flashlights I’ve used for work, not a surefire, get to the point to where either because of the circuitry being damaged or maybe a contact beginning to separate, just from impact, stop working.

This light being mounted to a firearm (I own one AR at this point, if I had several and this was just another in the safe, wouldn’t be a major concern) I could use for Self Defense means that this light failing really, isn’t an option, or at least I’d like to minimize it as much as possible.

http://www.skdtac.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SUR.148

Surefire’s compatible model is listed above, I believe TVNC has some pretty good quality bezels as well.

My question being, do you guys think that’s a necessity?

Those of you with shocked isolated bezels have you ever had an issue ever?

Those of you that use flashlights without any kind of aftermarket bezel, with the light mounted near the muzzle (SBR’s with a light on the rail near the muzzle, or ones mounted in a similar configuration) have you had any kind of issues with the lights wearing out or contacts breaking, etc?

Thanks for any/all input, I appreciate it.

Also, I’m not necessarily certain that I need a Surefire G2, I just was thinking that was a good place to start, it seems to be in a fair amount of usage out there, and seems to stand up fairly well, for what it is ($40-60 flash light being used as a weapons light).

[markm]

The G2 is the bottom of the list of acceptable weapon mounted lights. The stock switches on them are trash, and I’ve killed the bulb assembly in one without any hard use at all. The one SBR that I run G2s on sports TWO G2s since I know I can’t count on one to work with any level of confidence.

A 6PLED or clone would be a lot better. I could never go back to an incan light on my home defense bean.

[BWT]

@markm

The G2 is the bottom of the list of acceptable weapon mounted lights. The stock switches on them are trash, and I’ve killed the bulb assembly in one without any hard use at all. The one SBR that I run G2s on sports TWO G2s since I know I can’t count on one to work with any level of confidence.

A 6PLED or clone would be a lot better. I could never go back to an incan light on my home defense bean.

Sounds good, would you run an shocked isolated bezel seeing that the same model bezel fits that light from surefire?

I like the 6P models.

(I planned on switching the tail cap from the factory one anyway in a G2, I’d prefer a press slightly for illumination, and click it for permanent on, rather than twist the cap, etc, etc.)

Thanks.

ETA: Out of Curiousity did you find the 120 lumens sufficient?

The 6PX Tactical looks nice, but I could not find a light mount for it, and I want the press for momentary on, fully depress for permanent on, I think the 6P LED is probably the best solution.

Anyway, but do you guys find shock isolated bezels, etc as worth it?

[subzero]

Shock isolation isn’t needed for an LED.

Translation: you should be looking at an LED light. A G2L or 6PL will do just fine.

A momentary-only style switch is much more handy than you might think. Avoid the trap of too much light and avoid the temptation to turn the light on and leave it on. If you need constant light, chance are you want a handheld light anyway.

[BWT]

@subzero

Shock isolation isn’t needed for an LED.

Translation: you should be looking at an LED light. A G2L or 6PL will do just fine.

A momentary-only style switch is much more handy than you might think. Avoid the trap of too much light and avoid the temptation to turn the light on and leave it on. If you need constant light, chance are you want a handheld light anyway.

I was thinking it would be good, I mean again, if it’s a defensive carbine you don’t want light just left on but I like being able to control it a bit more than the twist on, etc.

I liked the look of the G2X Tactical, but there are no mounts for it that I could find.

Thanks for the input, I’ll get the battlecomp, and this flash light configuration sooner or later.

ETA: As a side note, the light I had and used for work, the hand held, was LED and broke, I’ll agree they are much more resilient, but… I still think weapon recoil will wear them down.

Thanks for the input, so basically it’s mostly useful for incandescent lights.

[01tundra]

I’ve probably ran 500 rnds or so through mine since I put the BattleComp on it and my 6PL has held up fine so far.

Another option for a really nice light would be to find an older 6P and throw a Malkoff M61 drop-in lamp assembly in it. I just replaced the factory LED lamp with a M61W and it’s incredibly bright now. Another nice upgrade is a McClicky switch.

http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/dropin-mod-dropins-to-fit-surefire-c-1_14.html

http://www.oveready.com/surefire-upgrades/oveready-mcclicky-self-installation-clicky-kit-for-surefirea-/prod_23.html

[BWT]

Thanks for the input, that’s pretty much what I plan on running (at least with proximity to the muzzle, flash light, and compensator).

How do you like that ACOG by the way?

I’ve got a stigmatism and honestly… I was looking through an Aimpoint, the bloom for me is pretty bad, I dunno if it’s something I’d learn to live with or if I should look for an alternative…

Thanks for the input.

[markm]

@BWT

Sounds good, would you run an shocked isolated bezel seeing that the same model bezel fits that light from surefire?

Like subzero said… just go LED. I wouldn’t put another dime into these junky ass G2 lights. The amount it’d take to get them acceptable exceeds the price of a good light.

[01tundra]

@BWT

How do you like that ACOG by the way?

I’ve got a stigmatism and honestly… I was looking through an Aimpoint, the bloom for me is pretty bad, I dunno if it’s something I’d learn to live with or if I should look for an alternative…

Thanks for the input.

Love it!

I have the same problem, started out with an Aimpoint T-1, but the dot was blurry to me. Switch to an EOTech XPS2-0 and it was even worse. Finally ordered my TA33G-H and it’s crisp & clear as can be, no more fuzzy reticle :)!

[BWT]

@markm

Like subzero said… just go LED. I wouldn’t put another dime into these junky ass G2 lights. The amount it’d take to get them acceptable exceeds the price of a good light.

Sound logic, that’s what I’ll do, I’m thinking the model recommended will work.

Love it!

I have the same problem, started out with an Aimpoint T-1, but the dot was blurry to me. Switch to an EOTech XPS2-0 and it was even worse. Finally ordered my TA33G-H and it’s crisp & clear as can be, no more fuzzy reticle !

Argh… The price is prohibitive. (Just being honest, I could eventually afford it, but…)

Question, I’ve heard the HorseShoe out to 150-200 yards is pretty bad, or some people struggle to see the target.

Honestly, I’d kind of want a 1 or 1.5 magnification optic, light weight, with a red chevron.

For around 600$ in the mount.

I don’t think you can co-witness one, but I’d like to if I could similar to an Aimpoint ML3 with a 1/3 cowitness.

I don’t think I’m going to find that though.

ETA:

Basically,

http://www.trijicon.com/user/parts/products1.cfm?partid=559

Except 1 to 1.5, without the ballistic drop, I could live with just the Chevron, (I’d like the Chevron to be near 2 MOA), and cut that price in half, and we’d be in business.

So back to reality.

ETA 2: http://www.trijicon.com/user/parts/products1.cfm?PartID=172&back_row=0&categoryID=3

It exists!

http://www.trijicon.com/user/parts/products1.cfm?PartID=173&back_row=0&categoryID=3

Now just to find a Larue Mount and a Thousand Dollars, anyway, sorry, I’ll get it back on track.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it guys.

ETA 2: 01tundra, how many MOA would you say the reticles are? I’m going to email Trijicon… see… This is what happens when you surf this forum.

[01tundra]

So far I’ve only shot mine out to 100 yds and it’s fine for me.

The outer horseshoe part of the reticle is definitely a lot smaller than the outer circle on an EOTech reticle…but the smaller crisp horseshoe is still way better for me than the big fuzzy red circle was :).

I read somewhere that the dot is 2 MOA and the horseshoe is 11 MOA, but no idea if that’s accurate.

According to EOTech’s website, on the XPS2-0 dot is 1 MOA and circle is 65 MOA, so the above feels about right.

Please excuse my less-than-stellar camera work :D!

[BWT]

@01tundra

So far I’ve only shot mine out to 100 yds and it’s fine for me.

The outer horseshoe part of the reticle is definitely a lot smaller than the outer circle on an EOTech reticle…but the smaller crisp horseshoe is still way better for me than the big fuzzy red circle was :).

I read somewhere that the dot is 2 MOA and the horseshoe is 11 MOA, but no idea if that’s accurate.

According to EOTech’s website, on the XPS2-0 dot is 1 MOA and circle is 65 MOA, so the above feels about right.

Please excuse my less-than-stellar camera work :D!

Thank you for the info, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

Dude, now I’m undecided again. :laugh:

(I hate bumping a thread that’s pretty much run it’s course, but, thanks again man)

It’ll be awhile, probably in excess of a year before I get an ACOG or some kind of optic… Well actually depending on what kind of work I get into after I graduate, maybe within the year.

Looks good. I was considered the Green was too subdued and wouldn’t show up, that looks pretty vivid.

[JSantoro]

The dot is 1.7MOA and the horseshoe is 8.25MOA.

[BWT]

@JSantoro

The dot is 1.7MOA and the horseshoe is 8.25MOA.

Thank you!

I was worried that the Green would also wash out in the background so I had kind of dismissed it as an alternative, and gone for red.

I had also dismissed that reticule because I was concerned about reports about the reticule being too large.

I think it’s a good thing I’ve got time to shop around, compare, ideally get some hands on.

[JSantoro]

@BWT

reports about the reticule being too large.

Okay, THAT was almost a spit-take for me…

Too large for what? It’s designed for human-hunting, and is smaller than an EOTech reticle by a significant margin. The 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock edges of that horseshoe represent a 19" wide torso @ 200m.

Man, whomever it was that told you that probably has a Silly-Straw chromosome somewhere in their cellular structure, or was simply floating an opinion based on ZERO time spent actually viewing it live and in person (admittedly, that’s the more likely of the two).

Replace the word “reports” above with the word “scuttlebutt” or the phrase “demented ravings,” it’d be closer to the mark.

[BWT]

@JSantoro

Okay, THAT was almost a spit-take for me…

Too large for what? It’s designed for human-hunting, and is smaller than an EOTech reticle by a significant margin. The 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock edges of that horseshoe represent a 19" wide torso @ 200m.

Man, whomever it was that told you that probably has a Silly-Straw chromosome somewhere in their cellular structure, or was simply floating an opinion based on ZERO time spent actually viewing it live and in person (admittedly, that’s the more likely of the two).

Replace the word “reports” above with the word “scuttlebutt” or the phrase “demented ravings,” it’d be closer to the mark.

I thought it was a 1.5 magnification, they must’ve been referencing a different ACOG, because the one they referenced was a 1.5x, not a 3x…

(I started shopping for one after you posted that info, I mean the MOA sizes of the reticule)

Honest opinion, you’ve gotten out there, used the optic, handled it, let me ask you this.

Inside 10-25 yards 3x magnification seems like a lot.

But with an 8 MOA Horseshoe is it reasonably quick onto target?

I really like that optic, but I kind of wanted to keep it around 1.5 to 2 magnification.

I’m going to find a way to handle one whatever optic I want before I buy it, just to see, but, honest opinions.

Can you give me an opinion on it. What I’m kind of seeing in usage is somewhere between 5 yards and 125-175 yards, mostly within 100 yards more than likely.

I say 5 yards because frankly, it’s going on an AR that will be used for Home Defense if necessary, I’m trying to figure out if I could live with 3x magnification or not… I really like that reticule.

Thank you for your input.

[JSantoro]

You’ll find many here that, when asked what ACOG they’d get (or get AGAIN, in a lot of cases) for GP shooting, the answer they give is the TA33 or TA11, with the trend being toward the TA33 because of it’s lesser weight. It’s a trend I agree with.

My bread-and-butter is the TA31, but since I’m not a salesman (all our shit is already freakin’ bought), I have no qualms about copping to thoughts that going with the 1.5" eye-relief device for no more palpable advantage than an extra .5x of magnification (compared to a TA11 variant) was a bad call on the Corps’ part. The TA33 and 11 can see 85% of what the TA31 can, and are far more forgiving while doing it.

The Achilles heel of ANY fixed-mag optic is the 50m-and-in arena. You can get fast with it (practice!), but will likely never be on a par with what can be done with a red-dot doing the same thing. That said, between the eye-relief of the TA33 and a green horseshoe reticle (the human eye picks up green quicker than red…with some caveats…), you’re giving yourself about as many technical advantages as you possibly can.

For middle-distances, 100-400m, the ACOGs shine.

Beyond that, it’s less a matter of gun/optic than it is the capability of the shooter to bring the two former to bear properly.

It’s a good, well-rounded choice.

EDIT: Observation failure on my part…

Markm is right: incandescent is old and busted. No need for a shock-isolated bezel when there are so very many good LED options available.

Since I’ve helped derail a light thread: I have on my primary carbine a SF G2 that just got upgraded with this: http://tnvc.com/items/illumination_tools/muli_tc.html

Hacking around with it a bit, I verrrrrry much like the capability it provides me, given that it was a choice between that or spending $200+ on a Scout or Mini-Scout or some analogue thereof. Having spent $25 on the light, it made a helluva lot more sense.

Turns out, I screwed up a little bit. The momentary button on the side of the tailcap works exactly as I’d hoped; I can push my offhand thumb sideways at need without being in danger of inadvertent activation. However, it’s out of reach when I switch to my weak side to shoot. No worries, though, right? The primary activation switch is still there…

…kinda. Word to the wise, if you get this combo, choose the “5 Step Reverse” option. As it is, I went with the “5 Step,” so when I toggle the light’s primary tailcap switch, I get the lowest light setting and have to click through to get to the brightest one, whereas the momentary is the brightest setting every time you hit it. I can’t rotate the momentary to a spot where I can conveniently hit it with either thumb, so I’m leaving it as it is.

I’m also keenly interested in the SF G2x. A 200-lumen (or thereabouts) LED light for >$70?

Be lying if I didn’t admit to still salivating over a Scout/Mini-Scout or a E-series mounted with a Gear Sector or Danger Close Consulting lo-pro mount, though.

[BWT]

@JSantoro

You’ll find many here that, when asked what ACOG they’d get (or get AGAIN, in a lot of cases) for GP shooting, the answer they give is the TA33 or TA11, with the trend being toward the TA33 because of it’s lesser weight. It’s a trend I agree with.

My bread-and-butter is the TA31, but since I’m not a salesman (all our shit is already freakin’ bought), I have no qualms about copping to thoughts that going with the 1.5" eye-relief device for no more palpable advantage than an extra .5x of magnification (compared to a TA11 variant) was a bad call on the Corps’ part. The TA33 and 11 can see 85% of what the TA31 can, and are far more forgiving while doing it.

The Achilles heel of ANY fixed-mag optic is the 50m-and-in arena. You can get fast with it (practice!), but will likely never be on a par with what can be done with a red-dot doing the same thing. That said, between the eye-relief of the TA33 and a green horseshoe reticle (the human eye picks up green quicker than red…with some caveats…), you’re giving yourself about as many technical advantages as you possibly can.

For middle-distances, 100-400m, the ACOGs shine.

Beyond that, it’s less a matter of gun/optic than it is the capability of the shooter to bring the two former to bear properly.

It’s a good, well-rounded choice.

I’ve been hunting opinions for the past few days on ACOG’s. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that feedback.

The main driver for wanting an ACOG being my astigmatism. I’ve got another thread on another forum rolling.

Right handed, left eye dominant, near sighted, Astigmatism (Electronic Optics (ETA: Reticules, Aimpoints and Eotechs) bloom for those of you unfamiliar, otherwise I’d go after a Red dot, planned on the run of the mill Aimpoint ML3 LT 150 High Mount, with a 1/3 cowitness Troy BUIS, but… I got to handle an ML3 and… well… For me I just don’t think it’d be a wise solution), and I think I’m slightly color blind in one eye.

:laugh:

It’s kind of comical honestly, short of being blind I think I got it all.

:laugh:

The capabilities of that optic seem to be very good, I’ve got some time before I’ll be getting any optic, but it’s good to know.

Which model TA31 just out of curiousity?

I was thinking about 2x magnification, I was looking through the Trijicon Catalog, familiar/like any models out of that category just incase?

(I’m sorry man with question after question, you screwed up and posted in this thread and you’re knowledgeable, :laugh: let me know if it gets to be too much.)

Thanks everyone for the input, this is a two-fer for me.

[JSantoro]

TA31RCOA4 and M4. What we call the AN/PVQ-31A or B. Red chevron.

Nah, largely I’m unfamiliar with any of them below 3x. Plenty of others are, though, maybe they’ll chime in.

[BWT]

@JSantoro

TA31RCOA4 and M4. What we call the AN/PVQ-31A or B. Red chevron.

Nah, largely I’m unfamiliar with any of them below 3x. Plenty of others are, though, maybe they’ll chime in.

Thanks anyway.

ETA: I saw your edit and add on the Light.

Be lying if I didn’t admit to still salivating over a Scout/Mini-Scout or a E-series mounted with a Gear Sector or Danger Close Consulting lo-pro mount, though.

I flipped over to them saw prices in the 300’s and said “Yeah No, It’s a flash light at the end of the day.”

VLTOR claims to be developing a mount for the G2X’s… I think I’m going to hold out, I mean I’ve gone this long, why be impatient now?

http://www.vltorstore.com/products/Scout-Mount.html

Please note that the new-style Surefire G2X & 6PX flashlight are only compatible with our offset-style scout mounts at this time. A standard model scout mount is in development.

Now I don’t know if that’s a “Two Weeks” delivery time or SHOT, but, I’ve got time.