I would like to buy a light to put on my .17 caliber rifle (low recoil) for shooting varmints at night. I am open to modding and there are a few requirements I would like to meet:
A bright beam out to at least 100 yards, suitable for shooting through a scope.
Not too narrow of a beam such that it is hard to relocate game if it moves.
Reasonably easy to mount on a scope (I know there is hardware available for this).
Price stock or including modifications of $40 or less.
I know that the Brinyte B158 is an option (though there may be issues with me second requirement), but do you guys have any other recommendations for this sort of usage?
I’m building a bunch of red LED C8s for hunters I met at the bar. I built one, not even knowing it was going on a gun, and he and his friends thought it was great and wanted one too. If your going for a white LED, a C8 should do it.
C8 would be hard to beat in stock form. Is the .17 cal air rifle a pre charged Pneumatic or a spring piston. Believe it or not, the spring piston air guns are hard on equipment attached to them due to the “dual recoil” as the piston slams the air into the barrel and then comes to rest on the front of the chamber…
The new BLF Group Buy of the D80 HERE would be a close second for me in your situation.
Thorfire or Convoy C8s are good stock, but staying under your budget the XinTD C8 HERE with the XP-G2 S4 2B may be the best bet…
I actually already have a D80 from the group buy on the way, it should be here soon. The rifle actually fires cartridges, it is not an air rifle. Its basically a necked-down 22 cartridge, so it has almost no recoil. I have been considering getting a C8. I’ll take a peak at the XinTD version.
Modded one of course... UF 1503(250 kcd) and Brinyte B158(340 kcd)
Unbeatable performance in throw and flood mode without "useful" spill that freaks out the game and messes with your eyes and your night vision.
You see further in the night with zoomie. How?
When you turn on reflector LED light, your night vision is killed by spill light that is reflecting from nearby objects & environment. Your pupil of the eye narrows and you see less. The brighter the environment is, the narrower is the pupil of the eye, so there’s a reduction in light that hits the fundus.
Aspherical type of beam has sharp borders, so there is better contrast between illuminated area and dark area. The enhanced contrast lets you to perceive objects/persons/things better.
USEFULSIDESPILL IN REFLECTORFLASHLIGHTS?
- Spill messes with your night vision. Your pupil of the eye narrows and you see less.
- You are spooking and give away your position to anyone around such light(yourself, other people, animals)
- In summer days you are attracting more bugs to your position
- There is no possibility of beam adjustment
I do a lot of this sort of hunting, rabbits and foxes and occasionally pigs. Using a .17HMR, .22LR and .223 mostly, and have tried a lot of lights.
Generally, a single mode light is best. Or at the most, a three mode with a good mode memory. Even then, you can end up on the wrong mode as things do go wrong in the field.
So a single mode thrower is generally best, and a momentary switch / reverse clicky can be very handy. Forget rat tail style pressure switches too.
A reflector based light can be a very good hunting light - I see folks recommending C8’s. They are OK, but the shallowish reflector can be a tad floody with the XM-L emitter, and that costs you range.
Your .17HMR can shoot to 150m, so ideally you want at least 200m of useable throw. A single 18650 unit with a 25mm body is the most compact and easily mounted setup.
In a C8, I would look at this, in the single mode option with the forward clicky.
One problem with many budget lights, is that they are saddled with stupid 5 mode drivers. The aforementioned B158 is a good light and I’ve been using one with both the red single mode and white three mode pills to good effect on foxes of late. It’s a shame it’s sold as a five mode unit in the white on Gearbest.
While zoomies can be good lights, remember that a zoomy cannot do one thing that a good reflector light can - it can’t throw well and spill at the same time. A good reflector thrower can give a good, tight spot and some side spill so you can see a little in the foreground. On game that can be very mobile, or game that can appear right in front of you that can be very useful.
If you can stretch it, the Solarforce M3 or M3S is a good light also, especially when powered by a pair of RCR123’s to get top output.
It also lends itself to modding as a P60 pill will screw right in - my own has red, green, the stock pill, and a 2.8A XP-G2 pill. It works quite well on a .17HMR in stock trim.
Mounting - IMO you want your light on the scope in easy reach, and not on the barrel where it may or WILL alter your zero.
I’m waiting for some drivers I got from an Ali.com vendor to power my C8,s red XP-E2s. 17mm, Single mode, 3v-12v , 2A.
It was listed as 2.5A, but she asked, so I requested 2A. I’ll run tests on them when they arrive. I wanted the 3v-12v so the lights could run on 2 X CR123.
Like I said, I’ll have to confirm the specs when they arrive.
I am also hunter and I hunt big game. So my target is always huge. Mine 340 kcd zoomie with pre collimator lenses is different story than your stock B158. It always starts on high and I can also use low and med mode if I want.
For example if I have 100m of shooting range i put it at almost widest beam settings and then I have field of view about 80 meters on 100 meters. With same setting for close ups on 10 m distance from you fov would be around 8 meters. So I can observe boar or deer heard on any distance.
"Useful" spill is something I really don't want in hunting flashlight cause it messes with your night vision, and not only that... With useful spill you can get not so useful reflection from barrel and suppressor that sometimes cast shadow on scope main objective lenses and that makes your view very foggy and you can't use full performance of rifle scope.
USEFULSIDESPILL IN REFLECTORFLASHLIGHTS FOR HUNTING?
- Spill messes with your night vision. Your pupil of the eye narrows and you see less.
- You are spooking and give away your position to anyone around such light(yourself, other people, animals)
- In summer days you are attracting more bugs to your position
- There is no possibility of beam adjustment
- With useful spill you can get not so useful reflection from barrel and suppressor that sometimes cast shadow on scope main objective lenses and that makes your view very foggy and you can't use full performance of rifle scope
In my hunting surroundings everyone who tried good zoomie never returned to reflector light cause it covers every hunting situation you can imagine. You can go to night duck hunting for example.
I have 330 kcd reflector. Lumapower turboforce. If I go in direct distance comparison with 1503 50 mm zoomie that has 280 kcd small zoomie always visually out throws 330kcd reflector I was not only observer there were few of us. Over the scope same thing. Zoomie perfectly covers scope fov on 6x mag, you see cleaner image at all distances.
If you will try to do this test; don't do it simultaneously with both lights turned on. Cause you'll miss point of test. Try light by light and concentrate on distant spot (lets say 500 meters). Use reflector vs aspheric with similar kcd values.
So it really is important what we can see in night not just KCD numbers. Plenty (even experienced one) people are still not aware of that fact. They just have perception zoomie is junk and I don't want to mess with them.
But real truth is :
You see further in the night with zoomie. How?
When you turn on reflector LED light, your night vision is killed by spill light that is reflecting from nearby objects & environment. Your pupil of the eye narrows and you see less. The brighter the environment is, the narrower is the pupil of the eye, so there’s a reduction in light that hits the fundus.
Aspherical type of beam has sharp borders, so there is better contrast between illuminated area and dark area. The enhanced contrast lets you to perceive objects/persons/things better.
Shot tons of animals with reflector lights - never had issues, apart from on occasion some light bouncing off a stainless barrel, and that’s easy fixed with some matte black tape on top of the barrel.
For my use, zoomies are OK for some things, reflector lights good for others.
I realize this is a budget light forum, but I am not sure why the Elzetta or Malkoff hosts have been left out. Probably the best weapons mounted lights going. Get an older version Elzetta with a Malkoff M60 dropin, or an MD2 or MD3 Malkoff host with the same drop in.
A compact tactical weaponlight isn’t necessarily the same as a hunting rifle light, or suitable for hunting.
I don’t mind a P60 light on a .22 for shorter range bunny shooting and even on a shotgun, but I doubt a p60 short of an aspheric setup is going have enough throw for those 200m or longer shots at animals.
This is what I am using on my hunting rifles these days. I like that the modes are accessed only by twisting the head so i know what it will do every time I turn it on. I like a nice focused hotspot with enough spill so I know what else is downrange. I am always shooting under 150 yards at night and this does everything I want to that distance. You might also want to consider a quick release mount so you can change firearms or use your light as a normal light.
Depends. It might be just a backup for the sole purpose of tracking wounded (and possibly dangerous) game animals. There are countries that prohibit artificial light sources for most hunting purposes.
They are most likely almost never the same or even close, if a “hunting light” is something that makes it easy to gather some deer to fill the freezer. The weapon light for tracking wounded big game might sometimes be pretty much a “tactical weapon light”.
If there has been a bear collision and a police officer or a volunteer wildlife specialist is looking for the carcass (and potentially an aggressive, desperate predator) wielding a pump-action shotgun, .45-70, anything… 800 meters of throw with an aspherical is not really necessary or ideal.
