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Which light and mount for M4?


netsecsys

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Just traded into a M4 and am very pleased..pleased enough that I have stopped looking for any other shotguns.

 

Decided on the Mesa Tactical barrel mount as I do not want a railed foregrip and like the contour of the factory (could use a little more texture though but I will work on that later).

 

Any suggestions for a good light/mount match for the mesa clamp? Surefire/LaRue? Which model/combo works for you? Do not mind paying good money for great quality. Will be used for HD and making sure the bigfoots don't crap in my raised bed gardens ;)

 

Thanks.

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I found all the aftermarket options to be rather lacking in performance. So I built my own. I chopped up a set of FFT reproduction handguards and added an Impact Weapons Components SMC Scout Mount.

 

This took several hours of work. I had to grind the mount to a smaller profile for clearance. Then I used an epoxy as a filler to hide the fasteners. Once everything dried, I sanded it down so it it was smooth. The photos are old, I have since sanded the epoxy down more and sent the handguards out to be painted in Cerakote to hide the imperfections.

 

This was a ton of work, but it allowed me to use the factory handguards and reduce weight.

 

031_zps095d1765.jpg

 

007-6_zpsa0f26af3.jpg

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........[ATTACH=CONFIG]2072[/ATTACH].........

 

It's a great light but I was a little surprised about the 500 lumens claim. I have some 200 Lumen LED flashlights that are real bright, white (no hint of blue) and focused. The X300-U is not as white of light but not as yellow as incandesecnt and it's not as focused of a beam, more dispersed so it doesn't "appear" as bright. But, I tell ya what, I did a "shine in your face" test .... it's bright :-)

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For Home Defense type setups, I normally have custom modded flashlights which are much brighter than production surefires. They obviously go through batteries faster and can get hotter, but HD situations aren't like being deployed or being in Law Enforcement. Check out overready or you can go really small - lumapower - I mod up lumapowers for direct drive. That being said, you can't go wrong with surefire - they are an industry standard.

 

Anyway... mounts, ya. The laserdevices mag tube clamp is good, I currently use the laserlyte triple rail, because I also have a lasermax unimax laser, they work. The down side is you have to use tools to remove them (an alan wrench) from the mag tube to disassemble. I am working on a solution for this.

Edited by bm4sbs
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Nobody mentioned Elzetta? : )

 

I copied hooksters setup: bmt and x300 ultra. I don't love it but it is pretty good. I may switch to a full size light but that means adding some weight, which I'm trying to avoid. I use my left index finger to activate the light. That is not strictly correct but I'm working around it.

 

Op, try some different things and see what works for you. There isn't a best solution, unless you do a build like strangerdanger.

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Thanks for all the info. It is now clear as mud which setup I'll go with ;)

 

Yes, there is not a dominant setup when it comes to mounting a light on the M4. The simplest setup will be some type of simple rail like the below, and of which, there are quite a variety of options. To that you can mount a Surefire G2 with a variety of possible clamp options. Or the CDM clamp essentially combines the two for you.

 

From there you can choose to upgrade to a more expensive light, throw in a remote tape switch, etc...or rig up something completely custom as others have done. It all depends on preference and how much you're willing to spend.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Laserlyte-Shotgun-Rail-Mount-Exte/dp/B0041FPG40

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Want to step away from clamping to the barrel or mag tube at this point. Picked up the Mesa clamp and, though well made, I do not like having to take it on and off every time I clean the weapon.

 

CTG is going to be modifying the BLAM4 to get close to where I want to be..sling at 9oclock and light at 6 oclock. Just need to wait for them to get it to market.

 

Might hit up the local vo-tech metal shop to see if I can pay some young talent to fab what I really want...

Edited by netsecsys
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Want to step away from clamping to the barrel or mag tube at this point. Picked up the Mesa clamp and, though well made, I do not like having to take it on and off every time I clean the weapon.

 

CTG is going to be modifying the BLAM4 to get close to where I want to be..sling at 9oclock and light at 6 oclock. Just need to wait for them to get it to market.

 

Might hit up the local vo-tech metal shop to see if I can pay some young talent to fab what I really want...

 

 

What flashlight do you run?

 

If there was a mount that had everything for the M4, would you consider running different light that was compatible with the mount?

 

Popular flashlight mount options include 6P or 1 inch and .830 which is E series diameter. E series diameter is my personal preference, but I really prefer single 123 lights with bodies that retain the .830 diameter end to end.

 

True E series profiles present problems with the flared tail caps with the mount I have modeled as they interfere with features on the rear hanger. There is not a good way to solve this without pushing the light further from the firearm to accommodate the geometry. They would work fine with non-flared tail caps or the remote switch tailcaps surefire has.

 

True Scout Series is another issue entirely.

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What flashlight do you run?

 

If there was a mount that had everything for the M4, would you consider running different light that was compatible with the mount?

 

Popular flashlight mount options include 6P or 1 inch and .830 which is E series diameter. E series diameter is my personal preference, but I really prefer single 123 lights with bodies that retain the .830 diameter end to end.

 

True E series profiles present problems with the flared tail caps with the mount I have modeled as they interfere with features on the rear hanger. There is not a good way to solve this without pushing the light further from the firearm to accommodate the geometry. They would work fine with non-flared tail caps or the remote switch tailcaps surefire has.

 

True Scout Series is another issue entirely.

 

Do not have a light picked out. Probably a Surefire 6PX pro in a LaRue QD mount..but I really want to find the right mount and go from there. I would really like to replace the stock forward sling with the BLAM4 if it had sling at 6oclock and rail at 9oclock (to hit the switch with my thumb). But it is not in the cards...

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I had it on my fn, great for lighting up a whole room. Beam pattern is VERY wide

 

Dan - do you have a Calliper or Micrometer? If so, I want to ask you a favor - if you can't no biggie. Or you can just tell me to stuff it! No offense will be taken.

 

If you have one and are willing - I am looking for absolute Outside Diameter from three dimensions on your L4. Head Bezel, Main Body, Tailcap. Each at their widest points.

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