Surefire Scout M600DF

[Brandon101884]

Has anyone gotten one of these lights? I have one that is a month old. I’ve had it on for less than 5 minutes total. The other day I went to use it and it was super dim. I noticed it would flicker really bright when powering on, then go really dim. I figured the battery was drained somehow. Well, I charged the battery and have the same issue. I sent the company an email. Has any else had this issue?

[Ben elLes]

Had mine for over a year.  Holds charge and blinds things like it’s supposed to

 

if this is as a common thing they wouldn’t be in business selling expensive flashlights

Edited October 23, 2022 by Ben elLes

[Brandon101884]

Unfortunately, the more research I do I’m finding that it is a common issue. This light was way too expensive for these issues right out of the box. I should have went with streamlight.

[Kahamu]

Over a year with mine on my M4. No issues here.

[Varangian]

I just use a M300 Scout with 123A batteries.  I hate rechargeables, too fickle in performance.

[benelliwerkes]

I have several of them, super reliable. Also you can purchase extra  SureFire batteries on Amazon for a pittance. Multiple back-ups are handy.

I have one on a Mossberg 20 ga. SBS and some I free carry as they throw a long light down range.

 

 

 

 

[Brandon101884]

I ordered a new battery. I’m really hoping that is the issue. I’ll keep you guys updated.

[StrangerDanger]

I like the KeepPower batteries Modlite sells better than the Surefire ones. I stopped buying the Surefire M600DF lights and went with Modlite. I like their light bodies better and the lamps have a hot spot that significantly out performs the Surefire DF heads. You can pick between the various models they have to suit your needs.

[Brandon101884]

22 minutes ago, StrangerDanger said:

I like the KeepPower batteries Modlite sells better than the Surefire ones. I stopped buying the Surefire M600DF lights and went with Modlite. I like their light bodies better and the lamps have a hot spot that significantly out performs the Surefire DF heads. You can pick between the various models they have to suit your needs.

I’ll definitely check these out, thank you.

 

 

as for the Surefire. I got the email today and the shipping label to return it.

[rubicon20032003]

I switched to and only run modlites now 

[D'zaster]

No issues running the Scout 600 DF. One thing I noticed when I was experimenting (messing with) the pressure switch/tail cap, when I didn't have the tail cap screwed on tight enough, the light was intermittent.  I thought it was tight enough but no.  Maybe the head needs to be snugged down a bit more??

[Brandon101884]

Do you guys have pictures of how you mounted your Modlite’s?

[StrangerDanger]

This is the traditional right handed user setup for the Modlites. The body bolts directly to the IWC Benelli M4 weapon light mount. I machined the tailcaps down to remove the shroud so there is less to jam my thumb on under recoil. I just haven't bothered to paint them yet.

 

 

This is an experimental setup I started trying earlier this year to address several areas I didn't like when using the IWC mount. Mainly getting the light closer to the muzzle to eliminate barrel shadowing and to address jamming my thumb during momentary operations. Recoil is brutal on a 12 gauge when your thumb is riding the momentary button. I almost never use a constant on click of the light.

The negatives:

So I've been experimenting with the 15" Mesa Tactical Truckee rail. Overall, I hate the rail's attachment system to the barrel assembly. The fact that you have to remove your MLOK mounted items in order to get the rail off of the barrel assembly to access your ARGO system is retarded. So if you're going thru the process of applying thread locker to your attached items, you're going to have to redo that every single time you want to clean the gas system. Dumb.

The texture of the rail is way too smooth. Adding rail covers adds to your pain in the ass of taking the thing off of the barrel assembly. So if you plan to use any, you'll want some kind that just pops on like BCM covers. The ergonomics are crap compared to the OEM handguard, particularly a stippled set.

The positives:

When the weapon light is attached with an offset Arisaka mount, it puts the weapon light in the perfect position. It's held tight to the rail and fills the space between the barrel and the magazine tube nicely so the light isn't hanging off the side of the weapon like a wall wart that tends to catch on everything. I did have to modify the rail to permit the Arisaka mount to fit the rail's profile. In the top down shot, you can see how I cut the rail away as compared to the opposite side.

I hate tape switches and generally refuse to use them. I hate that they tend to snag on gear and the wire is easily damaged. I hate the tactile feel of a standard pressure pad where the light activation isn't always 100%. Then I bought the Unity Tactical HotButton. These eliminate the terrible feeling of the activation pad. This feels more like the button of a tailcap. Not only do you have momentary, but you can click it to lock the light on if needed. With the HotButton, you can orientate the switch with the button facing forward or rearward. I found facing the button forward was a significant improvement in ergonomics. No longer is your thumb in danger of getting racked during recoil. It's also much easier to pull your thumb rearward to activate the button than to reach forward to hit the button.

I routed the wire thru the rail so that the wire has almost no exposure. This only works on a Benelli since it doesn't get hot enough inside there to damage the wire. You could never do this on say an AR15. I bored a hole thru the MLOK attachment points so that I could slip the 1/2" plug thru the rail. The HotButton has a cool feature where you can route the wire downward so the wire isn't exposed at all. So the wire actually goes thru the MLOK that the button is mounted to. Only a minimal amount exposes from the rail connecting to the weapon light.

While the ergonomics of the rail kind of suck, the 15" long rail does have a positive aspect. You aren't limited to the short handguard of the OEM rail. I prefer to hold the shotgun a little farther forward than the OEM handguards permit.

I do like the option of using a MLOK QD sling mount and pushing it all the way forward. In my case I'm using a Railscales MLOK QD socket.

[Evolution]

As always, another fine effort in the quest for the sublime M4 setup SD. One thing that I don't like about this hand guard setup is the sling attachment to the very end of it.

It just seems to me that the constant pulling and torquing on the swivel attachment from slinging on and off and general use, especially with the added weight of a full magazine will lead to  problems. Do you think that it will hold up? 

The issue of barrel shadowing is not very important to me. It still seems to me that there is too much given up here (as you have laid out in the negatives summary), with this iteration of hand guard just to mitigate the barrel shadowing issue.

BTW, what is that colorful barrel attachment you have on there?  

Edited October 28, 2022 by Evolution

[StrangerDanger]

The sling attachment position is personal preference. You could pick any of the MLOK's to attach it. When I hike, I find it more stable to be connected farther forward. I use a BlueForceGear sling so when I'm hiking, I cinch it tight against my back. Then if I need it, I let the slack out and can shoulder it while slung. I don't think there will be any damage since the rail is connected at the front hanguard hanger retainer as well as in the back.

While my visible light Modlite head is installed, I also have a IR850 head for use with my helmet mounted PVS14 monocular. The barrel shadowing issue is a lot more extreme in IR. You don't really want anything blooming off your weapon back into your night vision device.

The choke is a titanium Briley choke. It's like 0.3 ounces lighter than the OEM steel one. I was trimming as much weight as possible from the build. I dislike that it extends out so far. When I initially bought it, I thought it was some kind of compensator. The titanium is nice since it can't rust like the OEM steel ones tend to do.

 

I'm hopeful for better products to come out that will get the light into the proper mounting position, but having the benefits of the OEM handguards again.