OK bear with me here as this percoset is starting to kick in, but I have been sitting here musing about the benefits and drawbacks of both the offset and non-offset (standard mounting herein) methods. I do feel that using a "pistol light" such as the X300 in a 12:00 mounting method is superior in theory, but for my application it is not an option. Also I have read a lot about accidental activation with this method and I feel some bugs still need to be worked out. As far as discussing the advantages of offset vs standard mount a few points come to mind:
First is that an offset mount such as the VTAC or Vltor placed on the 12:00 o'clock rail would place light source closer to the sight axis. This would have the benefit of reducing the effect of shadowing (making the shadowing occur in the bottom of the beam pattern). Also this would allow less of the weapon to be exposed from cover in order to use the light.
Second is this method would allow easier activation of the weapon light from the support hand going "across the top" of the rail during a weak side transition.
Still though, even with these advantages in mind many still use the standard mounting at 3, 6, or 9 O'Clock. In Iraq during both of my tours I ran my M951 at 3 O'Clock without the tape switch. This was back in my "chicken choker" days when I would activate the light with my support hand thumb. It seemed to work well for me at the time, but it was really the only option for me due to sling placement and the physical design of the mount. Now with all of the options available it seems foolish to limit myself to an arcane mounting method.
Reply With Quote
I am a happy ebay shopper for today! OK now the hard part, figure out a mount...
Bookmarks