Saturday, March 28, 2009

Using the Larue Tactical 606 offset as a handgun weapons light mount

I wanted to get a light mount for my handgun for low light defensive use but didn't want to spend the money on a dedicated light like the Surefire X300 or the Streamlight TLR-2 because that was too limiting in many ways and the cost is prohibitive.

I was looking around for alternatives and couldn't find anything that was both versatile and suitable for handguns until now.

I had purchased a Larue Tactical LT606 Offset flashlight mount for my carbine. It has a quick release lever, is very rugged and lightweight. It suited my application perfectly for my rifle as I could quickly put it on and take it off as the circumstances warranted.

This evening I was doing some dry firing exercises and got to thinking about light mounts and thought I would try out the 606 on my M&P9 just for fun to see if it would work. I looked around on the web to see if anyone else has tried this idea before and didn't find anything so I thought I would share this idea with anyone who might need a carbine or rifle weapon light that can be re-purposed for a handgun as well.

Included are some pictures on my experiment and I think it works great in principle. I'm going to take it to the range later on this week and try it out in training practice. The mount and light do not add any noticeable weight and it's easy to mount and dismount. The versatility lies in the fact that since the light can be removed easily you are not limited to only using the light on the weapon, it can be used for other things such as diversion or just as a light when the weapon is not deployed. Also, the light can be put on another weapon if needed quickly and easily.

The benefits to using this mount is you now have a variety of lights to choose from. I use the Surefire Nitrolon LED G2 which is pretty popular. It's bright at 80 lumens and has a long battery life at 12 hours plus it's not very heavy weighing in at 4.1 oz. The mount comes in a variety of rings sizes: 1.040, .830. and .760 so you can mount very powerful lights if need be. The mount itself is not too expensive at $89.00 and if you have a G2 or something that fits already then you are already half way there. It's a cost effective solution for me.

Basic Light Configuration

In the above picture you can see that there is the ability to adjust the light forward and backward depending on your person preferences and length of your fingers.


Basic Light Configuration Right Side

The quick release lever is not in the way or obstructing anything.

How to activate light Demo

It's very easy to manipulate depending on the tactical circumstances.

Light Activated Demo

There are a couple of way to activate the light. Either by hitting the switch with your thumb or by using your index finer and thumb to turn the switch cap to leave it on.

The light does not obstruct the site picture in any way and illuminates the target area quite well.

The picture might make the mount look a little bulky or cumbersome but it's not really.

I've only tried this on a Smith and Wesson M&P9 full size. I tried it on a M&P9c and it doesn't work. If you are a left handed shooter it would fit because the picatinny mount notch on the 606 is reversed.

Here's a short video demonstration showing how easy it is to mount and dismount as well as the sight picture when the light is activated.

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