Hey guys. My ARs always had 1" ring clamp style flashlight mounts that allow you to place any handheld light in them and tighten them down. I decided recently to upgrade to Streamlight Protac HLX rail mount lights. My thought process was that it'd bring them tighter to the handguard, be more secure, and just be the "right" way to do things.

I've ultimately decided to just use the handheld version of the HLX with my ring clamp mounts instead. I honestly don't understand why guys are using rail mount! The rail mounts fit too tight to the handguard, and caused clearance issues. Would hit my MBUS front sight and got the light too close to my thick suppressor. Also, they didn't allow me any fine tuning of the light forward or backward.

With the ring clamp mount, I can push my light forward or backward to exactly where I want it. It still sits tight on my 45 degree mlok slot, but far enough away to allow for clearance. I only use push button tail caps, no switches, so losing that ability doesn't bother me. To top it all off, the handheld HLX has a Medium level which is truly the sweet spot of brightness when indoors - the Rail Mount version only has High and Low.

The ring clamp mounts seem more robust too. It's two thick steel rings clamping the entire body of the light. With rail mount, your light is only held on with two small screws...

Am I being stupid here and missing something? It seemed like the handheld could do everything I need and then some. I returned the two Rail Mount HLXs and installed the Handheld versions and plan on doing the same to my other ARs.

Thanks for the input.

Hey if it works for you, go with it. I have one ring mount on my wife's gun, but the rest are scout mounts. Can't speak to one being stronger than the other, but I feel pretty confident in saying the scout mount is probably more combat proven than ring mounts. Or at least the design is more than proven enough

Yes, running a can and/or BUIS can cause clearance issues, particularly with a fat light like the HLX. You might consider an Arisaka mount (they have various options) for putting the light where you want it. I like being able to run a pressure pad and having the light tucked fairly close.

How many potential failure points are on the ring mount versus a scout mount? That’s the reason the scout was developed. However, there is no hard and fast rule for what works and doesn’t work in regards to a platform that can be configured a half a million different ways. Run what works best for you.

The HLX rail mount has a better beam profile for a rifle light. The mount can be much more robust and lighter. Using newer versions of the MBUS solves the lever interference with the Arisaka offset mount, which only allows a very small amount of lever scrub that won't interfere with use. The new MBUS completely does away with that issue as it has no side levers. You won't get silencer interference with the Arisaka offset even with a suppressor cover, so long as it is not the giant Magpul cover.

I just dremeled off that side of the MBUS