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Posted: 2/22/2005 10:09:01 AM EDT
| This question has probaly already been asked, but here goes. I want to put a light on my carbine, do I go with the m500 light, or do I go with a rail mounted light. Thanks for all help.hippie.gif |
| Forest's questions are all the ones to ask... if the answer is no on the vertical grip and you don't care for adding other accessories then the M500 is a great choice. The nice things about the M500A is the ergonomics of the system, LED nav'lights, momentary pressure pad or constant on capability and it's a 9v system that will cover most needs but it can also be upgraded to a M500B if you really want some range. |
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The Surefire M500 series is my favorite AR weaponlight. It is completely self contained, the switches are logically laid out, and it has no exposed wiring. Of my five Surefire weaponlights three of them are M5xx forends. Defensive carbines with twin M500As:  Skunk slaying rifle with M511A:  Like all weaponlights, the M500 series has a unique set of pros and cons. As a non-professional, non LEO, non-military, non-SWAT operator here are the high and low points of the M500A as I see them: Pros -Completely self contained -Excellent switch placement -No exposed wiring -Manual lockout switch -Several bulb and bezel options (125/225 lumens (9v), or 250/500 lumens (12v), standard or turbohead reflector -Navigation LEDs useful for low light training -Dual removable heatshields -Hard anodized bezel Cons -No freefloat option -Vertical foregrip mounting options extremely limited -Navigation LEDs not compatible with Colt's side sling mount, sling mounting options are limited -Can overheat barrel with sustained fullauto fire unless inside heatshield is removed Only you can decide if the strengths and weaknesses of the M500 will be compatible with how you intend to use your rifle. Some of the 'cons' I don't care about, but someone elses requirements may differ greatly from mine. I don't feel the need to freefloat a 200 meter defensive carbine for example, nor do I care about installing a vertical foregrip. If you want to install a VFG you will need to buy a small handguard mounted rail, like this one LINK  My biggest bitch about the M500 is that the navigation LEDs prevent me from using Colt's side sling mount. Here are pics to demonstrate why: Colt's side sling mount:  M500A navigation LEDs:  If you intend to mount an M500A on a fullauto carbine then I strongly suggest that you remove the inner heatshield if you do a lot of sustained fullauto firing. Unlike the dual heatshields of Colt's M4 handguards the inner heatshield of the M500A is solid, and offers to barrel ventilation whatsoever. Once you remove the inner shield you are good to go with fullauto  Hopefully my dissertation (  ) will help you decide if the M500 series will work for you. As I said above I like mine a lot, and will undoubtedly add more of them to my modest stable of Surefires in the future. |
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