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Lamping advice


njc110381
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After my lamping trip on Monday/Tuesday I'm thinking of buying myself a decent scope mounted lamp. I really don't know what to buy, apart from being advised that the small ones are pretty useless! I think I was using a Deben Max400 on my mates rimfire, which seemed pretty good although a bit bulky. Even with the red filter it was still pushing over 50 yards with ease, which I've been told the smaller ones can't do. Are there any other good lamps about? Maybe with a more solid connection to the scope? I found the Deben kept slipping round and falling over :)

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Sorry, not much detail in my first post! I'll be putting it on my HMR, lamping rabbits and foxes. Not at stupid ranges, maybe 100 yards max? I looked at the clulite mini laser, but I'm not sure if it's going to be powerful enough? It's made out to be good, but as I said above I've been advised that small lamps are pretty poor performers in comparison to the larger ones.

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Ok, sorry if my post came across as grumpy, it wasn't meant to be lol.

 

For rabbits and foxes out to 100 yards then a Lightforce 140 Lance will do a good job. With that lamp I've shot foxes out to 155 yards in a place where they blend in with the terrain.

 

If you'll be buying a centrefire later on then the smart move would be to buy a 170 Striker now, if you get one with a dimmer switch it's very handy, less or more light as you think you need.

 

I have both of the above and have used them both on my .22lr, .223 and the 12ga, they work very well, best beam of any lamp. If anyone says, given you'll be using HMR, the 170 catches a lot of wind that's BS, would you be out with the HMR on a night that'd be that windy anyway?!

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No worries, it would have been a good idea to say what I was planning to use it for :)

 

I plan to get a 6.5x55 in the future, but is that really a lamping gun? I think I'll stick to the HMR for both rabbits and fox at night, for safetys sake. I wouldn't be happy letting go a round like the 6.5 in the dark, at least not yet! I'll take a look at the lightforce range, what sort of clamp do they have to fit the scope?

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Guest rabgoat

iv'e always used the tracer max and recently got the new one with the dimmer switch,they are a bit bulky but lite weight,i have no problems with them movin around on the scope,if you want you can get a universal mount for it and it would be more secure,the filters are also a lot cheaper than the lightforce.

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i went with the tracer mini pro. it came well recommended and the battery isnt too heavy either. supposedly one of the smaller lamps that will suit the longer ranges. was told that the pro version with the dimmer switch is really useful, wasnt cheap at 120 quid with the flip red filter, but it is rechargable and has one hour of life which would be plenty for me. Hope i made the right choice.

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After getting advice from mrGalway i went and got myself a lightforce 170 striker scope light and i have to say its the dogs danglies :) I also have a 140 scope light but the 170 is a million times better i found the beam far to blurry past 80yard with the 140.With the 170 you can easily see out to 300 with it.

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I have the Deben Tracer Mini Pro 250m.

I think it's quite good for the HMR.

I don't really need anything brighter for rabbits.

The lamp does swivel on the scope as the clip just slides over. I find I have to adjust it everytime I go to shoot from the car as it gets knocked about but thats not exactly a hard job.

The lamp is really light and the dimmer is a must.

If you want you can have a try of it sometime.

 

Harry

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I've used a Cluson mini laser for years for my .22 and it does me well when using the 17 hmr. Anything bigger is just too much when on foot.

 

 

What scope are you using and what range do you shoot to? I'm very interested in this lamp!

 

Thanks for all the other replies too, it's good to get opinions on the subject as a lot of you chaps have probably spent more hours lamping than I have shooting rifles! Tulkyuk, don't take up a salesman job will you? "you can buy mine, but my other one is much better so I wouldn't buy anything other than that" :)

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I've used a Cluson mini laser for years for my .22 and it does me well when using the 17 hmr. Anything bigger is just too much when on foot.

 

 

What scope are you using and what range do you shoot to? I'm very interested in this lamp!

 

Thanks for all the other replies too, it's good to get opinions on the subject as a lot of you chaps have probably spent more hours lamping than I have shooting rifles! Tulkyuk, don't take up a salesman job will you? "you can buy mine, but my other one is much better so I wouldn't buy anything other than that" :)

 

I use a Nikko sterling platinum 4-16x44 scope set at x12. I shoot rabbits out to 100-120 yards using this lamp. I like it as its not bulky and seems well made.

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No worries, it would have been a good idea to say what I was planning to use it for :)

 

I plan to get a 6.5x55 in the future, but is that really a lamping gun? I think I'll stick to the HMR for both rabbits and fox at night, for safetys sake. I wouldn't be happy letting go a round like the 6.5 in the dark, at least not yet! I'll take a look at the lightforce range, what sort of clamp do they have to fit the scope?

 

It shouldn't make a diferance wat cal round you let go in to the night if you cant see where the round will go after it has gone through the target or if you have near miss then dont take the shot. a .17Hmr will go for up to two miles and ruin any ones day that it bumps in to on the way.

 

Like others have recomended I think you would be hard pressed to beat the 170 it weighs very little and has a cracking beam on it. I have another lamp that is twice the size of the 170 with approx the same performance but it is a lot older to be fair.

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Wasn,t doing a salesman job, i was bieng honest about the lamps, as i have been there and tried em all and the 170 is the best - but if you had your heart set on a max pro i was just offering mine,

 

 

Cheers for the honest advice. I think I'll give your spare a miss if that's ok B)

 

I must say I really like the idea of the Cluson mini laser. When it gets light it's easy just to slip it into a pocket so it's not stuck on the gun all day. Most of my lamping will be done on foot, but any vehicle stuff will have the roto light to do the searching. I'm going to have to give it some serious thought, I'm stuck between the Lightforce 170 and the mini laser. Any more votes either way? They'd be much appreciated :rolleyes:

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Regardless of brand you can never have too much lamp .In fact the more powerful the better because over 90% of the time will be spent with a red diffuser on it with the result being a 400 yd beam being reduced to 100 -150yds depending on how good your eye's are .

With a powerful lamp the abilty to dim the beam is essential as well IMO .

Use a 400 Max pro myself and I like the idea that I can roll the lamp around the scope .For better grip apply isulation tape on the inside of the bracket.

When you decide don't be afraid to experiment with seating depths on the bulb .Can't remember but having the bulb out a fair bit will create a doughnut beam (Ring or halo of light creating a dark centre but still highlighting the eye's) .Lethal on rabbits when using a air rifle or .22 lr.

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