Just got done doing our night qual tonight, and I'm not very impressed with the M3.  Out of the 4 of that used them, we all had problems with them going out.  They would just go out in the middle of shooting.  Some of them would come back, and others didn't.  Mine is still acting up.  If I tap the light it'll sometimes work.  I've had mine for a couple of years now, and haven't had as many problems as I had tonight.

I can't wait for Sure Fire to come out with their new Handgun Lights.  I know they're more money, but they're worth it.  I've got an E2, 9AN, and a M97 mounted on my rifle and haven't had any problems with them.  

Anyone else had similar problems?  To any considering the M3 as a cheaper alternative to the Sure Fire, you'll get just what you're looking for, a Cheaper Light.

There's probably eight or nine of the M3's running on LE guns in my area besides the one I currently own. I've only seen one go out and it was on an M4 and was attatched to the RAS.

I have seen mention on tac forums recently where the M3's have had problems.

If you've had it for a couple of years, did you continously shoot it throughout that time? If so I think it's just time to get a new bulb; after all, bulbs do go bad after a while.

maybe you guys didn't latch the battery door properly.  If you actually got 4 bad lights there then you guys have some bad luck!

My two M3's have never failed. My Surefire M500 had one lamp fail. Several lamps have failed in my 6P.

Weird.  I've had 2 M6s and 1 M3.  I have used them on Glocks & ARs without a single problem.

I can't figure out what would be going wrong with them.  We have had them for about 2 years without anything really going wrong.  I can't see it being the bulb causing the problem, because if that went bad, it wouldn't work at all.  Whereas ours would go out, and then come back after we shot a little more.  The other guys have just the rocker switch, and I have a pressure switch.  So, it doesn't seem to matter there.  I'll probably give the company a call and see what they have to say.

I don't have one BUT.. I have read that if you unscrew it too much to focus the beam it will do that.  Just passing on what I've read, I don't believe everything I read.

Actually if you unscrew it too far and do about 30 presentations the whole lens and bulb launches itself downrange much to the amusement of your classmates..ask me how i know [:I]