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Posted: 9/25/2010 8:45:04 AM EDT
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Ok. I swore I was going to build a plain and simple AR. Just like the last dozen or so that ended up with three times the money in crap as in the rifle.
Anyway, this time I am wanting to go plain and light. No rails, no optics, no grips, nothing. But I do like having a light on my rifles. The Surefire M500 came to mind. The only difference I can easily tell between the new ones and the old ones is the new seems to have navigation lights. Is there anything else I am missing? Are these recommended? Are they obscenely heavy like the M900? Have used 952/Scout lights. Nice, but again just want regular handguards and not railed. Trying to keep as simple as possible. Thank you for any insight. Terry |
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To give you an idea of the weight, a 9v Surefire M500A with crenellated strike bezel, nav LEDs, and three batteries weighs 20.8oz-the 18v Turbohead version weighs several ounces more.
Colt M4 handguards with dual heatshields weigh 6.9oz, so the M500A amounts to a 13.9oz net increase in weight to your carbine. Many people have moved past the M500A in favor of lighter, cheaper, and more versatile options. I'm one of the few dinosaurs who haven't  I own over a half dozen of them, and I really like the switching options.
Here are a couple of mine-one of them is wearing an TX-4 LED conversion head: 
And a couple more: 
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Had really not thought about attaching a small rail to the handgurad. I already have an X200 and X300 that I use on pistols. Gave me some more options. Thank you.
CJan: Guess you do like them.  Very nice. I think I may look around for a used one. That way I can try it and if it's to heavy, I can sell it and atleast get most of my money back. I'm going with a lightweight barrel on this build instead of the usual HBAR, so I am sure it will still be lighter that it.
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| I just replaced my stock hand guards with an M500A yesterday and I am very impressed with how well put together it is. The extra weight isn't that much of a concern as I am not humping it around all day. The light control switches are perfectly placed for easy use. Of course, I've only had it for a day. After taking it to the range and shooting with it on maybe I'll rethink the weight. For now, very happy and money well spent ($250.00 on GB). |
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Quoted:
I just replaced my stock hand guards with an M500A yesterday and I am very impressed with how well put together it is. The extra weight isn't that much of a concern as I am not humping it around all day. The light control switches are perfectly placed for easy use. Of course, I've only had it for a day. After taking it to the range and shooting with it on maybe I'll rethink the weight. For now, very happy and money well spent ($250.00 on GB). How used was it for that price? |
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How used was it for that price? That's about the going price for the new style with nav LEDs (in excellent condition)
Over the years I've done a lot of work on these M500 forends, and I've come up with a couple of procedures to address the most common issues: 1) If the nav LEDs don't work, it's typically a bad connection on the battery carrier. Use the following image for reference: 
Remove the circular decals on the battery carrier and tighten the .050" hex screws. Since these screws are used for electrical conductivity you can't drench the threads in blue loctite, so instead use a drop of clear fingernail polish on the outside top of the screw. Tightening these screws will restore electrical conductivity and allow the LEDs to function. 2) The primary circuit cutoff switch is designed so that it can be manipulated with the index finger of your support hand. If the switch is too tight to easily turn it this way, squirt some dielectric grease into the switch, and then rotate the switch a few dozen times to allow the grease to enter and loosen it up. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I just replaced my stock hand guards with an M500A yesterday and I am very impressed with how well put together it is. The extra weight isn't that much of a concern as I am not humping it around all day. The light control switches are perfectly placed for easy use. Of course, I've only had it for a day. After taking it to the range and shooting with it on maybe I'll rethink the weight. For now, very happy and money well spent ($250.00 on GB). How used was it for that price? It was advertised as NIB (unwrapped for photos). It appeared that way to me. I caught it at the end of the auction with no previous bidders. I may have gotten lucky as I'm sure the seller would have been expecting a bidding war. I see then on Ebay going for around $350.00 very often. |
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