...Even though I don't have the rifle on-hand right now, it'd be nice to start saving cash for a quality white light and some way to attatch it to the rifle when it gets back from Geneseo.

There are a couple of fairly nice clamp-on rail mounts out there, such as the one from Midwest Industries, but I'm somewhat concerned with how these systems will interact with a Giles three-point sling.  Additionally, the SOCOM is not an inherently light weapon, even though it's not really all that heavy, either.  Suffice it to say that lighter is better, and I don't intend to mount anything besides the one light, so lots of rails are neither needed nor desirable in my particular situation.

I don't really need a super-powerful light--just something to sufficiently light up a room in case something goes bump in the night, really.  Are there any good quality Picatinny rail segments that just, I don't know...  Bolt onto the stock?  I'm not a particularly handy person, so if this is an option, is the proceedure relatively straightforward?  Or would I likely be better served by something along the lines of the Midwest Industries barrel-clamp setup?

Search for "minimalist light mount" (22 Jan '06).

Paladin

Paladin,

I searched the forums but couldn't find anything under "minimalist light mount".  Can you email or IM me any info you have or where to locate it?

Thanks,

Goose

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=6&t=193331

There you go.

Paladin

On mounting the light so it does not interfere with 3 point slings....

mount it on the opposite side of the rifle as the sling. That will generally keep it out of the way.

In the mean time there's a pretty workable technique for using a standard surefire light with a end mounted switch.   What you do is hold the light in your week hand palm with the bezel pointing out of the thumb side of your palm.  When you mount the rifle, you take a foregrip grip with light between your palm and the underside fo the foregrip, right in front of the magazine.  From that stance you can activate the light by pulling it against the magazine.  Like most improvised flashlight techniques its a little funky, but its free, doesnt require any special hardware, and it works with whatever tail cap light you've got with most any gun with a significant magazine...AR's, Mini's, etc.   Its not perfect but its a good tool to have in your tool box.

I've done a couple for customers by using the Ergo Grip Picatinny rail mounted to the forend on the right side. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures handy but if you go this route don't use the supplied nuts. Instead cut a piece of 3/16" steel, mark it, drill and tap it. this way you're spreading more of the stress across a larger area. Also this arrangement does not cause problems with the 3 point sling