Homemade Scope Light

C

Captplaid

New member
Ok you probably now what I think of the W-River light that is mounted on the scope. If you don't know, trust me, DO NOT BUY IT! Cabela's was gracious enough to exchange it for a gift certificate. Last night I got inspired and decided to make one. I have not tried it out yet. tell me what you think so far.

I took a Coleman 800,000 spotlight that plugs into the lighter. It has an 8 inch diameter lense.

Removed the cord and replaced it with a basic 2 wire SO cord. Nice black rubber and flexible insulation. I hate those curled cords.

I cut of the hand grip flush with that 1/4 inch bolt hole that is on most spotlights. All spotlights have a threaded hole on the bottom that fits a 1/4" bolt.


Now to the clamp to the scope . I attached a 3/4" MINI (conduit clamp) to the 1/4" hole with a bolt. A 3/4" MINI will clamp on to a scope tube perfectly! I wraped the conduit clamp with the black electrical tape so that it will not scratch the finish on the scope.

I also sprayed the lense with a coat of Dykem to turn it red.

There is still a switch on the light just above where the hand grip used to be.

I plan on using a 12 lawn mower battery or maybe a sealed motorcycly batter would be slick. In any case, no cigarette litgher will be used.

I think it looks pretty slick for homemade and would like to show it off. I might change my toon if I blow a bulb when I fire it.

My wife says I am crazy. I said it is for those nights when she refuses to hold the light for me.

How do you attach pictures to a posting? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Hope it isn't too heavy or so tall it causes leverage and pressure on your scope tube when you shoot! Mounting it on your swivel stud hanging under the gun might be better...

To post pictures you need to upload them to a server first, then link to them.

Nikonut /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Try going to photobucket.com to upload your pictures there, then you can copy and paste the picture URL here.

Hope this helps!

Take care and God Bless,

Rusty
 
I LIKE IT!

Ok, here's a picture, (I hope). Tell me what you think. I could see eyeballs at 200 yards last night, but the the center of the light is pitched just a little too low. When I am looking through the scope I am looking at the upper part of the light beam. The center of the beam goes out 400-500 yards.

I didn't fire it last night. Just took it out to see what it could do.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d136/captplaid/MVC-155L.jpg

MVC-155L.jpg


b0312d1f.jpg
 
Looks like a nice setup! You might look into some sort of hood for it to cut down on glare, but you'll have to decide that for yourself after trying it out.

Also, what caliber of gun is it sitting on top of? As long as the recoil isn't extreme, I think that it should work just fine for you.

Thanks for the pic and keep us posted on how it works!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Take care and God Bless,

Rusty
 
I went "Lightforce" last summer. Like it but I also built two homemade jobs several years ago.

Mine ran heavier than I wanted but the second one was lighter.

I am a farmer and rancher so always have broken scrape sprinkler pipe around.

For mine I used a short chunk of pipe and created a sleeve that slipped over the rifle. The light on top, the sleeve bolted to a plastic stock via a nut mortised inside the barrel channel with JB Weld.

If I was going to build another, I would cut the pipe down for even greater lightness. Maybee a L-bracket instead of a complete circle?

Three 44s
 
Field report.

I can see atleast 350 yards with no moon light, maybe more. I have shot with it and not blown the bulb!

The clamp to the scope is excellent, but it does not have a quick disconnect. I have to unbolt it.

I took a 2 wire trailer plug from AutoZone and spliced it on about 12 inches from the light for a quick disconnect. Right now I am using a small lawnmower battery. The battery is not very mobile, but I can carry it and set up shop.

At night I am resting the gun on a Stoney Point tripod, so weight is not a real factor. However, I only have about 45 degree movement. Far from 360, but in my situation I need about 135 degrees from left to right.

Unfortunately, I am still a rookie and have been unsuccessful at night, but I have shot one in the morningdaylight. The light and cord was not an obstacle. The weight was also not a problem.

I do not have a glare on the scope or reflection.

What is meant by the halo effect that some refer to?
 
How about getting a set of scope rings that you can use open sites with. Mount one on the scope upside down, drill a hole an put a bolt with a wing nut on it.
I use a use a YTZ10S motorcycle battery. But they are expensive. But it fits in a small fannie pack.

Ron
 
I've wondered about getting a mototcycle battery. They're sealed, aren't they. They trouble with the lawnmower battery is if it tips over electrolyte spills out.
 
I work at a motorcycle dealership so most of mine came from there. The light is a atv spotlight. The battery is out of a newer model motorcycle. We have some gel-cell batteries that start out around $50 or $60. They wont spill and they should fit in a small fannie bag. Here are a couple of pics of mine. I havent made a mount yet to put it on a scope.
Ron

DSCF0185.jpg

DSCF0186.jpg

DSCF0189.jpg
 
check in the phone book for Battery Warehouse, you can get a 12V sealed battery for a lot less then $50... I'd suspect you're just using your gun mounted light only for shooting and spotting with another light so you'll not need a large amp hour battery to power the gun light as you'll only have it on for the shot...
 
Back
Top