Help Me Pick a (Bear) Light. Long Post.

[Silverherfer]

A no-shidder from Northeast Washington. Just got my XD45c a couple of weeks ago for CC and general walking around duty. We have alot of black bears in the area...heavy woods, very remote, about a mile south of the Canadian border, and one of the reasons I decided on the .45. I've been shopping around for a light and maybe a laser sight and trying to decide which factors as far as beam pattern, intensity, etc. would matter most to me and tonight pretty much sealed the deal. I had the kids out for a campfire, s'mores, weanie roast, pitch the tent in the yard, summer vacation stuff. Now, bears here don't usually bother us, but have come around looking for trash. I learned early on to keep things policed up as far as food and smells go after having our trash strewn about many times (we thougt it was cute at first) we eventually wised up and never leave any kind of attractant exposed. Well tonight I must have smelled like garbage and looked like a Hefty bag, as we're in the tent, watching a movie on the laptop and I hear what I swear sounded like a distant log truck coming down the road on compression brakes. I turn down the volume on the movie and hear it again, more clearly, but still doesn't sound like anything I'd ever heard a out of a bear. I put on my headlamp and shine it out the tiny opening I unzipped in the tent and see two big blue eyes shining back at me about 25 yds away. The noise I heard was this bear growling....loudly. Never had one act agressive like that without being provoked, or with cubs. I took two shots, but was effectively blinded by the damn headlamp glaring off my (stock) sights. So, long story short, I'm looking for the brightest, tightly focused beam I can get in a reasonably sized package. Been considering alot of different lights including streamlight x2, TLR1/2, and Surefire X300. I'd like one that attaches and removes easily, without tools. Any input welcome...going to Cabelas in Post Falls, ID and Sportsman's Warehouse in Spokane, WA on Wednesday. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share.

[Kilo]

I would look at the insight Procyon XTI...I have one on order and from what I read it seems great. You can call Gilberts one of xd's sponsors and see if they still have any and what his feed back is on them.

[docholliday]

I don't think you can beat Surefire customer service and with so many military and police officers using them, that says a thing or two about their quality. If you want a gun mounted light go for the Surefire X300, for a pocket light I just bought one of their new E2d LED defenders and that thing looks like a spotlight in a dark field. Very good "beam throw" especially for an led (previously had a SF L4 and this new one beats it in my opinion). Plus it has a two stage cap 120/5 lumen for increased battery life. Or you could always put a surefire foregrip on a 870 w/ slugs and a folding stock . . .

[Mavrick151]

Just got my Surefire X300 and love it! The beam is bright and highly concentrated. Bright enough to scare away/blind any bear! Looks great and it is as solid as a rock. It may be a little pricy but you defiantly get what you pay for. I went over my budget a little but in the end im glad I did. I highly recommend this piece of equipment to anyone looking for a high quality light.

[Doc Holiday13]

I just placed an order for a TLR-1, my friend has one loves it on his XD40.
Another friends roomate has a TLR-2(which isn't much bigger) on his H&K and loves it

[Terror.308]

You couldn't go wrong with a Surefire.

[arizona98tj]

Use to see just a few bears in Northern Minnesota where I grew up.....but that was 40 years ago....now there are more.


.45 ACP with a 230 grain bullet has about 330 ft. pounds at the muzzle.

.30-06 with a 180 grain bullet has about 2900 ft. pounds at the muzzle.

Personally, I would not poke bullets at a black bear with anything under a .30-06 or a .308 rifle. My .45 ACP....yes, if I ran out of bullets for my rifle and it was all that was left.

Good luck on what ever you decide. Remember, you have an agressive bear on your hands (else you wouldn't be thinking about shooting it). A wounded agressive bear would be twice as bad, IMO.