Red flashlight for airgun ("nightvision" on the cheap)

[OldmanJunky]

Red light often used by hog hunters so the game doesn't get as spooked and so the hunter doesn't loose as much of his/her natural night vision.  I did a bit of research and one of the best lights I could find that was rifle-mountable would run me over $90.  Heck no!

So I did some more digging and found a surprisingly cheap alternative.
http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-wf-501b-philips-luxeon-k2-red-led-flashlight-1-18650-2-cr123a-20333

It actually uses a cree led, even though it says luxeon (your mileage may vary - who knows what they are sticking in since it comes over on the slow boat from China).

I found the light to be great around the house at night, but did a little too much flooding for use on a rifle.  I read about a simple set of additions to the flashlight that would "drop in" and make it into much more of a tight beam (i.e. turn the flashlight into a thrower).

http://dx.com/p/26-5mm-aluminum-reflector-drop-in-module-set-without-emitter-5955
Drops right in after unscrewing the cap and replacing the existing reflector.  Zero problems with this.

http://dx.com/p/glass-optics-for-flashlights-28mm-5297
Diameter of the glass was too large.  For the price though, it was worth it.  I used my trusty dremel to slowly grind around the edge until it would fit (only had to take off just over a millimeter).  I had a little plate of water that kept dipping the glass into to keep it cool and take most of the dust off.  If you choose to do this:

• You do it at your own risk.
• Eye protection/breathing protection (dust & possible glass chips flying are not good for humans).
• Make sure you have a diamond or tungsten tip, otherwise you will just chip/crack pieces away.

Once that was done, I had to remove the existing lens.  Unfortunately for me, the old lens was held it by a piece of cheap metal (probably an aluminum allows) that would not unscrew from the interior, so I had to break the existing glass and use a pair of pliers to yank out the holder.

The lens tightened the beam down to a nice little square with a little spillage.  The beam was so bright that pointing it  an off-white wall from 5 feet away was nearly hurting my eyes.  Once I mounted it on my rifle, looking through the scope felt like red nightvision.

Costs:
10.40 Flashlight
 2.76 Reflector
 1.90 Lens
20.00 Batteries + charger (18650 batteries) + tax + ship ()

Total: $35.06


Hopefully this helps someone

[Bullit]

Thanks for the DX link Terry.  Man, I'm a sucker for gadget catalogs.

[FuzzyGrub]

I have a number of Ultrafire 501Bs with T6 5 mode emmitters.  I love these lights.   I use them all the time for walking the dog, spotting deer, yotes, rabbits, etc.  They mount to guns with 1" rings.  I can make out what it is at about 100yds, and reflect eyes well over 200 yds.  That is with the standard white light. 

With your mods, what is the center and side beam diameters at what distance? 

Are there different emitters, red / green, or is that just a lens change?

[OldmanJunky]

I have a number of Ultrafire 501Bs with T6 5 mode emmitters.  I love these lights.   I use them all the time for walking the dog, spotting deer, yotes, rabbits, etc.  They mount to guns with 1" rings.  I can make out what it is at about 100yds, and reflect eyes well over 200 yds.  That is with the standard white light. 

With your mods, what is the center and side beam diameters at what distance? 

Are there different emitters, red / green, or is that just a lens change?

Sorry I don't have the measurements at this time, but the flood is very faint while the throw (center) is VERY crisp.  If I were to guess, I'd say about a 2 foot diameter at 20ish yards.  I'll try to measure it tonight.

That particular flashlight is actually a red emitter with just on and off (no fancy blinking or changing).  I didn't settle for a filter (which washes out the light) -- and it's a decent cree red one at that.  The lens I bought is just clear glass.

DX accidentally sent me a white one when I clearly ordered the red one.  After a little communication, they sent me a red one free of charge.

For the dollar, I don't think there is a better small form-factor flashlight.

[OleTomCat]

How well does it work at night?

[OldmanJunky]

I could clearly make out my driveway alarm at 20 yards out through a rifle scope at 12x.  It feels like the look of "green nightvision (gen 1)" but in red.

[drewciferpike]

subscribing so I can work on this, eventually... this is great to know! Thanks for posting everything.

[Bullit]

I'll ask out of ignorance of these lights.  Gauddd they're cheap.  Do you have recommendations and some insight to which models do what?    I couldn't find specs I can relate to in yardage or focals.  Did I miss something?  Again, they look good for the price.

[Gertrude]

subscrbed.

[FuzzyGrub]

Lots of flashlight info:

http://budgetlightforum.com/forum

[OldmanJunky]

Also you can read up on candle power forums, but don't expect rapid, helpful responses.  Sometimes people answer, sometimes posts just waste away.  That's another reason I love our forum -- people actually get back to you.

I'll ask out of ignorance of these lights.  Gauddd they're cheap.  Do you have recommendations and some insight to which models do what?    I couldn't find specs I can relate to in yardage or focals.  Did I miss something?  Again, they look good for the price.

Hehe -- they are all knock offs so I'm not sure the guys making them even know what the specs are supposed to be

The 501B's are the cheap flashlights that generally have cree leds in them, ranging from 120 to 300ish lumens.  Surprisingly bright and lightweight.  The machining isn't pristine on them, but their housing is satisfactory.  These are copies of the surefire brand I believe (at a fraction of the price).  For mounting to a gun, they are perfectly sized and weighted.

I haven't really looked up the other flashlights they have in stock, but the budget flashlight forum and/or candlepower forum will generally point you to do best bang for the buck.

[FuzzyGrub]

The cree T6 will blind you if look at it direct on.  They rate that at 1000 lumens, but its like a Crosman fps spec.   

That LED is probably a little overkill for the WF-501B type body.   After 10 minutes on high, it starts to get very warm.

I agree that the fit and finish is not near the flashlights they copy.  Dealing with the small issues hasn't been a problem for me, given the cost comparison.  Some of mine are gloss black, others matte black.

Most recommend getting name brand Li batteries.  I have the china ultrafires.  I do test them to see if they charge to 4.2V and have a decent discharge rate.   BTW: the aH ratings are overstated, as well.   You should always get the protected version of the batteries.  With the unprotected and a short, you might end up like Boeing's dream liner. 

All of mine have been puchased from ebay, be it american, hong kong, of china based seller.  If there was any issues, they either sent new items or refunded a portion.