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| Member |
Thank you for clarifying this. I hadn't realized that Surefire has both 'A' and 'B' setups. Based on this info my first X300 was a 'B', though at the time I didn't realize this was its designation; I was just under the impression it was 'the first'. So this time around, I assumed (dangerous thing, this assuming stuff) that 'A' was an updated solution, like 'P225' vs 'P225A' or 'P225A1'. I suppose that's on me for not thoroughly understanding Surefire's product naming. As for the problems I encountered, the 'A' selection basically offers 4 separate mounting setup options. I discovered that two of them were useless for attaching the light to a Glock 17, but ONLY after trial and no-joy; the provided instructions gave ZERO info as to which of the choices would work on the Glock. Unfortunately for me, these two unworkable solutions were the ones that allowed me to simply slide the X300 onto the rail of the gun with no further histrionics...except neither of the two would actually LOCK the light onto the gun, obviously unsatisfactory choices that would allow the Surefire to move and likely slide off the gun with recoil. So the two 'easy' solutions are unworkable. Funny...I would've thought that Surefire would've made at least ONE of these perfectly suitable for a gun as COMMON with law enforcement at the full-size Glock frame...but NNNNOOOOOOOO... The remaining two mounting solutions are variations on the same thing. Both require the disassembly of the clamping rails from the light in order to place a rail locking bar onto the X300, then fiddle fart pressing the light back against the gun while attaching the clamping rails back to the main body of the light. Doesn't sound all that hard, but Surefire THREADED the screw holes on the clamping sections which meant I had to push down HARD onto the light while driving those itty-bitty lil' screws into the X300 so that there wouldn't be a gap between the X300 and the clamping rail. And that SUCKED, because you see there's these things called arthritis and joint pain that makes dexterity and nimble finger motions something of a BITCH to accomplish. Then I rudely discovered that with the G17's slide in place, there wasn't adequate clearance to pivot the fricking hex wrench without interference from the slide. Even with slide removed, the remaining gun frame still caused the wrench to not be perfectly aligned with the screws; i.e., I had to slightly skew the wrench just to get on those damn tiny screws. A perfect scenario for stripping those little terrors (and yeah, the wrench DID slip more than a couple of times). It was after I was finally done that the realization hit: damn it all, I'll have to go through this HEADACHE all over again when I have to change the damn battery!!! Finally there was this lil' setting screw that is a part of the last two mounting setups. It's supposed to wedge the X300 tight to the bottom of the gun rail. Well that's fine if you have a rigid aluminum or steel rail that's being mounted to. On a Glock there's no such thing, just polymer with a thin piece of metal that's there for the serial number. Tighten that set screw up, watch that part of the frame CURL. I'm sure the slide will still go on the frame; Surefire wouldn't include stupid directions that would actually BREAK the gun (or at least deform the frame), would they? NAAWWWWW.... Yeah that was a smart move, Surefire. Of course there's NO MENTION of this possibility in the instructions. Leave it up to trial and error once again. So yes Q, I was thoroughly ANNOYED by this whole exercise. Like I said above, I didn't realize that the X300 had co-existing 'A's and 'B's. I thought the 'A' was their latest and greatest, but found it CLEARLY was far from that. And I STILL have to go through this same damn exercise whenever the battery needs changing, all the while my joints are only going to get more painful with time. I think I better find a 'B' before it's too painful, and junk this 'A'. Except I'm in no mood to give Surefire any more of my business. Not that they would notice since they've got all those police agencies and tactical wannabes to leech money from. But at least I'll feel BETTER with my decision, having to resort to buying some Chinese-made Streamlight or Olight. <rant #2 off> EDIT: Oh I forgot the pic, after it wuz done. Looks so innocent, don't it? <grumble, grrr>  Never again, Surefire... -MG | |||
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| Imagination and focus become reality |
I have the Surefire X300U-B that currently sits on my Mossberg 930 SPX. It works equally as well on a pistol. I still have my Surefire X200A, my first weapon light. The A is the slide on version. I really like the Surefire line of lights. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
Jesus Christ, man. Maybe just get you a Maglite and tape it to your pistol, huh? This stuff is really not that hard to comprehend. | |||
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| The Unknown Stuntman  |
I've got the Olight Valkyrie PL2 on my bedside gun. Various claims say it's not as good as this brand or that, but three years and several hundred rounds later it's still solidly hanging on (install whatever key you need and clamp it to the rail). Makes things bright when I want it and dark when I don't. Super easy to take off and on, simple switches that are easily accessible, and it fits in any holster made for a TLR-1...I don't what else I'd want in a WML? | |||
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| Member |
This is a "you" problem. They sell tens of thousands of these things and folks seem to be able to figure it out. With the slide lock you have installed, you can install it with the "P" attachment and not tighten up the rear screw and it will work fine. You'll need only pull back on the two tabs and slide the locking bar out of the way to swap batteries. Or you go back to the clamp bar style and use the "P" plate and it should be no issue to just slide it on and off. | |||
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| Member |
(sigh) Para is apparently already annoyed with me enough with as it is, but let me explain for the final time. I promise. That serrated rectangle that one would THINK would slide back and forth? Nope. Not a chance. Why? Because internally the tail (switch) end of the plate that this faux lever tabs is molded to hook onto a small cross bar, mechanically making it impossible to slide to the rear. Moreover the openings in the X300's chassis that the lever ends pass through aren't sized to allow ANY backwards (or forward, for that matter) motion. I followed the illustrations in the instruction to a 'T', and this is what I got. And like a dumbfounded idiot I refused to believe what I was seeing as I was assembling the light, and DID I TRY to force that damn fakery of a lever back and forth after-the-fact. No dice. I even took the light off and rechecked my work; the innards are installed just like the Surefire illustrations show. Oh and that rectangle that's forward of the non-operable slider lever? For those who are unfamiliar, that's the end of the cross bar that engages the rail slot. And lo and behold, the rectangular 'holes' that this cross bar passes through that are molded in the X300's chassis and clamping rails are EXACTLY sized for the bar and the bar alone. There is a second, unused bar that wasn't used because it barely engaged the rail slot. Both of these separate bars are supposed to be used with the 'faux' plate in place and besides, at the front of this plate there is no spring tension to allow for the bar to 'spring' up and down anyways. There is a short coil spring included in the parts kit that resides up front, but according to the instructions that part isn't used with the fake lever plate, only with the 'U' and 'P' plates. In hindsight I kept looking at these pieces and wondering just how this motley collection would work; the bits in all of its configurations weren't adding up. The 'P' and 'U' plates made the most sense, but they simply didn't provide nearly enough vertical travel for the molded 'rail bar' at the forward end of each plate to engage with the Glock's rail slot. And that's why they weren't used. With those plates I tried fitting the light to a couple of different guns, like my Laugo Alien and SP-01 Tactical, but the same issue occurs: not enough vertical travel for the front end of the plate to engage a picatinny rail slot. My annoyance is with Surefire...and with myself, since I didn't choose to believe that this X300 wouldn't attach and work like I thought it should be designed to work. Damn silly of me to not believe what I was seeing, and to take it on faith that all would be AS ONE and by some miracle work out in the end. So then I very briefly and rather irrationally thought...maybe this is a counterfeit...except that doesn't make ANY sense. I bought this X300 out of our own inventory and I know as fact that it came in from Surefire since I saw the receiving invoice for the entire lot which listed this 'A' light (as it happened, the coworker who placed the order apparently didn't understand the whole A/B thing either because he didn't order any 'B's). We ordered several of the 'A's and they were intermixed with the various other Surefire units and torches. So unless Surefire is in the habit of shipping fakes, the unit in the picture should be The Real Deal. One last thing: When I said 'Surefire, never again...', I was directly referencing the 'A' style light in the pic. Now that I've experienced this particular piece of schlock, I think I have every right to be put off...and I am. You all might still think that I'm just a blithering idiot that doesn't have a clue at what I'm assembling, and sometimes that DOES happen (like when I rebuilt the A/C on a neighbor's pickup and got a couple of connections crossed), but I do consider myself somewhat mechanically UN-challenged and typically quite capable...aside from the omnipresent arthritis that I think I mentioned earlier. So despite me sounding very Chad-like, I have to stand by my assessment of Surefire, particularly in regards to this dumb-ass light that I bought. No rant this time, just a calmed-down explanation of the cascade of events that transpired. -MG | |||
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| Member |
-MG | |||
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NOT compromised! |
RTFM? Sorry, Old Army sayings die hard... | |||
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| Purveyor of Death and Destruction  |
 I wonder why? | |||
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| Member |
I have a Surefire X300 pre-U model with a dog-11 switch that I ran on a gen 3 Glock that I now run on my gen 5 model 19. I changed it to the picatinny mount and it mounts perfectly, easy to remove or place on the pistol and holds firmly in place while in use to include while the pistol is fired. In fact, next on my want list is a X300U-A for my HKs. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
Tighter'n Dick's hat band! | |||
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| Inject yourself! |
My guess in descending order of likelihood: user error, out of spec light or out of spec pistol rail. My SureFire X300-A fits all my Glocks, Gen 3 through 5, 100% with the correct locking bar. They also fit all my Sigs, CZ and AR-15 Picatinny rails with the correct bar. Maybe just switch back to the lever lock, works fine. https://assets.surefire.com/up..._X300-ULTRA_RevE.pdf SureFire makes good stuff with a good warranty and service. If nothing else, give them a call. Do not send me to a heaven where there are no dogs. Step Up or Stand Aside: Support the Troops ! Expectations are premeditated disappointments. | |||
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