Pipesmoker,

I don't know everything there is to know about flashlights but I use a lot of them as I spend a lot of my time on night shift. As well as providing light to see I use intensely bright flashlights to provide me with a tactical advantage when dealing with suspects / potentially violent offenders.

There are a whole raft of 2 cell lithium torches you can buy now, from the cheapo Madjak torches on Heinnie to the tactical ones from Surefire that will cost you a second mortgage. All of the the 2 cell lith torches throw out about 60-65 lumens of light and they will last an hour or so. Sure the liths are more expensive than normal AA's but they are smaller and if you buy then from the web (7dayshop or similar) they aren't too pricey.

I personally use my Scorpion on my rifle, mounted to the front of the stock with some very sophisticated duck tape. Simple, but effective. I also use a Black Diamond headtorch when I am walking about at night to save the Scorpions batts. The whole thing works well but I don't really do it much now as I am crap at lamping and much better at stalking.

If you are desperate for a metal bodied torch but can't shell out for a Surefire check out the LedWave torches on Heinnie. I got the Z2 Duo which is a two lith with 60 lumen output. It also has a three LED array which puts out 9 lumens and offers greatly extended battery life. I now use this torch exclusively at work. The LEDs for map reading etc and the main bulb for bigger lighting tasks.

As for the HC I was using a Pro-elite before and the weight was way too far forward. I got the HC as it is much better balanced and I do find it is an advantage when I am stalking through whin bushes as some of the gaps are quite tight. I cannot rate this gun highly enough. It has surpassed all my expectations and as people have said about it on this forum it does feel like a tuned springer straight out of the box.

All the best

Sub Sea Sniper