Opticfire Torch Mount

Hunting at night by torchlight presents a number of challenges, including being able to align your scope and light source perfectly. There are a variety of options when it comes to fitting a touch or IR illuminator to the scope, with most relying on a basic clamping system that is manufactured to ensure the illuminator body is parallel to the scope body. A strong and secure fit is achieved but with little scope for adjustment.

Opticfire option

The torch mount on test, from Opticfire, is a substantial bit of kit. It very cleverly provides the facility to adjust both windage and elevation, to align the light beam perfectly with the crosshairs. The mount is on the bulky side and it adds a few ounces to your setup, but it does give an extremely strong attachment.

Designed to fit a 1” scope tube, and suitable for torch bodies of both 25mm and 30mm, the rings each have four hex screws for secure clamping (correct hex keys are included). The oversized adjustment wheels are very easy to use and, once you have the light beam correctly aligned with your scope, there is no movement or drifting out of position when shooting.

The light

For testing purposes, the mount was used with Opticfire’s Equinox Laser IR, fitted with a white LED pill. This very compact lamp is available with a variety of different pill colours and also IR options. At just 140mm long and 30mm in diameter, this lamp is a great example of just how much light can be generated by the new generation of illuminators. It has three levels of light output, all controlled from the illuminated button on the back of the unit. It’s powder by a single rechargeable battery that is ‘clever’ and has inbuilt circuit protection to prevent damage during charging.

Despite it being small, the lamp has a large zoom range, from a very wide flood to a high-intensity square-shaped spotlight.

When combined with a standard scope, you can set the beam diameter to match your field of view at the range you are sighted-in at, and have a high level of illumination past the target to the all-important backstop.

Conclusion

These two items, combined with a standard scope, give an excellent level of illumination for night shooting. The mount is heavy, but with that weight comes durability and strength, plus it holds the lamp on target through recoil extremely well.

Available with several different light-colour options, the lamp can be purchased on its own or in a kit. It is certainly a lot more powerful and robust than its size suggests.