The quest for improved technology knows no limits, and the firearm industry isn’t exempt. Owners can now build their guns better, faster, stronger and without a $6 million price tag.
Headlines covering increased gun sales overshadow the fact that the industry has been rolling out smarter, smaller and more reliable gear and guns at a record-setting pace. There’s a whole lot of advanced engineering being harnessed, and research and development teams continue to explore technology pioneered in non-related fields or blaze their own trail.
Crimson Trace’s tradition of innovation began more than 20 years ago, when it rolled out the world’s first and only instinctively activated, no-gunsmithing-required laser targeting system. Now that millions of Lasergrips are riding handguns, it may seem like good common sense, but there were skeptics at first. The naysayers were wrong and the under-reported skunk works in Wilsonville, OR, unveiled something radical four years ago—a wireless weaponlight and laser for long guns.
Traditionally, wire connects forward-mounted illumination/targeting devices on an AR to a switch or pressure pad near or on the pistol grip. Unfortunately, even a few inches is enough to hang up on things at the worst possible moment. It’s also vulnerable to heat, wear and, ultimately, breakage. There are solutions, but none completely remedy the problem.
Crimson Trace may have solved it by ditching the wire in its new LiNQ System, which consists of a Weaver or Picatinny rail-mounted light/laser and AR-15 style grip that retains the intuitive pressure-activated-switch. A side button on the grip allows users to toggle between white light, light and green laser (red will be available soon), laser, or laser and flashing light settings. A master on/off switch is also there, and an indicator bulb confirms contact between the units. Solid green indicates they’re talking, blinking means it’s searching for its mate and red indicates the connection is lost.
It sounds complicated, but settings are established at the factory, and, “The wireless connection is secured by more than 250-plus bits of coding, thus very specific once the communication is established between the light laser module and the control grip,” according to then Crimson Trace Media Relations Manager Michael Faw. “The units are shipped as paired units because it’s part of the testing in the factory—thus, ready to go and fully communicating.”
Obviously a pair of batteries are required, CR2 and CR123, and if one fails (operational life is two hours and spares store in the grip), “…you can change batteries without there being a loss of communication between parts,” he said. When not in use, battery drain is virtually non-existent, and if the grip’s cell goes down the weaponlight has manual controls at the rear.
The communication method will stay under wraps for a while, if Faw’s answer is any indication. “The two units communicate via a specially designed Crimson Trace system—and it’s definitely not Bluetooth, which can be hacked,” he said. He also indicated it’s not infrared, either, and mypatent and FCC-approval searches didn’t produce an answer.
SureFire’s IntelliBeam does some of the thinking for you in low light, or more accurately, changing light. The company’s first auto-adjusting flashlight is an upgraded version of its popular P2X Fury that features an intelligent sensor and microprocessor-based system that continuously and seamlessly adjusts light output by evaluating surroundings. In an open field, expect all 600 lumens, but it dials down to 15 when conditions are right.
Burris’ Eliminator line of scopes has been around for a while, but still cutting edege. The optic’s built-in laser rangefinder determines distance, collates the information against your load’s external ballistics (easily entered by the user), proper holdover is calculated, and at the push of a button that precise location is shown by a red dot in the scope.
And, if you want to post video on social media of those holes punching in paper—day or night—ATN’s X-Spotter HD Smart Day/Night Spotting Scope fills the bill. It also live streams to your favorite device, but company President James Munn isn’t nearly as secretive about communication channels. “WiFi frequency is 2.4GHz,” he said, emphasizing it’s secure, thanks to WPA2 password encryption.