5 Days of SureFire – Win XD(M) Compact .45ACP and SureFire X-300 Weapon Light

Add SureFire Arms on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SureFire

As promised, leading up to SHOT Show 2012 we have several Facebook giveaways from several major companies in our industry. SureFire, maker of weapon lights, tactical accessories and some exciting new extreme capacity magazines has put this newest giveaway together with us and Springfield Armory to give away two (2) of the new XD(M) 3.8 Compact .45ACP pistols and two (2) SureFire X-300 weapon lights. All you need to do is add SureFire as a friend on Facebook and watch your news feed for special codes that SureFire will post to their wall. When you see the code, email it to [email protected] and you will be entered. Two random winners per day will be selected and notified. Please see the full terms and conditions for more.

If you are not a Facebook member and you have no interest in Facebook, you can still enter this giveaway by monitoring the public SureFire Facebook page and emailing the code just like anyone else. Being a Facebook member merely gives you an easy way to get the code, right in your news feed, and by adding SureFire you will learn about other things coming up from them, including surprise giveaways during SHOT Show week. Please note that neither GunsAmerica nor SureFire have any stake in Facebook and we do not encourage or discourage its use. Facebook has been very 2nd Amendment-friendly and has even removed restrictions on firearms for contests like these that had been put in by their lawyers. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world, larger than the US. We see Facebook as a fantastic outreach vehicle for the next generation of voters and salute their 2nd Amendment-friendly policies.

Here is a big tip! The news feed on Facebook is extremely schizophrenic. There is no way to tell what gets included in your feed at all times and why. If you want to be sure that you get the codes from SureFire, comment on the SureFire wall. This makes you active with them.

The SureFire X300

Since this is a SureFire project, we’ll start with the grand prize X300. If you haven’t tried these SureFire lights they are really something else. The X300 is a 170 lumen two battery (123A) LED light, brighter than a 4 D-cell flashlight. It sells for $275 through SureFire, or through internet retailers for just over $250. It weighs 3.8oz, including the batteries, and on the XD(M) 3.8 slide it fits the rail perfectly. The light can either be activated with a momentary switch or clicked to a permanent on position.

Battery life is rated at 2.4 hours per set of batteries, and though you can get the 123A battery at Wal-Mart, SureFire sells their military grade batteries for $22.50 per dozen directly from their website. The use of weapon mounted lights has evolved over the last ten years and SureFire has been one of the companies that has worked with law enforcement and the military to develop lights that work in all situations, and that can stand up to daily use and abuse.

There is a ton of mis-information out there about lights, how they “give away your position.” The armchair internet advisors have never had to break down the door of a crack den with no electricity, nor have they worked night security on a large complex with a lot of dark corners that produce funny noises. A weapon light is an extremely useful tool when used correctly, and it can both save your life and protect you from an ill-advised weapon discharge.

The most effective use of a weapon light is generally thought to be with a momentary switch. If you leave a light on it makes you a target, but bumps of a momentary switch that briefly light up an area can give you a tactical advantage without making you a target, as long as you keep moving. This also protects your night vision because your eyes don’t have time to adjust to the brief bright moments. The momentary switch on the X300 activates on forward pressure, something I thought makes it much more effective than the other lights I have tried that use the same rocker switch for the momentary activation as you use to turn them permanently on. Details are everything with a gizmo that could save your life, and the forward pressure position on the SureFire X300 is the best place to have your finger ready and next to the trigger.

Battle quality is what you are buying with a SureFire, and at not even twice the price of cheap Chinese copies, I think the X300 is good buy on a tool worthy of even the most demanding situations. Switches are one of the most expensive components in any electronic device and the switches on the X300 are solid and positive, and feel like they will last you a lifetime (this is not the case with the copies). SureFire makes several accessories for the X300, including an activator that works with the most common law enforcement laser system, the Insight ATPIAL. There are also adaptors for 1911s and other non-rail pistols, and a kit to activate the X series lights on a quad-rail or similar system . They are all available on the X300 product page at SureFire.

The Springfield Armory XD(M) 3.8 Compact .45ACP

It seems like every month Springfield Armory is coming out with a new gun or a new important addition to a line of existing guns and the two giveaway guns for this contest are the latest. We saw the 9mm version of the 3.8 Compact at SHOT Show media day last year and since have brought them in for a full review. LIke all the XD(M) guns, they are a best in class, and generally even outside their class.

The XD(M) 3.8 Compact is novel because you get two guns in one. On is a compact that is easily concealable under a shirt or jacket, and the other is a full-size, full-capacity, duty sized pistol. Springfield does this by supplying you with two magazines. One is flush with the polymer grip of the pistol, and the other is extended, with a polymer sleeve that perfectly matches the hand grip. So you get a 2 finger grip, compact version, and a 3 finger, full size, without having to buy a different gun.

This is the new .45ACP version that is just showing up on dealer shelves this month. The flush, two finger compact magazine holds 9 rounds, and the extension mag holds 12 rounds. As with all the other XD(M) pistols, this XD(M) 3.8 Compact comes in a lockable hard case with two magazines, a paddle holster, a magazine holster, and matching grip insert and magazine sleeves to fit all size hands. The medium size inserts and sleeves come mounted on the gun.

If you have contemplated getting a compact concealed carry gun, but also feel like you’d like a full sized, duty pistol with a full grip, the XD(M) 3.8 Compact is a great option. Unlike so many things in life where you have to give something up from two preferences to find something in the middle that kind of satisfies both, you sacrifice nothing with this XD(M). It is a perfect, 100% compact concealed carry pistol and also a perfect, 100% duty pistol. Head to head there is not a gun on the market that will surpass any XD(M), regardless of price. Springfield has led the field in regards to ergonomics, accuracy, safety and reliability. They always work, every time, and they work great. Stop at your local gun dealer this month and check out the ultimate stocking stuffer, the XD(M) 3.8 Compact in .45ACP, or just win one!