# SureFire m6



## NE450No2 (Jan 18, 2011)

Several times again the Sure Fire M6 has proven its worth..



Here at my place, tracking bobcats I have shot trying to eat my ducks...



As well as 4 different times, this season, I have used it to track the wounded deer of my buddies...



Without it I would not have recovered game that was shot and killed...



Case in point, I shot a deer at 66 yards one hour before dark. I made a perfect shot[later proven after recovery[ but the deer was able to run 75 yards or so into and through some thick bush]...



Without the SF M6 there is no way I would have found the deer.



I spent 3 hours looking for it...



With the M6 I was able to see a single drop of blood, and find the deer.



Again, I say If I could have only 2 hand held flashlights it would be my SF A2 Aviator, and a SF M6...

No 3 would be my E1e Executive Elite, my EDC here at the house...


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## coxhaus (Apr 9, 2011)

I know what you mean about finding a deer in thick brush. I don't have a M6 but I had the same problem finding a deer after dark and was glad I had a Surefire M3 with the 225 incandescent bulb in it. There is something about the incandescent light which just penetrates the brush at night and lets you see into it better than the LED lights.


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## angelofwar (Apr 9, 2011)

Yep...I have several P60 Incan R/C Set-ups, which is still enough for tracking, so I can save my M6 batteries for more dire situations.


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## Patriot (Apr 10, 2011)

A M6, with FM 3 x 17670 battery holder and LF HO-M6R bulb is part of my hunting kit as well. I've always preferred incandescent for this type of work.


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## fivemega (Apr 10, 2011)

Patriot said:


> A M6, with FM 3 x 17670 battery holder and LF HO-M6R bulb is part of my hunting kit as well. I've always preferred incandescent for this type of work.


 
*What happened to #54 ?*


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## Fusion_m8 (Apr 10, 2011)

Hi FM:

Will there be another run of those 3x18650 bodies or am I chasing a dream? 



fivemega said:


> *What happened to #54 ?*


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## Kestrel (Apr 10, 2011)

The following question is really about the incan M6, so please bear with me. 

Thanks for the example cited above of incan light vs. blood tracking. I definitely defer to the above experience regarding incan being more effective than LED for this, but with the considerable improvements we've had recently (re: LED's now considerably brighter and better tinted than just a few years ago), is there still enough of an advantage w/the incans to suggest the carrying of an additional light just for this purpose i.e. blood tracking?

The reason I ask is that I carry 800+ lumen warmish-neutral LED lights during my big game hunting (backed by substantial runtime). Would you folks feel that I am significantly handicapped compared to an M6 LOLA, when it comes to blood tracking?

Signed,
LED jockey interloping in the Incan subforum


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## angelofwar (Apr 10, 2011)

How much IR light does a high CRI LED emit is the question? Until they can mass produce 500 lumen IR LED's, the M6 will still have a use. Plus the M6 is a better hand warmer...LOL!


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## nighttrails (Apr 10, 2011)

Kestrel said:


> Would you folks feel that I am significantly handicapped compared to an M6 LOLA, when it comes to blood tracking?
> 
> Signed,
> LED jockey interloping in the Incan subforum


 
Perhaps everyone’s eyes are different, but for me the incan advantage for tracking is _very _significant. Though I don’t use an M6, for serious work I find the incan advantage absolutely worth the price, larger form factor and/or spare batteries. Whatever disadvantages the incandescent lights have are secondary to using what I can see the best with.


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## JNewell (Apr 10, 2011)

I don't *know *if this is true, but I would be very surprised if differences between individuals' eyesight were not a potentially significant factor.



nighttrails said:


> Perhaps everyone’s eyes are different, but for me the incan advantage for tracking is _very _significant. Though I don’t use an M6, for serious work I find the incan advantage absolutely worth the price, larger form factor and/or spare batteries. Whatever disadvantages the incandescent lights have are secondary to using what I can see the best with.


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## coxhaus (Apr 10, 2011)

I don’t own a large LED flashlight so I have not tried one hunting. Maybe if they get big enough they will work fine for hunting but to me the Surefire M3 is the biggest head on a flashlight I would want to carry in my coat pocket. I am sure a M6 would work better than my M3, but to me the M3 is the perfect size with enough light output for my hunting needs. Run time could be better though. With the bigger flashlights like the M6 do you carry them or leave them in the truck?


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## Stephen Wallace (Apr 11, 2011)

Fusion_m8 said:


> Hi FM:
> 
> Will there be another run of those 3x18650 bodies or am I chasing a dream?


 
I'm holding out on the same dream.


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## Patriot (Apr 13, 2011)

fivemega said:


> *What happened to #54 ?*



Still have it but it's powering an 1185.  Here's an old picture..










> Kestrel
> Would you folks feel that I am significantly handicapped compared to an M6 LOLA, when it comes to blood tracking?


Honestly, probably not "significantly" but I suppose we'd have to compare CRI. I notice that I don't get the same satisfying effect with some of my warm SST-50's and perhaps that's due to CRI?






> Angelofwar
> How much IR light does a high CRI LED emit is the question? Until they can mass produce 500 lumen IR LED's, the M6 will still have a use. Plus the M6 is a better hand warmer...LOL!


Hardly any IR compared to incandescent. I forget what the exact fraction is but 1/5 comes to mind. In any case, IR isn't in the visible spectrum so I don't believe there is any benefit to the high IR beam of incan lights as far as blood tracking is concerned.


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## fkrow (Apr 13, 2011)

Many thanks for this discussion, I was considering selling my M6 and M3T for upgrade to a longer battery life LED. I will now do a comparison with an LED vs. my two lights.

Regards,
FK


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## angelofwar (Apr 14, 2011)

fkrow said:


> Many thanks for this discussion, I was considering selling my M6 and M3T for upgrade to a longer battery life LED. I will now do a comparison with an LED vs. my two lights.
> 
> Regards,
> FK


 
Glad I was able to keep mine...they still give me that "warm" fuzzy...


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## Meganoggin (Apr 14, 2011)

One thing I find with high power LED's, is that they tend to bleach out the subtle colours in foliage so that you tend to get a wall of very bright reflections from brush and woodland, whereas the M6 and M3 tend to pick out the detail better, giving better penetration. That said, I haven't had a play with any high powered warm white LED's yet.


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## JNewell (Apr 14, 2011)

angelofwar said:


> Glad I was able to keep mine...they still give me that "warm" fuzzy...



Not so sure about fuzzy but warm for sure. I've been using mine to roast chickens during blackouts.


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## Darvis (Apr 14, 2011)

Patriot said:


> Still have it but it's powering an 1185.  Here's an old picture..


 
Dude. Wow.


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## Lego995743 (Apr 21, 2011)

wow nice collection im working in something like that


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## 325addict (May 21, 2011)

I've used the M6 for weeks on a camping site. It was by far my favorite light. I also brought some LED lights, including a Wolf Eyes MC-E light. This one was bright but ugly.
Really, micro-details in colors can be distinguished _clearly _when using a high powered incan light like the SF M6 or Wolf Eyes M-300 Lion. 
In addition, a sharp focused Lumens Factory lamp will reach FAR. And by that, I mean really far. I could see the light on the mountains on the overside of the camping, with a valley in between. Must have been hundreds of meters. The Wolf eyes MC-E light didn't even have the slightest chance, although this one is advertised as double the number of Lumens. But it is way less focused and simply will not reach so far.

So, to sum it up: for me, there's just one type of light for in the woods: an incan with a high power (> 20 Watts) bulb in it and a large reflector (at least 2.5")
My favorites:
1. Wolf Eyes M-300 Lion
2. SF / FiveMega Megalennium with WA1185
3. SF M6 with either MN20 or LF HO-M3T lamp in it. The last will throw further. I use 2X 18650 in this setup.

As a backup, I use a C3 Centurion / P90 / 2X AW 17500.

I hope this helps,


Timmo.


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