Why Weapon Lights Fail And the Simple Fix That Actually Works | Pewcentric Spotlight

(0:05) Hey, Dave here from Pewcentric, the marketplace for firearms enthusiasts just like you discover unique gear, services, and training.

(0:11) Basically everything but the guns.

(0:13) Pewcentric Spotlight is our ongoing series focusing on taking a deep dive into interesting and fascinating solutions on the Pewcentric marketplace.

(0:22) And today we're going to be focused not on this light, but what holds this light to the pistol.

(0:27) To talk more about it, I've invited Bill Baldigo from Magnum Airpower to tell us all about it.

(0:31) Hey Bill.

(0:32) Thanks Dave.

(0:32) So let's take it back to the beginning.

(0:35) So why does this product exist?

(0:37) And I can tell you how I first encountered you long before, know, Pewcentric.

(0:42) But I want to know why you made this.

(0:44) Yeah.

(0:45) Why does this exist?

(0:46) I do this with everything.

(0:48) Around the time of the pandemic, I became a little bit more concerned about things like home defense.

(0:52) Half firearms, I know how to use them.

(0:54) I've been tactical shooting for years, but it became more of an issue.

(0:59) I decided, what, I need a dedicated home defense pistol, not just that I have a pistol.

(1:04) And I decided that I think I should put a flashlight on it.

(1:09) So I bought my first pistol flashlight ever around 2020, 2021.

(1:15) And it was a TLR-7, 7A.

(1:19) You know, I put this gun through some torture up at the shooting range.

(1:26) And I didn't really have that many rounds through it when the light started coming loose.

(1:31) And I didn't even think to check it.

(1:34) I thought at one point, you know, my finger hit it, and I thought that light felt loose.

(1:37) Take a couple more shots and the light falls off.

(1:40) So.

(1:41) like wow this is going to be an issue because i had that thing snuck down pretty good and i had threadlocker on it.

(1:47) I had taken it apart, checked everything out before i ever mounted it on the gun and i said well it's i think i'm going to put a little threadlocker on this before i tighten it down.

(1:55) So i did and i didn't shoot it for a couple of days the threadlocker was nice and set.

(2:01) loose with the threadlocker on it.

(2:04) So tightened it down, shoot a little more, comes loose again.

(2:09) next trip to the range will falls off on me so basically over the course of a couple range trips i realize this is going to be a problem i should probably figure out a better way to mount this light because i like the light so i started tinkering with different screws

(2:27) I figured out the thread size really quick and then i started guessing at about what length the screw would need to be for everything to be recessed and not interfere with sliding in and out of a holster different spacers to use different types of screw heads

(2:36) and i finally after spending about four hundred bucks ordering stuff from suppliers, I got the perfect combination that held up.

(2:46) The original one, I didn't put any thread locker on it.

(2:49) This is the original one.

(2:50) This actually has the original, the first screw that I ever put in a TLR still in this gun.

(2:54) uh That's probably got ...

(2:59) That's a testament to quality right there.

(3:02) So your motivation was durability and not having it fall off the gun.

(3:07) Right.

(3:08) Which is interesting because that is not at all the reason I sought it out, which was just the complete frustration with the system that it comes with to attach the pistol, the ease of using that system.

(3:20) I just wanted to make it easier to put on and off.

(3:23) And the fact that it stays on and never moves is just the side benefit.

(3:27) You're the opposite.

(3:28) That's interesting.

(3:30) you gotta build something or design something that isn't going to fail and the simplest way to do it is usually the best way to do it because the less the less complications there are the the less opportunity there are

(3:38) your design couldn't be simpler.

(3:43) It's a screw.

(3:45) Yeah, right.

(3:47) And that was the whole point.

(3:49) I just wanted to replace it with a screw.

(3:51) In this case, a washer was necessary for the smaller light.

(3:54) I was able to find a screw that had a wider head on it for the larger TLR-1.

(3:59) ah But it was just a simple way to mount the light.

(4:04) the whole point was I was putting something on the market that was useful to me, and I was hoping, well, if other people find it useful, then it makes their lives better.

(4:13) All right, good.

(4:14) We did a good thing at the end of the day.

(4:17) Well, let's talk about your customers.

(4:19) How many of these do you think you've sold over the years?

(4:22) And tell me some stories from your customers and the feedback from your customers.

(4:25) I mean, you already know my feedback.

(4:26) I was a customer before I started in Pewcentric and I demanded that you make one for the other model.

(4:35) Right.

(4:36) One for the TLR-1, yeah.

(4:39) Oh, it's everybody.

(4:40) it's military, security people, anybody that carries a firearm, law enforcement.

(4:45) I get a lot of the people that contact me are police officers in various states.

(4:53) Just some law enforcement officers I've talked to that they tried it out themselves.

(4:58) It worked really well for them, so they started posting on forums and telling all their buddies about it.

(5:02) And the next thing you know, I'm getting 200, 300 orders from that area.

(5:06) Because all the other officers on the force start ordering it or the ones that read it in the forum start ordering it.

(5:11) So yeah, probably around six, I'd say 6,000 roughly, maybe a little more.

(5:17) That's amazing.

(5:18) we're talking law enforcement, individuals, military, current, former military, but what success comes from people trying to copy that success.

(5:28) So can you talk a little bit about...
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(5:47) As soon as I posted those TLR-7 screws on eBay, I had a few watchers right in the beginning.

(5:56) They see other people are ordering it, they'll order one.

(5:59) They'll check out all your measurements, your thread size, whatever the part is that you're selling.

(6:04) They'll figure it all out.

(6:05) Then the next thing you know, they're competing with you on eBay.

(6:08) I've had it to the point where some of them actually use my pictures and just copied and pasted my listing descriptions into their ads.

(6:15) Yeah, you're going to steal somebody else's idea.

(6:17) I go through the effort of taking your own pictures and writing your own description.

(6:20) Where I have a problem with it is when they're selling something that I can tell from looking at the picture or from what other customers, customers who have bought both will tell me,

(6:30) hey, I bought this kit from this other guy and here's the problems with it.

(6:35) The screw was only grade 10.9.

(6:38) It bent when I got to eight inch pounds.

(6:42) or it sticks up, doesn't fit in the holster, the screw was too long, or it's stripped out on me.

(6:46) So I might get one in a thousand purchases, I might get a complaint.

(6:50) Whereas a lot of my customers have bought stuff from other sellers and just contacted me right away and said, wow, this is really garbage.

(6:58) So yeah, it's a little frustrating because the whole reason why I have them on the market is to help people.

(7:04) And I like that about Pewcentric, the idea of Pewcentric genuine.

(7:09) because you're able to monitor everything.

(7:12) It's not like other platforms where they can't hire enough people to monitor everything.

(7:15) And if they do, how do they even know what's genuine or not?

(7:19) As an individual monitoring your own platform, you have the ability to research everything and find out what's real.

(7:29) So yeah, that's really important.

(7:35) Let me tell you how many people have tried.

(7:36) Pewcentric's only been around a short time.

(7:39) People come out of the woodworks like, I want to take this mass produced product that I didn't invent and put it on there.

(7:43) It just doesn't fit.

(7:45) It doesn't align with what we're trying to build.

(7:47) And I knew that's why you were going to be one of my first calls when I launched this.

(7:54) As you saw while we were talking, I took off and put on the light like twice on this gun.

(8:01) And I assure you that was not the case with the original mounting system.

(8:07) Taking that thing off was frustrating.

(8:11) I finally figured out it was called the E-clip or C-clip.

(8:14) And then trying to remove it was a nightmare.

(8:21) I could make a 15-minute video just showing how hard it was to remove that piece.

(8:27) But this?

(8:29) Tighten it.

(8:30) Unscrew it.

(8:31) Simple.

(8:32) It works.

(8:34) And while it's unlikely I'll ever need it in a real self-defense situation,

(8:38) I never trust anything on my firearm unless it's been tested through 2000 to 3000 rounds.

(8:42) Only then does it make it into my EDC setup.

(8:46) Your product made it there.

(8:48) And I trust my life with it.

(8:50) So if you want to connect with Bill at Magnum Airpower,

(8:55) who makes precise and reliable upgraded mounting screw kits for TLR-7 and TLR-1 models,

(9:06) make sure to check out his shop on Pewcentric at pewcentric.com/magnumairpower.

(9:18) Links are in the description.

(9:20) And as always, please like and subscribe.

(9:22) It helps grow the Pewcentric community.

(9:24) And we'll catch you next time.

(9:26) you

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