[k9870]

light on shotgun

my shotgun (870, 20 inch imp cyl smoothbore w/ rifle sight) needs a light. i cant weild it one handed while holding a flashlight with the oter. wondering if theres a rig to attach my maglight to it? and it would need to be detachable

[shotgunjoel]

A mag light would be really heavy. Here is another post that might be helpful. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=416366

[Fred Fuller]

Plain ol' flashlights tend not to hold up well on shotguns- the recoil batters them unmercifully, and filaments in incandescent bulbs let go pretty often. Chances are an LED type flashlight will survive better- can't say for sure, as I have not experimented with any of them yet. Even with an LED instead of an incandescent bulb, that doesn't help the problem of the batteries pounding the light's internals till something breaks.

Dedicated weapon lights are made with all these factors in mind, and IMHO this is one area where it doesn't really pay to try and skimp.

I have several 870s with the Streamlight 69906 light mount and have never had problems with them. The mount attaches under the magazine cap and provides a rail to attach any of several light designs. See http://www.opticsplanet.net/streamlight-rem-870-tactical-mount-69906.html for a picture. So far the least expensive weaponlight we have tried is the LEDWave Z5 from Ombu, currently available from several web vendors for about $60. They seem to hold up well even though they have halogen (incandescent) bulbs, advertised at an output of 65 lumens (see http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=2537063&postcount=37 for my first encounter with the Z5).

hth,

lpl

[Lt. B]

I have an 870 Tactical that has a Surefire tac lite that replaces the foregrip. It has an on off switch but also has a pressure sensitive switch that you just squeeze lightly. Its a helluva light. Its not particularly pretty....almost bulky but It does the job. Its a little pricey as well. If you Google it you will find it. I could offer you a pic latter if you want (its too early for flash photography) but the websites that sell them I believe will have plenty of pics and options.

[357wheelgunner]

I like the Surefire forend, I just don't trust multi unit light assemblies on something like a shotgun. The Surefire forend is expensive, but you get a system that is compact, clean looking, and easy to use.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c138/357wheelgunner/Picture1001.jpg

[k9870]

its a small maglight with aas but more than enogh for house work, ill detach it during firing at range, i dont care how it holds up over time if its SD only, i dont plan on frequent gunbattles

[357wheelgunner]

If you get into a "gunbattle" defending your home, you'll probably be in trouble if your only source of light goes out after you fire your first round, leaving you in the dark with a wounded and possibly still dangerous crackhead in your living room...

[proven]

if you need a light on a weapon (which any HD gun should have), you need it to be rugged and hold up well over time. as 357 said, losing your light after the first shot is a very dangerous situation to be in.

the mount lee linked to looks nice and alot of people are using a surefire G2led with good results on AR type rifles.
http://www.surefire.com/G2-Led

[k9870]

357, that left 870 is my exact rig. what works well fotr you, what should i avoid

[357wheelgunner]

357, that left 870 is my exact rig. what works well fotr you, what should i avoid

I prefer the Surefire 618FA weaponlight shown in the picture. I've tried other lights (on clamps or rails) and didn't like it because I found it hard to manipulate the controls.

If you like your shotgun to be light and nimble, the light throws the balance off a lot. The shotgun on the left is my wife's gun, built to her weight specifications. She wanted a light, but didn't like the weight change. Her main use for that gun is shooting critters in the yard, and she wouldn't know what to do with the light if she did have one, so we left it off.

If you can put up with the change in balance, I highly recommend the Surefire weaponlight, because of it's compact design and ease of use.

[Gordon]

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/gordonhulme/spring2008115.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/gordonhulme/spring2008110.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/gordonhulme/spring2008114.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i203/gordonhulme/spring2008111-1.jpg
since updated to a much superior Sauer 900l laser light

[jojosdad]

Good info for 870's, but does anyone have a suggestion for a light mount fo the Mossy 590?

[k9870]

id take the light off for scattergun plinking though. thats my one thing, easily detached. fired like 150 rouns of slug/buck/birdsot today, and dont see how the light would hold up to that

[proven]

k9870- that's what purpose built weapon lights are designed to do. they are designed and built to withstand the recoil and muzzle blast from firing the weapon. quick detach is fine, but make sure what ever light you put on the weapon won't crap out after the the first (or even first few) rounds are fired.

[357wheelgunner]

id take the light off for scattergun plinking though. thats my one thing, easily detached. fired like 150 rouns of slug/buck/birdsot today, and dont see how the light would hold up to that

The Surefire light comes with a plug, so that if you feel like removing the light and batteries during practice, you can.

[Fred Fuller]

Even purpose-built weaponlights can have trouble standing up to shotgun recoil.

SureFire agrees...

lpl
=====

http://www.surefire.com/articles-shotgun_weaponlights

SHOTGUN WEAPONLIGHTS

The combat shotgun is the ultimate CQB weapon. Outfit your scattergun with a blinding white light for even greater fighting power.
By Cameron Hopkins

snip//
The key thing to understand about putting a light on a shotgun is that the recoil of a 12 ga. is the most severe of any firearm that would reasonably ever be fitted with a WeaponLight. Shooters who cringe at the idea of firing a .375 H&H Magnum think nothing about running a box of slugs through their 1187. Ignorance is bliss, I guess, for a .375 H&H doesn't kick any worse than a 12 gauge with slugs. SureFire had to tackle the recoil problem first. The solution was an ingenious design for cushioning the lamp module called "shock isolation." Shock isolation is essentially a method of shock absorbing the actual lamp from the effect of recoil. The shock isolation system is excellent, but a long, hard practice session with 00 buck or slugs still takes its toll on the light. For extensive practice or training, SureFire offers a screw - in plug to replace the lamp module in the dedicated forend. No point in subjecting the light to more pounding than necessary.
//snip

[proven]

lee- point noted. i was just implying that taking the light off for practice is fine, but a light designed and built with recoil/blast in mind will hold up much better than one that wasn't.

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

Gordon, not to de-rail, but that is the coolest looking range bag I've ever seen! :D

Do those rails tear up your hand?

[Gordon]

That"Range bag" is 25 Y.O.. I have tough hands but don't 'train' with that gun! I train with the top one. The other lower gun with the side folder (Choate with butt pad removed and a Limb Saver full of The Right Stuff pulled on giving a nice soft 13" pull) used to be my training gun for 28 years (with a fixed stock for 25 of those). 22 years ago Robar did a bunch of 1980's state of the art work on it and I put thousands of rounds thru it since (and before) . It is retired to side of the bed duty and the 17 YO surefire light still works well with the extra bright bulb(went thru many bulbs) in it!
BTW I am taking a second look at the Nova after rejecting it in favor of an 870 . The 870 is 2nd nature to me, the Nova a little different. The Nova was hard to set up with a 12.5" LOP stock correctly, but I did it (with the help of a machinist!) also I got the 12 pound horrible trigger down to 4 pounds safely and enlarged the safety which is in front of the trigger guard instead of thew back. The slide release is still not that handy, but the shell cut off is excellent! The gun smoothed out after a case or two of ammo and has a great chrome lined chamber which extracts everything easily. The LPA with Tritium sights are uber excellent. The barrel shoots slugs tighter than any other shot gun I own! It patterns buck shot well, but not outstanding like a Vang modified 870 (top gun). The 'shuck' is longer than the snick of a smoothed 870, but there is no fear of a short shuck or hesistation jam. The gun is lighter than an 870, which is nice for a combat gun and it is very "Glockish".I solve the light problem with the great new Sauer 900L Light/ Laser which is easy to operate when gripping the pump on the proper surface, but that "proper gripping surface" is a lot more forward than I'm used to on an 870. I am going to switch my occasional combat training to it, it certainly is state of the art! BTW I prefer the tradition non separate pistol grip on a fast action SG, like the Hogue one on the top gun. That is why I didn't get the newer Super Nova that would actually be easier to shorten the stock and other issues.

[k9870]

my problem with surefire is it costs more than my shotgun