Surefire forend light??

[1BLINDREF]

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/851/sesent/00

I want to put a light on my new Mossberg 590 as I'll use it only for HD.

What are the pros/cons on putting one on?
Can the switches be reached without having to change your grip on the forend?
Is the forend grip large enough for people with big hands?

I like the momentary or constant on switch and the streamline design.
I did a search and saw Lee's posts about using a tactical rail so the light can easily be removed for daytime shooting, but I didn't really see many other posts on this specific light (If I missed a previous thread on this subject - please don't flame me ) I'm not too concerned about the money - you get what you pay for and I'm not looking to put anything else on this gun. I like the way its set up now with the speedfeed stock and ghost ring sights.
Thanks!

 

[Chuck R.]

I also looked at the Surefire forearm for my Benelli M1S90, but decided to go the Insight M3X route instead:

Using this mount:

I think the benefits of this type system are:

1. Cheaper
2. Can easily remove light for saving wear and tear during daylight training.
3. Can easily swap light to a different weapon if needed.
4. Cheaper.

Chuck

 

[1BLINDREF]

The link isn't working. How do you mount it?

 

[Chuck R.]

It mounts on the magazine. I keep mine at the 6 O'Clock position.

Try this link:

http://www.insightlights.com/

Chuck

 

[dasanii19]

Its heavy, not worth the money in my opinion..

 

[Fred Fuller]

I finally gave up on SureFire's pumpgun fore-end lights. They just don't leave enough room to get a grip on the forearm and the 'hump' beats up your hand in recoil. I never had any problems with them, I even rebuilt a couple I got in a surplus auction and they were still serviceable after tons of abuse. But they take up too much room for me.

Recoil is BRUTAL on a 12 ga, it's very hard on weapon lights. The incandescent SF models will still pop a bulb from time to time, even though they're shock mounted. SF recommends taking out the light during daytime practice, they make a 'practice plug' to fill in the hole. And it's best to use the two-battery "stick" in them if you have a 6V model, the battery bodies are joined with heatshrink tubing and the contacts have a soldered link. That helps keep them from beating themselves up as much in recoil.

I still like the rail-mounted lights, see http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum2263.php for one that fits extended magazines on Mossbergs. There are a number of different models available to fit different guns. As to the light itself, I'd look at the newer LED lights like the Surefire X200 or the Streamlight TLR-1, they are plenty bright and the LEDs are a lot less vulnerable to shock than a filament type bulb.

The rail mounted lights go off and on the gun easily, you can put the same light on any gun with a rail- pistol, rifle or shotgun. They are light and durable, I see no down side to having one on a 'working' gun. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it, you can still use a handheld light as needed. But I like having a light on the gun in case it's needed anyway.

hth,

lpl/nc

 

[Gordon]

Yup Lee is correct according to my experience too!I have reduced the Surefire foreends to "RV" gun duty on folding stock 870s for the previously mentioned reasons. I use a TLR-1 because it is bright, bomb proof and inexpensive (you can get them for $100 if you shop) and clamp hell for stout directly to a rail.The molded in rail plastic forends are good as are the better tube clamp rails.

 

[marklbucla]

I've got extra forends that I can just swap out altogether if I want to take the gun to the range. Well, actually, now that my bedside 870 is fully broken in (my first gun), I just leave it there and take out the other 870s I have.

Another thing to consider is that you have to make sure that you buy the right forend since your 590 may have a Bayonet lug that won't allow some lights to clear it.

 

[Bix]

I have a 618FA on my 870 and, while I find it to be heavy and bulky, I generally like it. I've got about 1000 rounds through the gun with the light in place and, aside from the weight, I think the egronomics are fine. To answer one of your questions, I can get at all of the switches (rocker and momentary) without altering my grip on the forend. I think that this is one of the main advangages of the system. I do have fairly long fingers, though.

Regarding bulb durability, at an Awerbuck class I took last year, Louis commented that he didn't believe the Surefire "practice plug" was necessary because he sees the bulbs break so infrequently. Of course, we had two bulbs go down during that class, much to his bemusement .

LED lights generally do not have as much throw as their incandecent brethern. So, as a general rule, I prefer incandecent bulbs on long guns (which may be used to shoot things that are far away).....at least at this point in bulb tech development. For a dedicated house gun, I can't see any downside to LED.

 

[.45FMJoe]

LED lights generally do not have as much throw as their incandecent brethern. So, as a general rule, I prefer incandecent bulbs on long guns (which may be used to shoot things that are far away).....at least at this point in bulb tech development. For a dedicated house gun, I can't see any downside to LED.

Because LEDs are more affected by artificial light, they "wash out" under things like street lights. So, if the only light you have coming through your house is from street lights, the incandescent is going to work better for you.

 

[stellarpod]

As mentioned before by others, the unit is very heavy and will have a noticeable affect on balance. I also find it to be unnecessarily wide. Within the first two months of owning this unit I found myself searching through the house after what sounded like a break in. I went to activate the light and it was burnt. Fortunately the noise ended up being from a branch blown down in a storm, but I shudder at what might have happened. I called Surefire the next day and expressed my disappointment. Their response was kind of, "oh well, stuff happens". They did send me a new bulb.

If I had it to do over again I'm not sure I'd buy it. The switch locations are nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the heft, price and bulb concern. Also, I had to do some judicious Dremmel-tooling to get it to fit properly on my 590 barrel (taper caused it to jam tight at the receiver-end) - unacceptable for something that cost this much IMO.

Here is my 590 with the light installed:



stellarpod

 

[flyfishdave]

I have the 618 and 617 FGA units for the 870 and Benelli M1S90 respectively - the FGA differs from the FG in that there is an additional system disable switch which prevents the unit from turning on if the pad is accidently pressed, like for example in a bag for transport.

LEDs have some promise given durability and longer runtimes - SF should be coming out with an updated KL5 LED conversion head using the new Cree LED later this year. In the meantime, I picked up several Wolf Eyes Cree LED drop in replacement for the P60 lamp and they work great! For use with the forend light, I did need to remove a small plastic spacer in the SF body and polish the edge of the lamp bezel (cree unit, not SF housing).

I ran my 870 with the SF unit attached just last week in a Louis Awerbuck class for three days and the light still works. To repeat what another poster said, Louis did say that he never has had any issue with the incadescants blowing out either, but it can happen......"always have a backup light" he said.

 

[silverlance]

I have an SF on my m1s90. it is a VERY effective tool, illuminating exactly where I want my pellets to strike. Given enough time to load my shotgun, that is the one that I would pick up if I absolutely had to clear my home.

That said, that particular shotgun is a dedicated tool. I do not use it for skeet, trap, plinking, etc. It is 100% weapon, with its own specific ammo that no other gun uses (#4 buck, express loaded, with Brenneke KO Slugs)

When I want to shoot skeet or trap, I pull out my OTHER benelli m1s90. that one also has the benelli factory PG but the standard foreend only. with that gun I can shoot birdshot all day long.

If you can afford two guns, that is what I would recommend. it wasnt cheap for me either but good tools seldom are.

Otherwise, I would recommend a remington 870 with one of those rail mounted lights that others have mentioned. mossbergs are ok but they feel too much like pot-metal to me.

ps: LEDs do not compare with incandescents for blinding effect. I can stare at my 200a SF for a full 10 seconds. when I look away, my vision returns very quickly. this does NOT happen with incandescents... after a few seconds your retinas are burned and you will not be able to function for some time in dim light. IOW, 60 lumens in LED does not equal 60 lumens in INCAN.

Kev

 

[flyfishdave]

I was skeptical of LEDs, but after some testing and use, I'd rather have 120-130 lumens of LED @ 2.5+ hours versus 65-65 lumens incades @ 1 hour in the same light. I barely could look into the LED for more than half a second.

Once a threat is identified, I'm not waiting on the after effects of either a LED or incadescent - lead will be going downrange immediately.

For real blinding, I keep the M6 on my night table drawer, along with some 6P's. My better half keeps a U2 on her side...which she took from me saying I had enough flashlights.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-25-114-6283

 

[inherentical]

I just took my 618FA off my 870 this past weekend. I had installed a Knoxx spec-ops stock and wanted to test it out, and my left index finger still feels like it took the brunt of the recoil. Much like Lee suggests in his post, I have a TLR-1 and Streamlight mount that I vastly prefer to the Surefire forend, especially with a Knoxx stock installed.

flyfishdave: I replaced the P60 lamps in my Surefire gear with just that drop in from PTS. They work great, although I think the reflector could fit a little better. The Wolf Eyes cree drop in withstood about 150 rounds of 000 buck, and 10 slugs while mounted in a Surefire forend and is still going strong, for what it's worth.