light mount for my 870

[switch625]

just picked up an 870 home defense at the show. i need to mount a light to it. as much as i'd like the surefire they are too much.

comments/suggestions welcome.

[NIGHTWATCH]

Gotta a sale going on right now over at www.cheaperthandirt.com :D Add the cat# LEG-145 to the search engine. Also check out www.firequest.com for a not too expensive mount I saw there under shotgun accessories. Good luck!:cool:

[9mmMike]

An nice alternative:

http://sidearmor.net/catalog/default.php?cPath=24

[switch625]

i saw the sidearmor but $70 plus $115 for an m3 is too much, i can get a surefire fore end for that. trying to avoid paying that much.

think i'm going to find a '1 ring and clamp and strap on a g2. can't find a clamp though.

[switch625]

thanks for the replies. i'm surprised at what little is out there.:(

[jthuang]

switch625,

Alas, the Surefire Responder is arguably the penultimate in shotgun weaponlights. Merely clamping a Surefire or other light to your longarm will not give you a combat-reliable light as the Responder, as that unit incorporates three shock-proofing features that are not found in typical non-weaponlights:

1. Shock proof bezel -- cushions lamp from slamming into the lens assembly;
2. Machined "shoulder" in light body -- prevents batteries from slamming into the lamp assembly;
3. Buffered multi-cell batteries -- prevents battery cells from slamming into each other.

Lose any one of the three and you could end up with a dead light due to weapon recoil. Weapon recoil might not be so bad with a 5.56 NATO gun but we're talking 12 bore whomp here. Recoil proofing a weaponlight to be used on a shotgun is all that more important.

However ....

If Mark Penman's website was still up, you could refer to his article on his own improvised Surefire mount which I believe he made for his Beretta 1201FP. Mark took his own life recently so I expect his website is no more. Anyway, he used a hose clamp and various Surefire parts to create a makeshift but serviceable weaponlight, at a much reduced cost over the pricey Responder.

You may be able to do the same -- IIRC he took a Surefire 3P, replaced the bezel with the Surefire shock-resistant bezel and somehow hose-clamped the light to the fore-end. This solves all but one of the recoil problems noted above -- the sole problem remaining is that the 3P's light body does not incorporate the machined shoulder to prevent the battery from crunching the lamp assembly during recoil.

Justin

[Erick Gelhaus]

switch & justin-

re: The hose clamp set-up, that's the way my 1201 is currently rigged. It works but that's about it.

switch-
I've seen some homemade attempts to rig lights on 870's. Some were pretty ingenius. But, the issues that justin raised are dead on.
One needs the shock isolated bezels & the padded battery sticks. Otherwise, they'll fail very quickly when put on shotguns - even though they'll work fine on AR's. It all has to do with the recoil.