Surefire forends?

[pablo45]

I got a Mossberg 500 and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the forend grips with the lights in them. I am thinking it would be a great tool to have a light on a HD shotgun and also when out hunting a good thing to have in the truck.

If I do get one what are some good models and also what is the difference besides the lumens that I see with some? I definately want one with the on and off and momentary switch on it. Other than that what are the differences? Thanks for all the help guys!

Feel free to post some gun porn if you got it.

 

[DMR]

The Surefires are great units. However, at least in my state hunting with a light is frowned on. Just a thought.

 

[pablo45]

No i am not going to use it for hunting as a primary. It will be in the truck for defensive purpose. In case i see a crazy pigeon trying to mug my camp ground at night. In my state it is no problem to have. Thank god. Plus with my background check i should alright.

 

[Fred Fuller]

I find they take up too much of the forearm to be comfortable for me. YMMV there.

I prefer easily removeable rail-mounted LED lights on defensive shotguns, that way they can be detached for daytime practice without beating up the light with recoil. Shotgun recoil tends to be hard on incandescent bulbs, and it's hard on batteries in every kind of light. Even SureFire makes a 'practice plug' for their shotgun lights so they can be used with the light and batteries removed.

lpl/nc

 

[Onmilo]

The Surefire forends are great,,,,and bulky,,,,and cost almost as much as the Mossberg shotgun itself,,,,,,,,

You can install a 'Picatinny' rail plate on the side or bottom of the standard forend and use a Streamlight or a Surefire flashlight in a ring mount.
Less expensive and not as bulky.
I have done these set ups but do not have a picture right now.
I can give you the Brownell part numbers if you are interested and I remember to check back on this thread.

 

[dasanii19]

I dont like the surefire forends, they add way too much weight to the shotgun.

 

[Markbo]

For a purely defensive arm, I don't think there is a better way to go. If you also intend to hunt, carry, blow up cans or whatever, go the cheaper, lighter way.

 

[JNewell]

I'm with Lee, Onmilo and dasanii. I have one on an 870 and it is top quality but huge and most of all HEAVY. Next light I put on a gun is going to be an M3 or M3X on a lightweight mount.

 

[Chuck R.]

I prefer easily removeable rail-mounted LED lights on defensive shotguns, that way they can be detached for daytime practice without beating up the light with recoil.

I agree, another advantage for the "pistol style" tac lights is that they can easily be swapped from long-gun to pistol if needed.

I have:

Insight M3 for my bedside pistol 90 Lumens
Insight M3X for my BenelliM1690 125 Lumens

and a Surefire X300 for my LE6920 110 Lumens

In a pinch, should one go down another can be swapped onto that gun in seconds. The Surefire X300 weighs 3.7 ounces with batteries, and you won't even notice its there.

Chuck

 

[Dgreno]

I have also wondered about this forend. Anyone who owns one got pic??

 

[Coronach]

Here's my question:

How does one easily handle light discipline with a pump shotgun and a light not on a dedicated forend? Do you just use it always in constant-on/constant-off mode (switching between the two), instead of intermittent mode? Because it would kinda suck to be pressing the light 'on' in intermittent mode and suddenly have to run the action...

Perhaps I just haven't thought about it enough. I dunno. I agree that the Surefire forends are great, but they are heavy. And bulky.

Mike

 

[Sir Aardvark]

I decided not to take the "Surefire Plunge" in regards to a light for my 870.

The benefits of a Surefire forend are obvious to see:

A dedicated forend means the light is always there in a very slick package.
The intermittent/constant-on feature is literally at your fingertips.
It's a heavy-duty light that is actually designed for use on a shotgun, with shock buffers built right in.

But, then there are the drawbacks:

Really, really expensive!
Bulky and heavy!
Multiple reports of the forend "slapping" your hand quite painfully if you don't hold it correctly.

I decided to go the somewhat cheesy, yet quite serviceable, route of one of these from Brownell's:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/st...?p=20919&title=3-RAIL PICATINNY SHOTGUN MOUNT

It is a mount for a rail-mounted light and I like it for the reasons previously mentioned in this thread.

Something to think about in regards to the light selection is that LED's would hold up better to the shotgun's recoil than a normal incandescent bulb.
The downside of this is that LED's tend to not be as bright as other lights, but, the upside is that the batteries last longer in LED's.

Pretty much it is all compromise, so get what suits you best.
If I was a cop who had to use my shotgun quite frequently in tactical situations, I would get the Surefire forend, but otherwise, I would find it hard to justify it unless I just happened to have a lot of money to blow.

By the way Pablo, I PM'd you.

 

[rodregier]

I added a pad to my Surefire forends to keep them from beating my hand up.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=308870

 

[Zach S]

If you get one, get the 623FGA with the master kill switch. IME if you dont, you'll regret it (I got the 623FA, and regret not getting the FGA).

I tried the cheap way, but I dont like on/of switches on weaponlights, I prefer momentary only. I also dont like cords hanging in places where I cant tie them down (and even then, I dont care much for them). I fired my 590 once with the light on, and I took the light off if it before my thumb swelled up. That was a big deal to me since I'm cross dominate (left eyed, right handed, longuns are fired from the wrong shoulder) and it was my strong hand that got hurt.

While it was expensive, the Surefire forend solved all my problems. I can fire it with my thumb on the tapeswitch, there are no exposed wires. One complaint is that the whole tapeswtich is exposed, I cant use the switchblocker because I use the front for LH shooting, and the rear for RH shooting. I also wish there was a little more to hold on to, if they'd make them simular to the longer "field" forends we could trim them to whatever length we wanted. Yes, its heavy, but so is my shotgun, so the added weight wasnt a real issue.

Yes, shotgun recoil is hard on the bulb, however mine hasn't failed, yet. I put my spare in before I go shooting, and put the other in when I'm done. However I mostly shoot reduced recoil buckshot (federal H132 00). I'll probably get the P60L (LED lamp) for it soon. It should hold up to the recoil better, but I want it because it solves my biggest problem with surefire lights.

That problem is when the batteries get to a certain point of dead, the incandescent bulb goes out completely, usually at a bad time as well. Its like doing 70mph on a dark highway and all your lights going out because a ground wire came loose. LEDs dim when the batteries are dying, but they still work. I'm thinking about getting a 9 volt tube as well.

As far as weaponlights go, I keep fresh batteries in them. When the batteries die in my EDC 6P, the replacements come out of a weaponlight, and the fresh ones go in it.

Anyway, gun porn entry. Its a 20" Mossberg 590. I had to grind the bayonet lug off to clear the light, but I dont even have a bayonet so it didnt matter. I added a side saddle not long after I got it, maybe the same day. I also cut the stock down and added a youth model slip-on recoil pad and got a 12.5 LOP. I also stippled the stock with a woodburning pen

This post turned out a lot longer than I expected. Sorry, I tend to ramble when I'm tired.

 

[pablo45]

That is sexy! Thank you everyone for your input and experiences.