Lee, thanks for the links to the Streamlight mounts. I hadn't seen those before. And PJR, thanks for the pic. I think one of those will work on my M37. The forend on the Ithaca comes right up to the lug (it's only the 4+1 mag tube), so nothing else will fit.
For those who'd like a better look at what was in the pic Wopasaurus posted: those are the
Tri-Rail mounts from Leapers. (Never mind the "sniper" bidness in the URL.) Cheaper Than Dirt carries those, and I have one of the 3-slot mounts on order. Brownells has similar ones by
Lite Mount Technologies.
The flashlight clamps are okay, but for something like an ITI M3 or Streamlight TLR-1 (I have one of each now), I think the Picatinny mounts are the way to go. With those, you can mount the light securely,
and set it off to either side, working the "wingnut" rotary switch with the thumb or fingers of the support hand.
My original 500A now has a SureFire forend on it, an early model that I bought years ago but never got around to installing. Finally got up the gumption to tackle the project, and had to contact SureFire for a new wrench. Now that it's on there, I'm glad I did it, but they
are (1) kinda pricey and (2) more work than some other methods of mounting a light.
Just good old school police training. if its dark and you are using a flashlight and you suspect the perp you are looking for has a gun. keep light at arms length away from your body..
Good advice, but not all that handy when you're carrying a shotgun. Did you miss the part where he said "870," or is your police training
really "old school" stuff?