Inexpensive weapon light for Rem 870 suggestions

I'm currently considering mounting a light to my home defense shotgun and wanted opinions on what I should get.

My current weapon consists of a Remington 870 Express with the 18.5" barrel, Choate pistol grip buttstock, and a 6-shot extender that I cannot recall the manufacturer of (probably Choate). I plan on replacing the fore-end with a black synthetic one and adding a Sidesaddle. The only thing left is a light of some sort. What I'm left to do currently, if I have an intruder, is to hold my 2D Mag in my left hand between my thumb and forefinger and the remaining three fingers of my left hand to hold the slide to rack it and to support it. I'm not sure I can do this correctly at 3AM and half asleep with a ton of adrenaline flowing through my veins.

What I'm looking for:
* Flood beam so that I can see the intruder and to be able to identify if they have a weapon or not.
* Inexpensive! For a light that I never ever want to use I don't want to spend more than $100 for it and even that is a stretch. Of course, if the money needs to be spent it will happen.
* Must run on lithium primaries. I want the 10 year shelf life and don't want to pull this light after a year to find that the batteries leaked all over the inside of it. I would prefer 2XAA or 1XCR123A. I do plan on swapping batteries every 5 years or so to ensure that they are fresh. Should I do this on an annual basis?
* Must have the ability to take a remote pressure switch. Custom made is an option but not preferred.

I would prefer LED but, since this will be used rarely and only for short periods of time, an incandescent bulb would work, too. I think that the LED would be more shock resistant for the times when I take the 870 to the range to practice using it. I can always remove the light before heading to the range if the recoil may cause damage to it since it will only be used for a very specific purpose.

For mounting the light I'm either going to go with using barrel clamps to clamp the light to the magazine extension or mounting it directly to the fore-end using a short Picatinny rail. I have the ability to make my own mounts if I have to but will probably look to the aftermarket for mounting rings and such. I already have some 1" scope mounts around here somewhere, too.

Lights that I have considered:
* Solarforce L2 with Solarforce remote pressure switch, a Malkoff P30 flood LA and a dummy cell.
* Mini-MagLED with P4 retrofit and custom made mount and custom tailcap remote switch. This may be the most cost effective solution.
* Build a SureFire Lego 3P with the aforementioned Malkoff P30 module.
* Figure out a way to mount my SureFire 9N to my shotgun, make an adapter to mount one CR123A to it, and modify it with a remote switch but this will be big and bulky.

Other than the 9N, I don't own any of the above so I will essentially be starting from a clean slate.

TIA for any and all suggestions.

SF G2L ($65) w/ or w/o an M60F (Malkoff). Attach it in line w/ the barrel by using the Stream light 870 mount ($12-$15; mounted under the magazine cap) http://www.manventureoutpost.com/outdoor/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5218. I'm sure you'll get tons of recommendations, but this is probably the easiest and best method, with decent quality, for the price. And you could add a tape switch later if you wanted.

Thanks! I thought about the G2L but how well does the P60L run on one CR123A?

The P60L will probably be in direct drive with a single CR123 which means much less output.

Fenix has a pressure switch for their TK series which are also within your price range.

The SF G2 or G2L with the lamp/LED drop-in of your choice would also be my suggestion.Why the requirement for only one CR123 ? Two CR123s offer better performance.

ZMZ67 said:

The SF G2 or G2L with the lamp/LED drop-in of your choice would also be my suggestion.

Click to expand...

Plus, they'll work with your 1" scope mounts....

ZMZ67 said:

Why the requirement for only one CR123 ? Two CR123s offer better performance.

Click to expand...

I also agree with this. I'd much rather have two or three cell lights on my long guns. The G2L is a nice option since it's rugged and keeps the price down. I'm guessing the inexpensive means under $100 and the G2 will fit the bill.

Personally I'm partial to tube lights being mounted on the barrel between the barrel and magazine. Almost any arrangement will cast a shadow so mount it as far forward as possible to minimize the effect.

There are many possible solutions. I went with a Wolf Eyes 6HX for my Mossberg 500.

These are excellent lights in both quality and performance. If you search you will find numerous discussions and reviews of WE products on CPF.

The 6HX comes with a pressure switch designed for the light with the added feature of a built in clicky switch on the tailcap itself.

My testing consisted of 30 rounds. 10 with the light off, followed by 10 with the light on, followed by 10 with the light off again but still warm. No problems.

My gun is also standing by for home defense. I am happy with this choice and confident it will function if needed.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=1-140-3-8-6030

At under $60 including a good barrel/tube mount it is a very reasonable quality solution, IMO.

Mark

The Streamlight 870 mount and new TLR-1 work well within the distance a shotgun would be used.

Paladin

The light can be positioned at 3, 6, or 9 oclock relketive to the magazine tube cap.

I use a SF 6PLED on mine, mounted to a Mako fore-end, also on the 870. I've tried it on with about a dozen rounds of 00, and off with a few slugs. Still working great. I did find out that I needed to adjust the rings so that it snapped on securely, so I suggest you take it out and make sure everything is seated properly.

First place i could find it online, but i bought mine at a PX
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/SHT075-1.html

Doing a few practice runs at night, I've realized that you really don't need a super bright light. If you're being woke up in the middle of the night, you're eyes will get a quick WOW from the bounce back when you light it up. I imagine it'd be worse being on the recieving end, but I'm not about to have my GF point the light at me

Regardless of what you eventually get, IMO this is one of the few times when a clicky function is really needed, in addition to either a pushbutton or pressure switch for momentary-on. With a two-handed weapon like a pump gun, you need a convenient, constant-on option. If you use basically a handheld SureFire or equivalent for your light solution, using a twisty tailcap for constant-on is a hassle IMO.

I would also tend toward a single cell solution, rather than a multiple cell one for a shotgun. With the shotgun's relatively heavy recoil, I believe that you are going to risk denting the top terminal of the bottom cell as it either hits or compresses against the cell above it. You also risk momentary cell separation under recoil, causing the light to cut out. SureFire used to sell shrink-wrapped, shock-buffered battery sticks, with the cells electrically connected with spot-welded nickel strips. Apparently, they don't sell them anymore, which suggests maybe SF no longer thinks recoil is an issue. But I just pulled some cells from a light-recoiling AR-15 and the top terminal of a 123A cell was dented in and it no longer can make reliable electrical contact.

+1 on Surefire G2L with Malkoff M60

Justin Case said:

Regardless of what you eventually get, IMO this is one of the few times when a clicky function is really needed, in addition to either a pushbutton or pressure switch for momentary-on.

Click to expand...

Ditto to what JC stated about the pressure switch. Ergonomics is second in importance only to reliability when considering a weaponlight.


Regarding the multiple cells though I don't agree. I've never had and cell problems...even from 12g & .308 while using stacked lights. Surefire has many models of horizontally stacked cell lights and they practically invented the mass produced weapon light. I would avoid the direct drive single because it really limits performance. With two cells you'll have a brighter, regulated light with better run time. If the G2L is within your budget I still don't think you can go wrong.

Thanks for the replies, folks.

About the single CR123A thing, I really don't want to deal with the possibility of . I realize that the possibility is extremely remote but it's one less thing for me to worry about.

PCC said:

Thanks for the replies, folks.

About the single CR123A thing, I really don't want to deal with the possibility of . I realize that the possibility is extremely remote but it's one less thing for me to worry about.

Click to expand...

Well, as long as you continue to use SF Cells (now available at most lowes, so a little to get...), you should be fine. SF responded to an incident where a military guys 6P went ...turns out he was using mixed AND generic cells...SF's response was basically "We put warnings with all our lights only to use new, high quailty cells, and it's never been documented that SF cells have gone ". I've owned my first SF for about 8 years now, and have never had a problem. Plus, short of the 3P, you'll be hard pressed to find a 1-Cell you can mount on a gun, AND get a tail-cap for...

Yes, but, I have a (miniature) mill and I'm not afraid to use it! I can make or buy a spacer so that I end up using one cell regardless of how the light was made.

Part of the reason is the economy of running and replacing two cells as opposed to replacing one but the bigger thing for me is that with one cell I just have to deal with replacing one cell and not two. If I'm replacing the one cell annually then I'm going to be putting it into a light that I will be using so that I'm not just throwing it away and wasting it. With two cells I will have to do that separately, which introduces the possibility of mixing old with new and . Not something I want to risk. Also, I don't go through batteries all that fast so that one cell may last over a year with occasional use.

how about a Fenix P2D Q5?

If you want to think in terms of a two cell light that will run at all or have adequate output on one cell, you are limiting your choices. Incans are out.

I do not really see the issue in a weapon light. Runtime is not an issue. Shelf life of the cells will probably come first.

If you use fresh quality cells, you should not be overly concerned about problems. I think the danger of multi-cell lights has been somewhat over sold. It is nearly always the result of violating the known rules. Use fresh cells from the same batch from a quality supplier. Don't short change your light's utility.

Especially in a weapons light, I want max output when I push the button. It just might be really needed at that moment.

Mark

Patriot36 said:

Regarding the multiple cells though I don't agree. I've never had and cell problems...even from 12g & .308 while using stacked lights. Surefire has many models of horizontally stacked cell lights and they practically invented the mass produced weapon light. I would avoid the direct drive single because it really limits performance. With two cells you'll have a brighter, regulated light with better run time. If the G2L is within your budget I still don't think you can go wrong.

Click to expand...

Yes SF practically invented the weaponlight and they also sold specially-built battery sticks specifically to avoid the problems I've mentioned. I don't know why they seem to have stopped selling these sticks, but the fact remains that I have personally witnessed one of these problems -- denting of the cell terminal due to recoil. I also have many firearm instructor colleagues and they each see hundreds to over a thousand students a year and they also have seen recoil-induced battery problems. It doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. The frequency is low enough so that a single, random person can easily say correctly that he's never heard of or seen such problems. You see the problems when you multiply the probability over a large number of users. Whether or not this concerns someone depends on their tolerance for risk.

Regarding single cell apparently implying direct drive, that is an incorrect assumption as well. A Malkoff M30 runs regulated on a single 123A primary or Li-ion secondary. I've been running an ad hoc test on AW's protected 16340 cells and so far in 6 weeks of shelf life, the cells have dropped from 4.10V to 4.09V, a drop of only 0.01V. It doesn't appear that self-discharge is going to be a problem.

angelofwar said:

Plus, short of the 3P, you'll be hard pressed to find a 1-Cell you can mount on a gun, AND get a tail-cap for...

Click to expand...

Yes, you may have to go with a 3P-type light if you stick with the requirement for primary cell capability. But since FiveMega sells his new 3P clone bodies, it is easy to build your own. Also, if this battery requirement is relaxed to allow Li-ions, you can use a single 17670-sized cell, which opens up the field to a 6P-sized light. A Malkoff M30 runs great when driven by a single cell, whether primary or secondary Li.

Justin Case said:

I would also tend toward a single cell solution, rather than a multiple cell one for a shotgun. With the shotgun's relatively heavy recoil, I believe that you are going to risk denting the top terminal of the bottom cell as it either hits or compresses against the cell above it. You also risk momentary cell separation under recoil, causing the light to cut out. SureFire used to sell shrink-wrapped, shock-buffered battery sticks, with the cells electrically connected with spot-welded nickel strips. Apparently, they don't sell them anymore, which suggests maybe SF no longer thinks recoil is an issue. But I just pulled some cells from a light-recoiling AR-15 and the top terminal of a 123A cell was dented in and it no longer can make reliable electrical contact.

Click to expand...

You can still buy CR223 sticks just not from surefire
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2528