Monday, March 18, 2013

Shots in the dark, part deux...

The color doesn't match. Call the fashion police.
So the first of the two lights Brownells sent was the Inforce WML. Although intended for carbines, it seems fairly at home on the 870 forend.

Obviously a bigger gadget than the RailMaster, it is a little more confidence-inspiring in the way it sits on the rail, although we'll wait to give a final verdict on that until we've at least put a few rounds through the thing... Turned up the juice to see what shakes loose, if you will.

An interesting feature of the lights mounted on the side of the forend is that the front sight on the shotgun is brilliantly illuminated...

One thing I do like is the ingenious folding bail at the back. You can see the hinge? That little basket-handle-shaped piece flips forward and blocks the button to prevent white light NDs, if that's a worry of yours. Simple and smart. The thumbwheel-adjustable, no-tools-required, spring-loaded Picatinny rail clamp seems like another clever feature.

We'll see what happens when things get all recoil-y...

22 comments:

mikelaforge said...

Rope-wrapped baton? Very nice.

Old NFO said...

Interesting concept, and good point about the front sight!

aczarnowski said...

I just got one of those for my carbine. I had similar initial impressions. Seems like a thought out unit with plenty of light for inside issues.

Used a MagPul light kit cantilever section on the left side of the MOE middy hand guards so I could use my thumb for activation (right handed shooter). I'm not a fan of how far outboard that cantilever section puts things. I tried the kit's straight rail section and didn't like it better enough; that puts the light a bit too far backward into the fore end. I'm wishing for rifle length hand guards again.

The snow can melt away any time now so we can get to our super secret range for some real testing.

Looking forward to hearing how it handles the 870 recoil.

Tam said...

mikelaforge,

"Rope-wrapped baton? Very nice."

Nope: Wrist strengthener for shooting more better.

Critter said...

personally, i prefer the Viking Tactics light mount, http://vikingtactics.com/lightsmounts_lightmount.html but whatever gets you through the night.

Tam said...

Critter,

"personally, i prefer the Viking Tactics light mount,"

Very familiar with them. Have had them on a couple carbines. Good gear for a very reasonable price.

The offset doesn't work all that well for me, and by the time I paid for a donor flashlight as well, I might as well have bought a dedicated WML. (The only 1" flashlights I have lying around are a couple old incandescent G2 Nitrolons, and damned if they aren't about half as bright as a dead firefly when you've gotten used to 100+ lumen LEDs...)

Tam said...

I should have said "the offset doesn't work all that well for me on the 870 forend." It works fine on a carbine.

Critter said...

have you tried any of the lights from INOVA?

SPEMack said...

Ick, come on now, you're not an operator if you mix coyote tan and black. That's like a girl not coordinating, well, never mind.

Great point about preventing the white light ND.

I had an old Plt Sgt who that was his biggest pet peeve was white light disicpline.

Tam said...

Critter,

"have you tried any of the lights from INOVA?"

They seem like okay flashlights. Not sure how one would hack getting bolted to a gauge.

Nate said...

I've had a modern Stevens Favorite replica rigged with a $4 Harbor Freight LED light taped to the receiver and a thread spool as a standoff for years. One little dot of gloss white paint on the front sight puts a bead on any racoon that ventures into the yard. It's my 22LR, single shot, lever action tactical gun. Works perfectly.

rremington said...

Speaking of lights, Tam check your email Re: package.

Rabbit said...

Oh, pleasepleaseplease Baby Vulcan I hope that works as desired. I think that'd do just exactly what I want to achieve on an old 870 I picked up last summer.

Will said...

Tam,
in defense of those G2's, in the years since they were the hot thing, you now probably need twice the light for the same vision.

My P6 lasted a long time before needing a bulb. My G2 bulb didn't even make it through the first set of batts. Dealer said tough shit. Same from Surefire. Never bought anything else from either.

The P6 is a memento of the '94 SOF match. Vendor was near the table with the few survivors of the Waco massacre. Chatting with them was "interesting".

Tam said...

Will,

"in defense of those G2's, in the years since they were the hot thing, you now probably need twice the light for the same vision."

Ha. Ha. 2005 wasn't all that long ago! :p

J.R.Shirley said...

Looks like good gear. I like lights.

Not necessarily mounted on weapons to be used against bogeys at 0230, but because I want my tools to be as versatile as possible, and it's hell trying to steady a large torch and a shotgun to get a clean shot at Porky...

Tam said...

I like lights because Rule Four. ;)

Anonymous said...

You could replace the incandescent modules with LEDs. Malkoff makes nice ones. The only downside is that the G2 body isn't a good heat sink and your continuous "on" time might be limited.

Jennifer said...

As long as you don't run that one after Labor Day, the color shouldn't be an issue.

Will said...

Might be a good time to investigate getting the complete package coated in a useful color or combo. Maybe urban camo, or perhaps done to match Roseholme's interior?

Tam said...

Will,

"Might be a good time to investigate getting the complete package coated in a useful color or combo. Maybe urban camo, or perhaps done to match Roseholme's interior?"

When it's done, it'll get Krylon'ed in FDE. :)

Matthew said...

aczarn,

Take a MOE 5" rail, mount in the forward most slot on the MOE carbine handguard. Mark and use a file to remove enough metal to fit over the "hump" at the front of the handguard. Voila, flush mount light extension without having to buy the whole kit to get their offset extension.