Perfect! That’s exactly what I needed, thank you.
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I went through a fast 25 rounds of full-on 00 buck with it tonight.
A few notes:
I was worried the lower grip position might have an effect on push/pull technique. I did not notice any difference. I did not try shooting from a short-stock position, though -- will have to do that next time out.
I end up putting skateboard tape on every forearm eventually. I'll probably do the same to this but the "grippability" without tape was not awful. I found it better than the un-taped Magpul forearm.
The switch is really clever and instinctive for me. However, if you want to do a quick momentary flash, you may not like it. A quick momentary press creates a constant on.
It's a bit of a reach to the switch on the finger side but the thumb side was easy. I like that the switches on both sides are even.
Did I mention the switch was really instinctive?
A lockout would be nice. I put the gun in a soft case for the drive. When I opened it at the range, the light was on. Unscrewing the battery cap a little acts like a lockout. It's also a pain.
The battery cap seems a little flimsy but anything thicker/heavier would probably make the forearm ride even lower. It looks like Streamlight was really trying to keep the profile low.
I like the snag-free shape. In that regard, it is absolutely an improvement over the Magpul/rail/clamp/Surefire setup I had before.
It feels a bit lighter than the Magpul/Surefire combination. The light switch is way easier to find and operate. I didn't have to alter my grip to work the light.
I did not have any issues operating the gun with the forearm -- no short stroking or other problems.
The brightness and shape of the beam were perfectly fine for my purposes.
For those using these in the field on a duty shotgun, how are you seeing the beam pattern affected by shadow from the barrel/magazine extension? We've got one for T&E on the range, but none in the field with feedback. Just sent in an order for 15 of them in orange to put on some of our less-lethal shotguns, to get some feedback, but if anyone has been running one on an LE shotgun In the field, I'd be interested.
Bumping- I'm seeing the TL Racker for ~135-140 bucks. I've got 2 old Laser Products Corp/Surefire forends that have been hanging around waiting for me to upgrade the lights on them. On the one hand, if I just get two of these, I'll still have 2 old dedicated forearm lights taking up space, on the other hand... What do you all think?
I have a very early non-LED SureFire on another shotgun. Honestly, other than it being way too slick and a little heavy, I never understood why they needed to "improve" it.
If they put an LED head on the original, provided some grip tape, and re-released it as a "Classic Plus" model at the same price point as the TL-Racker, I would be in for one.
My opinion: I'm not in a hurry to replace the SureFire I have now, even if it is something like 15 years old. The only reason I would have to do it is consistency of controls.