Surefire Forend Upgrade

[floogy]

I've got an 870 police trade coming in and I'm pretty sure the Surefire forend will need an upgrade.

At the moment, there seems to be 3 options. Surefire has an LED upgrade that screws on. Malkoff makes a similar unit for about $50 less. There are drop in modules for P60 type lights, but will probably need modification to fit the forend. The last option is sell the forend and buy a TL Racker.

Has anyone upgraded their forends for the 21st century? The old P60 lights were about 60 lumens compared to 600+ which is about the standard for lights these days.

Information and reviews are sparse and outdated for the most part. I wanted to see how many around here had upgraded their older lights.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[tomk556]

I’m in a similar position with AR forends. If you do buy an after market lamp and swap it in, please let us know how it works out. I’m not willing to spend Surefire money on their upgrade, not unless it was going to be over 800 lumen.

[L-2]

For less than $10 delivered, there are replacement LED bulbs which I've used with success. Depending on the Surefire light, sometimes these bulbs work better when removing the large outer spring. There will still be a smaller spring soldered onto the center contact.

Rather than buying an entire new light, I recommend trying one of these bulbs first.

Here's the $175 Surefire replacement light to screw into an existing fore-end, just for reference:

https://www.surefire.com/parts-accessories/lamp-led-assemblies/lm2-6v-white-light-dedicated-forends.html

I've no experience with a "TL Racker".

I do have one shotgun with a Magpul fore-end with its M-LOK slots allowing different methods of attaching lights/accessories. On my Magpul equipped gun, I screwed on a Pic rail and attached a light in this fashion. Two other shotguns I've got have complete Surefire fore-ends, one being newer already had an LED light; the other was older and had the old P60 bulb, which I now just keep as a spare after replacing with an LED bulb.

The old P60 bulbs still work fine, but brighter LEDs are indeed nicer to have.

[W.R.Buchanan]

How about sell the Surefire thing to some fool for $200 so he thinks he's getting a deal,, and go buy Magpul Furniture and a Streamlight TLR1 with the money.

Surefire prices offend me. Sorry, their stuff ain't that good.

Randy





These guns actually work.

[seal20]

Ouch, that hurts looking at it!!! The surefire sucks with 3" shells.... Your poor left hand..

[floogy]

How about sell the Surefire to some fool for $200 and get Magpul Furniture and a Streamlight TLR1 for the money.



Surefire prices offend me. Sorry, their stuff ain't that good.



Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

So you can sell it and pay for the gun ? Sounds like a deal.

You're not getting blown up anytime soon are you?

That Gray M500 cost me $160 and it was field gun. I had the original 18" barrel off the black gun and so I sold the Barrel, Magazine Tube and Wooden Furniture for $150, and then bought the Gray Magpul stuff. I'm into that gun $110. The light floats between guns.Either one will take it.

Randy

[snacks]

i've used a p60 upgrade from customlites on all my 6p's and now my e2d's.

If you go the P60 led lamp upgrade i recommend an xml single output in their 6 volt setup. You can run 2 cr123's or a single 17670 if your into rechargeables.

Another option is if you decide to sell the forend, i would just get the magpul moe with an mlok light attachment of your choice and a g2x.

I've actually gone this route with my rifles. Haven't done it to my shotty yet. I sold my sf 870 forend many moons ago. It looks cool but didn't like how it handled.

[splithoof]

I've upgraded my Surefire dedicated 870 with a LED module, and it works perfectly. It has lasted thousands of rounds and to my mind is the best out there for durability.

[Thanatos2203]

I would get rid of it entirely and avoid similar designs or more recent models. I purchased a Surefire forend and sold it after a short while for these reasons.

1. Weight. It adds a lot of weight right near the muzzle which was causing a weird pinching pain in my elbow on my support side.

2. Profile. Big and bulky and sticks out from the lines of the gun making it more difficult to place in a scabbard or other storage.

3. Fitment. When I tightened down the forend nut on my 870 too much, the front edges of the Surefire forend would bend in and touch the magazine tube, causing friction when cycling. If I loosened the nut then the whole unit was loose.

4. Awkward. You are adding weight to a sliding portion of the gun, so you have even more mass that you are trying to shift back and forth at any given time. Slows things down and requires more effort.

The solution? CDM Gear mount with your flashlight of choice, using the tailcap switch for activation. I thought I was downgrading when I went this route but it was vastly superior in my opinion. Lighter, lower profile, and the light stays in a fixed position. Then do something like a Hogue or factory 870 forend. They are narrower and easier to grip than the Surefire or Magpul options.

[timbo399]

That CDM Gear mount above looks interesting. I got all excited until I read it won't fit my Mossberg 590A1.
But I have a Mossberg 500 may get it for.

As far as my 590A1, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to mount a light. I have an extra Surefire X300 laying around and just need to find the best rail add on/adaptor.

[floogy]

So you can sell it and pay for the gun ? Sounds like a deal.

You're not getting blown up anytime soon are you?

That Gray M500 cost me $160 and it was field gun. I had the original 18" barrel off the black gun and so I sold the Barrel, Magazine Tube and Wooden Furniture for $150, and then bought the Gray Magpul stuff. I'm into that gun $110. The light floats between guns.Either one will take it.

Randy

Not planning on it, but the durability is nice. I've already got a couple of the TLR1 so if I choose that route, I'm already set once I have a forend. I like to have a light for each gun that's used as a primary. But yeah, if the Surefire doesn't work for me then it's off to market to pay for the next one. But since it will be in my hands, I may as well see how it works.

i've used a p60 upgrade from customlites on all my 6p's and now my e2d's.

If you go the P60 led lamp upgrade i recommend an xml single output in their 6 volt setup. You can run 2 cr123's or a single 17670 if your into rechargeables.

Another option is if you decide to sell the forend, i would just get the magpul moe with an mlok light attachment of your choice and a g2x.

I've actually gone this route with my rifles. Haven't done it to my shotty yet. I sold my sf 870 forend many moons ago. It looks cool but didn't like how it handled.

I'l check it out. Thanks.

I've upgraded my Surefire dedicated 870 with a LED module, and it works perfectly. It has lasted thousands of rounds and to my mind is the best out there for durability.

Malkoff?

I would get rid of it entirely and avoid similar designs or more recent models. I purchased a Surefire forend and sold it after a short while for these reasons.

1. Weight. It adds a lot of weight right near the muzzle which was causing a weird pinching pain in my elbow on my support side.

2. Profile. Big and bulky and sticks out from the lines of the gun making it more difficult to place in a scabbard or other storage.

3. Fitment. When I tightened down the forend nut on my 870 too much, the front edges of the Surefire forend would bend in and touch the magazine tube, causing friction when cycling. If I loosened the nut then the whole unit was loose.

4. Awkward. You are adding weight to a sliding portion of the gun, so you have even more mass that you are trying to shift back and forth at any given time. Slows things down and requires more effort.

The solution? CDM Gear mount with your flashlight of choice, using the tailcap switch for activation. I thought I was downgrading when I went this route but it was vastly superior in my opinion. Lighter, lower profile, and the light stays in a fixed position. Then do something like a Hogue or factory 870 forend. They are narrower and easier to grip than the Surefire or Magpul options.

Thanks for the details. I have heard it's heavy. I do know the fairly new TL Racker is quite a bit lighter so it's an option. I currently have a fixed mount for my 500 as well as a tril rail forend. I've switched them to see which I like better. So pretty soon I'll have all 3 to evaluate.

I kind of like the Protac HLX for the "traditional" flashlight approach. It's got a tape switch option also. No separate mount required.

The weight is an issue though. If it's excessive it could be a hindrance, particularly if I take a class with it.


The current plan is to get things set up and start running drills with snap caps. Reloading, dry firing etc. How easy is it to turn on/off. Momentary activation is a must. So I'll test with a TLR 1 and the Surefire to see how it works.