A mounted light is vital for a home defense shotgun. You need a weapon mounted light—not a flashlight fashioned to your gun in some impractical kind of way. Using a shotgun for home defense you will definitely want to be set-up for dark encounters. Those criminal minded people (or threatening wildlife) tend to favor the nighttime to implement their bad deeds so you should be ready to make use of artificial lighting that works in unity with your weapon.

There is much research and development put into tactical lighting and you want to be knowledgeable about the benefits of the expertly developed illumination for firearms. The weapon mounted light (or at least the type you want to get) has a pressure switch, or paddle switch, that are quick and easy to operate. In tense situations you want to be able to turn on and off your light with the least amount of hassle. Although you’re able to see better in dark or poorly lit environments with your light on, you don’t want your target to know where you are all the time. Pressure pad type switches are triggered by pressure on and off the fore end of the gun. It may take a bit of practice to get used to the right pressure to use, but it won’t take long to able to subconsciously turn on and off your tactical light with ease.

Mounting the light happens in one of two ways: a mounting bracket manufactured for specific gun models is installed on the forward part of the magazine in which the light will mount onto; or a picatinny rail (remember that the Remington Versa Max Tactical shotgun came with this) can be permanently mounted on the magazine tube of the gun and a light can be mounted onto that (as well as many other accessories.) The picatinny rail has the added benefit of a quick release lever that facilitates the removal of the light, which can come in handy if you find you target is no longer a threat (or maybe wasn’t a real threat to begin with) and you can quickly have use of a light without aiming your weapon.