Anyone have experience with the Streamlight TL-Racker?  Seems like a decent way to add a light to a bump in the night shotgun.

Love mine

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Mine has worked well on my 20 gauge tac-14.  I've found it to be more comfortable for me than other integrated light/forends I've tried.

Helped put one on my Brother in Laws' Rem 870.  Pretty easy install and a bright light.

A quality and less expensive alternative to a Surefire (which I have on my own Rem 870).  It's a little smaller, less bulky.

Just installed one on a new M590. So far so good.

Double tap

Any problems activating light during normal daytime shooting?

I was thinking about one myself and have come across reviews from police officers saying their department issues them and they don’t have any issues with them

They are a very bright and effective forend light at an attractive price point. With that said, there are a few things that I don’t like about them.

I find them to be “odd” looking, and believe that they lack the refined appearance of a Surefire forend light. In spite of this, they handle well and feel and function relatively normally in your hand.

I don’t like that they are constructed from two separate “halves”, which are held together by phillips screws. It gives the forend a look of cheapness, although they do seem to be rigid enough in use. By contrast, a Surefire forend light body is formed as a single piece, just like a factory Remington 870 forend.

The TL Racker lacks an “alignment post”, which is a feature that prevents unwanted axial rotation of the forend. The only thing that prevents the TL Racker from rotating quite a few degrees around your shotgun’s magazine tube is the torque that you applied to the forend nut. There is a sizable internal gap between the TL Racker and the sides of your 870’s action bars, so the lack of a tight fit there won’t prevent forend rotation either. The factory Remington 870 synthetic forend has this “alignment post”, which engages a notch in the forend slide assembly, between the action bars. Even if the factory forend isn’t reefed down, or if it becomes somewhat loose, it won’t rotate.

The contact surface on the TL Racker which the forend nut bears against is flat, while the corresponding surface on both the forend nut and the factory Remington 870 forend is angled. A forend nut with an angled surface, tightened against the TL Racker’s flat surface will not have ideal surface contact, and may be subject to loosening from use. Due to this poor surface contact, you might want to put some blue Loctite on the forend nut when using a TL Racker.

Some people have complained about the switch pads, because they make an audible “click” sound when they are pressed. This may or may not be a “real world” issue. The blinding, 1,000 lumen light which immediately follows that “click” will be a lot more of an attention-getter, to be sure.

Some people have boogered up the notch in the (plastic) battery cap when they tightened it down with a tool, which seems like user error to me. I tightened my battery cap with my fingers, which works fine for me.

The TL Racker is a good option for those looking to affordability add a light to their Remington or Mossberg shotgun. They aren’t perfect, but they get the job done. They have earned a credible track record with law enforcement, so they’re obviously “tough enough”.

I will agree with the sentiments stated about the over tightening can cause alignment issues.  

I had to do some extra work with my Brother in Law to get the alignment 100% so install maybe considered a 2 person job (or require a vise).

But the extra install was worth the install.

@AeroEngineer

The 850 lumen model is on sale for 80 dollars at primary arms. For that price I gave it a whirl.  On its way now



Remington

Mossberg 590/500

Shockwave

Have one on my 870.
It's chunky.
Seems to work as advertised & the best price for a known name.
Overall it's cool in my book.

I bought one last weekend and it shipped Monday.  Installed it Thursday.  

Installation was easy- peasey.  Functions as intended and I'm looking forward to taking it out someday.  Sooner than later l hope, but its now mud season here so....

I'm pleased with the purchase so far.

I agree.  I’ll be taking mine out Tuesday to put it through some paces

I’ve got the 1,000 lumen version on my 870 and have been pleased.  The buttons are intuitive and large enough to easily activate and it’s plenty bright and has good throw.

I was all about the racker till I got some rounds in on it was slightly disappointed in that it worked itself loose and the two half construction does lend itself to over torque as the halfs tend to flex. I think some locktight would be in order to remedy that problem and a check after a work out to make sure everything is tight is in order. The construction of the "Racker" is not as soild as any Surefire. My racker worked itself loose during sight in and a qual, less than 10 rounds of slugs and 10 buck. The system is not as refined as kthe Surefire but in some cases its about 25 to 30% the retail cost of a Surefire. Kinda like the soviet axiom "quantity has a quality' all its own. The old Surefires were like running around with a damn pitchfork and would catch on everything, steering wheels, seat belts, printer cables, radio mike cables, PA mike cables, phone chargers, posion ivy, grape vines, telephone guys wires, and the classic laundry line in the back yard if it was dark and a line or cable was within two feet a surefire forend light would find it. The racker looks retarded and completely unsexy but is super bright and very functional. If you pay attention to your gear it should serve you well. I've got four surefires various gens and 2 rackers in use. I keep a "racker" on my current work gun very powerful light, simple switchology, snag free design and it will remain in place and functional for any reasonably foreseeable engagement.