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I like options. They make me feel better. In this case, I’m referring to home defense options. There’s been a lot of ink spilled (yes, I know they’re photons now) about the “best home defense” gun. I may throw a few photons around on this subject later, myself. (Update: I did.)
For now, though, I’ll just say that everyone has to come up with their answer on that. I’ll also say that the answer could be different based on the situation you’re in. I don’t have one answer; I have several.
One of my options is a Mossberg 500.
Table of Contents
Why the Mossberg
For my money, either the Mossberg 88/500 family or the Remington 870 family are two sides of the same coin. They’ve both been around forever, they’re proven, reliable, and available in multiple, useful calibers. Mine is 12 gauge. They also come with swappable barrels, meaning you don’t need multiple shotguns.
As for why I bought the Mossberg over the Remington, it was the Time of COVID, and scarcity ruled over the land. Nothing was available new. I saw a local pawn shop that had a 500 with a 20″ barrel, full mag tube, and synthetic stock for a reasonable price. I called, it was still there, and I made it before they closed.
As is, the Mossberg I bought is excellent for home defense. Still, there’s almost always some room for improvement, yes?
Enter the TL-Racker light
As I’ve said many times, modern flashlight technology amazes me. For me, a light on your home defense gun is probably the most important upgrade. Everything I have that may be used for home defense has a light on it.
Naturally, the first thing I looked for to upgrade the 12 gauge was a light. I found several different mounts that would take a standard light and actually bought one. Then I stumbled on the TL-Racker and found The Answer.
Rather than hanging something else off the gun, you just replace the fore stock. The light is built in. Nothing else on the gun, just a bulkier forward grip.
The light end of the TL-Racker. Note spare barrel in the background.
How it works
See the long bar with the word Streamlight on it? That’s the activation switch. There’s another just like it on the other side. Hit the switch and release, and it’s on. Press and hold is a soft on; it turns off when you release.
It takes two non-rechargeable C123A batteries. They are changeable while the fore stock is attached to the gun. In the above picture it’s the knurled knob under the TL-RACKER word. The picture below shows from the end. You can use a large screwdriver, if you wish.
There are instructions in the manual for changing from the standard stock to this one but it’s pretty straightforward.
- Remove the barrel.
- Unscrew the retaining ring from the front of the original fore stock (can be a little tricky; my AR15 armorer’s wrench was helpful.)
- Take the original stock off.
- Put the TL-Racker on.
- Screw the retaining ring back on.
- Put the barrel back in.
How much light it puts out.
The specs list it at 1000 lumens. I went out into the desert early one morning and took a couple pictures.
The “target” of that beam is about 15 yards out. Since my whole house struggles to give me a 10 yard distance, I’m pretty confident this will do the job for me.
Finally, I took a few shots on a cloudy day. The pictures I took went sideways but the gist is, the center of the buckshot pattern was about three inches higher than the center of the beam at 10 yards. It was centered left to right.
I’m perfectly content with that level of accuracy.
Conclusion
I’m really happy with this purchase. It wasn’t exactly the cheapest option I found but I couldn’t resist the elegance of this solution. Minimal bulk and weight increase for a major jump in capability.
They come in several colors, and for both the Mossberg and Remington families. One model has a strap on it; that wasn’t available when I got mine but I’d probably get it now. Link below to purchase one at Amazon.
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