[ral357]

A “el cheap o” laser or red dot on a shotgun intended for self defense........NEITHER. That’s like buying a floaty from dollar general and depending on it as your emergency floatation device on a ocean crossing. You need to be able to put your rounds on target with a system that functions reliably EVERY TIME. Forget the shorty shells unless you spend the time and money to remove any question of reliability.
IMHO Put a decent flashlight on your gun, load it with regular #4 buck and practice with that setup. A laser or a red dot can be a great addition to a SD shotgun but until you are willing to spend the money for a dependable unit don’t do it.

 

[BJK]

Forget the shorty shells unless you spend the time and money to remove any question of reliability.
IMHO Put a decent flashlight on your gun, load it with regular #4 buck and practice with that setup. A laser or a red dot can be a great addition to a SD shotgun but until you are willing to spend the money for a dependable unit don’t do it.

No argument with quality components when one is betting ones life. I made that argument myself. But short shells have qualities that "normal" length shells don't possess to the same degree. One of those is magazine capacity. The other requires one to put oneself into other folks shoes. When people are younger recoil isn't a problem. But as one ages many lose muscle mass that previously allowed for effective recoil management. That's made even worse due to the light weight of the KS7, the same quality that drew many of us to it. The short shells are inherently low recoil. So the attraction to them is substantial for those 2 reasons. But yes, they must work and be proven to work under the worst circumstances and not only when all the stars align. Just because they don't work 100% in my KS7 doesn't mean they won't work in another. Maybe the tolerances are such in another gun that they are 100% reliable. That wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[Liberty4Ever]

I have a Streamlight LED light and green laser combo on my Mossberg Shockwave. I mounted it just above the tang safety so the user interface is all right there together (even though I never use the safety). I like the laser light combo. I have options - light, laser or both. There is a lower price version from Olight (hate their marketing), Crimson Trace (love their stuff), and many cheap laser light combos. I'd avoid the cheap versions, and doubly so for home security where it really needs to work. Lithium batteries are also more reliable than alkaline.

 

[mtn_chef]

My two cents
put one of all of these on your gun and run it.
No equipment will make you a better shooter, more shooting makes you a better shooter.
Find what works for you and run a pile of ammo thru the gun to see if you can operate it, if it falls off, if it pulls your shot, if your hand whacks it painfully dumping a whole load out rapid fire style. The cheapo amazon stuff usually will not survive some hard range use or at least begin to show it’s short comings.

I have an affordable light set up on my house duty pump shotgun. It works and has managed to perform on that gun and I have the same set up on 2 rifles. The shotgun and other 2 rifles have all had more than 200 rnds thru them before I decided, “ok, this is good to go”

good luck and don’t forget the loctite

 

[126342]

My two cents
put one of all of these on your gun and run it.
No equipment will make you a better shooter, more shooting makes you a better shooter.
Find what works for you and run a pile of ammo thru the gun to see if you can operate it, if it falls off, if it pulls your shot, if your hand whacks it painfully dumping a whole load out rapid fire style. The cheapo amazon stuff usually will not survive some hard range use or at least begin to show it’s short comings.

I have an affordable light set up on my house duty pump shotgun. It works and has managed to perform on that gun and I have the same set up on 2 rifles. The shotgun and other 2 rifles have all had more than 200 rnds thru them before I decided, “ok, this is good to go”

good luck and don’t forget the loctite

Good advice for sure. For me there is a line. I am no snob. I pretty much run Romeo 5s on everything. That’s after punishing the crap out of one on a KSG25, shooting heavy loads and a lot of them. I wouldn’t waste time or money on a $70 Amazon special optic. That’s airsoft crap. If you can afford a decent gun you can afford $130 ( Bass pro had them on sale earlier this month for $99 ) for a decent optic.

 

[dfariswheel]

On the low end of electronic sights, possibly the best of them is the Bushnell TRS-25.
You can usually buy these on Amazon for $78 and free shipping.
With over 9,000 reviews, most of them are positive, including many from people using them on shotguns shooting slugs.

Down the page in the "Frequently bought together" area are inexpensive mounts that can work well.

Whether I'd use a low end sight, even a TRS-25 in a life and death situation or not is a personal decision.

 

[126342]

On the low end of electronic sights, possibly the best of them is the Bushnell TRS-25.
You can usually buy these on Amazon for $78 and free shipping.
With over 9,000 reviews, most of them are positive, including many from people using them on shotguns shooting slugs.

Down the page in the "Frequently bought together" area are inexpensive mounts that can work well.

Whether I'd use a low end sight, even a TRS-25 in a life and death situation or not is a personal decision.

I had reservations about the Romeo. Until I shot the crap out of them. Some guy did a torture video on YT too and those things can take some abuse. Even being shot ( as in he set it on a log and shot it with a 12 gauge ) didn’t stop it. It also worked while suspended in water and frozen. And let’s face it, life or death situations for all or at least most of us is not like life or death situations for a soldier in Afghanistan. Someone, possibly someone here, was saying they found them on a lot of insurgent’s rifles over in the sandy part of the world.

I’ve seen nothing but good reviews for the TRS-25. I almost bought one but I’m glad I went with the Romeos.

 

[Defendorr]

Sometimes one can get a decent piece of gear and not take out a mortgage by asking others as I did when I needed a light for my KS7 and didn't want to break the bank doing it. So far in testing it's holding up. But I still don't know if I like it since it doesn't have a tight hot spot for aiming with enough spill light for vision.

OK, 3 months later now, what's the verdict? And if you think it's decent, give us a make & model. We won't bash you for a plug, because you're being asked for it.

 

[BJK]

OK, 3 months later now, what's the verdict? And if you think it's decent, give us a make & model. We won't bash you for a plug, because you're being asked for it.

No problem. Sorry, I forgot about it. It held up fine but the hotspot wasn't tight enough for me and it had a forward clicky so I removed it and installed an out of production light with a tighter hot spot (bigger reflector bell) on it. I had the out of production light in my collection and initially rejected it because it needed a shim to fit my 1" rings.

The light I first had on it is a Sofirn P31 v 2.0. When I bought mine it came with a decent cell and a charger and wasn't much over $20. Last time I looked it was over $30 if memory serves. Yeah, I remembered correctly, $37. Maybe it can be found cheaper? IDK.

https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Flashlight-Features-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B07FKJDH93

The light I replaced it with has a maginally tighter hotspot but what really sets it apart is the reverse clicky. I REALLY(!) like that on a weapon light. I explain what that is in post #19 in this thread.

 

[Tobias331]

I use these

 

[Vegasgunhand]

As a long time law enforcement firearms instructor and member of a tactical team, I highly recommend a good light system for home defense. You have to be be able to clearly identify your target/threat before you can fire. A laser does not give you that ability. If you main focus with your shotgun is home defense, then train for distances that are relevant to the distances inside your home. If you live in a small apartment or home, then probably inside 7 to 10 yards would be your maximum expected engagement range. If you like in a larger home, adjust your distances accordingly.

I suggest a full length 2.75 inch round in the KS-7. I have seen too many cases where the mini shells are not as reliable. Some mini shells ballistically seem to be lacking the necessary energy to be reliable defensive rounds. In a home environment, realize that shotgun rounds are very penetrative. They can penetrate walls pretty easily. I suggest a low recoil round of either 00 buckshot or #4 buckshot. They are a good compromise between adequate ballistics and reduced penetration.

 

[Tnronin]

As a long time law enforcement firearms instructor and member of a tactical team, I highly recommend a good light system for home defense. You have to be be able to clearly identify your target/threat before you can fire. A laser does not give you that ability. If you main focus with your shotgun is home defense, then train for distances that are relevant to the distances inside your home. If you live in a small apartment or home, then probably inside 7 to 10 yards would be your maximum expected engagement range. If you like in a larger home, adjust your distances accordingly.

I suggest a full length 2.75 inch round in the KS-7. I have seen too many cases where the mini shells are not as reliable. Some mini shells ballistically seem to be lacking the necessary energy to be reliable defensive rounds. In a home environment, realize that shotgun rounds are very penetrative. They can penetrate walls pretty easily. I suggest a low recoil round of either 00 buckshot or #4 buckshot. They are a good compromise between adequate ballistics and reduced penetration.

This should be your take away from the thread. Don't get enchanted with all of the technology. A good flashlight will give you all you need for your aiming aid at night.

 

[leon]

Mount both...red dot and laser