BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

LaserMax LMS 1202 Remington Shotgun Laser/Light
By: Frank Borelli, 14 February 2005

Iron sights. Red dot "scopes". Holoscopes. Telescopes. Lights. Infra-red scopes. Thermal imaging system. Lasers. How many different attachments can you put on the end of a weapon? Sure, every mission might demand a different capability, but any time you can combine functionality into a single unit you've increased your versatility while minimizing the additional load. LaserMax - well known for their internal laser aiming device in pistols - has introduced a light and laser module for Remington shotguns.

Combining a light with a laser isn't a particularly new idea. Other manufacturers have done it with pistol-mounted lights. Given LaserMax's unique installation with pistol lasers - the fact that the unit is entirely internal - it's (currently) impossible to include a usable light with the laser. However, when LaserMax set out to create a laser aiming device for a shotgun, including a light unit was pretty easy.

I originally recieved a prototype light/laser unit for my Remington 870, but hadn't gotten around to testing it yet when LaserMax sent me a production model (and asked for their prototype back). I hadn't picked out a specific time frame for testing the unit, but found myself throwing it into my truck with everything else a couple weeks back on range day. Mind you, I threw in the box that held the unit - I hadn't even mounted it on my shotgun yet. In went my shotgun and the can full of 2.75" 00 rounds. It was going to be (primarily) a fun day at the range, filled with 9mm and .45ACP plinking... and some tesing of the LMS-1202 as things worked out.

While my shooting partner set up targets (almost falling a couple times on the ice), I pulled out my shotgun and the LMS-1202 box. At that point I hoped I didn't need any more tools than were normally in my range kit and as it turned out, everything I needed to mount the unit came with the unit. To mount the unit on my shotgun all I had to do (after making sure the shotgun was unloaded, empty and safe) was remove my forward sling swivel and then slide the LMS-1202 onto the end of the weapon. Once in place where I wanted it, I used the provided allen wrench to tighten the three screws down. LaserMax had also provided me a remote switch for the unit, and it came with the necessary swab to clean whatever surface you decide to mount it on.

Now my shotgun is already fitted with a light-incorporated fore end, so I wanted to make sure I put the remote switch for the LaserMax LMS-1202 away from the touch pressure switch on the other light. What I ended up with was the switch for the light/laser unit under my thumb, while the fore end light switch was under my finger tips: one on the left side, the other on the right.

I should mention that the LMS-1202 can be used easily without the remote switch. On the left side of the unit, behind the light portion, there is a red button. Push it in and the light and laser are activated. Push it again and it's released, turning both off. Once you plug in the remote switch - which attaches via a coiled cord - the light and laser both come on when you push the pressure switch, and turn off when you release it. Simple enough.

The LMS-1202 has an adjustable laser aiming device that you can change the windage and elevation on with the (other) provided allen wrench. To find out where it was hitting as it came from the factory, I loaded up four rounds of double-ought and headed down to the twenty-five yard line. Hearing the words of my academy instructors in my head (as I do everytime I take a shotgun on the line), I aimed for the belly-button of the B27s we were shooting. It was a bright morning and there was plenty of glare coming off the black surface of the target. It took only a moment to find the dot though, and once found it was easy to track. Given the recoil of an 870, that red-dot-on-the-belly-button resulted in nine holes (and an impact mark from the wad) centered on the chest of the target. Work the action, aim, fire; repeat. I didn't think to take slugs with me or I would have tested the laser aiming device for accuracy more finely. As it was, I didn't see where the system needed adjustment. The red dot sat right on the top of my front sight as I used the fixed sights of the shotgun to aim at the target. Proper sight alignment... proper sight picture... both involved that red dot on top of the front sight wherever I aimed on my cardboard bad guy.

Moving up to the fifteen yard line the red dot just became that much easier to see. The shot groups were a little tighter (as usual). Moving up to the seven the red dot was a nice thing to see as we fired from the hip. It served as a nice visual confirmation of our skeletal alignment as we pointed the shotgun and touched off each round. At that point I had to ask myself, "what about the light?"

The light is an LED that runs off of two CR123 lithium batteries - standard in the industry. The promotional materials say that the light puts off 60 lumens of light which is more than enough for use at night or in low-light conditions for navigation, close-quarters searching, etc. Because the light uses an LED, which is much more durable than filament bulbs, the chances of the shotgun recoil breaking the light are next to nil. The other side of that is unless you're pretty close to your opponent, you're not going to blind him with this light. Bear in mind, that wasn't the intention of LaserMax. This light is intended to provide enough illumination for you to identify a target and align the red dot during conflict situations. In close quarters under low-light conditions, that 60 lumens is sufficient.

So, the promotional material says that the unit is easily installed by the user. True Statement. Installation was very easy and took me all of about two minutes. Applying the remote pressure switch actually took me more time than mounting the light/laser unit itself. The unit is housed in a hard anodized mil-spec aluminum body which puts up with a fair amount of abuse. To mount the LMS-1202 on your shotgun you do need to have a magazine extension tube and your barrel has to be 18" or longer.

To me, whenever I test something at the range, how I feel about it (subjectively) is best displayed by what I do with it after I'm finished shooting. In this case... well, that LMS-1202 is still on my 870 in my gun safe. It's not heavy; I like that remote pressure switch and LED light; it doesn't interfere with the fore end I already had on the weapon; and that red dot sure can prove to be a psychological intimidator. I can put my shotgun into the lock in my agency's patrol vehicles without any issues. All in all, a very useful addition - and one that, at least for me, is here to stay.

For more information about LaserMax products, check them out online.

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