A light is a critical tool for any home defense shotgun. Mesa Tactical’s new Truckee Forend for Mossberg 500 and 590 shotguns makes this add-on a cinch.
by Rob Reaser
If you don’t have a designated shotgun for home defense, you need one. If you have one but you haven’t fixed a light to it, you need to do that. That’s because most applications of a defensive shotgun are going to occur at night, and the ability to identify your threat (as opposed to a family member or a “friendly”) is paramount.
Unfortunately, most defensive shotguns do not come from the factory ready to accept a light.
Enter Mesa Tactical, the go-to manufacturer of defensive shotgun solutions for defense professionals and civilian personal defense practitioners.
Recognizing the need for a sleek, integrated solution for mounting tactical lights to shotguns, Mesa Tactical developed and launched the Truckee-series forends for defensive shotguns in 2019. The idea was to provide a simple mounting option for lights, lasers, and offset sling mounts for shotguns not-so-equipped from the factory.
The initial focus of the Truckee was Benelli’s battle-proven M4. Since then, Mesa Tactical has rolled out Truckee forends for the Benelli M1/M2, Beretta 1301, Remington 870, Remington TAC-13/V3, and Mossberg 940 and 990. The gaping hole in this lineup was a Truckee model built for the hugely popular Mossberg 500 and 590 shotguns. That hole has now been filled.
The Truckee forend for Mossberg’s pump-action series comes in four variations: 8.75, 10.25, and 11.75 inches plus a model designed for the 590 Shockwave that accommodates Mesa Tactical’s full-length rail. The kit includes the one-piece aluminum forend, glass-filled nylon endcaps, action slide spacer, and an action slide nut removal/installation tool.
Three rows of M-LOK slots are machined into the Truckee forend — one row each along the sides and bottom — allowing custom placement of your light or other accessories. As you can see from the function check demo above (with dummy rounds), the Truckee ensures unhampered operation of the shotgun while accommodating a light at your preferred location.
Installation of the Truckee forend onto the Mossberg pump shotgun is simple operation for the DIY-inclined shooter, requiring no additional tools other than a punch to remove the trigger assembly pin from the receiver.
Check out the video below for a walk-through of this easy upgrade.
