Mounting lights to shotguns can be tough, especially pump-action shotguns. You are trying to find a way to balance control with light capability and likely find it tough to do so. Recently I posted a review of my Mossberg 500 Retrograde and got a few questions about the light mounted to the end of the magazine tube. The light is a Steiner Mk7 battle light and, unfortunately, has been discontinued. The good news is that they are easy to find on second-hand websites and seem to be priced to move.
The Steiner Mk7 comes in various configurations, including the Remington 870, the Mossberg 500 (NOT 590), the Beretta 1301, and the Benelli M4/Nova series shotguns. They replace the endcap of the magazine tube and turn it into a place to mount a light. It’s a simple solution to an often painful problem.
Specifications
Length – 3.5 inches
Weight – 4.1 ounces
Battery – CR123
Battery Life – 1 Hour
Lumens – 350 Lumens
The Mk7 is a small but rugged light that can be submerged to 3 meters in water. It’s an unusual design that allows you to easily wield a weapon light without the need for any type of special mount or rail. The controls are two buttons that provide an ambidextrous location to access the light and fire it off.
Benefits of the Mk7
The Steiner Mk7 provides numerous benefits to its design. With the right combination of barrel and tube length, the Mk7 completely eliminates barrel shadow. Popular pump-action lights like the TL Racker and Surefire DSF are humbled by the presence of barrel shadow.
Second, unlike pump-mounted lights, the Mk7 stays pointed constantly in one direction. With a pump-mounted light, the light reciprocates when the action works and functions. The Steiner Mk7 allows you to maintain perfect situation awareness as you work the action and prepare for a follow-up shot.
SEE ALSO:
Olight Odin: The 2,000 Lumen Weapon Light – Review(Opens in a new browser tab)
As mentioned, you don’t need a light mounted to your magazine tube to utilize this light. A lot of those mounts work well but add anywhere from 45 to 100 dollars extra to your light setup. It just replaces the endcap and boom; now you have a light.
It’s important to remember is that the light itself isn’t your endcap. Steiner provides an endcap that is then threaded to accept the Mk7. This design choice allows you to dismount the Mk7 and use it as a handheld light while keeping your shotgun ready.
Plus, at only 4.1 ounces, the Mk7 is super lightweight and doesn’t make the weapon off-balanced. It keeps the gun easy to point and easy swinging.
Downsides to the Mk7
The Steiner Mk7 does have a few downsides. The biggest is ergonomics. You have to reach forward of the pump to activate the light. When doing so, you lose your grip on the pump. An Mk7 would benefit greatly from a pressure switch with a coiled cord that could attach to the pump action.
Additionally, there is no momentary mode for the Mk7. It’s on or off, and that’s it. Also, 350 lumens isn’t a ton of power. My pistol light is half the size but packs 1,000 lumens. I’d like to see more power, as well as published candela ratings. Steiner doesn’t seem to publish their candela for any light, and that’s a silly stance in 2021. A one-hour run time on a single CR123 isn’t terrible power, but it’s not impressive either. I don’t see why it can’t last longer with the limited lumens it’s blasting forth.
With a short-barreled shotgun, the Mk7 is also going to add a few more inches to your made-to-be short gun. These work best for standard 18-inch barreled shotguns. Barrel shadow can pop up when you use a long barrel, like a sporting shotgun.
Going Outdoors
Steiner might not publish the Mk7’s candela, but I would bet it was rather high. The Mk7’s range is impressive, especially for a 350 lumen light. Thirty-five yards is a fairly reasonable range for most shotguns, especially those tactical scatterguns. At 35 yards, I can easily establish PID on a threat. Seeing an IPSC target isn’t an issue by any means.
At 35 yards, I can see and hit that target with the right buckshot or a healthy 1-ounce slug. Being able to see these targets is great when it’s perfectly dark, but you’ll find issues when other light creeps in or when barriers show up. I’m talking about photonic barriers. These barriers can be another light source, fog, smoke, etc., and will prohibit the light from illuminating a potential threat.
The relatively low power of the light makes it tough to cut through these barriers. Even with the somewhat decent candela, it doesn’t outperform the lights for shotguns from Surefire and Streamlight. These barriers will provide substantial challenges which will keep the light from becoming a real proper duty light.
So What’s It Good For?
Well, inside a building, the Mk7 really shines, pun intended. That’s why I keep it on my Mossberg 500 Retrograde. It provides a bright and handy light for indoor use. It’s a clear beam that’s wide, with a beam more appropriate for shotgun use. The light is bright and wide and fills a room with powerful white light. Nothing can escape your peripheral vision when you are shining on with the Mk7.
For home defense, the light hits hard enough to very easily identify a threat. It’s a bright, cool beam that’s almost perfectly white in design. When mounted on a shotgun like the Mossberg 500 extends a hair beyond the barrel and eliminates barrel shadow. I’d fired hundreds of rounds with this configuration, and that little extra past the barrel hasn’t harmed the light.
The Mk7 wouldn’t be a great option for duty use, especially for police officers in urban environments with tons of photonic barriers around. However, inside the home, it’s a capable home defense light.
Shine On
Sadly the Mk7 has been discontinued. I wish Steiner would release a gen 2 model and provide more power to the system, as well as better control options. If someone did that, we’d have the best shotgun light on the market. Amp it up to 1,000 lumens and say 10 to 15K candela (or more) and add a pressure switch, and we’d have a tier-one option.
However, for now, you can often pick these lights up cheap on the aftermarket. I have one for my Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 and paid less than 50 for each. Watch eBay and Gunbroker, and they pop up every now and then. Let me know what you think about the Mk7 below.
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