The 9 volt lamp module produces 125 lumens with the standard P90 lamp assembly, good for 60 minutes of run-time, or 225 lumens with the high-intensity P91 lamp assembly, offering 20 minutes of run-time.

The choice in lamp modules is easy to make, even in the sometimes confusing nomenclature of SureFire. If the model number starts with a 6, like in Model 618FA, then it's a 6 volt system; if it starts with a 9, like in Model 918FA, then it's a 9 volt.

Those are the standard factory model choices, available for Mossberg 550 and 590, Remington 870 and 1187, Winchester Defender and Benelli Super 90s. However, my favorite shotgun WeaponLight is a non-standard version that must be ordered separately, by components.

The best version of a shotgun WeaponLight, in my opinion, is to utilize the L90 lamp module. The L90 is part of the Millennium Series of WeaponLight designs that are the absolute latest from SureFire.

Utilizing the new Millennium Series lamp design called the "best lamps we've ever made, and are likely to ever make" by one of the senior engineers the L90 is a 9 volt system that offers a standard and a high-intensity Millennium lamp in either 125 or 225 lumens, using the MN10 and MN11 lamp assemblies respectively. An L90 comes with both lamps, by the way.

Additionally, the L90 boasts a slightly larger diameter reflector than either of the standard models. A larger reflector focuses the center spot of light more intensely than a small reflector. Translation - a noticeably brighter sweet spot to blind an adversary.

Also, the Millennium design of lamp is more robust for withstanding recoil since it fits more securely into its shock-isolation system than the standard spring-cushioned lamps.

All of which adds up to the optimum shotgun WeaponLight, with one drawback. The negative is either trivial or considerable depending on your priorities. The problem is simply this- the forend housing is black and the L90 is gray-green. The standard lamp modules, by contrast, are a nice, shiny, matching black.

The L90's finish is the natural color of a Type III Mil-Spec hard anodized finish on aluminum alloy. The pretty black finish of the standard modules is the result of Type II black anodizing with a bright dip finish. The L90's hard ano finish is much more durable and long lasting, even if it is gray-green.

Since the L90 version of a shotgun WeaponLight doesn't exist as a stock model, you have to order a plain housing (H18FA at $117 for a Remington 870) and the Millennium lamp assembly (L90 at $125). The retail price of this parts-built system, using a Remington 870 as an example, is $242. This compares to $210 for an off-the-rack 6-volt (model 618FA) and $225 for a 9-volt system (model 918FA).

After you add in the $24 for a recoil-proof 9-volt battery for the non-standard WeaponLight, you're looking at $266 versus $225 for a factory 9-volt model. Many operators think the extra $41 is more than offset by the increased performance of the Millennium Series lamp assembly and large 1.625" reflector of the L90-based system.

Either way you go, a SureFire dedicated forend WeaponLight for a tactical shotgun is the most practical way to maximize the fighting power of the combat smoothbore, the dreaded "barbaric" weapon of the trenches.

Cameron Hopkins was the editor-in-chief of American Handgunner, GUNS Magazine and Shooting Industry for 17 years before coming to SureFire. A respected expert on the firearms industry, he is the vice president of sales and marketing for SureFire.