Great thoughts, thank you all. Tom

I notice some of you carry your spare ammo with the brass head down. I use to carry mine that way till I took tactical shotgun class in 01 and under the repeated recoil and movement the rounds were working themselves out of the side saddle. Ive carried head up ever since and I really cant notice any time difference in a tactical reload. I had a rigid side saddle (maybe Larue?) but a cpl guys were using the elastic and the split tube style and carrying head down and there spares actually hit the ground. just a thought. anyone else??

TacStar SideSaddle 6 round ammo carrier on my Mossy 500 Talo Watchdog 2 (18.5 cylinder tube) which also is fitted with a Hogue Over Molded 12" LOP stock.

I prefer No. 1 Buck as well.

Came with a flashlight and laser which have since been removed.



Traded an AMT 380 Backup II for the Mossy new.

[drift] Bald1, how do you like that stock? My factory one is a tad too long as I am not comfortable with my left hand on the pump...and I’m 6’ 2”.

I’ve been thinking I’d get some more purchase on the pump with a shorter stock, but don’t know if I might like the magpull or the hogue.

[/drift]

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
[drift] Bald1, how do you like that stock? My factory one is a tad too long as I am not comfortable with my left hand on the pump...and I’m 6’ 2”.

I’ve been thinking I’d get some more purchase on the pump with a shorter stock, but don’t know if I might like the magpull or the hogue.

[/drift]

Mike, After reading a number of sites and viewing videos that advocated a shorter stock along with a specific way to moderate the recoil, I popped for it. Now this was 8 years ago too. I like it as it also is easier to wield than the full factory stock inside a house.

Here's some links that should help:

This summarizes the recoil management which does require your left hand out front on the pump handle. Note my Mossy has a grip strap there which I also like.
https://youtu.be/7jncWh1BPzw
And the advantages of a shorter LOP stock (Hogue vs Magpul).
https://youtu.be/AxqVMq_erQw

For a steel frame shotgun, yes, side saddle carriers give the shooter the advantge of having spare ammunition in a firearm that in this day of the carbine has a very low capacity. Two things, however- first, and somewhat minor- as has been noted, five or six shotgun shells on one side of the receiver throws off the balance of the shotgun in an odd way. Not a big deal, really, but it does bother some shooters.

Secondly, and far more importantly- if you have an alloy frame shotgun, I would recommend against a side saddle carrier altogether. Long ago, I transitioned to the .223/5.56 carbine for home defense, but there was a time when I kept my much beloved and ultra-reliable Benelli M1 Super 90 for this purpose. I purchased a side sadlle carrier and mounted it on the receiver. I was astonished to find that once the mounting screws were tightened down, the bolt was binding when cycled. So, what was happening was that the sides of the receiver were being squeezed, and squeezed enough to inhibit free movement of the bolt. I'm not talking about tightening down the screws with all my might. I'm talking about this happening with the screws tight enough to keep the side saddle from moving ever so slightly when I wiggled it. Needless to say, I removed the side saddle immediately and it's been in my parts box ever since.

Perhaps this is a phenomenon limited only to the Benelli and perhaps even with the receiver being squeezed, it would be of no consequence in a pump shotgun, which, of course, does not have a rotating bolt like my Benelli, but were I you, I'd test such a setup thoroughly before trusting my life to it.

I've seen brass down shells work their way out under recoil, but it's been in match settings. Guys firing the gun empty, reloading from the belt (a couple times) before it happened. Far more shooting than you would likely do in any "real life" shooting scenario. I've also seen just about every other add on part fall off under those conditions. Several screw on side saddles, lights, lasers, red dots, mag tubes...

Been a long time since I had one, but my mossberg 500 wouldn't cycle properly until I loosened it, as Para said, and it broke off and fell on the floor shooting shortly after that. Maybe I installed it wrong but I'm done with em. I liked the utility of it, but if mine broke from recoil I can imagine 100 ways to hit it on something and it breaks too.

I've got one of those strap deals that holds 50 or something. I'd rather sling that baby up over my shoulder. Whoever I'm combating will see I'm all in here.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Velcro ammo card on the receiver. Can easily be removed for storage in the safe.

Planning on going this route myself.

Esstac seems to make a good solution for this.

I like their Kiwis

quote:

arcwelder

I say yes, correctly applied and test for reliability. I want the ability to engage at distance if it’s necessary. Of course this isn’t a patrol weapon. All that weight would get fatiguing.

Yes from me for some kind of extra ammo solution on board. Side saddle/butt cuff/speedfeed stock etc.

1-You will fight with the ammo you have. A few more rounds is better especially when easily carryable.

2-I like being able to keep some slugs handy.

I have never been bothered by the weight distribution.

As an aside I waiver back and forth between carbine and shotgun. Something about the “burst fire” effect of 9 separate wound channels really seems to overwhelm most folks hit buy it even more so then a round of .223. Realistically however the carbine is the better more rounded choice.

Better to have the extra shells and not need them than the reverse, I guess. Tube magazine shotguns are really slow to reload, however. More shotguns should be made with box magazines.

House shotgun is a Serbu Super Shorty, so a 4 round side saddle gives me two more reloads than "standard".
Of course I'll probably go to the 45acp AR pistol first....lots more ammo available there

No for me. My 590A1 holds 8+1. It’s already heavy enough.

I get the argument regarding you may need it so why not. But if 15 HP rounds out of my PPQ M2 and 8+1 out of my Versa Max Tactical aren't enough firepower, I'm not sure what is as I'm putting 81 00 Buck pellets down range plus the 15 HPs too. When I hunt, I don't use a shell vest typically either anymore. I put a handful of extra rounds in a pocket and load my shotgun to legal capacity. I can load as fast as I need out of my pocket and if I run out, especially for upland game, I didn't do my part. I imagine the same is true for a home invasion. You're not fending off a platoon of Russian Marines after all.

I gotta be honest, any argument against extra ammo involving "if XX number won't get it done, I've messed up" and "if I need more than that, I'm toast anyways" just make me roll my eyes. It's like the fella behind the gun counter open carrying a cocked and locked Gov't model 1911 loaded with a flush-fit and no reloads who actually told me "If I need more than the eight rounds of .45 hardball in it, I've already wasted a shot I should've eaten."

Come on.

Everything in all our lifetimes has been moving towards greater capacity for reasons.

Look, if a side saddle isn't appropriate for you, or you don't like it, and maybe if Esstac cards aren't your thing, and an elastic butt cuff feels perhaps too flimsy for you, then I have a proposal for you: The Specter Gear hook and loop buttstock shell holder complete with sling attachment point.

This is the first Amazon link I pulled, but, yeah, that's the one. I had one on an 870 for years and years, and it worked great. If I needed to tighten it up a bit, it was easily done, and I can't see wearing it out besides maybe the elastic in the shell holders somewhere down the road, but the holder itself will stay put. I wedged a few small strips of bicycle tire inner tube between the stock and the straps, and that sucker basically never moved after that. Yes, it throws the balance off. But at the cost of weight and bulk, you can add a side saddle and another reload and balance it. But when the weight is on the stock, it doesn't feel as unbalanced while shouldered as when it's on the receiver. At least to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Specter...ativeASIN=B0048KHZP6


Just makes me scratch my head a bit in an era when people are putting together AR's and slapping enough accessories on them to be damn near competing or besting a leather-slung Garand (maybe even with pick your era of bayonet mounted) in terms of weight for home defense, we have people advocating for HD shotguns with an extended tube and against a reload on the gun. It makes as much sense to me as saying "no, take the butt cuff off your M1 carbine, you don't need the extra two 15rd mags, because if you can't get it done with the 30 rounder that's in it, you're a goner anyways." Just never gonna wash for me. I can put rounds on target pretty well, but I'd always rather have more ammo than less. If it's on the gun, then I can just grab it and go.

My shockwave with a brace on it has a 5 round velcro placard that can easily be taken on and off. I don't mind the little extra weight for the advantage of having more ammo.

I use Esstac cards on my 870.

My 870 has a side saddle. My 590 does not. I just didn't like the way the side saddle felt on the 590. If I ever find the old elastic butt cuff I used to keep on my duty shotgun I'll probably put it on the 590 just to have some slugs handy.

I wish I'd kept the 590 side saddle. I'd like to put it on my Shockwave. It's a small, awkward, fairly impractical shotgun as it is. A little more weight won't hurt it.

I prefer a few extra boxes of 00 concealed in various parts of my home.