How do you store ready ammo for your shotgun?

I think I want to use a Velcro ammo card on the receiver cause you can take it off when storing the gun in a safe.....vs a plastic or aluminum side saddle...

When I was in the CG we used a Blackhawk brand pouch that attached to the belt and dropped down and had a flap that held ten rounds of 00buck and ten more of slug.....I have not been able to find another ammo pouch like it since I got out...but I think a side saddle in Velcro might just fit the bill.

I’ve revised my home defense thinking against the AR15 based on:
1. The 12 ga has less distance-we live in a city again

2. The idea that one round of 12 ga is more of a one shot stopper vs the 223-it will be harder to defend shooting some three or four times with a 223 vs once with a load of #4 buck

I use the tried and true elastic butt stock carrier. I secure it with the sling swivel. That makes it easy to swap out between my shotguns. The SpeedFeed stock is another option.
And... AR Vs Shotgun home defense debate in 3...
2... 1!

I wanted a RDS and additional ammo storage for my M4, so I installed an 8 shot Mesa Tactical shell holder/1913 receiver rail.

I like the Mesa side saddles.

The Esstac Velcro cards are inexpensive, flexible, and a decent option, especially if you're one of those guys that wants to lug around a chest rig full of shotgun shell cards. But it's recommended that you remove the adhesive Velcro patch from the receiver periodically, especially if it gets wet, to prevent rust from forming underneath.

(Also a possibility with a hard side saddle, but less likely, and easier to keep oiled/greased underneath.)

Also, elastic cards/buttstock sleeves will eventually wear out with use and have to be replaced. The Mesa side saddles have strips of surgical tubing that will also eventually wear out, but it's cheap and easy to replace the tubing without having to replace the whole thing.

It's a very well thought out design, like all of Mesa's stuff.

If you have an 870, Brownells carries the Vang Comp mounting pannel.

https://www.brownells.com/shoo...&utm_campaign=Itwine

I use the EssTac shell holders. They fit in an M16 ammo pouch so no need to buy new TA50.

https://www.skdtac.com/Esstac-...n-Card-p/ess.106.htm

I like the side saddle shell holders.

I have one of those one sized fits all elastic shell holders that go on the stock. I think I got it from Walmart.

I was about to suggest a SpeedFeed stock but it looks like they're no longer available.


https://www.brownells.com/shot...stock-prod12702.aspx

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
I was about to suggest a SpeedFeed stock but it looks like they're no longer available.


https://www.brownells.com/shot...stock-prod12702.aspx

That’s surprising and disappointing. I was going to suggest a Davis Speedfeed also. I checked their site and it looks like they’re only offering super-adjustable carbon fiber competition stocks priced $200-$450, and some ugly-ass S&W revolver grips. They went the way of USFA, looks like.

When I put together an 870 for home defense, I went back and forth on a side saddle or a Velcro shotshell card setup. In the end, I went with neither and got a buttstock shell holder. Specifically, one of these:
https://www.spectergear.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=239

It worked great, fit nice and snug, and it gave me a sling attachment point that I liked better than the traditional swivels on the bottom of the stock.

Had I stuck with a shotgun for HD, I likely would’ve eventually added a side saddle as well just for giggles. Adding bulky width to the gun makes it more of a pain to get in and out of a cluttered safe, but for that downside, I’d rather have something more permanent on the gun.

I have a combination of Esstac cards, Mesa Tactical side saddles, and Aridus side saddles on my guns. For hard use, I like the Aridus stuff. It's very solid and the swappable carriers are nice. My work Benelli and an 870 at home have the Aridus carrier. The Mesa side saddles are good, but the elastomer strip that retains the rounds can get weak. You're supposed to take it out periodically and rotate it. We have the newer, polymer Mesas on our department 870s and they have been good. The Esstac (and other) Velcro cards are nice and lightweight and obviously very cheap, but in dirty environments the Velcro can wear out. The elastic also stretches out over time. The low cost offsets that though. The only thing I would avoid is cheap plastic like TacStar.

I'm a Side Saddle fan and have one on my 870 Marine Magnum.

The Aridus rig looks nice. But it should at $155.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
The Aridus rig looks nice. But it should at $155.

For that kind of dough it should load itself.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
How do you store ready ammo for your shotgun?

I think I want to use a Velcro ammo card on the receiver cause you can take it off when storing the gun in a safe.....vs a plastic or aluminum side saddle...

When I was in the CG we used a Blackhawk brand pouch that attached to the belt and dropped down and had a flap that held ten rounds of 00buck and ten more of slug.....I have not been able to find another ammo pouch like it since I got out...but I think a side saddle in Velcro might just fit the bill.

I’ve revised my home defense thinking against the AR15 based on:
1. The 12 ga has less distance-we live in a city again

2. The idea that one round of 12 ga is more of a one shot stopper vs the 223-it will be harder to defend shooting some three or four times with a 223 vs once with a load of #4 buck

What kind of shotgun are you using?


You could store 5-8 more rounds on the side of the gun or you could add an extension tube from Nordic components and just store those extra rounds in the tube, ready to go.

My Benelli M2 holds 12+1. A bit absurd for a HD gun, but a 9 round tube would be flush with the barrel. With a shorter barrel you can usually get 8 in the tube and if the tube sticks out an inch or two beyond the muzzle it is of no consequence.

If using an 870 I like the Mesa. If using a shotgun with an aluminum receiver then go with the Velcro cards as you won't end up torquing down to hard on an aluminum receiver then with receiver screws then come with.

Can also add one of the two shell holders forwards of the extra room port depending on what shotgun you're using.

I had side saddles on my home defense shotguns. I took them off because if I can't solve a problem with 6 or 7 rounds of 00, a reload ain't gonna help me. I used to use them when I shot three-gun. Had them on a 870, a 1187, and a 590A1

I have 7-round Esstac cards for my Benelli M1 with extended tube. When legal for whatever competition, I'll use them for reloads with a spare in an M4 mag pouch on my belt to give me over 20 rounds with a loaded gun and 1 thing on my belt. I haven't gone for a dedicated shell carrier system yet. If not legal I'm stuffing pockets still.

I can also use it to store a stage worth of shells for sporting clays. Sometimes shooting in the summer in just shorts and a shirt and it's easier than stuffing my pockets or carrying a box of ammo. A hard carrier would probably work better for this.

quote:

What kind of shotgun are you using

Mossberg Maverick 88...it’s a cheaper copy of the Mossberg 500....it holds 5 rounds already....I have an elastic buttstock shell holder on it, but they shift around...

I liked and was trained for the left sided pouches on my left leg in a drop leg pouch...but I want to shift to the left side of the receiver for a few extra rounds.

I was looking at the Velcro cards because you can take them off when putting into the safe.


I will be leaving the shotgun out for home defense, due to use living in the city now and not wanting to send rounds their way from my home...and the likelihood of that is slim and none ...but I’m just thinking.

I use bandoleer slings on all my fighting shotguns. There is enough storage on the sling to provide a mix of ammunition options.

quote:

I have an elastic buttstock shell holder on it, but they shift around...

For what it’s worth, the product I linked above solves that problem. I even doubled down on it a bit and wedged a few small strips of bicycle tire inner tube between the straps and the stock at the cicnch pints and it never shifted around.