Shotgun velcro sidesaddles?

[Odin21]

I have looked all over this site without any luck and searched several different ways, but if this has already been addressed I apologize. If you could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Has anyone worked with a velcro sidesaddle on a shotgun? Remington says that it ships the MCS 870 with a velcro side saddle, S.O. Tech and SKD seem to be making them, along with Vang Comp. I am a medic deploying with a shotgun (not my choice) and I am looking at the best way to carry extra ammo. The removable sidesaddles seem like an amazing idea, but I am worried about how well they hold up, how well the velcro stays attached, how does the elastic hold up under recoil, etc. I have reservations about velcro in general, but I know some of the medic bags and removable IFAKs use velcro a lot. I have not had any issues with my M9 aidbag pouches coming out when I did not want them to, but those are on the inside of a pack that is closed almost all the time and they are not constantly being rubbed against stuff. If anyone has any better ideas on how to carry extra shotgun ammo please feel free to chime in. The thing that has me the most attracted to the velco idea is that I can put the extra "strips" in issued double mag pouches and also be able to swap out the whole sidesaddle if I needed to get more ammo on board. I checked with my unit and they are cool with me doing whatever to the Mossberg 500s, so if anyone has any suggestions in that vein please feel free to respond to that as well or send me a PM. Thank you so much for your help.

http://www.skdtac.com/Esstac-Shotgun-Card-p/ess.106.htm

http://www.cobratactical.com/SOTech-...ST_p_4341.html

http://www.shop.vangcomp.net/product.sc?productId=45

[The Reaper]

I would go with a hard Sidesaddle, and put the loose ammo in a Claymore bag. Could use a dump pouch if you had to.

The stock mounted units are okay, but require more movement to reload.

I would get a similar gun with several boxes of cheap ammo and go practice shooting while reloading.

Don't wait till you are empty to top it off. Reload while under cover, and make sure you are topped off before moving.

TR

[Mauser98]

I vote no to the dump pouch. I hate fumbling for shells or making a shick shick noise when I run. I say no to side saddles and yay to butt cuffs. Side saddles interfere a bit with my peripheral. Esp. since peripheral is most important for sensing motion. Depending on where the thing is mounted it can interfere with the often sticky tang mounted safety. (esp. if a lefty)

Esp. relevant as a righty but also applicable to lefties is:
Under stress when doing a speed or combat reload it's easier just to slide the shell forward and under in one motion and tracking a clear visual path to the mag or port instead of having to switch over your hand to the other side of the receiver to shove it in the port for a combat reload or even worse, tilt the gun on it's side etc like with a side saddle. With a butt cuff you can start with the shell on the right side of the gun and use your support hand to keep the weapon on target (easier than trying to hold it from inside the trigger hand) while your trigger hand (probably your more skilled hand) does the reloading. If you need a demonstration I have a 590 I can show you with.

But when I reload, no one's life hangs in the balance so feel free to errr call the shots on this one (pun fully intended)


So yeah, just some velcro on the right side (if you are a righty) side of the stock should do just fine. Or if you are looking for something more secure, a neoprene butt cuff or similar. And then some on the shotgun cards. You have more options that way.

BTW: out of my own personal interest, do you get slugs I take it you are a Navy Corpsman unless this is a recent thing for the 68Ws

[fasteddie565]

Magpul dynamics (i.e. Chris Costa / Travis Haley) have a good instructional video on shotgun manipulation, reloads, slug changeovers and the like. While I personally think the Velcro is OK, tactically, its noisy and you run the risk of dumping the rounds out of the Side Saddle on your belt. I will have to buy one and try it before passing final judgement.

TR speaks the truth, if you ain't shooting it, you're loading it.

[Mauser98]

Link removed

[BOfH]

Originally Posted by Mauser98

hxxp://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6377396/Magpul...

IMHO: I would advise that you do not post links to copyrighted material(s) that is/are otherwise unavailable on the publishers site. Aside from the moral and ethical issues, the posted links could implicate PS.com is some otherwise unsavory business.

My .0002

[Papa Zero Three]

There are several velcro side saddle 12 ga caddies out there and they are not all created equal, most are crap. I am only aware of 2 out there that are what I would consider recommending and what I've use/used. The first is made by a company that makes gear for competitive shotgun/3 gun events. The name eludes me at the moment but if I can recall/find it I'll post it.

What I highly recommend is SOE's 12ga micro rig, it holds shotgun shells but can also hold M4 magazines if you don't need shotgun shells for a specific load out. If the rig itself is more than you want, they also sell 12ga shotshell pull out trays/pouches that can be used in your typical magazine pouch or in one they make that allows for one in the pouch and one on the outside. This gives you the ability to carry 24ea 12ga shotgun shells in the space two M4 mag pouches occupies. The flexibility of the shell cards is that is allows you to carry one on the side of the shotgun if you want and once its empty you can peel it off and put another one on off of your kit so you always have something on the gun. Check out both products here.

12ga micro rig
12ga pull out trays


The great thing about SOE is if what you see doesn't fit your bill, they will modify /make the item you need.


Edit: the link to the first caddy I mentioned is made by 3gungear.com the peel off version can be found HERE

[fasteddie565]

Originally Posted by Mauser98

Here's the vid. It's not something you want to waste more than an hour of your time with however. Ooh, let's show people some common sense stuff and charge $30 for it
http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/63773...ynamic_Shotgun

Most consulting is merely a collection of common sense packaged into a set of useable tools. That and actually being taught to do something effectively and having the time and opportunity to learn to do it, as opposed to being a youtube commando.

The thing I liked the most was the slug changeover.

Ditto on the pirated sites.

No, I didn't download the link, I bought the disks.

[Odin21]

Originally Posted by Mauser98

BTW: out of my own personal interest, do you get slugs I take it you are a Navy Corpsman unless this is a recent thing for the 68Ws

I am a 68W in an MP unit. MTOE has me down as only getting an M9, but I was taught repeatedly in all the medical courses I have taken and in Iraq that the best battlefield medicine is fire superiority. I am not by any means as experienced or as good as many of the members of the board here, but I do not see how to "gain and maintain fire superiority" with a pistol. Sure, not having a rifle to worry about would make patient care easier, but I do not understand the Army logic of issuing me a rifle when I was in a clinic unit and then giving me a pistol when I am going to be out on the road more. In short, the compromise with my unit was that even though they could not give me an M4 I could at least have a shotgun. It is not a great compromise, but it is what it is.

For the rest of you, thank you for your time and input. You guys have given me a lot to think about. I need to replace my TacStar sidesaddle on my personal home defense shotgun, so I think that I am going to try a velcro sidesaddle on it and use it/abuse it to see how it handles in addition to trying some of the other methods. I have a while before we leave, so I will let you guys know how it goes and anything that I learn from comparison along the way. Thank you again.