shell holder slings, functional or mall ninja?

Jayne

Jayne

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Going to be taking my first 'tactical' shotgun class in a LONG time next week and curious about shell carrying.

I've got a side saddle that I practice with, and my 'extra ammo' storage at the other class was what just amounts to a dump pouch. It's an old 30 cal ammo bag that has it's own sling. It's laying on top of the shotgun where it's staged so it takes nothing to slip over my head and now I've got 30 more shells. That said, it usually draws ire because "it's not on the gun and you can't fight with ammo if it's not on the gun!". Maybe that's not a thing anymore, who knows. I find it super easy to load from since that's where I load and store the empties when doing sporting clays with my O/U.

The slings that hold 20-ish shells which have been around forever but I've never seen in real life... are they usable or are they just a gimmick? Do they interfere with operation swinging around with all that weight or doesn't it matter? I'm not well versed in how to run a shotgun while the sling is attached.

Not the separate bandolier/belt style ones, because if I had time to put on a belt I could just grab my pouch, and not the soft cards you carry in pouches on a vest/belt because again... if there is no time to grab a sling bag there is no time to dress up in the LARP gear. The sling holder seems to be the only 'keep them on the gun' option besides the side saddle.
 
Shells on a sling are a gimmick. All of that weight swinging around is burdensome and detrimental to handling/aiming.

Not to mention that they're awkward to actually use. IF the loops are tight enough to hold the shells while you're running around, they're going to be a PIA to pull from when needed. And you'll likely need to unsling and use 2 hands to pick a shell from the sling when it's time to reload. 1 hand to pull the shell, the 2nd hand to hold the sling.

Even if you're not using 2 hands, you'll need to come off target to pull shells whereas with belt/chest mounted reloads you can - with practice - keep your gun up while reloading.

And, John Wick didn't use one, so....there ya go.
 
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Tim said:
Shells on a sling are a gimmick. All of that weight swinging around is burdensome and detrimental to handling/aiming.
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That was my thought as well, I don't even like the basic strap sling flopping around on there.

Do modern shotgun techniques (for pump guns) have you slung up when using them like a rifle?

Tim said:
And, John Wick didn't use one, so....there ya go.
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I probably should see that movie some day, it's apparently the standard by which all hollywood gun handling is learned in modern times.
 
Defiantly mall ninja gear. Like @Tim said, heavy, awkward, difficult to retrieve ammo, and the weight makes the sling move excessively making it difficult to stay on target. Leave them on the shelf for Tactical Timmy to purchase.
 
I do not like heavy slings on any long arm because they swing enough to disturb aiming. I have used slings on shotguns for over 60 years for carrying while duck and deer hunting. They have always been light and easily removable. Extra shells are carried on a belt, in a vest, or in a shoulder bag.
 
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Jayne said:
Going to be taking my first 'tactical' shotgun class in a LONG time next week and curious about shell carrying.

I've got a side saddle that I practice with, and my 'extra ammo' storage at the other class was what just amounts to a dump pouch. It's an old 30 cal ammo bag that has it's own sling. It's laying on top of the shotgun where it's staged so it takes nothing to slip over my head and now I've got 30 more shells. That said, it usually draws ire because "it's not on the gun and you can't fight with ammo if it's not on the gun!". Maybe that's not a thing anymore, who knows. I find it super easy to load from since that's where I load and store the empties when doing sporting clays with my O/U.

The slings that hold 20-ish shells which have been around forever but I've never seen in real life... are they usable or are they just a gimmick? Do they interfere with operation swinging around with all that weight or doesn't it matter? I'm not well versed in how to run a shotgun while the sling is attached.

Not the separate bandolier/belt style ones, because if I had time to put on a belt I could just grab my pouch, and not the soft cards you carry in pouches on a vest/belt because again... if there is no time to grab a sling bag there is no time to dress up in the LARP gear. The sling holder seems to be the only 'keep them on the gun' option besides the side saddle.
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A 12 ga with 6-8rounds in the tube and 4-6 on the side saddle is between 5 to 7 bad guys worth of ammo, if each one gets 2-shots each.

Thats alot of bad-dudes in a single situation for anyone.

John
 
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JBoyette said:
A 12 ga with 6-8rounds in the tube and 4-6 on the side saddle is between 5 to 7 bad guys worth of ammo, if each one gets 2-shots each.
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Mine is 5 in the tube and 6 on the side.

JBoyette said:
Thats alot of bad-dudes in a single situation for anyone.
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All of my non-bird shotgun activities have involved 4 legged or 0 legged creatures, they don't tend to put up much of a fight after the first hit.
 
Jayne said:
Mine is 5 in the tube and 6 on the side.
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Thats 11 rounds, so lets say 2-rounds per bad guy, thats 5. Still thats alot of bad dudes.

IF I was going to add more shells to my HD 12-gauge, I wil lgo with a stock pack slip over thing.

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Full tube and a side saddle (or a speed feed stock) is more than you're likely to use up with a shotgun.

Back in the old days of riot busters when law enforcement used shotguns extensively a full tube and a shirt pocket full was the heavy load out. The general consensus has historically been that practicing slinging the shotgun and transition to sidearm is better than a wheelbarrow full of shot shells.
 
If I can't solve the immediate problem with what is in and on this, the problem is likely bigger than I could solve anyway and the amount of ammo I'm carrying or type of weapon is but a footnote in the police report.

PXL_20230528_195406542.jpg
 
I think I have one or two shot shell slings for my bubba-cut H&R single shots, but I have more than a few shot shell belts.
 
I bought one back in the day thinking how cool/awesome it would be to have that much more ammo slung to the gun.

After attaching it one time I realized the only logical reason for using one is if you are absolutely dedicated to showing everyone around you how incompetent you are.
 
I ended up just using the side carrier and the dump pouch in the class, worked very well. I must have a lot of muscle memory around loading from a pouch from the trap/sporting clays/upland hunting days because even with 6 on the side I would just default to loading right from the pouch with very little fumbling.

Then there was the whole 'over the top' vs. 'under the bottom' methods of single loading the chamber. Over the top puts my hand in the position like I'm loading my O/U, but too far forward. Same with coming up from underneath, I kept estimating the ejection port was 3" further forward than it actually was.

Slow slow slow, and in the longer strings of fire I would sometimes go over and others under, my brain couldn't figure out what was what.

My sling setup was good enough, but could use some work.

Those new fangled semi-autos though, those look nice.
 
Jayne said:
I ended up just using the side carrier and the dump pouch in the class, worked very well. I must have a lot of muscle memory around loading from a pouch from the trap/sporting clays/upland hunting days because even with 6 on the side I would just default to loading right from the pouch with very little fumbling.

Then there was the whole 'over the top' vs. 'under the bottom' methods of single loading the chamber. Over the top puts my hand in the position like I'm loading my O/U, but too far forward. Same with coming up from underneath, I kept estimating the ejection port was 3" further forward than it actually was.

Slow slow slow, and in the longer strings of fire I would sometimes go over and others under, my brain couldn't figure out what was what.

My sling setup was good enough, but could use some work.

Those new fangled semi-autos though, those look nice.
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@Studentofthegun and @thrillhill have the Beretta 1301 and they speak highly of them.
 
I have a 1301 with a 7rd Esstac card on the side. But I’m about the furthest thing from John Wick with it. Can’t seem to manage the double load ice pick method. Perhaps because the load port is shorter. It’s like a youth model receiver or something. Maybe with enough practice I could. Instead I’ve practiced one round at a time and that’s pretty much how it’ll be.

The competition model of the 1301 has a longer loading port. Have not messed with it though since I’ve not had access to one.

Clint Smith says you’re going to fight with what is on or in the gun. Makes sense to me.
 
Average Joe said:
@Studentofthegun and @thrillhill have the Beretta 1301 and they speak highly of them.
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There is a 0% chance I'll upgrade away from my current pump setup. It's perfectly suitable for defense against 4 legged stuff in the barnyard and that's all it would ever be used for unless we find ourselves in a 1963 Hitchcock film.
 
Velcro cards like the esstac are the new hotness and the sling would be too cumbersome. Maybe on a belt it might make sense to have, especially for a class. But if you have a typical shotgun with 5 on board and a card of 5 or so on the side that should be enough for 99.9% of drills and real life engagements I would think
 
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