Sunday with Blackthorn - Today We Discuss Shotgun Shell Holders

 

 Due to the constraints of carrying spare  ammunition  for your Shotgun, today we will discuss the more practical ways of keeping your personal choice in heavy artillery fed. The Pros, the Cons, the Good, the bad, and the unmitigated ugly. The RECOIL Magazine article linked to below covers pretty much all the options. 

And...

Once you're done perusing that, there will be a brief review of the option that I have recently decided to go with. Originally written for the forum, I'm guessing that only about 6 or 7 guys have seen it, so I figured I'd share it with the rest of you self defense aficianados.

https://www.recoilweb.com/shotgun-shell-holder-guide-feeding-the-beast-172793.html?utm_source=bm23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+https://www.recoilweb.com/shotgun-shell-holder-guide-feeding-the-beast-172793.html&utm_content=How+To+Survive+a+Winter+Snow+Storm.+&utm_campaign=Offgrid+Newsletter+-+01/03/22

 

  My Review of the Esstac Shotgun 'Card"

 Why the call these things 'Cards' I have no idea. Essentially it's a nylon sidesaddle. Anyway, my 20 Ga Mossberg always presented a problem because the fore-end was what you would call a sporting style. It's several inches longer than the type you find on SG's designed for defensive purposes. Accordingly, your typical rigid sidesaddle wouldn't fit.

So I went out and bought couple of different brands of nylon soft sidesaddles, cut them down from the typical 5 or 6 rounds to 3 rounds so that they would fit on the receiver without interfering with fore-end when I racked it. Okay, so now they fit. But the long and the short of it is that the loops are actually for 12 Ga, and are just a little too big to keep the 20 Ga shells from falling out if you shoot, and sometimes even if you just shake the SG to forcefully.

After watching the TFB TV Youtube video SG series, I decided to see if the nylon sidesaddle the guy touted was available in 20 Ga.

To see the video, go to the 4:30 mark here; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sro9uUOL0vM&list=PLLTsr5AXoX23aFOVP2vLmr_vb_ir_kbmU&index=8

And yes it was! I tried to buy several, but I actually only got one, because it was the last one they had in stock. A quick note here, getting SG accessories for 20 Ga SG's is damned near impossible.

So it showed up and the difference in quality was astounding as compared to all the trash I had previously purchased. I still have to cut it down to fit on the side of the receiver. but I filled this thing up with shells, and shook it around like an Epilectic having a seizure.

Not a single Shell fell out.

Anyway, I decided to write a Review for the website, and it finally posted today. This is it in it's entirety;

Esstac 20 Gauge Shotgun Card 

Holy Shit!! A 20 Ga Shotgun Card that 's actually designed FOR 20 Ga Shotshells!! No longer do I have to suffer having my 20 Ga ammo falling out of the loops because despite what the advertising said, the ones I used to buy were designed for 12 Ga and the 20 Ga part of the description was just a load of B^^LS^^T. Not to mention that my new ESSTAC SG Card doesn't flop around like a wet noodle. I can't wait to get notified when these are back in stock. Thanks guys, you sell a quality product for a decent price, and that's pretty rare these days.

For anybody interested in SG accessories, here's the link to the website:

skdtac.com/esstac-20-gauge-shotgun-card/

And No, I do not get any kickbacks from the company.