stacking shells in a Choate carrier

[ErikW]

If you use the six-shell Choate shotgun ammo carriers and you sometimes have trouble grabbing the correct number of rounds, I'll let you in on my great new invention.

I like to grab three. In the heat of the moment, I often grab four, or worse, three and a half. I have a solution.

Take one fired hull. Squeeze the brass (but not the rim) in a vice to create flats, taking it down from 3/4" diameter to about 5/8" at the flats. Insert the brass end perpendicular to your shell stack, at the middle or front of the shells. The rim is all the way through on your body side. This creates a nice half-inch gap in the stack that your middle finger can feel as you go to grab shells to load. Here's the cool part: when you grab the top partial stack, the hull spacer drops free, leaving your bottom partial stack ready to grab.

The top round in the stack is still held by the Choate's wire loop retainer. It might be even more secure now that the rounds don't bounce up and down when you move. (You already put side spacers in the Choates to prevent side-to-side shell movement, right?)

You can try it without squeezing a hull; even a loaded round works, but the top round is not retained as well as with a smaller spacer. I imagine a 20 gauge hull would work well.

There are two disadvantages. First, you can knock them loose when you go to port arms. Just ask the peanut gallery at SMM3G. Second, they don't look cool and you will not score points with chicks or tactibillies when you are configured in this manner. They look quite dorky. Just ask the peanut gallery at SMM3G. There is a third disadvantage: you lose them on the ground with all the other fired hulls.

Why not just cut down your Choate carrier to 3 or 4? Because it's a hassle doing that, re-looping the retainer and all. And because you get to carry more ammo this way, which is important on a big, shotgun-heavy course.

[chp5]

Sounds interesting.

Any pics?

[ErikW]

I think the photographers were too busy doubled over with laughter.

[TonyH]

California Competition makes carriers that hold 4 & 6

[mike.45]

I tried 6's and they were far to complicated for my simple mind and akward fingers to work out - I cut them down to 4's and am now pleased as punch with them

So you loose two rounds per carrier with not having the 6's - but whats quicker to load from if you are a un-coordinated butterfingers like me !

M