Invictus Practical dual and quad load carriers

[Rob01]

Having been casually shooting 3 gun for the past couple years I have always used the standard 4 or 6 shell load one at a time carriers for my shotgun reloads. But with having such a great time shooting matches and being the normal competitive male that I am I decided to try and make a switch to the dual and quad loading that everyone is going to now. I was no speed demon loading with the single so I figured it couldn't hurt.

I was watching some shooters with these set ups at matches and noticed some held the shells better than others and some set ups were more ergonomic for the shooter to use. Doing some searching I came across Invictus Practical. It's a newer company started by Kevin Pratt. Through my first emails with Kevin I realized this is a man who is all about customer service. He answered my questions and helped me decide on the products that were right for my planned use. Kevin was very professional and helpful. His website wasn't up yet so he emailed me pictured of the units he had available. Through our discussion I decided to go with a 12Q, 12 shot quad load, and 8D, 8 shot dual load, set ups.

After receiving them I opened the boxes and took a few minutes to put everything together. It is fairly simple and if you ever played with an erector set you will have no problems. Directions are included which explain everything. I got mine with Tek Lok connectors to use with my CR Seed belt but they are also available with ELS, TMMS and QLS connectors. The base and cross plates are all made of hard anodized 6061-T6 aluminum, the hardware is 18-8 stainless steel and the shell clips are laser cut Derlin. With the multiple holes in the plates you can set the carriers up how you need. A solid set up when put together.

You can set the plates on the connector in different positions as well. I tried a horizontal but it didn't feel as natural as a vertical grab of the shells so my carriers are set up vertical as you can see in the pictures. You can also angle the plates if you wanted. I will start with them straight and see if over the year of matches if I need a small cant I can easily adjust them but through practice I have found the vertical to work well.

In use the clips hold the shells tight but not overly tight. I haven't done a lot of running with this set up yet but the small amount of movement and kneeling I have done hasn't seen any of the shells pop out. They are held pretty secure though so I don't think I will be a shell sprinkler when running like some units make people into. I can also use the 12Q as a dual load if I needed. The spacing of the quad and dual is good so you don't unintentionally hit the next row when grabbing your shells. As I said I am new to dual and quad loads and in my practice with these carriers I have found it easy to grab the intended shells.

All in all I have been very happy with my purchase of the Invictus Practical shell holders. You can see and order all the products offered by Kevin at his site www.invictuspractical.com/

[CJW]

+1 on this. I ran into Kevin at his booth (shared with HiperFire, I think) at the Pro-Am last year and ended up buying a dual-quad setup. I have been quad loading for about a year and I really like the Invictus design. It was late evening, just past dusk, yet Kevin stayed at his bench assembling my 8Q out of spare parts under the light of my cell phone so he could make sure he had a satisfied customer.

[Jesse Tischauser]

Having been casually shooting 3 gun for the past couple years I have always used the standard 4 or 6 shell load one at a time carriers for my shotgun reloads. But with having such a great time shooting matches and being the normal competitive male that I am I decided to try and make a switch to the dual and quad loading that everyone is going to now. I was no speed demon loading with the single so I figured it couldn't hurt.

I was watching some shooters with these set ups at matches and noticed some held the shells better than others and some set ups were more ergonomic for the shooter to use. Doing some searching I came across Invictus Practical. It's a newer company started by Kevin Pratt. Through my first emails with Kevin I realized this is a man who is all about customer service. He answered my questions and helped me decide on the products that were right for my planned use. Kevin was very professional and helpful. His website wasn't up yet so he emailed me pictured of the units he had available. Through our discussion I decided to go with a 12Q, 12 shot quad load, and 8D, 8 shot dual load, set ups.

After receiving them I opened the boxes and took a few minutes to put everything together. It is fairly simple and if you ever played with an erector set you will have no problems. Directions are included which explain everything. I got mine with Tek Lok connectors to use with my CR Seed belt but they are also available with ELS, TMMS and QLS connectors. The base and cross plates are all made of hard anodized 6061-T6 aluminum, the hardware is 18-8 stainless steel and the shell clips are laser cut Derlin. With the multiple holes in the plates you can set the carriers up how you need. A solid set up when put together.

You can set the plates on the connector in different positions as well. I tried a horizontal but it didn't feel as natural as a vertical grab of the shells so my carriers are set up vertical as you can see in the pictures. You can also angle the plates if you wanted. I will start with them straight and see if over the year of matches if I need a small cant I can easily adjust them but through practice I have found the vertical to work well.

In use the clips hold the shells tight but not overly tight. I haven't done a lot of running with this set up yet but the small amount of movement and kneeling I have done hasn't seen any of the shells pop out. They are held pretty secure though so I don't think I will be a shell sprinkler when running like some units make people into. I can also use the 12Q as a dual load if I needed. The spacing of the quad and dual is good so you don't unintentionally hit the next row when grabbing your shells. As I said I am new to dual and quad loads and in my practice with these carriers I have found it easy to grab the intended shells.

All in all I have been very happy with my purchase of the Invictus Practical shell holders. You can see and order all the products offered by Kevin at his site www.invictuspractical.com/

photo(63).JPG photo(64).JPG photo(65).JPG

Ca. You take a good picture of the front showing the clips with no shells in it?

[Rob01]

Will do Jesse but it might not be until Tuesday. Working 12 hours OT today and don't get home until later but will try and if not will get it Tuesday when I get back from my 24 hour shift.

[Rob01]

Jesse here are some quick pics I snapped last night. If you wanted something different or closer let me know.

[HadleyOwens]

Definitely an awesome product!! I know Kevin personally and have shot with him alot. There is not a single person out there who thinks things out like he does. Solid product !! It's also big boy prone tested and approved !! Stay tuned for some of his newer products coming out !

[Jesse Tischauser]

Those look interesting. I'm gonna have to get a set for testing.

[fireman489]

sorry I didnt see this thread before I made my post ....

[Rob01]

It's ok. You're a firefighter

[JPeel]

I found Invictus from this post and got the 8Q quad load and the 2point 8 caddy. I mounted the 8Q using the 2 point adapter to get the angle I wanted for strong hand loading. I'd tried every quad load caddy out there but did not find one that I liked, until this. The way the shell clips hold and release the shells is perfect for me. Once you see them firsthand you can see the attention to detail and thought process that has gone into the design. After my first practice session with the caddies I finally feel comfortable quad loading and really like the fact that with the 2point 8 caddy, I'm now carrying 8 shells in the space I was only able to carry 6 before. I think Kevin nailed it with this design!

[fireman489]

Totally agree ! I love these caddies so far .... Kind of, the best qualities of all the other caddie systems out there, IMHO. Im in the process of doing a video review for them now .... it should be done in a few days... but so far they're the REAL DEAL. I'd just like to add, that after speaking to Kevin from IP its obvious he's putting his customers first, & that's his #1 priority, which goes a long long way, I believe.... I think Im gonna order another 2.8 before they're out of stock ! As soon as word starts spreading these will be flying off his shelves .....

[latewatch]

I started running these after the Pro Am last year and they are great. I'll be ordering a few more here pretty soon.

[millsusaf]

For those with experience on both, how does these compare to the similar project from Taacom?

[JPeel]

Based on my experience, the Invictus caddies work better for me than the Taccom. I've used carbon arms, Taccoms, and ap customs load 2 and quad load caddies before and while they all work, there were things I didn't like about them. Either the attachment point allowed rotation, or the shells didn't align right when I set the caddy at the angle I like or the clips required you to take the shells out just so or they'd "vee" apart.

When I saw the pics of the Invictus I realized that this wasn't just a copy of someone else's caddy. The design of the shell clips is simple, and yet simply genius in the way it works. I like the fact that the frame is aluminum, not plastic and that when I tighten the screws down, the caddy doesn't move.

Granted, I've only had the Invictus caddies a week now and thus can't speak to their longevity. But from the way they're made I can't see them being any more fragile than any other design. And I'm willing to bet that if I was able to break one, Kevin would want to know about it and make it right.

[steel1212]

I've been using these for awhile now. Like everything about them. They have the possibility of rotating but if you set them up right there is no way that's gonna happen. Good stuff

[AustinWolv]

Just ordered a couple 2.8. Thanks for the link/heads-up on these.

Eager to run them and compare to the CA quad pinwheels I've been using for a while.

[Jesse Tischauser]

I just scored an 8Q and a 2Q on the awesome Bladetech TMMS Mini. These things look great! Can't wait to finger bang them a little tonight after a couple of beers.

[millsusaf]

I've ordered an quad 8, we will see if my short budgy digits can handing gripping quads. If it works out, I'll be ordering another q8.

[Rifleshooter24]

I've started using the straight 8 quad load carriers on a chest rig. Solid product. I may try some belt mounted, just seems to load easier from the chest rig strong hand.

[SteveT-NV]

I found Invictus from this post and got the 8Q quad load and the 2point 8 caddy. I mounted the 8Q using the 2 point adapter to get the angle I wanted for strong hand loading. I'd tried every quad load caddy out there but did not find one that I liked, until this. The way the shell clips hold and release the shells is perfect for me. Once you see them firsthand you can see the attention to detail and thought process that has gone into the design. After my first practice session with the caddies I finally feel comfortable quad loading and really like the fact that with the 2point 8 caddy, I'm now carrying 8 shells in the space I was only able to carry 6 before. I think Kevin nailed it with this design!

I am also curious about these carries. Trying to decide between the 2.8eight and their standard quad carriers. The 2.8eights look like the shells are very close together. Does this seem the case when loading? IOW does the second "quad" get in the way of grabbing the first quad with the 2.8eights?

[AustinWolv]

I found Invictus from this post and got the 8Q quad load and the 2point 8 caddy. I mounted the 8Q using the 2 point adapter to get the angle I wanted for strong hand loading. I'd tried every quad load caddy out there but did not find one that I liked, until this. The way the shell clips hold and release the shells is perfect for me. Once you see them firsthand you can see the attention to detail and thought process that has gone into the design. After my first practice session with the caddies I finally feel comfortable quad loading and really like the fact that with the 2point 8 caddy, I'm now carrying 8 shells in the space I was only able to carry 6 before. I think Kevin nailed it with this design!

I am also curious about these carries. Trying to decide between the 2.8eight and their standard quad carriers. The 2.8eights look like the shells are very close together. Does this seem the case when loading? IOW does the second "quad" get in the way of grabbing the first quad with the 2.8eights?

I'll know shortly when they arrive. They are on different elevations so the first quad is up higher, so you are a bit up above the 2nd quad to avoid interference. Look at the instruction manual on Invictus' site. Won't know in practice until later this week when they show up.

[fireman489]

I found Invictus from this post and got the 8Q quad load and the 2point 8 caddy. I mounted the 8Q using the 2 point adapter to get the angle I wanted for strong hand loading. I'd tried every quad load caddy out there but did not find one that I liked, until this. The way the shell clips hold and release the shells is perfect for me. Once you see them firsthand you can see the attention to detail and thought process that has gone into the design. After my first practice session with the caddies I finally feel comfortable quad loading and really like the fact that with the 2point 8 caddy, I'm now carrying 8 shells in the space I was only able to carry 6 before. I think Kevin nailed it with this design!

I am also curious about these carries. Trying to decide between the 2.8eight and their standard quad carriers. The 2.8eights look like the shells are very close together. Does this seem the case when loading? IOW does the second "quad" get in the way of grabbing the first quad with the 2.8eights?

I haven't had any issues with that...or anything at all with these, I'm running the 2.8 as well as a 12Q....Super Shotgun Match this weekend ... can wait to show these puppies off

[AustinWolv]

My 2.8 order showed up yesterday, so late last night I got some time to play.

Color me very happy with the purchase of the 2.8 upon first look, first mounting, and initial dry loading runs at home.

The workmanship and hardware are top-notch. Hardware is threading into metal hardware, no plastic self-threading stuff that is going to wear out or weaken over heavy use. The carrier structure pieces are aluminum and are very light with a nice finish. The actual shell holding clips are Delrin, but have stout wall thicknesses and are also mounted with bolt+nut instead of screws threading into the plastic. Construction and materials on these look really good and certainly leave you with high confidence about durability and repeatable positioning.

The mounting is sturdy and isn’t going to shift or rotate on you. I got the 2.8 which has the angle adjustment plate which has two axle points so the carrier isn’t going to rotate on you. On the single axle models, since metal hardware is used, I *assume* you can tighten them down sufficiently where they aren’t going to rotate under use either.

The shells are a bit closer together than other products I’ve used, i.e. easier to grab with a relaxed hand instead of having to stretch it out and then squeeze the shells together after clearing the holding clips. The holding clips are nested so that there is only one clip wall thickness between the shells. We’ll see how the clips hold up over time, but I’m not expecting problems. I don’t have the carrier+clips in front of me right now, but I don’t recall the clips having sharp edges to cut you up, so no concern there at the moment.

The shell staggering by elevation (the first four shells are slightly higher than the next four) is niiiiice. The 2.8 when you first look at it looks like you’d interfere with the 2nd set of 4 shells when grabbing the first set but that isn’t the case so far in the quick loading runs I’ve done. I was loading 12 in 4.2 last night weakhand from shoulder mount to shoulder mount. We’ll see after more time on them.

The ability to adjust angle on these is thumbs-up. I was able to quickly arrange them to match my most natural hand/wrist position from different grab locations around my belt. I had to compromise that angle on some other products that limited the amount of adjustment, plus the shell holder alignment wasn’t maintained in doing so. That isn’t the case with these as the whole carrier rotates, maintaining the shell holder clip alignment to each other.

You may want to number the carriers so you return them to the same quick-detach position on your belt if you are using ELS or TMMS rigs where you take off your carriers when not needed, so that you have the carrier angle where you want it repeatedly. For me, I run ELS setup so having that clip included with the package is a nice touch as having to order ELS hook packs can be annoying.

Obviously I haven’t run them in a match yet, but I’m looking forward to practice runs and match conditions with these, and I’m already wanting to order more.

It is early first impressions, but I'm impressed. Obviously real usage time will tell more of a story down the road.

Edited February 19, 2014 by AustinWolv

[JPeel]

I found Invictus from this post and got the 8Q quad load and the 2point 8 caddy. I mounted the 8Q using the 2 point adapter to get the angle I wanted for strong hand loading. I'd tried every quad load caddy out there but did not find one that I liked, until this. The way the shell clips hold and release the shells is perfect for me. Once you see them firsthand you can see the attention to detail and thought process that has gone into the design. After my first practice session with the caddies I finally feel comfortable quad loading and really like the fact that with the 2point 8 caddy, I'm now carrying 8 shells in the space I was only able to carry 6 before. I think Kevin nailed it with this design!

I am also curious about these carries. Trying to decide between the 2.8eight and their standard quad carriers. The 2.8eights look like the shells are very close together. Does this seem the case when loading? IOW does the second "quad" get in the way of grabbing the first quad with the 2.8eights?

I've used mine for two live fire practice sessions now and have yet to knock a column of shells out of the holder when grabbing shells. I haven't tried the 2.8eights for quad loading, just weakhand load 2 but I think it'd be the same. For quads, I think I'd recommend the dedicated quad caddy though. I'm using it for strong hand quad loading and really like it.

[rtp]

The only thing I'm waiting for is a setup that can really be used for either deuces or quads. I'm currently doing load two, and would like the option to move to quads, but all the solutions out there claiming to do both either reduce a quad load of N shells by half (making it a LARGE rig for load two, IMO), or claim you can grab only 2 from quads next to each other.

Anyone know of something really allowing either mode reasonably well?