Shotgun Shell Holders

[sslav]

I am a pretty new shooter to practical shooting and real new to shotgun practical shooting although I had a bit of experience with trap a while back. I shot in a knockdown steel match yesterday and reloading one at a time from a bandolier was a really slow process. On the other hand starting with four shells in hand I was able to stuff them into the magazine pretty quick. I saw several shooters with "stripper" type holders that seemed ideal for getting a handfull of shells quick. I see 3 makers on Brownells:

1. SPEEDGRIP SHOTSHELL HOLDER from INNOVA PRODUCTS

On the plus side this holder offers an adjustible cant. I have two concerns regarding the design though. It holds the shells on one side only by the rim so it would appear that if I do not grab the bottom shell by the base I could angle it up and jam it in the channel. There also appears to be no retention system to prevent the shells from bouncing out of the holder.

2. 12 GAUGE SPEED STRIPPER from CALIFORNIA COMP. WORKS

This one is the lowest priced of the three. It does not "grip" the rim of the shell and looks like it might be more forgiving in use. And it looks like it has a shell retention mechanism.

3. SHOTGUNQUICK STRIPPER from PROGRESSIVE MACHINE & TOOL

Made from aluminum, has a shell retention spring and a Tek-Lok from blade-tech. The only downside I see on this one is its price as it is twice as expensive as the other two choices.

Can someone who has some experience with one or more of these give some feedback on how well they work and which would be a better choice.

Slav

[Brian Payne]

I have all three. I like the Progressive Machine and Tool ones the best. I load my shotgun weak hand four at a time. I have the Inova in front of my pistol on my strong side, and use it mainly for "oh crap" type reloads or for holding slugs if the COF calls for them.

The CCW ones work but did not seem as secure as the PM&T's, I always worried about shells falling out when running. I use them mainly when a COF calls for a lot of rounds. Both the PM&T's and the CCW's are 6 round capacity and I had to alter the PM&T's to get them to sit a little higher on my gun belt so that I could bend over properly. I will load four shells at a time, leaving two shells in the carrier. You can also buy the four round variety and I am sure would work as well or better. I like the six rounders because they take up the same space on the belt and give me two extra shells per holder in case I need them because of misses or fumbling shells .

I only have the one Inova and really like it but I have trouble pulling all four shells off at one time without fumbling. Once it gets more broke in I am sure it would be a great alternative.

[George]

MSTN has a new 4 shell carrier that I saw at the Multigun Nationals. It looks to be a good option too.

[Vlad]

Also Chote makes version as well:

http://www.riflestock.com/catalog_page.cfm...mp;NewProduct=0

[Jim Norman]

What shell holders you use and where you place them has a lot to do with the way you reload. What is fast for some may be slow for others, or even impossible.

I am not the fastet SG reloader (or even close) but here is what I have seen and done.

First, let's address the reloading styles. There are two basics and many variations. Holding the shotgun in the shooting position, you have a choice of stronghand or weakhand loading. This relates to the hand that feeds the shells into the gun. Strong hand loading allows for essentially two methods, the stock over the shoulder with the gun turned slightly on its side, you can see the gate and the gun is in almost the shooting position. The other main method is to drop the SG down and roll it over. The gate is now facing up. You can load quickly, but you are way out of position. Weak hand loading essentially is the third method, You drop the stock under your striong arm, grab as many shells as you are comfortable manipulationg and stuff them into the bottom of the gun. This method does require a lot of dexterity and some strength. It also helps if you have a pistol grip stock.

Shell carriers. for the Stronghand overshoulder method, I prefer a bandolier and a 3Gungear 8 shell holder on the off side of the gun as well as a two rounder right by the port for the oops load. If the COF is really long, I add in a couple California Comp 6 packs, but rarely as they are far from the port.

For the stronghand, drop and roll method, the California Comp 6-packs work well, the shells are at about the closest position they will get to the gate.

The weakhand load method utilizes the 4 round packs as most shooters can grab 4 shells and stuff them in from underheath very quickly. As I said this method does require a bit of strength, if you have tendonitis, it may be difficult to impossible to hold the weight of the gun up unless you have a pistol grip and even then it can be difficult.

Jim

[sslav]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Chote's price makes it a must to try. I will order one and see how much I like it.

[BillL223]

After playing this game for several years, I've decided that weak hand loading off the belt with stripper type clips is the best for me. I use some old Choate 6 rd carriers and some newer CCW 4 round carriers. I put 4 rounds in each regardless of capacity unless the course of fire is really long. I don't agree that you need a lot of strength to hold the gun up while doing this, just a little (a lot) practice.