Mesa Tactical Side Saddles

[Chief Brody]

Vitaly or Simon,
I just received my S&J detachable shell carrier - On my HD shotgun, would be ok to leave the shell carrier fully loaded with 6 shells for long periods of time? I'm wondering about the elastic wearing out.

Thanks,
Steve

[Vitaly]

Vitaly or Simon,
I just received my S&J detachable shell carrier - On my HD shotgun, would be ok to leave the shell carrier fully loaded with 6 shells for long periods of time? I'm wondering about the elastic wearing out.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve, I think that it is better to remove shells from the carrier from time to time.

[jpfrog]

The problem with this situation is that if this is truly an HD shotgun, you'll want it ready at all times...shells should be in carrier. This may mean that you need to check the elastic often for wear, or replace it with a polymer option that won't strectch and wear. If this were for a tac competition setup, I'd say just remove them and use the shells in carrier on match day only.

But if it's an HD setup, and stuff hits the fan, and you've removed the shells to let the elastic rest, you'll be wishing you hadn't....just my 2 cents.

[badboybeeson]

Vitaly or Simon,
I just received my S&J detachable shell carrier - On my HD shotgun, would be ok to leave the shell carrier fully loaded with 6 shells for long periods of time? I'm wondering about the elastic wearing out.

Thanks,
Steve

steve you should be able to leave it loades for month and months at a time with no issue.

[Nugunner01]

My Rem 870 Marine Magnum with some of th external upgrades as recommended by Vitaly with the original 18" barrel and extension tube and then reconfigued with a 30" barrel for trap shooting. In preparation for the latter, I also removed the extension tube, replaced the magazine spring and added a mag tube cap with a wave washer but kept the 6-shot Mesa Sureshell shotshell carrier.

[PRicanHeRo]

Did anyone use the Loctite when installing. Feel a little nervous about it. Is it permanent or will I able to unscrew it if need be. Thx

[Vitaly]

Did anyone use the Loctite when installing. Feel a little nervous about it. Is it permanent or will I able to unscrew it if need be. Thx

I highly recommend using Loctite on shotguns because screws get loose under heavy recoil.

[Vitaly]

My Rem 870 Marine Magnum with some of th external upgrades as recommended by Vitaly with the original 18" barrel and extension tube and then reconfigued with a 30" barrel for trap shooting. In preparation for the latter, I also removed the extension tube, replaced the magazine spring and added a mag tube cap with a wave washer but kept the 6-shot Mesa Sureshell shotshell carrier.

Wow! Nugunner01, your Rem 870 Marine looks fantastic! I think I want one more 870. Remington 870 Marine looks soooo cool!

[BigHog]

I purchased a Mesa Tactical side saddle for a "tactical" shotgun class last year.

It was beautiful. Extremely well made. A real work of art. It held the shells securely and I was very confident that I had goo high quality gear. I don't think that the rubber seal holding the shells in would loosen up as fast as other methods, but I didn't have it on long enough to really tell.

Four of the twelve people in the class showed up with the same sidesaddle from Mesa.

Three of the four broke catastrophically before the end of the day.

In all three cases, one of the replacement pins (chicago screws) provided with the Mesa kit broke and the trigger group dropped. Only one fell out of the gun completely, but all three were instantly inoperable.

Perhaps this could be fixed with different pins or screws with a different metalurgy. I don't know. But three out of four was enough to convince me.

What I do know is that I took the Mesa unit off, put the factory pins back in, and went with a velcro style holder. I am completely confident in the velcro unit. It doesn't look as cool, I don't like the "feel" of it as well, and I wouldn't be comfortable storing shells in it because it might stretch, but it can't fail in a way that stops the gun from operating.

Just my 2 cents.

Did the screws back out or did the screws actually break? Id be curious is they used Blue Loctite on the screws.

[BigHog]

I am posting a couple of pictures of my Mesa tactical side saddle with picatinny rail. I have not fired it since I have installed it, but I did use Blue Loctite on the screws.

BH