Side saddle - Shells up or down?

[maroonandwhite]

I know this boils down to personal preference in the end but I am curious to see how you guys load your side saddle. With the brass up or down. For me I tend to lean towards the brass up so there is no chance they'd fall out due to recoil. I also prefer the "over the top" insertion from what little practicing I have done with it.

 

What are you guys pros and cons of each?

[Trekbike]

I use both ways on mine.   Extra buckshot - brass down, slugs - brass up.    

[Junkstack]

I use both ways on mine.   Extra buckshot - brass down, slugs - brass up.    

Same

[maroonandwhite]

I will be using all slugs on the saddle and all buckshot in the tube. I have seen that alot of folks alternate on their setup but that would just be one more thing for me to think about. Although if you train for it then I guess it shouldn't be a problem.

 

My biggest issue is that my left/weak hand just isn't conditioned to handle the reloading yet so I ahve some work to do.

[whitewolf001]

Mine go both ways if you know what I mean...  :dirty:

 

Seriously though I don't have one and would like to get the one by Mesa Tac., it seems to be a fairly higher quality product.

[rugerla1]

I know this boils down to personal preference in the end but I am curious to see how you guys load your side saddle. With the brass up or down. For me I tend to lean towards the brass up so there is no chance they'd fall out due to recoil. I also prefer the "over the top" insertion from what little practicing I have done with it.
 
What are you guys pros and cons of each?

Which side saddle did you go with? I've been researching several different ones, and also looking at how most people load them as you've asked here.

[maroonandwhite]

Yeah those Mesa's look great. Just didn't want to drop that much coin on this build.

 

I ended up with the Tacstar 6 round but it seems very well made as well.

Edited December 20, 2013 by maroonandwhite

[Trekbike]

I ended up with the Tacstar 6 round but it seems very well made as well.

That's the one I've got and it holds the shells tight enough on mine even with the brass down.

[Spurholder]

Raven Concealment and Ares came up with something a little different...worth taking a look at:

 

http://www.aresgear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34&products_id=115

[Pain103]

My duty shotgun I carry all shells with brass up. Always felt more natural to me. I carry all slugs in the tube and leave the 00 in the shell holder.

[maroonandwhite]

My duty shotgun I carry all shells with brass up. Always felt more natural to me. I carry all slugs in the tube and leave the 00 in the shell holder.

As I expected it seems that this is really just a matter of opinion. I think I have found my answer on carrying up or down (up for me). Care to elaborate on why you carry slugs in the tube and buckshot on the saddle? I really have no starting preference one way or the other on this one so I am just looking for more food for though.

[Photoguy67]

I carry mine brass down so I can more easily grab a shell and insert into tube while still shouldered, but your milage may vary. Just try it both ways and find what works best for you.

[tennessee01tacoma]

It's my opinion and I have practiced to load into the chamber over the top of the action so I keep them brass up in my side saddle. I'm looking at going with one of those Velcro side saddle setups I've heard that the bolt on type can come loose with lots of shooting also don't overtighten the bolts cause they will cause the action to bind.

[Pain103]

I have always used slugs first over the years just because if I needed to make a shot from a little distance I didn't want to worry about shot spread. Now they have some great 00 they issue us and it really doesn't have much spread until about 50 yards. But I still leave slugs in the tube.

I shoot long guns left handed so the brass up has always seemed to be more smooth for me to get the shells out quickly. I'm sure with some training I could do it just the same with the brass down but I started it that way and it has become so routine I don't have to think about how to load it quickly.

[orientalexpress]

I think it depends on how you reload your shotgun technique wise. I keep mine with the first two closest to the muzzle brass up so that in the middle of firing I run dry I have 2 shells accessible to throw straight into the chamber ready to fire ASAP. Keep in mind I go over the receiver to get to the ejection port. Some people like to go underneath the receiver with this technique so brass down would be more beneficial. I keep the rest brass down so I can keep the gun and my head up (hypothetically I've run out of ammo because I'm in a gun fight and I'm loading during a lull). Some 3 gunners will load brass down and almost cradle the gun upside down to load while running. Obviously they're not worried about someone shooting back at them so having the gun "ready" isn't as crucial.

[will_reed]

[quote name="Trekbike" post="1081830" timestamp="1387565172"]I use both ways on mine. Extra buckshot - brass down, slugs - brass up. [/quote] This is what I do also. Brass down is better for me when topping off the tube, but brass up for loading into the port. Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk Edited January 5, 2014 by will_reed

[Guest carter]

all depends on if you're loading from under or over the top... and they face up for over the top and down for under... technically... but its what ever feels right and works for you basically 

[RobertNashville]

Both ways for me...for the reasons others have stated.

 

Speaking of shotguns; I'm planning on a good SD shotgun course this year...probably at Rangemaster (Memphis)...I'm pretty familiar with my shotgun but I've never taken an actual course in using it as a SD weapon.