Budget Shell Holder

[Smith]

I'm going shooting tomorrow, but I didn't have a way to carry my Remington 870's ammunition. Suddenly, I had an idea. I started loading rounds into the surplus, three AR mag pouches on my load bearing deal and sure enough, they fit perfectly! I loaded four to a row, alternating directions. Using this setup, each pouch holds six rows of four shells easily although it would work with another row too.

I thought this might be helpful to anybody who is looking for a cheap and easy way to carry their shotgun ammo. At the local surplus store, these pouches run for a bit under $5. While the suspenders are probably not absolutely necessary, the weight is quite comfortable with them.

Sorry about the poor quality pictures. They were taken with a cell phone.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Not bad.

You might want to drop your harness and deploy that stuff off the firing line and use a handful at a time for safety.

I keep one simple tool box with the ammo in it. A box of 5 at a time goes up to the firing line.

Good luck!

 

[Smith]

use a handful at a time for safety.

I'm afraid I don't quite understand

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Rounds coming back at you from the range. Fire something, if it hits a pole or something and screams back at you... you dont wanna boom on your body.

At least from my perspective. =)

Then again I shouldnt talk, I stepped (Rabbit hole) and went head over heels carrying 25+ primer caps, 20 charges of powder and ball for the living history rifle during a skirmish once.

=) At least I didnt blow up when I came down.

 

[Fred Fuller]

As long as you don't have to be too active on the line, that'll work. I have a sporting clays vest with multiple front pockets that serves the same purpose, I've seen other folks use nail aprons from the hardware store for that job quite successfully. One memorable student in a shotgun class I took used a barbeque apron with ample front pockets to hold shotgun shells.

Bob Allen ( http://www.bob-allen.com/ ) makes a wide variety of useful shotgun stuff, to include relatively inexpensive pouches that hold a box of shotgun shells.

GI surplus stuff has long been put to use in ways it wasn't originally built for by imaginative shotgunners. In the days of yore, when the surplus stuff was WW2/Korea vintage, we used Garand belts- each pouch for a Garand clip neatly held two 12 gauge shotgun shells ( http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=91948 ).

But there were purpose-made shotgun accessories from Uncle Sam too. Since shotguns came along pretty early in the game (with 1897 Winchesters), Uncle issued various belts and pouches for buckshot. A couple of decades ago I was using Viet Nam era nylon versions of the same sort of pouch on a pistol belt with suspenders (and a .45) when working a couple of security jobs. With the current interest in anything to do with military shotguns, I ought to dig that stuff back out and find it a new home with a collector.

Whatever works...

lpl

 

[Snarlingiron]

I'm real fond of the SAW pouches. The ones with the elastic lips. They perfectly hold a couple of boxes of 12 gage rounds, and the elastic "lips" keep rounds from falling out (more important in a tactical shotgun class than at the skeet range).

I bought mine from a local surplus store for eight bucks.

 

[Geneseo1911]

Good solution, smith. I broke down and bought a holder, but I use a mesh bag (designed for grain & plant material) that I "liberated" from work to hold my empties. Beggars can't be choosers!

 

[twodawgs]

That's a good rig. Back in the old days we used everything from wooden boxes to old socks to carry our shells. Are you going to be shooting clays, or?

 

[lead-inspector]

Another option

This is more expensive, but does have some advantages.

http://www.riflestock.com/catalog_p...ductCode=28&ProductSubCodeID=181&NewProduct=0

Steve

 

[Smith]

Rounds coming back at you from the range. Fire something, if it hits a pole or something and screams back at you... you dont wanna boom on your body.

Ahh, I never thought about that. I'll keep that in mind next time!

Are you going to be shooting clays, or?

Mainly clays and a few miscellaneous targets we set up. I went out to a massive dry lake in the middle of the desert with some friends to test out my "new to me" used Remington 870 Express.

I'm real fond of the SAW pouches.

Hmm, I might pick up one of two of those next time I'm at the surplus store.