Shotgun belt bandoleer vs shoulder

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I carry mine in a large fanny pack I bought from walmart. I used to use, and still have, a game belt/shell belt with pouches, but I don't like sitting on my doves and it won't go UNDER my waders when duck hunting and I don't like getting my ammo wet. I've used bandoleer type belts under waders, but the shells have a way of coming out of the loops and winding up in my boot, which is not good. Just from hunting experience, I wouldn't use one of those bandoleers for anything other than being tacticool at a tacticool party.
 
Quite a bit of difference between carrying extra rounds for hunting or the range vs. for possible combat.... In the street world I tried one thing or another for years before settling for something a bit different than you'll find for sale. The problem with most ways of carrying extra rounds for the street is how bad your ammo gets while riding in the trunk (or in and out of one place or other) as well as how the belt or cuff itself does over time. Not to mention the places and situations you might end up carrying those rounds (nothing like crawling up under a car with shotgun at the ready...). There's a reason most police issue shotguns look fairly rough without actually having many rounds shot with them....

My solution was to go to the old thin cloth bandoliers for the Vietnam era M-16... that were designed to hold 10 mags. They just happen to hold a five shot box of slug or buck perfectly (and your ammo stays in perfect condition....). If you cut out one end of the box before loading so that the open end is up inside the bandolier it allows you quick access to your extra rounds (you just pull the box which leaves the rounds still in the bandolier and each five rounds is then at the ready - and you can stagger your loads so that some are buck and the other are slug...). The dumping end of the cloth bandolier has a cloth lipped opening so your rounds won't fall out until you need them....

I turned in all my ammo along with bandolier when I retired all those years ago. Can't say I ever saw anyone else that I knew that used that system. It sure was nice to come to the party with an extra 30 or so rounds, though. An added bonus was that you didn't look like Rambo or an extra in one of those Miami Vice episodes. The best part of all is that I never once needed the extra rounds.....
 
Lots of the time I just go with some M1 bandoleers to which I affixed those little velcro dots to the flaps. They hold four rounds easily, five with a little coaxing, and I can just toss it over my shoulder easily even with a pack on.

The problem comes from when you start taking out the ammo since the shells tend to tip over inside the pouch and you end up occasionally fumbling for them. The other downside, especially when hunting, is if you only take one or two shells out and they start rattling when you move. Then again, the only time I really crack out the shotgun is to go clay or bird hunting so it's not that big of an issue.

It's also a little slower to reload compared to belts and whatnot but it's been satisfactory for me so far.
 
i have a blackhawk 55 round bandoleer it is crazy overbuilt
i also got the 15 round sling it makes gun heavy and creates pendulum swing meaning the shells swing and slightly move your sights i reversed it so that the shells are closer to the butt and it helped some
 
Looks like I tripped over a few notions here. The moment I saw that the original poster was interested in a bandolier for shotgun ammo... I didn't for one moment assume that he intended it for sporting purposes. All of my training and experience with a shotgun (other than an intro to hunting small game with a single shot .410...) has been for serious work purposes. That's the context for the info I provided. As a matter of preference that actually became pretty much habit I learned over many years to have a shotgun in my hands if weapons were likely to be needed, period. In the urban areas of south Florida a good police shotgun may still leave you a bit under-gunned. The choices you'll face then aren't good. You can wait until the gunfire quits and then go see who needs to be tended to, you can avoid the situation entirely and leave your folks on their own, or you can come to the party with enough to make a difference. My extra ammo was never needed (and I was just plain lucky most times). Years after I retired one officer in the same areas I worked was taken down by automatic weapons fire in an alley I know very, very well. He never had a chance and these days I'll be surprised if any officers are even equipped to deal with that sort of stuff.... Still a shotgun in an urban environment with enough rounds can at least give you a chance of surviving if you've drawn the black marble. Keeping those extra rounds handy and still clean and in good condition was a problem for every cop I ever worked with. The solution I provided does work if needed.
 
I think I’d feel kind of silly with a shoulder bandolier. I like vests. I have 3; all for different seasons or purposes. They have shell loops if I want to go that route or pockets big enough to dump a box of shells, light weight and ventilated, waterproof with add-on sleeves and zip-in liners, blaze orange, plain, whatever.

With a vest everyone knows what I’m up too and I won’t get mistaken for some kind of bandit and have to fight 7 gunslingers.
 
Sorry lemaymiami - if you need that type of firepower, whether in Miami or elsewhere, you need a combat rifle, not a shotgun. Even in hurricane situations like Andrew, neither were needed, but a good weapon was needed to be kept close at hand

to the OP's original thought - many in Europe use a leather belt-like bandolier, worn about the waist for hunting forays into the hills after game. That item works well. The cheap elastic thing does not. learned that the hard way eons ago when I was young and internet was dream in al gore's eye
 
Looks like I tripped over a few notions here. The moment I saw that the original poster was interested in a bandolier for shotgun ammo... I didn't for one moment assume that he intended it for sporting purposes.
Click to expand...

Well, I answered the way I did because I tried bandoleers for duck hunting under my waders, again to keep 'em dry, and didn't like it vs a fanny pack. I always carry 2 boxes, never shoot more'n 15 rounds even if I ain't shootin' good for a 6 bird limit, but heck, never know, I might not be able to hit squat, has happened on a given day. I don't wanna run out. LOL. Then there's goose hunting, 24 bird limit IIRC (didn't hunt 'em this season), 20 white and 4 dark geese and I shoot a 10 gauge on geese, so I need enough of a fanny pack to hold a couple boxes of 3.5" 10 gauge steel Ts, but I've never fired more'n 21 rounds in a morning, so still, rather have too much than not enough. That's kinda like combat, right? :D Hey, I know some folks think fanny packs are for sissies, but this one's real tree camo. 6 bucks at walmart. :D

On the skeet range, the shell bag belts are all one needs, or a vest, whatever, shells ain't back in the truck 3/4 mile walk in waders through mud and water.
 
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