A good "side saddle" type shell carrier? 3 Gun Gear?

[mhanna91]

I am interested in the 3 Gun Gear side saddle for my new 590A1. I recently sold my old 590, which I had a Tac-Star on. I never had any trouble with it but It was not very robust, covered up the weapon's serial number, and I always worried if it would get brittle and break and/or loose its shell retention eventually. I have also looked at the Mesa Tactical offering, which seems like it would be very durable, however I have read that their retention system is prone to problems when running brass down. It is also 3x the cost of the other 2 options. I have searched through older threads about shell carriers and could not find a definitive answer as to which option will be good for me. It seemed like everyone had good experience with one brand and had personally seen a different brand fail, sometimes it was Tac Star being praised and Mesa being doubted, other times it was the opposite. I am basically just looking for one that will last a good long while even if I leave it loaded up. The 3 Gun Gear unit was the only one that was reccomended but not bashed, so I am interested. I could not find a very good review here or elsewhere on the web, so I guess I would like some more info.

I have a couple of questions for those who have experience with the 3 Gun Geat Side Saddle.

1)How is the quality of the nylon loops as far as holding up to repeated use/being constantly loaded?

2) How is the quality of the velcro? How does it behave when it gets wet/dirty?

3) Does the adhesive on the backer harm the weapon's finish?

Thanks for the help guys,

Mark.

[usmcvet]

I love my Mesa. Nylon stock holders are good for about a year.

[mhanna91]

With which brand of nylon shell carrier have you experienced failure after 1 year? Regarding your Mesa unit, how long have you been using it, how is it used (sitting unloaded or left loaded), and how is the shell retention material holding up and performing?

[m24shooter]

It seemed like everyone had good experience with one brand and had personally seen a different brand fail, sometimes it was Tac Star being praised and Mesa being doubted, other times it was the opposite.

I run TacStar and Vang. I have a 3 Gun Gear that I haven't installed, although I do use the actual shell carrier part on my Vang chassis.
If you're aware of the weak areas of each design, they can all work just fine. TacStars have to be LocTited and the carrier plate screws have to be installed properly. The Mesa will lose hold on the shells if you don't take them out periodically, replace the tubing, or put shells in upside down (which I would do on a TacStar as well). The Vang is very nice, but significantly more expensive than the 3GG. The 3GG if it isn't installed right may give you some problems.
However, I have never heard of the 3GG having to be replaced annually. Member DMR here has a lot of experience with them, he recommended them to me, and provides them to the Army as part of the Mossberg breaching gun retrofit kits.
IIRC, the 3GG is part of the Remington MCS kit.


I have a couple of questions for those who have experience with the 3 Gun Geat Side Saddle.

1)How is the quality of the nylon loops as far as holding up to repeated use/being constantly loaded?
The elastic loops on the 3GG gear are the stoutest I've ever seen on elastic nylon shell loops. That includes not only the Vang carrier, but also with buttcuffs, vest/PC mounted holders, and anything else. I try to get a compro pic up for you, but it can actually be difficult to get the rounds into a 3GG carrier. No problem geting them out, but getting them in can be like pushing a rope.

2) How is the quality of the velcro? How does it behave when it gets wet/dirty?
The Velcro is the industrial grade, not the cheap stuff. It is very good quality. As with anything else using hook and loop, it does have a life span of several hundred pulls at least. It will clog with mud, again just like any hook and loop. It is still easy to clean off. On the receiver side it does a good job of staying on the gun. I don't think I've ever heard of anybody having a problem with the receiver Velcro pad pulling off if the oil was removed from the gun and it was properly installed.

3) Does the adhesive on the backer harm the weapon's finish?
Nope.
Finally, even if the elastic were to only last a year, I think extra carriers are around or under $10. The Vang carriers are about $20.

[usmcvet]

With which brand of nylon shell carrier have you experienced failure after 1 year? Regarding your Mesa unit, how long have you been using it, how is it used (sitting unloaded or left loaded), and how is the shell retention material holding up and performing?

The 870 sits in the safe with 6 rounds in the Mesa and another 6 in an uncle mikes stock holder. They get almost no use. The uncle mikes holders on the 870s in our cruisers last about a year maybe two. I know they're replaced regularly but the are cheap. They also hand in a shotgun rack 24/7/365. They still hold the shells when they're replaced. They're replaced because the are so loose on the stock.

[m24shooter]

I don't really see an Uncle Mike's stock shell holder as a direct comparison to the 3GG elastic loops. The 3GG is very stout, the Vang is fairly close behind, and all the stock holder loops I've seen are relatively thin.

[mhanna91]

m24 and USMC, thank you very much for the input. I guess for the price I could give the 3GG a whirl and if for whatever reason I see the need to upgrade I will save some clams for the Mesa unit. The shell carrier topic is not something that I have seen covered very well and since they are an item that many folks use on their guns I figured it would be nice to have some info comparing the 3 or 4 main flavors.

Thanks,
Mark

[usmcvet]

I have no idea what a 3GG shell holder is. I was not trying to compare it to an Uncle Mikes shell holder. I was just sharing my experience with them the last 15 years.

[m24shooter]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/m24shooter/590A1%20SBS/100_2757.jpg

The unit on top is the 3GG. The unit on the bottom is the Vang. They appear similar, but the elastic is much, much stiffer/stronger on the 3GG. On a new one, it can be difficult to push the rounds in. They hold the rounds firmly, but don't make it too hard to extract them.
For the price, it is very easy to pick up a 3GG carrier and try it out. There is no mechanical attachment, and if you don't like it it is a very easy matter to simply remove it. If it wears out, it is not expensive to replace. And if you want to run something like an OSOE Micro or other mounting option that uses Velcro you can buy extra panels.
ETA: For those that don't know, the Vang and 3GG are Velcro backed shell carriers. The Vang holds 6 vertically, and the 3GG holds 7 at a slight incline. They sidestep the brass up/down issue common to Mesa, TacStar, and what have you. The 3GG attaches directly to the reciever with a loop piece that has an adhesive to secure it. The Vang attaches in a similar fashion to the TacStar and Mesa but rather than the carrier being semi-permanently attached is has a loop piece on the outside to snag the carrier.
Both types allow the actual shell carrier to be removed if desired, or the capability of carrying additional carriers on other gear or in pockets and simply removing a depleted carrier from the gun and quickly slapping a full carrier on. This prevents the need to stuff the carrier from pockets, pouches, or shell loops elsewhere.

[usmcvet]

Thanks for the info.

[m24shooter]

I have no idea what a 3GG shell holder is. I was not trying to compare it to an Uncle Mikes shell holder. I was just sharing my experience with them the last 15 years.
I wasn't trying to say you were. What I was trying to say (poorly apparently) was in effect the same thing you are: they don't compare.
I was trying to illustrate that the elastic on the 3GG carriers that the OP was asking about are much more robust than the stock carrier loops and that even if they did need to be replaced the price point makes that a minimal concern.

[CobraBG]

To the OP, thanks for starting this thread. I've been planning to get a Mesa carrier for my 870 and this has provided some good information. :cool:

[Dennis]

Replace the rubber tube in the Mesa with silicone R/C car fuel tubing and it will last MUCH longer than the original rubber. Mine is on several months of constant loading with no issues so far.

That said, I never had any problems with years of constantly loaded Tac-Star side saddles on my 870's given proper loc-tited mounting.

I also really like the 3GG style cordura nylon/elastic panels. I have used a similar 7rd ESSTAC panel from SKDTAC on my buttstocks for years with no issues as well. Just glue some velcro on your buttstock and it is as low profile as you can get. It helps to trim the edges so they don't cut into your hand, melted nylon can be sharp!

Dennis.

[The Cat]

To the OP, thanks for starting this thread. I've been planning to get a Mesa carrier for my 870 and this has provided some good information. :cool:

I really like my Mesa, but my opinion's worth comparatively little because I haven't put it to hard use yet.

ETA:
Replace the rubber tube in the Mesa with silicone R/C car fuel tubing and it will last MUCH longer than the original rubber. Mine is on several months of constant loading with no issues so far.

Thank you for that!!!