View Full Version : broke my mesa side saddle
As the title says, I broke my mesa side saddle at the range the other day doing reload drills. It looks like the rear mounting pin/screw loosend up and put more stress on the smaller front pin causing the screw head to shear off. The result was the side saddle was dangling off the side of the receiver hanging from the rear pin. I guess the lesson is check your screws periodically to make sure they're tight. Mine were secured with blue loctite, which obviously didn't take the punishment a 12 gauge dishes out.
On the plus side, Mesa tactical customer service was excellent. They shipped me out new hardware free of charge, all it took was a 5 minute phone call. On the down side, the customer service rep told me she see's this a lot, and the trick to keeping them from breaking is not to over tighten them, which I did, and use loctite which I did.
I have to say my confidence in the system has swayed tremendously. In hindsight, hanging 6 shells and a bracket off of two little pins mixed with the punishing 12 gauge recoil seems like recipe for disaster if you actually shoot a lot. So now I'm in a market for a new side saddle carrier with a better mounting system (does this exist?). I'm not interested in tacstar or the stretchy nylon stuff thats becoming popular these days. I'm thinking about switching to a 4 round mesa that's a little lighter which in theory should put less stress on the pins, mine broke under recoil. Maybe red loctite, and a mesa 4 rounder is the answer?
Any thoughts or suggestions? Has anyone else broken a mesa shell holder in any way?
I have broken a number of them on my guns and customer guns as well.
In the end I have just stopped using them I have fixed them to many times.
What I have gone to a nylon from a custom maker it is all that I can get to stay on the gun.
I had one for several years without issue but after seeing several break in training I went to the Vang Comp side saddle. The elastic loops that retain the shells is very heavy duty but I suspect that this part of the assembly will need to be replaced every couple of years. The hardware that attaches the vang comp aluminum plate to the receiver appears to be stronger. You can buy extra detachable carriers and have them pre-loaded in a pocket or dump pouch for training. Having the ability to strip the empty carrier off and slap another loaded carrier on the DSAC quickly is a plus for training or if you deply a shotgun for work or home defense.
I think it is a good part for people that are not going to press it hard.
The main gun I run is past 10k I have broken the screws on the side saddle more than once on it in the past.
I assume this is on a 870? On any accessory held on by screws, some witness marks and constant PM in addition to loctite and judicious tightening goes a long way towards keeping everything running right.
On my duty 870 I have witness marks on my tacstar sidesaddle screws, sights, magazine extension, and I would have one on the buttstock screw if I could see it!
If you don't want to worry about tightening screws, then use some good glue and prep and put a patch of velcro directly on the receiver. Then you can just run the aforementioned elastic strips or even mount a plastic sidesaddle directly. The velcro will wear out eventually, but it will be slow process you can watch happen as opposed to a surprise.
Dennis.
Yes this was an 870, and witness marks are definitely a good idea, I just thought loctite would negate the need for it. Obviously I was wrong. I might have to give the vang comp side saddle a try. It seems to be the only decent solution out even though I'm not a fan of elastic and velcro parts. Terrymo have you had any issues with the shells flying off by themselves? Like the velcro detatching and sending the elastic portion down range?
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No issues through several four day classes and regular use. This is not the standard elastic and velcro you may be imagining. It is heavy duty. As I said the elastic will break down over time from sun, dirt, hard use etc so I would consider that part a disposable item. In training I keep several preloaded and as I use the shells up in the one on the receiver I strip it off and drop it like an empty mag. They have not been pampered including getting stepped on in moving drills and dropped so they will need to be replaced periodically. I have been only been using them for about a year and my best guess is I will automatically replace the elastic portion every 2 years, or earlier if needed, since they are also for duty use.
Retention on the shells is very tight. Although I keep shells on the side saddle brass up after some training from Scotty Reitz from LAPD, I think under recoil the retention of the elastic is similar to the tac star and mesa tactical side saddles if you keep shells brass down. Replacing shells in the carrier is not as quick at first as the mesa set up and took me a while to sort that out. I will find out after of couple of years of hard use.
For me I would rather replace the elastic periodically than take the chance of the mesa breaking and spinning on the receiver as I have seen several times in training. Its amusing to see when someone has it happen in a rolling thunder drill but not so much if it happens in a real world situation.
Mesa is a great company with great customer support and they make some outstanding products so I do not want to give the impression I have issues with them.
I have never broken a side saddle but after a while they just annoyed me to the point that I took them off. I don't plan to add any to my shotguns ever again now that I've got used to not having them there.
Yes this was an 870, and witness marks are definitely a good idea, I just thought loctite would negate the need for it. Obviously I was wrong. I might have to give the vang comp side saddle a try. It seems to be the only decent solution out even though I'm not a fan of elastic and velcro parts. Terrymo have you had any issues with the shells flying off by themselves? Like the velcro detatching and sending the elastic portion down range?
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You ALWAYS need to check on your gear, especially any aftermarket parts that deviate from the original design specs. That said, the Vang Comp may well have the same problem if you prefer not to do any PM since it uses screws as well to mount the velcro plate. That is why I mentioned gluing velcro directly to your shotgun may be a lower maintenance option. I have done this on my Benelli M1/M3 that don't work well with screwed on sidesaddles due to the alloy receiver binding. I then put matching velcro on the plastic sidesaddle and it has worked fine for a couple years now. The secret is in the prep and glue, although I don't look forward to changing the velcro if it ever wears out. I see this more as an option for guns that will NOT be dragged through the dirt and/or have the velcro ripped on and off a lot.
Dennis.
This is great advice. Regular inspections, blue loctite, and a paint pen like an extra fine point Uchida or similar brand to mark any hardware should be part of your routine.
Witness marks are definitely going in everything along with periodic checking to make sure everything is tight. I may just stick with the mesa and buy up a supply of spare parts and replace them every year as preventative maintenance. Or I may still give the vang comp a try, definitely not glueing anything to my gun. Thanks for all the advice
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