Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Praxis: Tactical Tailor's 12 Gauge Shotgun Pouches

The Tactical Tailor 12 round shotgun ammo pouch.

USGI ALICE Vietnam-era shotgun ammo pouches.

Remember the camp fire scene in Red Dawn after the first ambush, when Robert is sawing the barrel off his 12 gauge shotgun? (I especially like the Russian translation subtitles in this clip.)



When push comes to shove, the fact of the matter is that most folks -- especially the latecomers -- will be armed with the ubiquitous 12 gauge. If you're going to use the 12 gauge in combat, you'll need something to feed it. And combat, boys and girls, requires something faster and more certain than a hunter's pocket full of shells. The average open loop Mexican bandito type of ammo belt bandoleer slung across your chest or buckled like a belt around your waist will shed rounds like Hansel and Gretel dropping bread crumbs through the forest.

In Vietnam, GIs were issued ALICE pouches like the ones above, which used ALICE clips to attach to the Y harness/belt arrangement. I have used them and found that they too can shed rounds when you hit the dirt, or leave the flap unsnapped, the elastic loops not being tight enough to secure the rounds within the pouch.

A review by GearScout of the new Tactical Tailor 12 rd shotgun pouch seem more certain of retaining rounds to me, even while giving immediate access for a quick reload on the outside. According to Gear Scout:

The pouches are a two layered setup, with 6 rounds on the outside and an additional 6 on the interior that are accessed through a dual zipper. The elastic loops are nice and tight, which should eliminate losing rounds if you are knocking into things or are stuck humping a shotgun for days on end.
They can be attached to any harness/vest/belt arrangement by MALICE clips.

I would be interested if any of you shotgunners out there have experience with TT's pouches.

Mike
III

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Red Dawn", ahhh; saw it in a Long Island theater at a 6PM show. Sat down was watching the show, then I looked around and realized I was the ONLY ONE at the show!

Gunner

Anonymous said...

No experience with pouches but I do have ample experience with my SAIGA-12 customized, magazine-fed, semi-automatic, Russian shotgun. With it's 20 rd drum magazine there's little need for a shotgun pouch !

DAN
III

Dennis308 said...

I have one of these across the chest Bandoleers 48 rounds and have Not had any problems losing shells while out hunting(just keep track of the condition of the elastic). I also have a Bandoleer Sling 15 rounds and 8 Speed Loaders 4 rounds each see Brownells Catalog these speed loaders are made of plastic but you can make your own with aluminum(I loads 4 rounds in about 2 seconds some people are faster)for my Remington .870 Tactical. I place Buckshot in the Bandito Bandoleer and Slugs in the Sling Bandoleer and load the Speed Loaders Left side Slugs and Right side Buckshot also have a stock carrier for 5 Special Rounds. Total 100 rounds available. Plus if I wanted to carry a game sack, you get the picture. I do like the shotgun as it does have multiple purposes, Combat or Food.
And A shotgun is a very effective weapon in the right hands especially in urban bug out situations or in Heavy Cover. So these poor little late comers with shotguns are not as poorly equipped weapon wise, as one might think. Besides Believe Me having a Shotgun leveled at ya is a very Uncomfortable experience and will cause Fear in Heroes and Fools alike.

Dennis
III
Texas

Bruce Krafft said...

What I like about the ambush scene is the complete lack of what armchair commandoes call a "silent kill" with an arrow. Let's be real, 99.9% of the time, you shoot someone with an arrow and he's going to be howling like a dog passing a peach pit.

Anonymous said...

Not Islay, but Jim Beam is "drinkable" too...Blast from the past film clip.

Dakota said...

I like these, I have been considering a similar set up; http://www.originalsoegear.com/12gamicro.html

I like the smaller size of the Tactical Taylor and the price is better and will probably work about the same.

There is one other unit that is pretty neat but it is a complete vest set up for shotgunners, M1 Garands, everything ....

http://www.antipersonnel.net/fmco/001.html#3

LFMayor said...

I'm with Dennis on the chest bandoliers. I've used the 20 round belt made by Allen slung over one shoulder and across the chest for years hunting. Haven't bellied down and crawled around like John Kerry exaclty, but packed gear in, climbed into tree stands, etc. and the position makes reloading pretty quick, even with gloves on.
Ditto on the elastic condition too... I quit leaving the belts loaded with shells in the bug out bag and started just putting an empty belt in a 4-pocket M-16 ammo bandolier along with shells.
Check your local stores for sales, I bought my shell belts for 1.50 each a while back when they were clearing shelves, and that's a lot cheaper than the Gucci-pouches out there.

Dr. Richard said...

I'm with Dan on these pouches -- obsolete and unneeded. I have bought other pouches from tactical tailer - particularly for M1A .308 mags and radios.

Instead, I have a magazine bag to hold four Saiga 12 ten or twelve round magazines. If I need more ammo beyond my 20 round drum and four backup magazines, I really screwed up and should have brought a battle rifle instead.

Hollywood said...

I like the idea have one set of LBE that can be used with a shotgun, .223 or 308 rifle.

These pull out trays seem to fit the bill

http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-shot-gun-shell-pull-out-tray.cfm

Chuck
nccmwake.org

Anonymous said...

I'm sure you fellows remember the WWII Ammo Belts that were in from that dealer near Mike?

I got two of those and ran them down as small as they would go and clipped them together into a bandoleer. It hides under the bed, next to the shotgun and when I pick it up, I have the five in the tube, the six on the side saddle, and sixty (60) more in my bandoleer. I figure that should get me through the first wave of zombies.

To Quote John Ringo "There is no such thing as to much ammunition. There is only more than you can carry."

-Bubba Man (One of the Bubbas of the Apocalypse)

Kevin said...

http://www.olongapooutfitters.com/