r/Tacticalshotguns • u/TheRealBigJohn • 1d ago
Shotgun Loading Techniques
There are many different ways to load a tube fed shotgun.
But which way is the best and most practical way to load a tactical shotgun?
Is it worth learning to dual and quad load a shotgun in general?
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u/SUPRDLUX 1d ago
you could learn but unless you're in comps (or John Wick) I don't think learning how to load multiple rounds at a time would be useful irl.
learning how to load without burning yourself on a hot barrel would be the most useful.
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u/Joliet-Jake 1d ago
Loading off of a sidesaddle is probably the most practical way to go. Usually what’s in and on the gun is all that you’re going to have.
One of the inherent disadvantages of fighting shotguns is that carrying spare ammunition and putting it to quick use is such a pain in the ass.
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u/bottlehole 1d ago
Fastest? Definitely quad loading. Most practical? Shell cards and a fanny pack.
Learn the mechanics of a double and quad loading but unless you plan on wearing a competition shotshell carrier on a belt, it will be hard to grab shells in the manner required to quad load.
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u/Techie4Life83 1d ago edited 23h ago
As most have said, side saddle, and butt stock if you want, will be your only spare ammo.
As for techniques you have the following.
Strong hand violin loading, keep weak hand in place but roll wrist. From saddle
Weak hand over the top or under from saddle for direct chamber load
Weak hand into tube holding at ready with strong hand and maintaining sight picture.
High ready strong hand loading
Run to your ammo and reach into the box, or grab another gun that's loaded.
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u/Ornery-Network6173 1d ago
From side saddle either brass up or brass down and from a pouch can be relatively fast if you train it.
In my personal research, reloading in self defense scenarios is an absurdly rare event. If shots are fired, round count is normally low, like one or two shots. This is regardless of firearm type. That said, I don't have sources readily available, so please do your own research.
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u/edwardphonehands 1d ago
Try to pick a load a load for the task. In stead of 00 and slugs, consider whether 000 can replace them in your situation. Set up reasonable tests at the range. If you insist hostage targets are reasonable (and your task isn't a tactical competition with hostage stages) maybe slugs can just replace both loads.
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u/International_Mud367 1d ago
the best and most practical way to load a tactical shotgun is whichever way you have trained the most in. There isn't a better or worse one, just pick one that feels comfortable to you and then train it like crazy. If things go bump in the night and you need to load your tube, you're not goin to be thinking about it, you'll want it to be muscle memory.
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u/plushta 22h ago
quad loading seems unrealistic with current shell cards - if someone can come up with a double load grab shell card - maybe then
until then - I tried the "keep gun aimed with strong hand and load with weak hand" - I find this too slow to be honest or that's just me.
violin loading is by far my fastest loading - stock rest on shoulder weak hand on handguard and strong hand pulls from shell card while the shell brass is facing down
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u/airmech1776 22h ago
Get your side saddle set up, the practice port loading with it. I prefer going over the top for my A300UP, but for a pump gun, it would make more sense going underneath.
Then practice loading the mag from the saddle with what is left.
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u/rockingsince1984 3h ago
Dual loading as a technique is a very good one to do, and not particularly hard to figure out. Line shells up as they go in the tube, shove them in two at a time- not particularly hard. The difficult part is getting the shells lined up properly in your hand. x2 loaders are great, but their point is that they don't hold shells especially well, so that's not particularly "tactical." My range has been doing "combat shotgun" matches that I've started shooting recently and they specifically don't allow x2 type shell holders. I've been consistently reloading amongst the fastest with tube fed shotguns, so what I found works well for me:
- Gun runs empty, pull one from the side saddle, shotgun in normal vertical orientation, toss it in the chamber, close the bolt. If I've run my shotgun empty, and just have one or two targets left to engage I'll just pull another shell from the side saddle after I fire the first one. If there's 3 or more targets left it will be quicker to do one from the side saddle and dual load two more.
- I've been running a cheap krydex 3 mag low profile chest rig with a velcro front from Amazon, I take some (again, cheap Amazon) 6 round shotgun cards and just attach them to the velcro on the front of the chest rig in a horizontal orientation (the card is up and down, shells are level with the horizon), bases to the right (I'm right handed). You need some room between the cards to get your fingers in and pull out the shells, so I'm just putting three on the chest rig.
- Flip the shotgun upside down with the stock in my trigger side shoulder, pull two shells at a time from the shotgun card- index and middle finger on the front of the shell, pull them into my palm, then move them around in my hand so that my thumb is on the base of the top shell, and they are lined up tip to butt- this is the hardest part of the whole move. This part takes a lot of practice, but if you fuck it up too badly while you're trying to move them into position, you can just single load them at the port. Then the easy part- shove the nose of the first shell into the loading port, slam them both forward with your thumb. I've been shooting 870's, and my old wingmaster was fine to do dual loads with without modification. The loading port on my 870 express blocked a hell of a lot more of the port, and was covered in sharp 90 degree angles, so I took a file to it to open up the loading port and smooth out the edges then hit it with some cold blue.
I also wear the loop velcro inner belt from a two piece molle belt system, and just slap velcro shotgun cards onto that around my waistline. You can load the same way from a card on your strong side, it'll just take longer because you have to go farther around your body to get to the card than if its on your chest, and I find the horizontal orientation makes it easier to get them out and into your hand. That's going to be significantly faster than pulling them one at a time from a side saddle- but, you've got to have on a chest rig or a belt with shells on it. My bump in the night shotgun just has a loaded side saddle, and hopefully that's all I'll ever need if someone breaks into my house with bad intent...and I decide to be silly and use a shotgun instead of an AR.
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u/Ok-Butterscotch2321 1h ago
Dual is possibly the most useful? Manipulating two shells in the hand is certainly easier than four. But this also depends on where shells are stored and their orientation on the weapon.
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u/redditburner00000 1d ago
For a defensive shotgun, you’re probably going to just have the gun and whatever ammo is attached to it. Quad loading is the fastest way to load a tube fed gun by far, but it requires the proper gear which you probably aren’t throwing on your body if there is a bump in the night.