So I’ve got a Mesa Tactical sidesaddle on my Mossberg, and its great… except when you leave shells in there for a long time, they tend to loosen up and lose their grip on the shells. Mesa warns against storing shells in the sidesaddle, and offers a harder insert, which I have… but due to my shotguns intended use, shells must stay in the sidesaddle for extended periods of time.
So does anyone have any tricks for improving Mesa’s retention?
Im using the 6 round model, shells down. Ammunition is Federal low recoil 00 buck.
Thanks for the help.
There’s threads about this exact subject on m4c.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=66433&highlight=mesa+rubber
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=76991&highlight=mesa+rubber --------> post #13
If you go to Mesa Tactical’s homepage, they have an article about the retention on their shell carriers and they’re experimenting with different elastomers for the inserts. I believe you can get a replacement that might possibly work better for you.
I took the back plate off mine and removed the rubber tube. I took the rubber tube to Home Depot and found the correct size electrical wire, bought some, cut it to match and slid it in the tube. I put the whole thing back together. Problem solved, much better retention.
I had the same issue on my duty Benelli M4 and of course I just never bothered taking the shells out and they got really loose. At first I just took it apart and rotated the rubber, but then I tried substituting some RC car silicone fuel tubing and it has worked great for about a year now. I leave it loaded 24/7 and it still works as new, with no noticeable “dents” when you take rounds out.
Previously, I had used the tubing as AR extractor “O” rings back when the DFender was just too much to pay for. I ran them in 5 AR’s over many thousands of class, training, and fun rounds with no deformation or any other issues.
Go to a hobby store and buy some silicone tubing in the same diameter as your existing tubing.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/index.php/cPath/1575_49/n/Fuel-Accessories-Fuel-Tubing
Good luck!
Dennis.
Wow, great info! Thanks!
ill get right on that, I appreciate it
It is a problem. I put Q tip sticks inside the rubber tube that retains the shells and that has helped a lot. Personally I actually prefer the cheaper plastic side saddles now because of this issue.
Pat