Your take on the velcro sidesaddles?

[RaVis]

Your take on the velcro sidesaddles? Better than Mesa Tac's aluminum one-piece screw-in sidesaddle?


Image lifted off the web.

 

[mopar92]

Different tools for different purposes. LE/SWAT or competition yes much better. But the average homeowner ain't gonna slap on a tac vest and have multiple ready to go at o dark thirty. So for HD Mesa Tactical sidesaddle is tops. I run a Mesa Tac and a Speedfeed stock.

 

[RaVis]

Different tools for different purposes. LE/SWAT or competition yes much better. But the average homeowner ain't gonna slap on a tac vest and have multiple ready to go at o dark thirty. So for HD Mesa Tactical sidesaddle is tops. I run a Mesa Tac and a Speedfeed stock.

The reason I posted this question is because I just watched one of Yeager's recent shotgun vids where he said that in his "Fighting Shotgun" class screw-on sidesaddles always fell apart. I don't know. It might be getting to the point where he only pitches the stuff that he sells and he was talking about S.O.E velcro sidesaddle exclusively.

 

[INMY01TA]

I'd rather have a bolt on.

 

[jaredm1]

What is the "loop" tape just glued on the side?

Looks lighter and less bulky anyway

 

[mopar92]

The reason I posted this question is because I just watched one of Yeager's recent shotgun vids where he said that in his "Fighting Shotgun" class screw-on sidesaddles always fell apart. I don't know. It might be getting to the point where he only pitches the stuff that he sells and he was talking about S.O.E velcro sidesaddle exclusively.

Blue Loctite and someone that knows what the f*** they're doing.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

There is no way in hell that a Mesa Tactical side saddle is falling off. You couldn't pull it off if you tried. They use a male/female proprietary screw system that replaces the trigger pin. Also, I don't know if they are making one pieces now but a Mesa Tactical side saddle is actually two pieces. Like a previous poster said, the velcro saddles are pointless unless you are utilizing a tac vest.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[RaVis]

Blue Loctite and someone that knows what the f*** they're doing.

Ha! That's what they point out to too. That even if locktite('d) they'd still come off. Agreed, some more knowledge or contact Mesa directly for help.

Like a previous poster said, the velcro saddles are pointless unless you are utilizing a tac vest.

I'm guessing here... but get the velcro muddied up or wet and it's a done deal. No?

 

[Shiny Dog]

I don't think they're useless. Far from it. Ive got ares' velcro rigs on my shotty, 5 rd on the left, 2 rd on the right. I like it alot. They're sturdy and well made and as long as you use good velcro for the loop side they stay put. I gave them a try because they are lightweight, and cheaper than the other sidesaddles. Got nothing against the mesa rigs but velcro serves its purpose well.

 

[mopar92]

Ha! That's what they point out to too. That even if locktite('d) they'd still come off. Agreed, some more knowledge or contact Mesa directly for help.



I'm guessing here... but get the velcro muddied up or wet and it's a done deal. No?

As for getting it wet or dirty pretty much. And if blue don't work red will. But if you're getting your firearm hot enough to reliquify Loctite then I'd be more worried about the possibilities of rounds cooking off in the barrel or the tube.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

I don't think they're useless. Far from it. Ive got ares' velcro rigs on my shotty, 5 rd on the left, 2 rd on the right. I like it alot. They're sturdy and well made and as long as you use good velcro for the loop side they stay put. I gave them a try because they are lightweight, and cheaper than the other sidesaddles. Got nothing against the mesa rigs but velcro serves its purpose well.

I don't know if you've ever felt the saddle from Mesa Tactical but they are very light. Lighter than one would think. When loaded with shells, nobody would be able to feel a difference in weight.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Numidian]

A lot of folks tighten the Mesa screws down too tight and actually induce all sorts of jamming by squeezing the receiver too tight

 

[mopar92]

A lot of folks tighten the Mesa screws down too tight and actually induce all sorts of jamming by squeezing the receiver too tight

That's only really an issue on Mossbergs. The receivers are aluminum and more subject to "flex". And that's solved by someone who knows what the f*** they're doing. When attaching them its prudent to load snap caps so that you can check cycling and feeding.

 

[Shiny Dog]

I don't know if you've ever felt the saddle from Mesa Tactical but they are very light. Lighter than one would think. When loaded with shells, nobody would be able to feel a difference in weight.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Never held a mesa side saddle. I wasn't claiming that the mesa rigs are heavy or cumbersome, just sayin that the velcro are definitely worth lookin at. They might not be everyones ideal choice for a sidesaddle system but they work for me.

 

[MDshooters]

Jester: The velcro saddles are not "pointless unless you are utilizing a tac vest."

I am aware that the idea behind the velcro is that you have more on your vest to swap out, but the Pro of the velcro is that you are not swapping out factory parts. Many, many, many people have had trouble with the bolt on saddles. The velcro nearly eliminates all of the problems of the bolt ones, with the added benefit of being able to swap the saddle, in words "re-loading" the side of the shotgun.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Jester: The velcro saddles are not "pointless unless you are utilizing a tac vest."

I am aware that the idea behind the velcro is that you have more on your vest to swap out, but the Pro of the velcro is that you are not swapping out factory parts. Many, many, many people have had trouble with the bolt on saddles. The velcro nearly eliminates all of the problems of the bolt ones, with the added benefit of being able to swap the saddle, in words "re-loading" the side of the shotgun.

Yea. You are right about not having to alter the firearm with the Velco saddles. You are also right about people having problems with the bolt on saddles due to changing factory parts. This doesn't happen with the Mesa saddles though. I'll get to why in a second. This happens with saddles such as the cheaper Tac-Star because you are replacing the trigger assembly pin with a screw. When Mesa designed theirs, instead of using a single screw they use a two piece system. One of the pieces is just a trigger assembly pin with female threads on the inside which you insert into the right side of the receiver. The screw then goes into the pin. Eventually, all you're replacing the OEM pin with is another pin with female threads on the inside. There is absolutely no way whatsoever this pin could cause a issue. This is the biggest reason why I went with the Mesa over the Tac-Star.

 

[xer0]

Hi all, newbie here that just happened to be browsing and thought I'd share a better velcro for sidesaddles. I had a Tacstar sidesaddle and as many find out over lots of use that they don't have the most durable mounting system. I tried the regular heavy duty velcro on both the soft card type shell holders and also on the back of the Tacstars. While they are good for a little while, the best velcro just isn't very strong and even worse once it starts getting dirty/old.

I now use this stuff instead 3M™ Dual Lock Reclosable Fastener http://www.3m.com/product/information/Dual-Lock-Reclosable-Fastener.html and let me tell you that it works awesome for mounting a hard Sidesaddle to the receiver. It will work with a soft shell carrier too, but not as well, although still better than any hook and loop velcro.

What it is is hundred of tiny mushroom-shaped plastic pins that interlock together when you press them together. The advertised holding strength is something like 7-8lbs pull apart strength per square inch. Therefore a couple of 1x6 inch strips on the side of my 590A1 or 870 receiver is 12sq inches x 7lbs = 84lbs of holding strength.

I can hold onto the "sidesaddle" with the shotgun fully loaded and shake it violently without the rifle or sidesaddle seperating in the slightest. To take it off, I just pry it apart from one corner until the mushroom heads starts to seperate. When you squeeze the stuff back together, you can feel an actual "click-in" as the mushroom heads squeeze past each other and intertwine to lock. It's probably stronger than the typical bolt-through receiver mount simply because these only are held on at the rear of the plate. This mushroom tape distributes the load across the entire side of the receiver much like vecro, but with a much stronger bind between the two halves.

Here's a crappy close up picture I took with my phone of it (ignore dog hair :-).

The other cool thing is that is is all plastic in construction so if it gets loaded with dirt/mud, just take a toothbrush and water to it. It doesn't hold the water/dirt like a sponge as the loop side of velcro does. Oils/cleaners do not appear to affect the plastic either, although obviously the back side with adhesive may soften if exposed to some chemicals long enough. The 3M adhesive is definitely waterproof as when I peeled some up to clean the rust spots on my cheap-finish Remington 870, there was no rust where the adhesive was.

This stuff makes my Cheap Tacstar sidesaddle useful again. It was so secure while still being removeable, that I bought another for my other shotgun and didn't even bother to use the mounting screw hardware, just went straight to this stuff. Kinda neat too that I can pull off the one that is on my Remington 870 and just stick it to my Mossberg 590A1 and it is just as strong, and does not look wrong even though the sidesaddle models are slightly different shaped.

You can buy rolls of this stuff on Amazon for pretty cheap. Just know before hand while it works awesome beteen two flat surfaces (like the aluminum plate of a hard sidesaddle and a receiver) it probably doesn't work so well with irregular surfaces. it also takes a good deal more force to "seat" the mushroom heads together compared to regular velcro that you can simply lightly press together. With this stuff ou have to give it a good squeeze.