I am looking at buying one of these for my 870 and was thinking about the 8 shell holder. I am wondering if it will be too long and be in the way when shooting. Perhaps the 6 shell holder would be better? Can anybody tell me if an 8 shell holder gets in the way when shooting.

 

Receiver Mount Shell Holder

 

When you grab a shotgun, all ammunition you have is in shotgun and on shotgun, so it's important to have receiver mount shell holder.

I recommend getting Mesa Tactical sidesaddle. This is the most durable and reliable sidesaddle available on the market today.

Mesa Tactical sidesaddle is made of aluminium which makes it indestructible. It is low profile and looks fantastic!

One of the good features of this shell carrier is that it doesn't hide the serial number. There are many different versions of this sidesaddle. There are 4-round, 6-round and even 8-round shell carriers. This is the most expensive shell carrier but it is worth the price.

I have never used an 8 shell holder, although I have a buttstock cuff on my Mossberg. If you combined this with a 5 shell butt cuff, that means 5 in the magazine, 5 on the butt, and 8 on the side for a total of 18 rounds. I don't know who you are going to fight with 18 rounds of 00 Buck, but I certainly wouldn't want to be that guy.

 

I know a little bit about CNC and the added expense for this probably comes from machining that little serial number window in the plate. The added cost may not be worth it. Even the 6 shotshell carrier is $62. You can buy 50 rounds of 00 buck for just the cost of that shell holder. Yes, it would be nice to have another 6 to 8 rounds on the gun. But if you used the cost of the shell holder to buy ammo and practice with the shotgun, you have a better chance of hitting your target with the first our second round and never needing to go to the sidesaddle.

 

You can find 6 shell holders pretty much anywhere. I would consider getting the 6 shell holder from a less expensive company or get an $8.00 butt cuff from Dicks. Try out the butt cuff. If it works for you and you can reload fast, it may be all you need. You can always get the 8 shell holder later if you want more ammo on the gun.

 

One thing I can tell you is stay away from the 25 shotshell slings. They weigh down the gun and swing wildly when you are moving.

An 8 round carrier on an 870 may interfere with a single point sling loop or aftermarket forearms that are long than stock.

 

I'm looking at 5-6 round carriers for my 870, and I'm really liking the idea of velcro/webbing-based carriers like this:

 

I like that velcro one.

I have a 4 rounder for my 11-87. Even that gets unweildy sometimes....

Back to OP's original question - here's the best image I could find of an 8 shell carrier - it basically goes edge to edge on the receiver:

 

 

http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/impactco/8f6603a7.jpg

I like that velcro one.

 

I just bought this one on ebay:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190732423283