TacStar SideSaddle® Shotshell Mount

Today we are going to mount a TacStar SideSaddle® on a Mossberg 500 shotgun. The Sidesaddle holds six rounds, which immediately doubles the capacity of this shotgun.

First remove the product from its junky, Toys-R-Us packaging:

That's better:

Open the ejection port, and lay the shotgun on its side, port up:

 Remove the 8/32 screw on the opposite side of the ejection port. Replace this screw with the supplied longer 8/32 screw and tighten (the instructions say "screw", but technically, it is a bolt):

With the shotgun in the same position, use the supplied 10/32 bolt with washer to push out the pin located just above the trigger. Line up the bolt, and tap it with the palm of your hand and the pin will pop out pretty easily. Just push it flush on the other side; you will have to screw it into a threaded hole later:

Remove the flathead screws from the SideSaddle® so that it splits into two parts:

Place the mounting plate on the receiver with the counter-bored hole on the 8/32 bolt, and the tapped hole on the 10/32 bolt. There are two counter-bored holes; which one you use depends on which model you have:

Tighten the 10/32 bolt into the tapped hole on the SideSaddle® mounting plate. Do not overtighten, as you could end up locking up the gun's action. It kind of makes you wish you had a sturdy, milled receiver. Then again, I paid less for this gun than for the upper receiver on my AR, so maybe not:

Place the supplied nut on the 8/32 bolt and tighten. Note that the kit does not include a tool for tightening this nut. I took this as a sign to hand-tighten the nut. Once the facing is in place, it will keep this nut from backing off:

Place the SideSaddle® shell holder onto the mounting plate, and tighten the screws:

Well, there you have it; double the capacity after $30 and five minutes. Note that the shells are loaded primer down. This serves two purposes. First, if the weapon is dropped, the stock and trigger guard protect the rounds from accidental ignition. Second, with the shells mounted this way, I can pull them out with my off hand and load them into my receiver; one at a time if I am in an "oh, shit" zombie situation.

The product is rough, black plastic. It looks right at home on my Mossberg Defender, but nicer weapons will look pretty shabby sporting this accessory. But, I got his weapon as a home defender and bugout gun, so rough black plastic is fine with me. I kind of like the ugly look on guns anyway. At least, I keep telling myself that ever since I bought my Glock.