I had seen velcro shotgun cards at a number of classes in the past and they had seemed rather rugged. Users had good things to say. I have been running a Scattergun Tech Side Saddle on my 870. I wanted to try this system out on my Benelli since they are finicky (and expensive) when adding side sadles.

There are a ton of shotgun (velcro) card  or carrier products out there now (click below for link):

Esstac I got mine from SKD
SOEGear
3GunGear
Jones Tactical
Raven/Ares
HSGI Shot Shell Tray
Vang Comp DSAC

I'm sure there are many more, but these are the most frequently mentioned. A note about Maxpeditions velco-backed card (not listed above). It is 3 inches wide and most receivers will only fit a 2 inch card, so they will not work to attach on the receiver.

I chose the Esstac based on cost ($15/card), 7 rounds of extra ammo and recommendations. Most people who I spoke to who are not are running a chest rig like the SOEGear Micro seem to be using either Esstac or 3GunGear cards.

Supplies
- Industrial Strength Velcro
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Exacto


I have heard 2 things determine how well your application works.
1) If the shotgun is prepped/cleaned prior to application of the velcro
2) Use of industrial strength (2 inch wide) name brand velcro

The most commonly mentioned cleaner/prep is rubbing alcohol to remove any oil. I was unaware that there were at least 3 "strengths" of velcro: regular, Heavy Duty and Industrial. All those who I spoke to (and have read on the forums) say Industrial strength, name brand velcro is the way to go.

Application is pretty simple on the Benelli. I cut to length for the receiver - following the angle of the receiver/buttstock. I made a cut out for the trigger/axle bushing on the left side of the receiver that needs to be pushed out for the trigger group to be removed. That's it. The 2 inch wide velcro fit pretty perfect for width. I rounded off the back end to prevent snagging (see pic)







The Esstac card seems to be really well made. The elastic could easily hold in shells brass down (when new). There are a ton of reviews here that say it is GTG. The card seems to adhere really well to the receiver velcro. I'll have to see how well it handles running around and jumping over things, getting wet, hot, cold, etc. I realize the soft side velcro will eventually wear out and be a PITA to remove, but others have said they have "thousands" of card changes on their setups with no problems. Will see and I have enouth velcro (from the 4 ft) to do ~8 applications.

At present, it is pretty inexpensive to test out and see how it fares - $8 for velcro from Lowes and $15 for a card.

Looking good! Was THIIISSSS close to getting that setup on my 930, but Cactus Tactical only had the GG&G side saddle so I forked out the 80 some bucks :p
Thanks for sharing the pics!

Nice lightweight low profile job! Far better than the more expensive Mesa or Sidearmor options.