What’s a Hawaiian House? It’s a website that sells a few different tactical products, a few patches, some hats, shirts, etc. I ran across a short video on Reddit showing this fancy Shotgun Loader V2 that worked like a Pez dispenser for twelve gauge rounds. I was intrigued, went to the website, and ordered two. It seemed like a new solution to carry spare shotgun ammo.

Carrying extra shotgun rounds can be a real pain in the butt. Sure, side saddles work, but I’m talking off gun ammo options. Bandoliers are the golden option but aren’t perfect. Most are cheap pieces of crap. Innovative options from 5.11 like the VTAC shell pouch is one way to go. Wilderness makes the best shotgun belt on the market, and there are also the polymer two shotshell carriers from Safariland.

You can run it vertically…(Travis Pike for TTAG)

The main problem with most of these options is that to reload, and you have to index to a different position to find the next shell. It’s easy to miss a shell and skip around your shells. Plus, there seems to be zero protection for the shells. The Shotgun Loader V2 seems to solve that problem.

…or horizontally (Travis Pike for TTAG)

It’s a polymer box with a spring, follower, and shell stop. You load it like a magazine, and it can hold seven 2.75 inches twelve gauge shells. As you need to reload, you draw a shell, and the next one pops into place. The Shotgun Loader V2 comes with a set of polymer tabs that allow it to connect with MOLLE platforms.

Taking The Shotgun Loader V2 For a Spin

Loading the first six rounds is easy. Getting that final round in there takes a little squeeze. Before I even mounted these things, though, I had an idea. I could swap the orientation of the Shotgun Loader V2, and rock is horizontally on a belt. I drilled another hole in the tabs, and boom, it worked. I mounted one to my Sentry Gunnar belt and another to my 5.11 All Missions Chest Rig.

Each of the Shotgun Loader V2 devices has a strip of Velcro loop you can use to attach hook-equipped shotshell carriers. In my case, Esstac 4 shot shotshell cards. Esstac makes them in capacities up to seven, and there is enough loop on the V2 to fit the seven-round carriers if you want. Theoretically, each carrier could hold fourteen rounds of 12 gauge with the cards.

The Velcro offers plenty of room for extra shells, pistol mags, or morale patches (Travis Pike for TTAG)

Drawing a shell is easy and smooth. At the range, I practiced both tube reloads and port reloads, and both are fairly easy. That constant index point makes it easy to always find the next shell. I preferred belt carry over the chest rig, but both were fairly simple and intuitive.

The shell stop keeps everything braced in place (Travis Pike for TTAG)

With a little experimentation, I developed different hand movements on how to draw depending on which reload I was going for. A bonus of using the shotgun cards on the Shotgun Loader V2 is that if your shotgun uses shotshell cards, then you can swap carriers out as one goes dry.

Working It

I did a total of 15 full reloads using the Shotgun Loader V2 devices. That’s 105 draws per unit with a mix of live and dummy ammo. Admittedly that was mostly using dummy ammo because shotgun ammo is still pricey. Still, the Shotgun Loader V2 never failed to feed the next round, and the shell stop always caught it and held it until I needed it.

Mounted to a belt it feeds very nicely (Travis Pike for TTAG)

The shells remain secure and never fell or just popped out. Even when I jumped and sprinted a bit, they stayed put and were locked in place well. I’m pleasantly impressed by these little devices. They are fairly simple and not very fancy. They are also somewhat larger. You might be able to fit three across a bigger plate carrier, but my 5.11 AMP could fit two at most.

A belt could fit more but might be tougher to access beyond two unless you’ve rocked out on yoga and have the flexibility to reach a good way behind your back. Still, even two carriers could pack 28 rounds with attached 7-round shotgun cards.

Different hand positions make it easier to reload different ways (Travis Pike for TTAG)

The Wilderness belt offers you 25 rounds of spare ammo, so 28 isn’t a bad trade-off. However, half will have a shifting point of grip. That’s a problem with bandos and the shotshell cards. On the flip side, with two Shotgun Loader V2 devices mounted, I still have plenty of room on my belt for a holster, handgun pouches, an IFAK, and more.

Loading from the belt was the easiest way to reload (Travis Pike for TTAG)

Priced Right

Oh, did I mention that the carriers cost all of $20? That’s $26 with an added shotshell card. Not a bad price. Keep in mind, according to Hawaiian House, these are still prototypes (and are currently out of stock). Its a handy piece of gun kit. The V1 setup fits in their own micro rig and would likely fit in most mag pouches.

I’d like to see them trim a little off the side of the design. Make it a little sleeker if possible. I plan to watch the development of these with interest and hope they keep it up. These things could’ve been dumber than Cory Booker’s latest bill, but they turned out rather nice.

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46 COMMENTS

  3. Cool, and reasonably priced too.
    I like single shots, this is going to be really handy.

    • I have 3 single shots amongst my shotgun safe. I take them out for a hunt at least once each season. Just to relive my childhood. It’s fun.

  4. Now this is interesting. Reloading from the belt speaks to me. I’m not a big fan of a shotgun for defense. Just me. But, this thing in a hot duck blind, or dove field, could work.

    • Looks like it could work for either with a bit less bulk than other options.

  5. For the uninitiated. If you can keep your (insert repeater of your choice) up and running in a hot field, or wood duck pond, you know how to work your shotgun.

  6. Okay. 5 USD for the spring loaded option over the gravity fed models that have been around forever isn’t too bad. Just ordered one of the mag pouch versions. Should be interesting to try it out.

  7. Please correct the spelling of “Hawaiian House.” The link is right but it’s spelled wrong everywhere else.

  9. I have a hunting buddy that swears by shell belts and bandoliers. If I want extra ammo I just follow him and pick up the live rounds he loses every trip.

  10. So, it’s a magazine that doesn’t fit into the shotgun. This is the 21st century! I understand why I don’t fly to work like I was promised back in the sixties. But why can’t they make reliable semi-auti shotguns that use detachable mags? Wouldn’t that be a better solution?

    • You can’t store modern paper or plastic shotshells in magazines long-term. The spring pressure will deform them.

      Super-old-school brass shotshells would hold up in magazines, but good luck finding them.

    • You’da think someone would have figured out that there’s a rising market for brass shotshells for mag fed guns by now. But apparently that’s one leap of logic too far for the likes of Federal, Winchester, etc.

    • @Texican

      They do, and ‘they’ also banned them by name from importation. The few that are left for sale are obtusely expensive due to said ban. Obtuse meaning 4 – 5x the original cost.

      The solution for locked & loaded mag fed shotguns without deformation from spring pressure is brass hulls, though they are difficult to come by and when found, to light a load for many to cycle reliably. Someone else needs to take up the mantle with volume production, and with hulls made with an eye to magnum power loads instead of the largely cowboy action light target crowd largely favored in brass hull production, outside of Magtech.

      To that end I bought a few cases of Win’s repro WW2 commemorative shells (Magtech hulls) dirt cheap on closeout for disassembly and reloading because it was cheaper than the alternate. Works a treat loaded for 1350 fps 1 1/4 oz, which is plenty for cycling most SA magazine fed guns.

      Oh, lmao. Typing this out and read the rest of the others right before I hit post. Same/same.

      • Almost forgot about the Fostech Origin, they made those an NFA item.

      • I understand all the considerations. And I have looked at reloading brass shells for 12 gauge. But it is an engineering problem and some enterprising engineer ought to be able to solve this problem. Kinda like how Kel-tec made a 33 rd 22lr mag for the CP33 that will also accept a 17 rd extension. Though I’m not an engineer a couple of ideas occur to me. To keep costs down ammo manufacturers could use a stiffer plastic in the hulls and/or shot cup to prevent deformation and mags could have a graduated or dual mag spring to even out feeding pressure no matter how many rounds are loaded into the mag. I have contacted Mossberg to see if they would do something like that for the 930 or 940. But that doesn’t seem to be something that they’re interested in despite the fact that they have a 20 rd box mag for the 590.

  12. if you inserted this into a carved out stock it would double as a recoil absorber.

  13. Man, coulda used these in the woods for the first couple ruffed grouse hunts as a youth. We took some hides over to the local fur buyer, and stuck around to jaw for awhile after settling our deal. Everybody knew him only as Barson, and he was a crusty, ancient guy. We mentioned wanting to try grouse hunting, and he chuckled, took his cigar out of his mouth, and said, “Grouse, eh? Well, boys, my only recommend is to carry a full box shells and a roll of toilet paper, because when them birds jump up, you’re liable to empty yer gun and fill yer pants.” We did, and they did, and we did. It took us a few trips to get the hang of it. There’s a lot of lead in the reclaimed strip mine hills of the Wayne National Forest.

    • My first grouse hunt was in Ohio. I was about 14. They do make a ruckus when they bust cover.

  15. It’s from Hawaiian House but you didn’t wear it over a Hawaiian shirt. Now how can we know whether you endorse the product for boogaloo-related applications? I demand a re-do.

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