I saw some photos of shotguns that have one or two shells on the right side of the receiver stored in hinky looking storage "sleeves" and a friend told me they are for competition which makes sense because of the context of competition, they don't need to be the same as extra shell storage if your rappelling out of a helicopter!
While I don't compete, it got me wondering if these would be good for my home defense mossberg 590. Since I keep it stored "cruiser ready", having an extra round right there to top off the magazine tube seems nice. Even though I have a sidesaddle, it would give me even one more round.
Also I've been thinking of ditching my side saddle but thats a whole nother story! Anyways, since I don't have any competition experience I don't know anything about these little doohickeys that hold one or two shells on the right side of the receiver. Anyone with experience using them can tell me if they are good for my intended purpose of topping off the mag tube after loading up a cruiser ready shotgun for action? Any particular brands or models that are recommended?
Another idea I've been toying with is keepin the action open slightly and a shell floating in the open action. So that pushing the pump forward, locking the action will load that shell in the gun and the mag tube stays full. I read about this idea online, not sure if it's considered unsafe or stupid but it seems reasonable and as long as the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction and the action doesn't fall on it's own closed, the gun should be pretty safe. The idea of keeping a round in the chamber of the shotgun is bothersome to me in case of a fire and the round "cooks off" although maybe with the shell in an open chamber it's even more concerning since now the blast won't be directed only down the barrel? Although it's probably the same for any rounds in the mag tube that "cook off" and just randomly explode in all directions without a closed bolt to direct their energy down a barrel?
Darn I guess I'm asking two different questions but if keeping a full mag tube and a shell floating loose in an open chamber does work, then I guess I don't need one of these competition shell holders?