Tactical Shotgun Vest - Part Two Update

Tactical Shotgun Vest Designed by SATAS Co

MTM Case-Gard Shell Stack 12 Ga Shell Holder

Close Up of Shell Stack in 25 Round Pocket

This will be the first update as this project is a work in progress. Since the start of the year a few more items have arrived. Here is the link to part one: tactical-shotgun-vest-part-one

Thanks to Ash G., for pointing me in the right direction, I now have a replacement for carrying bulk 12 Ga in the vest without worrying about cardboard boxes dissolving in the rain. Ash is a shotgun expert and I knew he would know if a plastic alternative was available.

Please, allow me to introduce the Shell Stack by MTM Case-Gard. These are plastic inserts for carrying 25 rounds of 12 Ga. Their original purpose is for competition shotgunning at the club shooting skeet or trap. These lightweight plastic inserts are tough and the same size as a cardboard box.  Now, you may be able to understand my excitement as I want these for a tactical purpose. This small box keeps 25 rounds organized and ready to go. Now reloading the vest can be even quicker....I will touch on this a bit more a little later. Suffice to say, I am pleased with this upgrade for the tactical shotgun vest.

Close Up of Signal Smoke Pouches

Combat Tourniquet Mounted on Top of Medical Pouch

Combat TQ from Amazon.ca (similar to C.A.T.)

Tactical Ammo Resupply - Plano + Shell Stack = 100 Rounds

As you can see in the photo, the Shell Stack fits nicely in the pocket. So, in my application of tactics on this vest, the shell loops will be used to supply tactical and administrative reloads of the shotgun. Once the loops are depleted, then they will be reloaded from the bulk ammo in the Shell Stack.

If you were to get caught in an urban warfare situation with a prolonged contact with hostiles, the bulk pocket has a hook & loop tear-away strip at the back of the flap to aid in rapid access to the contents. Since, fine motor skills to undo the side release buckle may be impaired by an adrenaline dump. 

This next photo shows another angle of the Signal Smoke Pouches. You just never know when smoke may come in handy.

The vest holds two Enola Gaye EG40 signal smoke grenades. These should be enough for confirming location if an evac by air ambulance is required. They are reasonably priced at around $13 each. 

So, the left side of the vest can carry 52 rounds of 12 Ga and two smoke grenades. 

The right side of the vest is slowly coming together, too. My order from Amazon.ca arrived the other day, now I have a combat tourniquet. Very popular piece of kit for anyone who participates in any shooting sport or occupation. 

This is a Chinese copy of the C.A.T. Tourniquet. (If you need the real C.A.T.: http://ctoms.ca/) From Amazon this copy is about $14 the real C.A.T. Gen 7 is $39. I will make this TQ work until I can afford to upgrade.

My medical kit is a work in progress. When complete it will be setup to handle minor injuries, as well as, injuries that can occur with firearms use. A micro CPR shield and Wound Seal will be part of my kit. I will do an update in the near future once the med kit is ready to go. For now the TQ is mounted on the top of the med pocket, ready for use.

Before we sign off, I would like to revisit the Shell Stack as part of the tactical ammo resupply. The Shell Stacks I found on Amazon.ca were about $15 for  a four pack. Now, if we team up the Shell Stack with a Plano Shot Shell Box we can easily carry 100 rounds of 12 Ga, enough to reload vest's bulk pocket four times. The Plano box is lockable and compact, making it easy to keep it handy.

That's it for this update. Thanks for reading.

Until next time.......remember, tactical shotgunning and competition shotgunning are not the same. 

Mountainman.

Snowshoe Harness for Military Surplus Snowshoes

Improved Snowshoe Harness Style #2 - Designed Jan 2015

Close up Inside Left Snowshoe

I know a few of you out there have purchased these military surplus snowshoes and why not the price is right. I got mine from Sportsman's Guide for $39.99 USD a set. The crappy web harnesses that came with them were not field ready in my opinion. So, I made my own. 

The first harnesses I built were fine for snowshoeing around the prairies or gently rolling hills, however, my son & I were on a snowshoe trip in the mountains and my basic snowshoe harness design did NOT cut it. Not enough tail/heel control on steep uphills. We worked too hard on that trip.

Close Up Outside Left Snowshoe

 So, on our return I designed and made two sets of Improved Snowshoe Harnesses - Style #2. These are the harnesses in these photos. Now, we had a harness that could hold the heel tight and provided better tail control. Now, by design these military snowshoes are not setup to perform like Sherpas or other modern snowshoes you can get from Canadian Tire, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Atmosphere or other outdoor shops......then, again these snowshoes do not cost $200+ a set.

The military surplus snowshoes were designed for the Boreal Forest and the high Arctic, they are a tough-as-nails version of the classic snowshoes used by natives across Canada from the beginning of time. The magnesium frame does not warp like wood and does not need to be re-vanished, either. The metal cable lacing rarely breaks like rawhide lacing and again does not require re-varnishing. In an emergency you can shave off some of the frame to use as a fire starter. But, these snowshoes are not technical snowshoes for hiking in the mountains. There are no metal harnesses and no crampons/ice cleats. Yes, there are some ridges on the bottom for traction on crusty snow but they are not designed to hold on ice.

I have included the designs for making your own snowshoe harnesses at the bottom of this post. I prefer to have my buckle that opens to be on the outside of my foot/boot, helps me to remember which snowshoe goes on which foot. For materials I used a 10 ounce vinyl for the toe and heel pieces and poly-pro webbing for the straps and normal nylon plastic buckles from PacCana (supplier in Calgary).

I hope this helps.

Until next time......buy surplus and then improve or modify!

Mountainman.

Style #2 Improved Snowshoe Harness

Style #2 Improved Snowshoe Harness Pattern - Jan 2015

Basic Snowshoe Harness - Feb 2003

Style #1 Improved Snowshoe Harness - Jan 2015

Tactical Shotgun Vest - Designed & Prototyped by SATAS Co - Part One

Tactical Shotgun Vest Designed & Prototyped by SATAS Co

Tactical Shotgun Vest - Prototype by SATAS Co

First post of the New Year. Welcome 2018.

Spent better part of three days designing and building this prototype Tactical Shotgun Vest. Unlike, other vests out there this is a mission specific shotgunner vest. Shotgun loops will hold 27 rounds and below them is a pocket that will hold a standard 25 round box of 2 3/4" 12 gauge or multiple 5 round boxes of slugs or buckshot. 

To aid in signaling there are two signal smoke grenade pouches beside the 25 round pocket.

The opposite side of the vest are pouches for a first aid/IFAK kit, pockets for a folding knife (Gerber Paraframe) and a multi-tool (Fuller 15-in-1) and a small pouch for more slugs or cleaning kit. This prototype is still a work in progress, I will add more photos and the design pages later.

Until next time......if you can't find it, make it!

Mountainman.