Side saddles and tactical shotguns go together like peanut butter in chocolate isolated in a small cup wrapped in paper. The world of shotgun side saddles has evolved, and the modern side saddle is an elastic, soft goods type with some form of hook and loop to secure it to your gun. We are over swapping bolts and attaching plastic to our shotguns. We want elastic loops and soft goods. The Ibex Applications Lead Sled is a modern soft goods side saddle from a fairly new company.
The Lead Sled competes with established shotgun cards like the classic Esstac or highly vaulted Vang Comp shotgun cards. It’s a big market with lots of room for new options. The Lead Sled faces a lot of competition, so is it up to the task? Ibex Applications is a small, veteran-run company out of Georgia that makes just a few things. They make a great chest rig for the Flux Raider, so I purchased one.
The Lead Sled – A Flexible Approach
Since I was already getting the chest rig, I figured, heck, let’s grab a Lead Sled to see if it can stand up to the modern competition. At 20 bucks, I figured it was worth the get. Plus, it comes in tons of colors and finishes, including Multicam. You can pick between four or six-round cards, and I went with the smaller four-round option.
These soft, good shotgun side saddles have some inherent flex to them. That’s part and parcel of using soft goods. Flex is often seen as a downside. The Vang Comp cards are famously super stiff and rigid. When mounted to a shotgun, they don’t flex inward much, making it easier to draw the rounds.
The Ibex Applications Lead Sled has lots and lots of flex. The side saddle flexes more than most. It’s downright floppy. The thing is, it doesn’t flex inward, at least not much enough to matter. Because of its somewhat loose nature, the card sits flat when loaded. The weight of the shells and the strength of the hook and loop seem to keep it flat—flatter than the Esstac card I normally use.
Its flexible nature also gives you a few advantages when storing it off the gun. One of the big benefits of these shotgun cards is the ability to reload your side saddle as if it were a magazine. You can carry spare shotgun cards in AR mag pouches, on a belt, etc.
The flex of the Lead Sled makes it easy to fold this four-shotter up and fit it into a grenade pouch to save room. It bends easily, so you can attach it to a belt with hook and loop attachments, and it can mold to your natural curves.
Reloading From The Sled
The Lead Sled uses flex to its advantage, but how does it do the whole loading thing? First off, retention is great. The elastic loops are rigid and tight. They grip the shell well, and it won’t move much. As usual, I wouldn’t run the shells upside down, but that’s my policy with all side saddles outside of the Aridus QD-C.
The Lead Sled works quite well as a side saddle. Freeing rounds and getting them into the gun isn’t a problem. The Lead Sled would also work well on a belt or chest rig as a spare ammo carrier. The device also has a loop like the Esstac designs. Unlike the Esstac, the loop is absolutely massive.
The size of the loop makes it easy to grip and rip from a pouch or off a gun. The loop also allows for loop loading. Loop loading is where you hold the saddle by the loop with your firing hand while your off-hand loads the gun. If done properly, the user can maintain a firing grip while loading the gun. Credit to Jeff Gurwitch for introducing the world to this technique.
More Than a Side Saddle
The reason devices like the Lead Sled work so well is because they are so versatile. The Lead Sled might be a new kid on the block but they are taking some chances and embracing a little bit of flex. It turns out some flex can work. If you need a side saddle, the Ibex Applications Lead Sled offers you something effective and capable at a fairly low price point.
For more information, please visit IbexApplications.com.
