Daves Metal Works EZ Loader

Ok, I know this is nothing particularly new in the firearms world, but Ill throw my thoughts in there as well (in typical cynical, sarcastic, profane fashion). Basically what this little gizmo does is make it easier to quickly load shotgun shells into your magazine tube. I have the one that fits my Remington 11-87, so that is what my experience and observations are geared towards.

Good Stuff: Once I got this little sucker installed, I saw an immediate decrease in reloading times. The stock Remington loading gate is a hell of a lot smaller and harder to hit on the run, to the point I was having to drop the gun off my shoulder and load with my strong hand (something I wasn't thrilled about). Also, the stock button makes it nearly impossible to execute a TWins or Quad load, a serious disadvantage in this day and age where most people can drop 8 rounds into the tube in under 6 seconds.

 I have read about many people trimming the front end down to avoid sticking shells or fingers in the action, but I have yet to encounter that problem. I am in the process of transitioning to TWins style loading, so the extra length doesnt really phase me that much and actually provides a smoother transition of the shells into the tube. But thats just my experience.

Bad Stuff: This fucker is a serious pain in the ass to install if you don't know what you are doing or don't have the patience to do a careful job. The diss-assembly is straight forward, but the factory roll pin is flattened to keep it in place and must be filed/dremeled on one end to allow removal. Installation of the EZ loader requires you to file down portions of the shell carrier and takes a good deal of time to do correctly (the spaces in question do not lend themselves to a dremel, so a good jewelers file was my tool of choice).

If you are in any way unsure of your ability to complete this operation, you would be better served by sending it off to DMW for installation instead. It beats the absolute shit out of me why they wouldn't offer a fully assembled trigger assembly with it already installed, but I guess that is their privilege. Still, would be a hell of a lot easier if they would offer a slicked up plug&play assembly and you could save your stock trigger group for the spare parts box in case of a malfunction.

 Overall: Great mod if you need to load quickly. Pain in the ass to install. If you have some common sense about you and are good with hand tools, then by all means give it a try. Otherwise, just send the fucker in and let the pros do it.