Tactaload is a new company bringing a lot of innovation to the world of shotgun stocks. Tactaload was founded by a veteran Secret Service agent with an expansive amount of time behind a shotgun. His experience with the Speed Feedstock and normal side saddles lead him to create the Flash 5.
The Flash 5 is a shotgun stock designed to hold five spare rounds of ammunition. It’s capable of holding 2.75 and 3-inch shells normally, and when you remove a spacer, the gun will then hold 3.5-inch shells.
The Flash 5 is made from a rugged and ultra-strong polymer material designed to take a beating. The stock is currently produced for the Mossberg 500 series and the Remington 870 shotguns.
Breaking Down the Flash 5
The Flash 5 has an integral magazine built into the stock the feeds the rounds from the bottom of the stock. A small spring-loaded gate ensures the rounds do not slip out of the stock when the environment is dynamic. The gate pops out of the way with no input from the user other than pulling the round from the stock.
The Flash 5 is ambidextrous, and the majority of the rounds are concealed inside the stock. This adds a level of protection not found in side saddles. On top of that, the rounds are in the center rear of the gun. This positioning helps maintain the gun’s balance and makes the gun swing nice and smoothly.
How It Works as a Stock
While holding rounds is cool, the stock has to succeed as a stock more than it has to succeed as a shell holder. I can use a shotgun without a shell holder, and I can’t use one without a stock. The Flash 5 is luckily one helluva good stock. It provides a consistent cheek weld and allows for a comfortable grip.
Most importantly, you can adjust the length of pull. Most shotgun stocks have way too long of a LOP for combat shooting. The stock has optional inserts to adjust the stock from 12.5 inches to 13.5 inches in half-inch increments. This makes it quite easy to fit the stock to the shooter and increases comfort and control over the weapon.
Putting Work In
I was a little skeptical about reloading from the Flash 5. I’ve always found side saddles to be the fastest way to reload a gun. Imagine my surprise when I found myself slightly faster with Tactaload’s Flash 5 stock. The Flash 5 made the movement from stock to chamber short and more intuitive. Grip the round, rotate my wrist, and insert into the tube, rinse and repeat. The only time it’s slower than a side saddle is for port reloads. However, we are talking fractions of a second slower.
I repeated the drill for what had to be hundreds of reloads. Over and over and over. I was oftentimes wearing my wrist out holding the Mossberg 590A1 on target. The Flash 5 never failed to deliver the next round I needed. I’m shocked and remain surprised at how capable and durable the Fast 5 is.
The Mossberg 590A1 is my go-to pump-action combat shotgun, and it will sit adorned with the Flash 5 permanently. It’s faster, easier to use, better balanced, and is one helluva well-made stock. It’s short and sweet, with the ability to hold five-rounds makes it a no-brainer for me. On my Mossberg is squeezes into most AR15 Cases It costs nearly the same as the famed Magpul stock but offers you a high-quality spare shell holder on top of that. The Flash 5 is a genius design, and I’m excited to see what Tactaload comes up with next.
