That being said, for Tactical situations, nothing beats the ease of reloading the Saiga vs. tube-fed SG's hands-down.
I don't entirely agree. While it may be good in matches, or in offensive situations, defensively the reload capability may actually be worse:
The primary reason is the magazines are quite large and bulky. The dimensions of them are for holding big rounds.
Primarily someone who has planned to need a reload ahead of time is going to be carrying one.
People wear special gear to hold such things when used at matches or offensively. However you won't be wearing such gear when you go pick up a long arm to use defensively.
I cannot really see someone grabbing the shotgun and an extra bulky magazine, especially not multiple bulky magazines while dressed in typical clothing during a sudden potential defensive scenario.
That means all those loaded bulky magazines are going to sit right where they were, while the individual grabs the shotgun.
Unless they remain stationary next to those loaded magazines then they probably won't have any reload potential if they run out of rounds.
Just the typical 7-10 round box magazines are so bulky that attaching an extra one to the gun would add considerable bulk and is rather impractical.
What that means is in a typical scenario a person is going to be limited to the number of rounds in the magazine.
While in a traditional tubular shotgun they have the rounds in the magazine, and can make use of any loose rounds including whatever number have been attached to the gun or stuffed in a pocket. Single rounds are a lot easier to attach or make use of available space than big blocky 12 gauge box magazines.
Now loaded with a drum proven reliable it is pretty cool, it has a lot of rounds initially.
But a drum is a bit more complicated with more to go wrong than a box magazine. It also becomes heavy and certainly is more of a carbine in handling than a quick point and shoot shotgun (which can be just fine.)
So I really don't see the ability to reload the typical box magazine used for such firearms quickly as a real world advantage. That advantage would require people to actually carry or have immediately available a spare magazine and the magazines for these are bulkier than a 30 round AR/AK magazine.
A major benefit I see with a box magazine that is more likely to be realistic to potential users is the weight of additional rounds is added between the primary and support hand and closer to the stock.
Leverage does not work against the shooter adding extra weight towards the muzzle. More rounds is simply more weight between both hands, and has less impact on the overall handling per round.
However I would much rather have a shotgun with a solid machined steel receiver than a sheet metal design with trunnions that are bound to wear out in a fraction of the rounds.
I plan to use mine as my woods "bear" gun. Yes, it is heavy and the 20 round drum more so, but having been bluffed charged twice in the Interior by two different bears, and charged once for real by a bear, 20 rounds of 12 gauge bring to me comfort and piece of mind.
That is funny to even picture. Unless your "woods" adventuring consists of driving your vehicle someplace and staying close to it then I would say such a setup is far too heavy and awkward for what it offers. You would be much better off with a rifle in a large caliber that takes a lot less effort to sling and is less likely to snag on things like a drum will.
The thought of trying to hike around or sling a shotgun with the odd dimensions of a large drum is funny.
The shotgun is itself about 8 pounds before adding accessories, the drums nearly 2 pounds empty. Add the weight of the lead, powder, hulls, etc of all the rounds and it is starting to become a burden. You could carry a battle rifle if you want to pack that kind of weight around, or a scout rifle in a potent caliber for much less weight.
The awkward dimensions of a drum with that weight along with the weight of whatever tools or supplies you need for what you are doing in the woods and I doubt you are going to find it pleasant.
Then consider how fragile a drum can be in a rugged environment. Perhaps fine at home or at the range but most are not built with the type of durability I would take into the woods.
GRRRRR....
