I'm a diehard M37 owner, but I can see in a combat situation where it might be easier to slap one round into an empty, open chambered M500 or 870 than it is to speed load an M37 for that one shot with your life on the line. The follower arms of the M37 have to be just right and touching the "roof" of the action to drop a round into position with the gun upside down for the bolt to shove it into the chamber with one motion. It can be tricky enough to do it in broad daylight without stress. Otherwise, the round must be shoved into the magazine and the action cycled back and forth to load the chamber.
My late friend Bucky carried an M37 and a 1911 in Vietnam. His preferred round was the flechette round which carried 20 steel darts in a 2.75" 12 ga. shell. Bucky wore his old boonie hat when we quail hunted and what I remembered about his old hat was he had a couple of flechette darts stuck in the band. Maybe Walt can share what he knows about the Ithaca Platypus.
Gil
