More modern pouches for Garand En-blocs?

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Detritus

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Not sure if this is the best place for this visibility wise but seems to fit this section better than the others

I want to occasionally use my Garand in the various 2-gun matches that occur in my area (considered by me to be anything within a distance not requiring a two night hotel stay just to shoot a one day match) But, my google-fu is weak, and I have not yet found an acceptable solution as far as ammo pouches etc.

In order of preference what I would like to find is
  1. a system that allows me to set my pistol gear pretty much as it sits on my USPSA rig, or better yet a set of enbloc pouches (kydex or similar preferred) that can be added to/removed from my current outer belt as needed without disturbing the pistol gear. I.E. the dream is enbloc pouches on a tek-lok or similar attachment, that I can arrange on my outer belt fore and aft of my pistol on my right side
  2. some other system, 2nd belt, chest rig, etc. with cellular storage of the enblocs that can be placed or rigged in a manner that does not impede access to holster or mag pouches on my existing rig

most of what I've found has either been
1. copies of the old WW1/WW2 style cartridge belt that both requires a separate pistol belt and would require the pistol to be in a "dropped" location to clear the ammo belt.
2. is simply a set of enbloc sized pouches (of modern or historical design) made to go on a GI style pistol belt/LBE set. and has no provision to be fitted to a standard 1-1/2" competition belt
3. is a solution like I used in the "Vintage 2-gun" match I shot October of 2017, a repurposed piece of gear for something else (i.e. an M-60 bandoleer bag), this was workable but very sub optimal


so anyway, anyone have a suggestion (or two)?
I thank you for your time and any info you can provide
 
I'm not aware of anything on the market. Seems like making your own from kydex wouldn't be that difficult. Or you might be able to use an empty en bloc clip as a bucket (perhaps with the back cut out, so it's just a sleeve?) and attach a blade-tech tek-lok mount to it.
 
Good stuff but it's not what he's asking for. Personally I run Garands in 2-gun and Multigun all the time and I wear a thickish canvas button up shirt and put 4-6 loaded clips between the buttons along the front of my shirt, sandwiching the edge of the shirt between the rows of cartridges. Reasonably secure and allows for very quick reloads.

Personally the olongapo rig would be more useful to me if the pouches were angled toward my right hand a little rather than vertical, and if there were no straps to get in the way.

OP if you ever find or make something like you describe with kydex and safariland attachments or similar, please let me know. I imagine the market for these is small but it would be awesome.
 
Good stuff but it's not what he's asking for. Personally I run Garands in 2-gun and Multigun all the time and I wear a thickish canvas button up shirt and put 4-6 loaded clips between the buttons along the front of my shirt, sandwiching the edge of the shirt between the rows of cartridges. Reasonably secure and allows for very quick reloads.

Personally the olongapo rig would be more useful to me if the pouches were angled toward my right hand a little rather than vertical, and if there were no straps to get in the way.

OP if you ever find or make something like you describe with kydex and safariland attachments or similar, please let me know. I imagine the market for these is small but it would be awesome.

On the contrary - the enbloc-specific chest rig would satisfy his second, less preferred option...I didn't see a stipulation for "open top" cellular pouches.
Just a few more options - you could run an actual enbloc bandoleer across your chest (still isn't open topped, if you want that).

Last thing I could think of is, similar to 1K's approach, is to put the loaded clips on the sling of the rifle, with the sling between the staggered rows of rounds. Like his method, reasonably secure (won't shake free easily). It's advised to do a "clip tap" to seat the rounds prior to loading, as a tight clip will cause rounds to "raise" due to the friction when you rip the clip off the sling.
 
Ask, and you shall receive:
https://olongapooutfitters.com/equipment-and-gear/garand-chest-rig/

This guy makes some good stuff.

Yep, that or their "Grab & Go" are in the lead as far as a "back up plan", should I not be able to source what I would prefer.

Good stuff but it's not what he's asking for. Personally I run Garands in 2-gun and Multigun all the time and I wear a thickish canvas button up shirt and put 4-6 loaded clips between the buttons along the front of my shirt, sandwiching the edge of the shirt between the rows of cartridges. Reasonably secure and allows for very quick reloads.

OP if you ever find or make something like you describe with kydex and safariland attachments or similar, please let me know. I imagine the market for these is small but it would be awesome.

I wish I could remember any one of the three sources I have found for exactly this in the past! all I can find any more are postings of the following picture of the Homebuilt/DIY version.
32682673917_84e760b10a_n.jpg
In the past five years I've seen two other, more "commercially polished" variations on this, but can no longer find either one. All my recent searches for variations of "Enbloc holder/pouch" send me either to the above picture, the Olongapo website, or to one of the sources/makers of relatively available but expensive snap-top leather pouches for the purpose.

Just a few more options - you could run an actual enbloc bandoleer across your chest (still isn't open topped, if you want that).

Last thing I could think of is, similar to 1K's approach, is to put the loaded clips on the sling of the rifle, with the sling between the staggered rows of rounds. Like his method, reasonably secure (won't shake free easily). It's advised to do a "clip tap" to seat the rounds prior to loading, as a tight clip will cause rounds to "raise" due to the friction when you rip the clip off the sling.

I tried using the bandoleers that came with my ammo, they're great for securely carrying ammo, but (at least for me) utter infuriating torture to try and retrieve ammo from on the clock.
And I know that Sling/shirt stowage of enblocs works for some folks, but I'm not comfortable with it, for the reasons mentioned as well as those not being locations in which my brain is programed to find ammo.

thanks for the input so far, frankly im looking to see what options are out there so I can make a best informed decision.
 
Yeah, none of the options are really that great for combining/not interfering with a pistol belt.

I’ve often wondered how my grandfather reloaded quickly fighting through Europe with his M1. Those bandoleers are dang near impossible with gloves.

Re: the sling: if you had to do it, it’s better to put them more towards the butt than the muzzle for the reasons 1K identified. But I suspect you already knew that.

The problem with speed and the chest harness I referenced is the flap. I don’t know how handy you are, but if you were looking for a custom solution, you could take a m1923 cartridge belt, salvage one of the sections of ammo pouches, cut off the flap so it’s open, and sew to the bottom portion of a chest rig. Or take a 2-3 pouch section, and put that on your belt. I’m spitballing here.

At least with AR mags or M1 carbine mags there’s something to hold onto. There’s not much real estate on an enbloc.
 
What you might want to look at is the M-56 "Universal" ammo pouch.
Attachment is by slide keepers, so it will fit on most belts to need.
Unmodified ones have a strap meant to hitch up to the LBE suspenders to help carry the weight.
The size was meant to take (just barely) a whole bandolier of Garand ammo, or three BAR mags, or as many Carbine mags as would fit.
Construction is a canvas "box" with a box-style lid that holds its shape. The pounch would probably keep a stage's worth f clips inside even with the pull-tab undone.
post-5-1188923730.jpg
 
Yep, that or their "Grab & Go" are in the lead as far as a "back up plan", should I not be able to source what I would prefer.



I wish I could remember any one of the three sources I have found for exactly this in the past! all I can find any more are postings of the following picture of the Homebuilt/DIY version.
View attachment 836866
In the past five years I've seen two other, more "commercially polished" variations on this, but can no longer find either one. All my recent searches for variations of "Enbloc holder/pouch" send me either to the above picture, the Olongapo website, or to one of the sources/makers of relatively available but expensive snap-top leather pouches for the purpose.



I tried using the bandoleers that came with my ammo, they're great for securely carrying ammo, but (at least for me) utter infuriating torture to try and retrieve ammo from on the clock.
And I know that Sling/shirt stowage of enblocs works for some folks, but I'm not comfortable with it, for the reasons mentioned as well as those not being locations in which my brain is programed to find ammo.

thanks for the input so far, frankly im looking to see what options are out there so I can make a best informed decision.
cool. I was thinking up a design in my head and was wondering what it would take to stack two clips with the bullets facing forward and the center of the kydex outside portion left open so you could get fingers underneath the first group/clip and then the next. Kind of like shell caddies for shotguns. You could double the capacity of your belt real estate that way, and the clips would already be properly oriented for loading. . Maybe I should patent that design. :D
 
This vid shows and mentions a belt rig but says (I think) that he doesn't make them anymore

Olongapo outfitters is still making the Belt pouches, in 2 and 4 cell versions, the button-snap closure system as seen in the video is what was discontinued. they're all Velcro closure now (i'd go with Velcro if I bought one anyway).

what i'm not sure of is how well His belt pouches can be secured to a 1-1/2" belt, the attachment options offered are Alice clips, and Malice clips/straps. Alice clips are a non starter, and i'm not sure if Malice clips and the PALS/Molle webbing on the back of the pouch can leveraged to secure the pouch to a Double Alpha outer belt. I sense an e-mail in my future...

Another option for you

I could see doing this if I ever got insane enough to shoot a match in Trooper or a similar "Must carry all match ammo, at all times" division... 22 Enblocs = 176rds Fully loaded that's almost a whole dang spam can hanging off the front of that vest!

thanks for linking these videos, the one from Garand Thumb especially, helps me get a decent idea of how the Olongapo setups function.
 
came across another variant today, unfortunately again without a source/maker listed

47592200772_03475f6cf2.jpg

and to answer a question/suggestion that came up elsewhere. At this time I'm not interested in buying a "beginners kit" from a supply house and trying to make my own version of this. Maybe one day I might decide to learn to work with Kydex, but not anytime soon. I've got too many other things/projects that are SO much higher on my priority list than this.
 
Making complex things from kydex in an efficient, fast, professional way takes some doing. Making what is pictured above, or the functional equivalent? Take a heat gun, a drill, and some Chicago screws. You’d figure it out in a couple of hours. I am NOT especially handy and I’ve made myself a couple of kydex items (knife sheaths). If it doesn’t sound interesting, that’s cool... but learning to make simple things is not a whole ‘nother hobby.
 
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