Tell me how you carry rifle magazines and why?

[guninthewater]

I think it's just silly to own a rifle like an AR-15 or PTR91 if you have no way to carry magazines

I could not agree more. What's the point of having a fighting rifle if you don't have the necessary equipment to bring more ammo to the fight? That said, I don't think that having a bunch of tactical equipment is really all that necessary. I just use milsurp OD mag pouches and a web belt for my AR15 mags. It's economical and it works.

 

[rero360]

Andrewsky: In my unit we were allowed pretty much anything, and from the looks of other units over in Iraq the same went for them.

like I said, I have a tactical tailor vest along with a couple other guys, a few had blackhawk vests, some used the issued vests and others just mounted there pouches directly to their body armor. I personally had my pistol and my LMF (that big knife from gerber) attached directly to my armor and everything else attached to the MAV vest, I used a camelbak once on a cordon and search but it popped climbing back into the hmmwv so I just carried water bottles from that point on.

 

[Quickill]

When I was there, I think I had a few rolling around in the bottom of my tool box. Yea, they were right next to the nut drivers, I remember now, I kept having to shove them out of the way when ever I needed the 10mm.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The nice thing about a chest rig (from a 3-gun perspective), is that all the mags (and dump pouch) are right where they need to be for efficient movement.

The downside is that most MOLLE-compatible pouches are slow-enough that an open-top Kydex pouch on a belt may still be faster.

Eventually someone will make an open-top kydex pouch that is MOLLE mounted; but still holds mags securely. I think this product would dominate 3-gun because you have the same speed as the belt pouch; but less movement is necessary.

 

[litman252]

I shot 3 gun one summer, coming up on 2 years ago. I did the heavy division 'cus it's what I had. 1911, M1 and a 1300. Now I did not know how long I was going to do this so not much money was made available to accessories. I used my traditional belt mag pouches for up to 5 1911 mags, had my loving Mom make a chest "pouch" for the 6 M1 clips and had a chunk of 2x4 (wood) drilled that accepted 8 12 ga. slugs and a but cuff for 5 more shells.

Looked goofy but was cheap and effective. Real men wear wood on there hip anyway..............

Tony

 

[AndyC]

South African canvas dual-mag pouch (or 2) on my belt at the range. If I need a pouch with 3 mags, I go for a Spec Ops pouch.

 

[DougW]

For 3 Gun, I will usually carry 1 for the Ar, and 2 in a 2 pocket mag pouch on a duty type belt. I will also have a dump pouch for mag changes, and also a spare 20 round pouch next to the Glock (required to carry side arm all day at the match I attend).




My son in Iraq last year. He prefered the chest pouches. With ammo and armor plates and hydration full, the vest weighed around 70 pounds. I have a pic somewhere of his vest sitting on the floor of his room over there, but I can't find it.

 

[doc2rn]

For me I just carry one spare mag on the butstock of the rifle in .223. If I had a .30 carbine the standard twin mag pouch would work just fine for me.

 

[Andrewsky]

I'm thinking about ordering an Eagle TAC V1 N vest from Eagle for $150:

Are these outdated?

 

[Illeix]

Well, I've sure got a hobo-tactical approach...

I've got this old camera "scabbard" with a belt loop on it (but, no camera... go figure) it fits two 30-round AR mags, two 30-round AK mags (but won't close) or fourteen 12GA shotshells. works great in the woods.

Anything that needs more ammo than that, I bring some old webgear.

 

[Geronimo45]

Sportscoat/suit jacket - seems to hold mags just fine, for short periods, anyhow. How tactical is seersucker?

 

[jrfoxx]

I bought a 3-30rd mag thigh pouch from AIM I think it was and really like it. Honestly, the only reason I was buying it at first was it was only like $10, looke pretty conveniant and solid, and I needed to add a little extra to my order for some reason or another for a price break or something (I forget the exact deal). Turned out it really IS pretty handy, solid, and actually a pretty comfortable way to carry 3 full mags and not really feel at all like I'm getting pulled to the side or anything. The flap has a LOT of pretty strong velcro too, so I think you'd be hard pressed to get them to spill out. It is a bit "tacticool"/"mall ninja-ish" looking, but I have to say, for $10 it works really well, and with the weight on my thigh instead of somewhere else, I just dont really feel it. Plus, if you really did need access to 3 extra mag fast, they are right there by just letting your arm drop, instead of having to reach towards your chest, backpack, (NO LEO or combat experiance, so I dont know if it really matters in actuality or not, just seems logical to me)etc.I admit the odds of the average Joe like me being invovled a scenario where I need 3 mags fast is slim at best, but since its just and added "just in case" bonus to the confort, price, and conveniance, I figured why not?

Besides, it make me look cool, and I need all the help I can get!

 

[30 cal slob]

if you're just at the range or taking a class, a few blade tech mag pouches on your belt work just fine.

having said that, i can see the advantages of having a chest rig - either vest or similarly outfitted armor carrier. i think 3 AR mags and 2 pistol mags is all i can fit on the latter.

p.s. tactical tailor makes a very nice drop bag.

 

[308win]

I use pouches on a web belt or a surplus tactical vest when in field and carrying my AR or Mini14. For pistols I use the web belt and surplus mag pouches for the .45ACP; for revolvers I carry speed loaders or speed strips in pockets.

I keep my tinfoil hat on a roll in a drawer in the center island of the kitchen.

 

[DMK]

One in the magwell, one in a buttstock pouch and one in a belt pouch. I can't envision a situation were 90 rounds of 5.56 or 60 rounds of 7.62 won't do the job.

I tuck some tinfoil in the buttstock compartment in case I need to make an expedient hat in the field.

To carry mags to the range, I use a 50cal ammo can or a milsurp canvas butt pack. They can double as a Q&D rest for sighting in.

 

[Killermonkey21]

In response to the setup of rigs over here, i believe most (not all) commanders believe in letting you customize your gear.

While most have a similar job (ie convoy security, patrols, etc) everyone is specialized. The gunner in the Humvee needs a different setup than the driver, considering range of motion and equipment. The only standard we had was at least 3 mags (convoy security, getting out of trucks was a truly SHTF scenario) and med-pouch on left side for everyone. Other than that, feel free to personalize.

Me? One mag in weapon, 3 mags on chest, one in mag pouch on weapon.

Competition? I'd probably just pull out my MOLLE web-gear. We got issued the new high-speed vest before we left, and with a general-purpose pouch thrown in the mix for the random bit (cigarettes, oil, loose rounds, etc), and a camel-bak (also thanks to uncle sam) I'm set. The magazines are put into a cargo pocket.

Whatever works for you. If it ain't comfortable and workable, you arn't going to use it.

 

[Treo]

I just use that old green cotton 7 pocket pouch that came packed in the 5.56 ammo cans works fine for me and you can't beat the price

 

[Andrewsky]

I think I'm just going to get an H-Harness for my web gear. I don't like the Y-Harness. It cuts into my neck too much.

 

[Chuck R.]

I bought a SKD chest rig a while ago for a class and matches. At $79 it's on the low end of the cost spectrum, but it's pretty functional, and well made:

This chest rig is simply one of the greatest values on the market today, and meets the needs of professional and civilian users alike for a simple and effective way to carry up to 8 M4 magazines, 4 pistol magazines, and other nefarious essentials. This rig also features a storage and mag compartment, grommets on all pouches, and fully adjustable retention flaps on the outer pouches, making it ideal for a pistol holster. Each pouch will hold 1x M14 magazine, or 1x AK-47 magazine, making it a truly universal setup.

http://www.skdtac.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=36

Chuck

 

[kBob]

We were forbidden to carry anything not issued and not put together under unit Standard Operating Proceedures,

Two reasons were that:

1. If someone else needed your stuff worse than you did or you needed theirs they could no longer use everyone knew where everything was and how all the pouches worked.

2. Wearing anything different made you looke different than everyone else and so like a higher value target to someone paying attention.

Both reasons make sense actually.

That said I made use of my left breat pocket (blouse, jacket, or armor)to hold a 20rd M-6A1 mag (loaded to 18)were issue) and right cargo pants pocket in addition to the regular pouches.

At a recent "tacticool" match I used my pockets to hold M-1 Carbine 15 round mags though with a 30 stuffed in the left hip pocket in case I had magazine failures. We were required to do three mag changes so this worked fine.

For a carbine class about two years back with an AR-180 (classic not "B")I used a GI 3 mag pouch for M-16 30 rounders on the left side of yea olde US GI circa 1973 Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) and an older canvas pouch for 20s on the other hip and caddied a 20 rounder in the blouse pocket for old times sake.

My most used magazine holder is a small cardboard box in the closet my safe is in........

We were Soldiers Once and less fat and more limber and had more hair even with a GI crew cut.....

-Bob Hollingsworth

 

[plexreticle]

AR mags i put in my back pocket.

 

[Red_SC]

I use a Bladetech paddle mag pouch, it works great for my use.

http://www.blade-tech.com/-NEW-AR-15-M16-Pouches-pr-974.html

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Varies - hunting I mostly use Steyr Scouts with a buttstock mag well.

Varies - hunting I mostly use Steyr Scouts with a buttstock mag well.

For practical use I have a belt pouch for the AR in leather to match plainclothes handgun carry gear - mostly to have a handy place to carry a magazine while the rifle is empty in transit or meetings.

For fun I wear 5-11 vests as daily wear shoot me first vests and to carry everything I tote around anyway.

The harder question for me is what do about a dump pouch - not going to swap a magazine back into an elastic strap in a carry pocket and the intended dump pouch is likely to have spare eyeglasses or such in it.

 

[mccook8]

I can't find it on their website, but Cheaper Than Dirt has a black canvas zippered bag with carrying handles, a shoulder strap, and a total of 6 external flap puches which perfectly fit 30-rd AR mags.

It rides in between the front seats of my patrol car, carrying 4 30rd mags, 2 boxes each of 12ga 00 and slugs, 2 bottles of water, a pair of kneepads, a pair of small binos, and a camouflage veil.

Easy as pie to grab that, sling it over your shoulder, and grab either the AR or the 870 out of the rack on the way out the door.

 

[Eightball]

In the woods, the one mag I need is in the rifle. The times where it's an informal shooting range trip, I have a mag in the rifle and a spare in the back pocket that doesn't have my wallet in it--this way, I can shoot for longer without going back to the truck to get more ammo/load up magazines.

If I had an A2 setup (thinking about it), I'd go with something similar to DMK's rig. Since I have a 6-pos, I might just buy one of those dual belt-pouches in addition to the back pocket method.