Friend going to iraq, looking for M-16 & Berretta mags

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Evil_Ed

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Hey guys,
Tapping the vast resource of THR here. A good friend of mines brother is going over to Iraq in a month to a command a combat group. He is looking for extra M-16 high cap mags and Berrretta M92F 30 rnd mags at a reasonable price. Anyone know of a place that gives a military discount and can ship the stuff to him before he deploys?
 
Every unit I was ever in and have supported the CO didn't carry a long gun...
I don't think the TO&E has one for him. Sidearm only.

As far as taking magazines, the troops are issued so many magazines per weapon. Keeping up with personnel magazines would be a big hassle.

My suggestion would be to have him get a set of body amour that provides some protection on the sides.
 
RoyG:
The Interceptor armor is much better than the previous gear, with better side protection.

Kharn
 
Magazines will be available to him when he gets there. My recommendation is to have him bring his own springs and replace them when he is issued his magazines. A lot of these mags have been stored loaded since the first gulf war, and I've seen a lot of them that don't have much compression left. At least this was the case from mags I've seen in the Air Force. For the nominal cost of the springs, he can at least have confidence that the rounds will feed. Just my .02
 
Good suggestion on the springs and body armor, I will pass those on to him. Specifically he is looking for high capacity magazines to take with him as he doesn't want just the smaller ones the military will provide. He's a colonel so I don't think anyone will give him any grief over having extra &/or nonstandard magazines.
 
Sorry, skipped over the part about the higer than high capacity part. You might try www.cheaperthandirt.com or www.sportsmansguide.com

Also, tell him to get a couple of those tiny led lights that are a little smaller than thumb sized (tell him they're near the checkout at that PX). Clipping one to the top buttonhole of the BDUs keeps a light handy and available at all times. I've got a maglite, but the little lights were great for using the latrine after dark or finding your way in the tent when everyone is sleeping without waking everyone up with a bright white light.

Other ideas - paracord and duct tape, multi-tool, sharp useful knife (small folder that will actually be used, not the "kill em all K-Bar" that will just get in the way for most things), and some halfway sturdy wire to hang things in the tent. I know I'm forgetting a bunch, but this is a good start.

By the way - whisky looks like brown mouthwash, vodka/gin looks like water (more packing info).
 
Not to bag on your buddy, but he's not thinking clearly. The standard magazine pouches are designed to hold 30 round M16 mags and 15 round double stack M9 mags. He's going to need magazine pouches to hold the non-standard mags. Also, speaking as a former enlisted puke, I really resented Officers and senior NonComs that had all kinds of special things that we didn't. Whats good for the goose had better be good for the gander....
Tell him to just get some good body armor.

Edit: If he just has to be special, why not just get a drum mag or two for the M16? I'm sure it would fit in a standard SAW magazine pouch, or maybe an extra gas mask pouch, and it would give hime super high capacity. Being a Col. He probably won't be walking around alot.
 
Evil Ed,

You wrote:
"Specifically he is looking for high capacity magazines to take with him as he doesn't want just the smaller ones the military will provide."

What is the military providing? Beretta M9 magazines have always been 15 rounds, and USGI magazines have been 30 rounds for the military. they were exempt from the AW Ban that expired.

the military never had 10 round magazines for the pistol, and they haven't issued 20 round magazines in over 10 years for the M16...that of course doesn't mean they didn't find some in the supply room they are going to give him.

i don't know of any dealers who are selling USGI AR-15/M16 30-round magazines or Beretta 9mm high capacity magazines for a discount right now unfortunately. With the expiration of the AW Ban, there are alot of civilians buying them up now before another law goes into effect. maybe you can call Bachman Gun & Pawn in Dallas, perhaps they have a good discount price on the phone? however there is a post here about how some THR members don't like dealing with them.....

one dealer remarked to me about how upset he got because a GI asked for a discount on 10 brand new Beretta 9mm 15-round mags and 10 USGI M16 mags. he gave them to the GI at cost because the GI said he was about to deploy to Iraq and needed equipment because his unit was not supplying him with enough (only 3 M16 mags nothing else).

he was later upset to find the GI turned around and sold them for a profit and actually had no intention of deploying with said needed equipment. turns out he was trying to resell them at a profit to get an EOTech weapons sight to use overseas. he didn't have enough money for an EOTech so he went and bought some mags at cost and resold them at a quick profit to get the rest of the money, since the other dealer who sold the EOTech's was willing to sell at the minimum agreed price per EOTech but not willing to go below that since EOTech does not allow dealers to undercut one another. kind of shiesty but oh well, it is a free enterprise system.

that GI is obviously not representative of the rest of the U.S. Military personnel that are actually buying it to go overseas with.

there was one guy who made up a huge story, on subguns.com or sturmgewehr.com, awhile back, stating his friend was a Delta Force or some specops guy who lost his MP5 magazines, M16 magazines, and a slough of other accessories in a firefight in Afghanistan.

he was asking for people to donate their equipment to him and he would in turn package the entire thing off and send it to his friend. this was BEFORE the expiration of the AW Ban so people were donating "preban" equipment too.

then some guy called the guy out and asked for his friend's name, rank, unit number, etc. the guy was unable to provide anything that was verifiable. the person questioning him was based out of MacDill AFB where SOCOM is located. when the guy was called on the carpet, it turned out he was nothing but a big fat liar trying to get equipment for free from patriotic gun owners thinking they were donating equipment to military personnel.

***NOTE: THIS IS IN NO WAY AN IMPLICATION THAT EVIL ED OR ANYONE ELSE ON THIS BOARD IS NOT BEING 100% HONEST***

im just stating that there are some skeptical people on the Internet who may not be willing to help out your friend, due to unscrupulous behavior of a few people (both GI and non-GI) in the past.

big difference here...Ed's friend is willing to pay for them! just at a reduced price if at all possible.

good luck though. :)
 
Just a note to everyone:

Yes the military provides us with magazines. No they are not always the greatest quality, nor always in sufficent numbers. IE we only get 6 Rifle mags and 2 pistol mags.

I, as a Rifleman, like to carry around 10 loaded rifle mags, therefore I have to provide my own extras. For those that are issued a pistol only, They usually go for 4 or 5 pistol mags.

The military does not always provide you with what you want or need, they provide you with what they feel you should need.

As far as larger capacity mags, I would definetly go for a 100rnd Beta-C mag for the M16. Best drum mag out there, but will cost over $200. It is a great mag unless you are doing a lot of foot mobile patrols.

For the pistol, I would not recommend a larger mag. The mag body sticks to far out from the pitol grip and can easily snag on stuff, espiecially if worn in a drop holster.

EDITED TO ADD: The Beta-C mag comes with its own carrying case.
 
Stuff for the sandbox..

The Colonel may know exactly where he is going and if there is a PX anywhere near his operational area. My son did not have this advantage so he asked for and rec'd as a going away gift 2 Beta 'C' mags, a better than military issue hydration unit, several pairs of good Thorlo socks ,good sun glasses, several boxes of Corn Starch, lip balm, and several extra sole inserts for his boots.

He also carried his own laptop and a camera.

salty.
 
Want to make this very clear. My friends brother isn't looking for a handout, in fact he doesn't even know I posted this. I found out he was looking for the high cap mags and figured I would ask here to see if anyone knew of a place where he could get them on discount under the theory that the less he has to spend on them the more funds he will have to buy other items. For the record that guy that was pulling the scam mentioned in the above post needs a serious beat down for his attempt to get free stuff from fellow gunnies under false pretenses. Perhaps he can be busted under his local states fraud rules?

I very much appreciate all the great suggestions on equipment to take with him and would welcome anymore. I'm not certain why he is looking for the extra high cap mags but I am sure he has a reason, I will pass on the suggestion about the drum and about not getting the pistol mags over 15 rnds.

Thanks for all the great info guys, I knew I would get some good intel from the high road knowledge store!
 
As a Colonel he should;

a: Not be a primary shooter in any engagement. He is a senior leader. His job is to coordinate or support a battalion or larger force in opposition to the enemy. While he's firing off his high cap. M-16, who's leading the unit?

b: If his unit is short of issue items, he should as a colonel be able to light a fire under whatever supply puke is not doing his job and require competence. THAT is the way you get your unit equipped!

c. When his home bought equipment fails him, does he expect the unit armorer to be able to support it?

At least that is how the Marines did things...
 
i hear everyone there was a good hydration system too.....a Camelback/Hydrastorm system would be cool!

good luck getting the mags, did you call Bachman EvilEd? i know i know alot of board members dont like 'em but i saw them last weekend at a gun show in Houston with a crate of new Colt 30 round AR mags.
 
Spreadfire,

Would you care to give more information on this fellow. I live fairly close to MacDill. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to get him on a blacklist with every gun range, shop, and affiliated group in the Tampa area. If you would like you can send me a private message.

People who act in the manner such as this, hurt not only the reputation of shooters, but the efforts of those who try to help the men who are the most deserving of our help and support. People who misrepresent themselves on the internet to profit personally in a finite manner (recieving money or merchandise) should be punished, within the law, in a finite manner. While we/I may not be able to do anything other than present the facts of this fellow's misrepresentation of himself, I think that we/I should do what we/I can.
 
i think the puke was somewhere up in Yankee territory (no offense to the East Coast gun owners)....New England or maybe even the beltway area if my memory serves me correct.

the person who asked him the for name, rank, unit #, etc., was the guy out of MacDill AFB who smelled a rat and was trying to get more information on a firefight that never happened. evidently this guy works at MacDill and was always briefed on specops missions, and when none of this jogged his memory he started asking questions. more importantly, if a spec ops unit did lose equipment, he probably would have had new equipment sent to them (if it was legit).

this was at the start of the war w/ the Taliban, and it was on either subguns.com or sturmgewehr.com. I tend to think it was sturmgewehr.com.

you may want to contact the moderator, Buddy Hinton, at [email protected] to see if he had that info saved somewhere. tell him you are inquiring about it per my post (he knows me). im like 99% sure it was on that site.

also, since you're in Tampa, FL, i hope you know who Dana Reed is. he's the scourge of the internet firearms community. he has stolen thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people and is banned from virtually every website relating to guns. he uses mailstop or private mail box addresses around Tampa/St. Pete and uses weird email addresses like "[email protected]" or similar ones. search sturmgewehr.com for his latest email addresses.

he will advertise a part and when you send him the money he'll never send you darn thing. if you find him please do the right thing. :D
 
Well that is too bad about the guy being up north.

"...also, since you're in Tampa, FL, i hope you know who Dana Reed is. he's the scourge of the internet firearms community. he has stolen thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people and is banned from virtually every website relating to guns. he uses mailstop or private mail box addresses around Tampa/St. Pete and uses weird email addresses like "[email protected]" or similar ones. search sturmgewehr.com for his latest email addresses.

he will advertise a part and when you send him the money he'll never send you darn thing. if you find him please do the right thing."

I've been doing a little research on the internet on this Dana guy. Maybe if I can do some more and come up with something concrete pertaining to what is going on currently. I read on another post that one of the members is with the Tampa police department. He looked for an warrant on Dana and didn't see one as of yet. However, I failed to note the date of the post. I'll look into it more extensively, but I doubt I can do anymore than a police officer.



You can have your thread back now :)
 
here's a posting off subguns.com:

http://www.subguns.com/boards/mgmsg.cgi?read=450371

here's the text:

"NEED DANA REED INFO FAST....

Posted By: Frontline in Florida <[email protected]>
Date: 3/16/05 17:00

Been trying to sell some mags & stuff, had a guy send me cash for some
HK MP5/10 mags. The guys emails are rather brief, but to the point. His email address is "doorgunner2001@xxxx, I get his "international M/O" today and its accompanied by a brief note with an address...

D.REED
xxxx W. Dorchester st.
Tampa FL. 33611

IS this THE Dana REED we all know and love to hate?
I seem to recll the doorgunner addy being mentioned before.
If it is him, Im sending the money back.
F*** him!

Scott/Frontline"

there's an address there......
 
As far as taking magazines, the troops are issued so many magazines per weapon. Keeping up with personnel magazines would be a big hassle.

My suggestion would be to have him get a set of body amour that provides some protection on the sides.
Click to expand...

Get him all the mags he wants. It shouldn't be a problem for him to keep track of them. It's not a problem for me.

As for the beretta mags, get him some Mec-Gar 17 rounders for good reliability and a little added capacity. about 20 bucks a piece frim cdnninvestments.com

As for m-16 mags, take someone elses advice on what to get, but the USGI mags are supposed to be good. I wouldn't know where to start looking.
 
Thanks again for all the great information everyone. I just sent a link to the thread to my buddy so he can forward them to his brother along with the information sent to me in the PM's so hopefully he will get everything he wanted plus a few things he may not have known he needed!

On the internet fraud note...maybe someone needs to buy a smaller dollar item from this Dana guy and use a postal money order...then you can sick the federal postal inspectors on him, they take mail fraud VERY seriously and though the internet is a grey area on that sort of thing if they use a postal money order it immediately falls under their jurisdiction. Sounds like a real scumbag and I hope he spends a nice long time being bubba's cellmate.
 
As a Colonel he should;

a: Not be a primary shooter in any engagement. He is a senior leader. His job is to coordinate or support a battalion or larger force in opposition to the enemy. While he's firing off his high cap. M-16, who's leading the unit?

b: If his unit is short of issue items, he should as a colonel be able to light a fire under whatever supply puke is not doing his job and require competence. THAT is the way you get your unit equipped!

c. When his home bought equipment fails him, does he expect the unit armorer to be able to support it?

At least that is how the Marines did things...
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking. Especially letter "a" above. A leader, a high-level one like a Col., anyway, should be leading. Not fighting. It doesn't seem right for him to want to play 1stLt or (even worse) squad leader. If he wants sixty rounds downrange, all he has to do is say "Hey you two, I want sixty rounds of five-five-six on that target right now". Remember Samuel L. Jackson's character in Rules of Engagement ? That was an excellent example of USMC field-grade officer leadership under fire. (Although in reality, the Executive Officer of a MEU, or the Commander of the MEU's infanty Battalion) will usually lead an embassy reinforcement.)

But I dunno the full story. He's a Col., so I have to assume he knows what he's doing... :)

Semper Fi, by the way...
 
I believe Mecgar makes a 17rnd flush beretta magazine. I don't know if it is less reliable than a 15 rounder, but Mecgar is a reputable company that makes beretta factory mags.
 
after talking with a couple of service personel, this seems odd.
one as a Full Bird colonel, he is going to spend the vast majority of his time in a command tent, or a command facility.

two, the experiences I have had and they have had says if he has to worry about extra mags prior to deployment, he has his priorities mixed up.

three, those I have talked to who just got back from the sandbox say mags are plentiful, not a twenty rounder in sight, no one over Capt. carrying a long arm as a daily carry.

four. he is going to have a squad of troops everywhere he goes around him 24/7

as one said this has odor
 
I believe Mecgar makes a 17rnd flush beretta magazine. I don't know if it is less reliable than a 15 rounder, but Mecgar is a reputable company that makes beretta factory mags.
Click to expand...

The mec-gar magazines are as reliable, if not more so, than factory beretta mags.

i know mec-gar makes the SIG factory mags now. that's how good their quality is.
 
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