How to keep rifle ammo at the ready?

[xsquidgator]

I was curious how those people who are inclined to do so, keep your rifle ammo at the ready? I don't "need" a rifle at the ready really, but i do for some reason like the idea of keeping at least a few rounds ready with the rifle so that if I did have to grab it in a hurry (say bugging in the car out before a hurricane or fire or something), I'd know the rifle had at least 5 or more rounds somehow attached to it. Maybe the kind of thing for a "truck gun" that you could just put behind the seat when going out into the country or the woods, and know you'd have emergency ammo without having to remember to grab a couple boxes of ammo or a range bag.

I'd like to get some ideas from people that have tried things that seemed to work well. An example of what I think would be a good thing would be something like the Kel Tec folding stock that holds one or two magazines in it (arguments aside whether you do or don't like the KelTec 223 rifle, I thought it was a cool idea for keeping ammo with the rifle)

things I've seen or tried:
1) I have a 12 gauge pump shotgun for occasional trapshooting and potentially for HD use. I feel ok leaving it in the safe or propped behind a door with 5 shells loaded in the tube mag, but chamber empty (we don't have children, and when friends with kids visit the loose guns go back into the safe). I also bought a tacti-cool kind of shotgun sling for it that holds 15 rounds, but due to it's weight I usually detach the tactical sling.

2) For my bolt-action milsurps, like my Mosin-Nagant M44, I found I could stick or jam put a loaded 5 round stripper clip between the butt-stock and the edge of the rubber recoil pad I leave on the rifle. It could fall out if the rifle gets shaken around, but it's fine for just leaving it in the gun safe that way with perhaps 5 rounds attached to the rifle.

3) For an SKS rifle using stripper clips - I have a nylon butt-stock sleeve originally for holding 5 shotgun shells on the side of a shotgun stock. My shotgun has other shell storage so this was now left over, but I found if I put this sleeve over the stock of my SKS, I can fit a loaded 10 round stripper clip between the sleeve and the stock on each side. Friction holds the loaded stripper clip in place. If you jerk the rifle around it may work its way loose, but it does pretty much leave up to 20 rounds ready to go with the rifle, just grab it and go.

Another great example I thought of such a thing was a canvas thing I saw a picture once of that strapped onto the stock of an M1 carbine, and held I think 2 magazines. I'd love to get something like that for perhaps my SKS or one of my magazine-fed rifles, if I could find it. So far I haven't seen anything like that online or at the shows or stores.

Does anyone have any good tips that they use? I'd be interested if anyone's worked out a good way to keep say a 30 round AK mag with an AK rifle, short of leaving the magazine inserted in the rifle, or maybe even in addition to leaving it inserted which would give you 2 AK mags ready if you had to grab your rifle in a hurry.

 

[DiN_BLiX]

Usually my long-gun ammo stays in the ammo can, with the exception of a few 12ga 00buck shells. My hand guns however sport loaded mags all the time. I do load my sks stripper clips ahead of time so they are allways i guess "at ready".

 

[W.E.G.]

http://www.uncle-mikes.com/products/_rifle_tatical_cases.html

http://www.blackhawk.com/product1.asp?P=64RC&C=C1745

 

[MilsurpShooter]

I've got 2 stripper clips, one of 7.62x54r for the Mosin, one of 8mm for the K-98. Also have 4 00 Buckshot shells on a shelf near me. I figure worse comes to worse, I can get to the bulk of my ammo using that.

 

[supraneurotoxin]

my brother bought a mosin 91/30. it came with the accessory pack, with the belt pack for loose ammo. he thought that the belt pack was intended to go on the shoulder strap, which turned out to be fantastic idea. it doesn't slide around by itself, but you can re-position it along the strap as needed.
just goes to show that sometimes it takes a new set of eyes to see something in a new light.

 

[xsquidgator]

my brother bought a mosin 91/30. it came with the accessory pack, with the belt pack for loose ammo. he thought that the belt pack was intended to go on the shoulder strap, which turned out to be fantastic idea. it doesn't slide around by itself, but you can re-position it along the strap as needed.
just goes to show that sometimes it takes a new set of eyes to see something in a new light.

That is a cool idea, I never would have thought of that. THAT would be a good use of that otherwise useless to me accessory pack that I got too.

I don't suppose your brother thought of any unusual good uses for that 2-compartment oil-solvent can in the accessory pack, did he? I never cleaned the cosmoline off of / out of mine but have wondered about using it for something.

 

[MIL-DOT]

i don't. i'm not critisizing anyone if they do, but i don't see any SHTF scenario rising so quickly that i can't load up a few AR or AK mags quickly enough. were i sailing the waters of southeast asia or something like that, different story,of course. i do have a handful of 00buck rounds within arms reach of my mossberg, a loaded pistol at either end of the house, and more often than not, a glock in my pocket when home. no worries.

 

[eliphalet]

Leave the guns magazine loaded and the chamber emtpy, it's handy that way.
Pit bull had my pooch down and was killing him in my yard, if I would have needed to take the time to load, my dog would have been dead. As it happened the pit bull was the looser.
One of the basic rules of firearms is to ALWAYS treat a gun as if it is loaded.
Foolish laws may make that illegal in you area.

 

[xsquidgator]

Leave the guns magazine loaded and the chamber emtpy, it's handy that way.
Pit bull had my pooch down and was killing him in my yard, if I would have needed to take the time to load, my dog would have been dead. As it happened the pit bull was the looser.
One of the basic rules of firearms is to ALWAYS treat a gun as if it is loaded.
Foolish laws may make that illegal in you area.

Your situation is kind of what I was thinking of, not really STHF. Although when whatever's happening to you, dog attack or something else, you need it RIGHT NOW! and it is indeed STHF, at least for you. It occurred to me that IF I ever did need to grab a rifle (not likely, but not impossible given the interesting times in which we live), I'd hate to have to go rooting around for a box of ammo and then load the rifle or a magazine from it.

Sometimes I'll leave my AK in the safe with a mag inserted (no round chambered) but it seems to take up more space that way... I've been trying to think of a cheap, low-tech way to attach a 20 or 30 rounder to the stock somehow, so the rifle could lay in the same footprint that the rest of my rifles do but still be "at the ready".

 

[Avenger29]

cheap, low-tech way to attach a 20 or 30 rounder to the stock somehow.

Masking tape?

What I'm working with currently is a Marlin 336 .30-30, a 12 gauge Rem. 870, and a Mosin-Nagant.

Stripper clips don't work that great in the Mosin (and, yeah, I've got the good Finnish ones), so I have one of those 20 rd shell belts from Walmart (find them on the Hunting goods aisle at mine) nearby, loaded with new production 180 grn FMJ (b/c surplus doesn't always chamber, and the new stuff is more accurate). There are 5 rds in the magazine, with the bolt open.

The Marlin has 6 rds in the mag, and 9 on a buttstock carrier. Don't forget to pull the buttstock carrier off once in a while to prevent the wood from getting moisture trapped in it and ruining it. There is also a shell belt loaded with .30-30 rds nearby. There is also an ammo can with about 200 rds nearby.

The Rem. 870 has 6 slugs in the side saddle, 5 rds of 00 buck in a buttstock carrier, and 4 rds (2 00 and 2 slugs) in the mag. This is also my truck gun. I have a camera bag full of 00 Buck and slugs, and 2 shell belts (one for slug, one for buck) when the gun is in the house.

 

[DMK]

I keep a bunch of AR mags loaded, in bandoleers, in an ammo can. If I ever need them, I can grab the whole can, or pop the can open, pull out the bandoleers and throw them over my shoulder.

I do the same thing with Garand clips. Originally, my Danish M2 ammo came that way. When I reloaded the enblocs, I put them back in the bandoleers and in a 50 call ammo can. It's just handy to grab a few bandos when I take the rifle to the range.

 

[AndyC]

Tactical Tailor:

Mag-pouch that fits to your rifle's stock - http://www.tacticaltailor.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=88

 

[kBob]

Just a quick note to the folks thrilled about putting ammo pouches on rifle slings.....try shooting while on the move or just in unsupported positions with those loaded pouches on a sling. The ammo in the pouch acts a a pendulum and the change in the center of gravity in your rifle and sling can cause the muzle to wander seriously.

Something like one of the elastic band buttstock shell holders makes a compact package that does not move around while shooting. They do wear with age and need to be replaced, some say annually, I say when they need to be replaced.

If you are handy with a needle and thread or a awl and cord, you might try making something like the magazine pouch often seen on the butt of M-1 Carbines. The originals were merely the ammo pouch made for going on a GI pistol belt and snapping into the female snap found on the WWII and Korean War vintage pistol belts. I once sewed a single mag holder for an 20 (18) round magazine for an AR-180 and attached it to the stock of such a rifle. My sewing skills were lacking and the thing moved around a bit, forward and back about an inch, but as it held the only magazine for the gun this was no issue once the ammo was loaded.

If you are not concerned with destroying a valuable collector's Item or two you might cutt up the thripplke leather pouch so you have a single pouch with "ears" of leather on the back and use wood screws to attach the pouch to your Mosin Nagant.....let us know how that works if you do.

Personally with an M-91 type I would just slap on one of the elastic band type butt type ammo bands on and be happy with eight rounds if it was my truck gun. No permanent change to the gun, it works, its cheap.

-Bob Hollingsworth

 

[kfranz]

I've been trying to think of a cheap, low-tech way to attach a 20 or 30 rounder to the stock somehow, so the rifle could lay in the same footprint that the rest of my rifles do but still be "at the ready".

Rubberband, velcro cord wrap thingies, zip tie, piece of shock cord

 

[silverlance]

treat all guns as if they are loaded, even when you are absolutely sure that they are not.

i keep one or two magazines loaded at all times. doesn't hurt the magazine any and its good for the house. mags are not in the well but could easily be.

the only gun that i keep loaded outside of the safe is a pump action savage 520. i bought it for 150 shipped on a c&r, so I dont feel bad if it gets messed up. that said it is quite powerful with #4 buck and will easily ruin someone's day.

 

[fireflyfather]

For an AK mag, get some long velcro straps, a square piece of heavy (thick denim) fabric, and sew one up yourself. Crude stitching works.

this end open
_________
ll====l l====
ll l l This end goes around bottom of stock.
ll l l
ll====l l====
l l
l________l
ll
ll
ll

This end goes around end of stock.

Two long velcro pieces go crosswise and velcro to themselves. The open end is where you insert the bottom half of mag. The closed end has half of a two piece velcro set, which attaches to the other half on the crosswise velcro.

Switch the crosspiece around if you want the mag on the left side of the stock. The design would fit on any standard wooden rifle stock, and it is self adjusting to th dimensions of the stock. It won't slip off the end, or forward if you use decent velcro and strap it snugly.

If you really wanted to, you could sew elastic around the edge of the open end. Hell you could do basically the same thing with duct tape ad fabric/cardboard for a temporary solution.

=====================================================
ETA: great, edited out all of my spacing. Basically, think of a denim "sock" with velcro or ties at 90 degrees to the length of the sock, and an additional one sticking out of the toe. One set of 90 degree ties also has a crosstie to meet up with the toe tie when the whole thing is fitted on.

 

[Cosmoline]

For bolt action surplus rifles, I generally leave the magazine fully loaded and just pop the bolt out. The bolt then stays with me if I leave the rifle where it might get taken like behind a seat.

 

[Clipper]

I ordered a couple 5-round AK mags from CDNN. I can keep one of them on the rifle, chamber empty for emergencies without taking up the safe space of a 30-rounder. My Hi-Point carbine is stored with mag loaded, chamber empty, too. For a truck gun, I'd simply keep a loaded mag in the glove box.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

A mess of 8-round clips in an ammo box to carry with my Garand.

 

[NC-Mike]

7.62 x 39 loaded on strippers is at the ready for the SKS in an ammo can.

A couple bandos of Korean .30 on strippers for the M1 Carbine in an ammo can

Loaded enblocs for the M1 in an ammo can.

A couple of bandos of LC .556 M193 on strippers for the AR in an ammo can.

The 556 and 30 bandos come with stripper guides so you can load up a mag quick. I have kids in the house, so that's the best I can do and I gotta keep those ammo cans locked up. I do keep four loaded speed loaders next to my revolver in my keypad pistol safe. I'm probably screwed if the big SHTF and I need more than 5 minutes to load a rifle.

I been thinking about this lately...

 

[MMcfpd]

Besides a few that need some work, I keep all of my magazines (100+) loaded. The 1911s have mags in, but no rounds chambered. A few AR and AK mags are in the safe, right next to the guns. All the rest of the magazines are in ammo cans, as are several hundred rounds on SKS strippers.

 

[Mannlicher]

When I think of a rifle kept 'at ready', I think in terms of a semi auto chambered in 5.56 or 7.62 NATO.
I keep the magazines loaded, and in the rifle. A pull on the op rod loads it, and you are good to go.

 

[jpwilly]

I purchased a slip on ammo carrier at Wal-Mart that holds 9 rnds. It's elastic / Nylon and cost only $9. You could always just duck tape a box of ammo to the rifle!