M1 Carbine 30 Round Magazine Pouches

[Husker_Fan]

I'm going to take an introductory carbine course next month, but I don't have an AR. I'm going to use my M1 carbine for which I have 30 and 15 round magazines. I'm looking for something simple to hold the spare 30 rounders on my hip.

Has anyone found something that works well? Do the 30 round AR pouches work alright, or are they way too big?

 

[Tommygunn]

There are pouches for 30 round M-1 Carbine magazines. Each holds 4 mags.
I think the AR ones will be too big but they might still work.

 

[Devonai]

M16 mag pouches work reasonably well, but I'm sure there are better choices. The mags sit somewhat loosely in the pouch.

 

[CapnMac]

The canvas M-56 "universal" pouches were designed to carry 30 round carbine mags, Garand en bloc clips, and M-14 mags, so they'll work. They'll have the slider clips, too which makes fastening them simpler. Only thing is that the original canvas ones to not close up very quickly, and have the long carrying strap to contend with.

The M-45 magazine carriers are referred to as "four mag" pouches, but are really two magazine pouches with front pockets for loaded stripper clips. You can jam two 30rd mags in the front, but, you'll lose one or both opening the pouch in an actual reload situation.

Were I taking a carbine course, I'd probably grab one of my smaller musette/possibles bags. But, that's me; others differ.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I like 30rd M16 pouches for anything that will fit in them....shotgun shells, carbine mags, etc. I even used M16 20 rounders once for 1911 mags. I think it held 7-8 mags. Both made to go on LC-1 type belts with the clips, and open and close easily and securely. Being water resistent doesn' hurt, either. Combat rifle instructors recommend another, larger bag (called a mag bag) to use for spent mags. This keeps them clean and accounted for. In combat, one could get into trouble throwing mags away as one uses them....................

 

[Trebor]

Take as many 15 round mags as you have or can get by the time you take the class.

Unless you have known, good, USGI 30 rounders, you'll probably find that the 15 rounders will be more reliable. There are a lot of aftermarket and just plain fake 30 rounders out there and many do not work well. Heck, even with GI mags, the 15's tend to be more reliable then the 30's.

 

[Husker_Fan]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have FN made AYP marked 30 rounders that have been 100% reliable. I'm also going to give some of the new manufacture Korean 30 rounders a try.

I may take a couple of empty 30 rounders to a local surplus store and try out some of the assorted pouches they have.