My new belt Rig (1st line gear)

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possum

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in the ever quest to find the best way to run ar mags, handgun, spare handgun mags etc, this is the latest that i have put together, and the way i will probally run my mags, and equipment for my next carbine course.

what do yall think?
June2009047.jpg
 
Well, honestly...it looks pretty ridiculous. The courses you are taking are for some type of competition? I've never seen someone use something like this real world.
Then again, if it works for you, who cares what the internet voices say?
 
Looks like a good, simple setup. I’ve taken to running my AR mags with bullets to the rear to facilitate the beer can grip which seems more stable & allows me to get more force on the mags for insertion. I also found that the spare AR mag in front of the pistol mag(s) worked pretty well for me everywhere but prone but I’m a big advocate of appendix carry for the pistol & a centerline-mounted fixed blade so that may be coloring my perspective.

It is pure silliness to try to run a concealment rig in a carbine class. People on the street are going to be a lot more concerned about the rifle in your hands than the pistol on your leg or mags on your belt if it gets to that point. If you want to see how your daily carry set up works with a rifle then run some drills dry & go to the range. There’s enough going on in a class that you don’t need to be fighting your gear. Instead you need to be soaking up the material.

Our man possum is also active duty Army IIRC.
 
What type of course is it? To be honest, I am hard pressed to think of a scenario where I would be deploying an AR, but only wanting 2-3 mags on me. If I am doing belt only, it's basically going to be handgun only. If I am using a rifle, I'm wearing a chest rig with 4-6 mags and my handgun mounted to the chest, and a drop leg panel with 2-4 AR mags there as well. When I'm practicing my Army gig, I keep the pistol on my vest because it is easier to access while driving or while in a turret. This also frees up my leg to have M4 mags instead of the pistol. This way I have two different places on my body that I have mags, which gives me more options to grab at depending if I am driving, kneeling, in a turret, prone, etc.

possum, your set up does look nice, and I really like those tan kydex holsters. But again, I am not sure what the point of training with a rifle, but deliberately training to only have 2-3 mags for it is.
 
I’ve taken to running my AR mags with bullets to the rear to facilitate the beer can grip
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i am not a beer can gripper, in keeping my ar mags consistant with my pistol mags, i have them run rounds foward.

Won't you need some sturdy suspenders for that rig??
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no the 5.11 operator belt holds it all fine.

this rig is set up for one of 2 ways. either one to be my first line of gear/ e&e if i have to drop my plate carrier. or since the next time i do a training course i will not be training for the Army side of the house and it will be more as the civilian side of the house, in which case i would grab my ar most likely throw a mag in the rifle and 2 in a back pocket. and go to work. so what would be more like mags in the piockets? them on a belt or in a chest rig? plus i have worn full gear enough in my life and i am about tired of it.:)

but like yammy monkey said you don't want anything holding you back in a training course, and he is exactly right. i have been to several and you learn more, and better when everything runs as smooth aas possible.

the carbine course i will take will either be magpul dynamics carbine 2, fighting rifle form Tactical Response, or Tiger Swans 5 day pistol. and heck if i can get into a EAG course than i will. i have lots of options now, eventualy i will take all of them i will take what ever is avliable first.
 
this rig is set up for one of 2 ways. either one to be my first line of gear/ e&e if i have to drop my plate carrier. or since the next time i do a training course i will not be training for the Army side of the house and it will be more as the civilian side of the house, in which case i would grab my ar most likely throw a mag in the rifle and 2 in a back pocket. and go to work. so what would be more like mags in the piockets? them on a belt or in a chest rig? plus i have worn full gear enough in my life and i am about tired of it.
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I hear that. One of the nice things about being a 35M is that we generally don't wear uniforms and the ridiculous amount of garbage that goes along with it! If you are training for something where you'll have mags in your pockets, you should just put them there! :) In Kabul, we'd generally wear one of those ubiquitous 'reporter's vests' that the Afghans are so fond of and carry 2-3 mags in them.
 
Looks like a plan to me. I did find that back pocket carry in ACUs allowed the magazine to be a bit too deep for quick retrieval.

The AR magazine carriers should make training more productive.

Being a cake eating civilian again, my most likely uniform for conflict will probably be gym shorts. So I'm looking at something like a Claymore bag for 3 or 4 magazines, flashlight and a cell phone.
 
To be honest, I am hard pressed to think of a scenario where I would be deploying an AR, but only wanting 2-3 mags on me.
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This makes sense for active duty. OTOH, as a civilian, most of the scenarios I can imagine using a carbine can be resolved with what is in the gun. I still want spares, but I don't expect to need them.
 
The AR magazine carriers should make training more productive.
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exactly, i can have an easier time learning/ brushing up on stuff the less you have to fight with your gear. i can do what i need in the course, and when i come home and train at my local range, throw the mags in my pockets and apply what i learned to having the mags where they will most likly be. also i have been doing 99% of my training as of late with them in the back left pocket of my 5.11 pants. and so far things are working pretty good.
 
Since the AR is the main firearm, I'd put the pistol magazine behind the AR mags, since the handgun is only performing backup duty.

I hate trying to load a pistol mag into the AR.....
 
tucker,
that is a 5.11 operator belt 1 3/4" with insert. you can get them at the 5.11 website, they make great gear and clothes as well.

David,
that is a good point, however if i am in an engagement where i run out of primary i am gonna transition to my handgun. and reload the ar when i have the oppurtunity. that is scenario one. it is quicker to transition than it is to reload the ar.

scenario 2 is that i want to do a tactical reload, since they are done during a lull in the fight or when able, time isn't the biggest priority.

something that i will continue to think about. i will try out both ways and see what works best. thanks for your input.
 
I suppose that depends how fast your transition or reload is.

It also depends how far away the targets/badguys are. If the badguys are 100 yds or more, then transitioning to the handgun makes far less sense than reloading the AR

I took a Farnam rifle class and did a speed load for the AR, only to find my perfectly executed reload was done with a Glock magazine instead of the AR mag. I promptly put the Glock pouch behind the AR pouches.
 
Is this a duty set up or just for the carbine class?
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i am gonna run this set up on my own at the range, if it works out then yes i will use the belt ar pouches as the speed reloads on duty. if it works out and something that i think i want to do all the time, then i will run it through a carbine course, which is the best way to test your self and equipment.

I suppose that depends how fast your transition or reload is.

It also depends how far away the targets/badguys are. If the badguys are 100 yds or more, then transitioning to the handgun makes far less sense than reloading the AR
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you are totally right, everything is situation dependent. i have a fast transition. but my general rule of thumb is if the target is more than 25yds, then i will reload the ar, and or if there is cover that i can get behind, and the target is closer than 25yds which i would be heading to in the first place. again every situation is different. when the ball drops, whatever i decide to do that is what i am gonna go with. so far my judgement hasn't let me down.

alot of people don't understand the reason for having belt mounted primary weapon mags, when they are carrying a chest rig/ plate carrier. there are 2 reasons,
1) if you have to e&e and drop your chest rig, you still have ammo to get you to safety. the reason for having 1st line 2 nd line gear etc.

2) if you train as i do with handguns more than anything else, and you have belt mounted handgun mag holder, and that is always where you index your mags, then under stress you are gonna index at the belt line for your mags even though there isn't any primary weapon mags there. and even though you know it in the back of your mind.

it is all about consistency. worse case scenario i am wearing my belt rig and a plate carrier as i do and i index the mags on my belt, oh well i have a mag in my hand either way and i am in the fight.
 
the carbine course i will take will either be magpul dynamics carbine 2, fighting rifle form Tactical Response, or Tiger Swans 5 day pistol. and heck if i can get into a EAG course than i will.
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You may want to confirm in advance that three carbine magazines on your person will be sufficient for the particular course. In the lower round count classes, three (or even two) mags per iteration may be sufficient - but in some of the higher round count classes, that may not be enough. When I did an EAG course a couple years ago, I don't believe three mags per cycle would have been sufficient. I dealt with this by running reloads from a single belt-mounted kydex pouch that was fed from a small chest rig. Worked OK, but I've been eyeing those fancy shoulder bag deals lately....

Might also consider a dump pouch on the belt. Good for stashing partial magazines and loose rounds.
 
bix,
you are right. i know that will be enough at tactical response for sure. chris costa and haley from magpul run those on their rigs when they teach and they seem to lean toward it being acceptable, and of course i will find out before i go. worse case scenario i will use the belt rig and a plate carrier, and i will do as much reloads from the belt as possible, to build repetition.

dump pouches, no thanks i have no use for them in this context. sensitive site exploitation that is anoter story though.
 
Doesn't look too comfortable, those AR mags look like they are going to flop all over the place.

Is this your home defense set up?
 
Doesn't look too comfortable, those AR mags look like they are going to flop all over the place.

Is this your home defense set up?
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they don't flop around. i don't know how any blade tech product with thier paddles would be able to flop around at all. and no this is not my home defense rig, if i had the time to put all this on i might as well through on my plate carrier.

I'd like the holster centered.
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what? are you talking about how it is on the belt in the pic, if so it isn't to scale, that isn't EXACTLY where it sits when i wear it, i was tryong to put it close enough together for everthing to be seen, and be able to be zoomed in on. if that is not what you are talking about please fill me in.

Tucker,
no problem, i am sure that you will love it, it will serve you well.
 
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