# Effective way to carry 22magazines



## TT (Nov 10, 2018)

Long story short, I’m a grunt and a M27iar gunner. But the problem is I now have to carry 22magazines. Ive loooked into a chest rig but didn’t like having so much weight on one part of my plate carrier. Any suggestions?


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 10, 2018)

The old M249 200rd drum poch will hold 6 magazines. You could put one on each side of your plate carrier and then toss the rest on the front.  Re-stuff your rack as need be from the SAW pouches. 

That said, 22 magazines is a lot of weight. I get the ideology behind it being the new automatic rifle and all. But fuck that,  hell our SAW gunners only carried 100rd belt on the gun and two 200rd drums on their kit,  the rest was broke up between the fire team. You might discuss it with your team lead and get that figured out.  A couple extra mags broken up between the rest of the team will go along ways for you. 

Good luck.


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## 4859 (Nov 10, 2018)

M27. Fine weapon system. Wish I had got to spend more time with that or even the 249. Instead of lugging around the 240 'b' we threw together. And I use that 'b' as a very loose concept. Least it had a butt stock. I thought the m27 was pretty cool. But the army apparently didnt.

But that sounds like a lot of ammo to me man.

I mean its been a while since I've been down range, (2003-2004) but even in my tank I don't remember many individual engagements throughout my time where I reported more than 600 coax expended. And we didn't carry that much for our dismounted machine guns.

Well, whatever, my opinions irrelevant. I mean what are you gonna do?

 "Look here big sarge, that standard that came down is no good. I'll tell you what we should carry!".

See if they'll accept having a ready rack of a standard 7 on your lbv, 12 split between old saw sacks strapped down somewhere on your sides hopefully out of the way, and maybe one or two on the butt stock and a leg strap? That way you can just replenish the mags from the side packs Into the ready packs.

I mean it would suck if you can't quickly get into a good prone or firing position because of all the bulk.


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## DasBoot (Nov 10, 2018)

How many rounds do you actually think you’ll expend? That’s the million dollar question. Isn’t the new MC logic on the M27 based on accuracy vs. rounds sent down range? I won’t knock you guys for changing things up, but fuck if you are trying to send a lot of rounds (22 mags worth) it would be better to have a SAW with drums. If you don’t think you’ll need 22 mags bring 10 30 round mags or 15-20 20 round mags.

ETA: most guys in rifle squads I know roll out with 120-200 rounds, my old SL had 3x 40 round mags he obtained on his own. I don’t see a situation outside of “goddam VC is coming over the wire!” Where you’ll need that much ammo.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 10, 2018)

DasBoot said:


> How many rounds do you actually think you’ll expend? That’s the million dollar question. Isn’t the new MC logic on the M27 based on accuracy vs. rounds sent down range? I won’t knock you guys for changing things up, but fuck if you are trying to send a lot of rounds (22 mags worth) it would be better to have a SAW with drums. If you don’t think you’ll need 22 mags bring 10 30 round mags or 15-20 20 round mags.
> 
> ETA: most guys in rifle squads I know roll out with 120-200 rounds, my old SL had 3x 40 round mags he obtained on his own. I don’t see a situation outside of “goddam VC is coming over the wire!” Where you’ll need that much ammo.



Could you even imagine having to carry that shit with all your other crap?  I'm invisioning some young hard charger falling the fuck out on mission because he thought he was going to be the next fucking Rambo. 

Unless I had orders from higher ups,  my dudes would roll combat load, crew served broken up amongst the squad/Platoon and SHTF bags on the trucks, etc.


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## Ranger Psych (Nov 11, 2018)

DasBoot said:


> How many rounds do you actually think you’ll expend? That’s the million dollar question. Isn’t the new MC logic on the M27 based on accuracy vs. rounds sent down range? I won’t knock you guys for changing things up, but fuck if you are trying to send a lot of rounds (22 mags worth) it would be better to have a SAW with drums. If you don’t think you’ll need 22 mags bring 10 30 round mags or 15-20 20 round mags.
> 
> ETA: most guys in rifle squads I know roll out with 120-200 rounds, my old SL had 3x 40 round mags he obtained on his own. I don’t see a situation outside of “goddam VC is coming over the wire!” Where you’ll need that much ammo.



The IAR is a SAW "replacement" so chances are his COC is expecting SAW levels of ammunition. I carried 800-1200 for my SAW depending on what we were doing, 4 drums on me and one full one on the gun... but I am mungo so it didn't affect maneuverability for me.

Each drum pouch carries 7, and if you're using one to carry mags it gets into being a soup sandwich quickly as they don't stand up nicely unless it's all mags. I would probably recommend using some open top pouches for your quick grabs, and then shifting things around as necessary off 2 pouches. That would give you 14 mags in the big pouches then you could carry the last smattering in open tops for access, as stated earlier.

They want all 22 ON YOU, or just 22 total in your kit? you could get away with 4x 3 mag closed pouches and a couple opens, rotate through and put the rest in a SAW pouch or two on your ruck....


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## Gunz (Nov 11, 2018)

22 loaded 556 30-round mags is almost 20 lbs. We carried 20-24 mags in the bandoliers that the factory boxes of 556 came in...but they were only 20-rounders. I guess they don't have bandoliers anymore for 30-round boxes, but if they do...


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## 4859 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> 22 loaded 556 30-round mags is almost 20 lbs. We carried 20-24 mags in the bandoliers that the factory boxes of 556 came in...but they were only 20-rounders. I guess they don't have bandoliers anymore for 30-round boxes, but if they do...
> 
> View attachment 24811


That smug Joe face.


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## Ooh-Rah (Nov 11, 2018)

4859 said:


> That smug Joe face.


Funny thing about Internet forums. Off handed and out of context comments can be interpreted many ways, what is the intent of yours?  I ask because it adds nothing to the subject of this thread.


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## 4859 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ooh-Rah said:


> Funny thing about Internet forums. Off handed and out of context comments can be interpreted many ways, what is the intent of yours?



On this forum is figure there's only be one.

Warm and fuzzy and full of hundreds of memories.


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## Gunz (Nov 11, 2018)

4859 said:


> That smug Joe face.



Smug Joe (Bob Carrier) earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze w V at 7th Co 2nd CAG...and later was a fellow squad leader with me at F 2/6. I used his pic only to illustrate the use of bandoliers for rifle mags BITD.


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## Marauder06 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> 22 loaded 556 30-round mags is almost 20 lbs. We carried 20-24 mags in the bandoliers that the factory boxes of 556 came in...but they were only 20-rounders. I guess they don't have bandoliers anymore for 30-round boxes, but if they do...
> 
> View attachment 24811



If I remember correctly, there's a string you can pull in the stitching in the bandolier that the ammo comes in and it will fit 30-rounders.  I'm pretty sure that's what I did in Iraq and Afghanistan.


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## 4859 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> Smug Joe (Bob Carrier) earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze w V at 7th Co 2nd CAG...and later was a fellow squad leader with me at F 2/6. I used his pic only to illustrate the use of bandoliers for rifle mags BITD.



And he looks the part. Down to hands full and a smoke hanging off the lip.

Just brought back memories and love man.


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## Gunz (Nov 11, 2018)

Marauder06 said:


> If I remember correctly, there's a string you can pull in the stitching in the bandolier that the ammo comes in and it will fit 30-rounders.  I'm pretty sure that's what I did in Iraq and Afghanistan.



So those bandoliers you had in OIF/OEF might be a viable option for the OP? And do the bandoliers still come with 20-rounds to a box? I mean, we did have mag pouches, like 3 or 4, but you can't wear 20 of them and we wanted as many full mags as we could carry so the bandoliers were really handy...and you could distribute the weight across your chest.


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## 4859 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> So those bandoliers you had in OIF/OEF might be a viable option for the OP?



They'll carry, but honestly, they werent that tough, the stitching got ripped out pretty easy and snags would rip the thin cloth pretty easily as well.

Maybe they're built better now?


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 11, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> So those bandoliers you had in OIF/OEF might be a viable option for the OP? And do the bandoliers still come with 20-rounds to a box? I mean, we did have mag pouches, like 3 or 4, but you can't wear 20 of them and we wanted as many full mags as we could carry so the bandoliers were really handy...and you could distribute the weight across your chest.
> 
> View attachment 24818



They hold 30rds per carton, but I wouldn't consider it a solid option for day to day operations. It's one thing to have a few set up for "oh shit situations" sitting in a gun truck or set aside for a resupply.  But I wouldn't want my guys working out of them for daily movements. There are plenty of options out there that will properly secure magazines on kit.  Everything from pouches on body armor, to leg drops to assault packs, etc. 

Leg drops suck on long movements and get annoying over time. 

Assault pack is a good option, but you don't always want to hump a pack on every mission.  

If the load out is "gotta have 22 mags to leave the wire" then the SAW pouches with a front load rack is his best option.  I still would break that up amongst the fire team,  even if dudes pack 2-3 mags for you,  that adds up. It's the least they can do if you are acting as the automatic rifleman. I tend to agree with the Rangers on here,  if you're packing that much ammo,  may as well just grab a belt fed crew serve.


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## Teufel (Nov 11, 2018)

22 magazines? Will your squad cart you around in a wheel barrow?


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## 0699 (Nov 11, 2018)

25 lbs +/-; that's a lot of weight...


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## Gunz (Nov 12, 2018)

4859 said:


> They'll carry, but honestly, they werent that tough, the stitching got ripped out pretty easy and snags would rip the thin cloth pretty easily as well.
> 
> Maybe they're built better now?





Diamondback 2/2 said:


> They hold 30rds per carton, but I wouldn't consider it a solid option for day to day operations. It's one thing to have a few set up for "oh shit situations" sitting in a gun truck or set aside for a resupply.  But I wouldn't want my guys working out of them for daily movements. There are plenty of options out there that will properly secure magazines on kit.  Everything from pouches on body armor, to leg drops to assault packs, etc.



Rog that on both your replies. Obviously I'm going back to the dark ages for the bandolier solution...but we carried our extra mags in them all the time and never had a problem. And that's through jungle, monsoon, high humidity, scorching heat, crossing rivers etc. And in a contact, even on semi-auto, we'd burn through a shitload of mags.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 12, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> Rog that on both your replies. Obviously I'm going back to the dark ages for the bandolier solution...but we carried our extra mags in them all the time and never had a problem. And that's through jungle, monsoon, high humidity, scorching heat, crossing rivers etc. And in a contact, even on semi-auto, we'd burn through a shitload of mags.



I understand, and I'm not saying it wouldn't suffice for awhile, especially changing the bandoliers out. I was just pointing out that there are better options, better materials that I would feel more comfortable with, etc. 

As always, there are more than a few ways to skin a cat.


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## TT (Nov 12, 2018)

How about the idea of one of those camel backs pouches but is also a mini back pack that can Molle onto the back of the plate carrier? Just throw some mags into it. Only problem I see is being able to get to them if a buddy isn’t around. Also if that’s too much bulk on my back to throw on a ruck sack and start hiking if need be.... actually I think I just answerd my own question 😂


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## Teufel (Nov 12, 2018)




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## Gunz (Nov 12, 2018)

TT said:


> How about the idea of one of those camel backs pouches but is also a mini back pack that can Molle onto the back of the plate carrier? Just throw some mags into it. Only problem I see is being able to get to them if a buddy isn’t around. Also if that’s too much bulk on my back to throw on a ruck sack and start hiking if need be.... actually I think I just answerd my own question 😂




I was gonna say...

You're up shit alley burning through mag after mag...you're gonna want them where you can reach them.


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## TT (Nov 12, 2018)

Seems like no perfect way of doing this, I think the best bet is gonna be a chest rig attached to my front. Allowing for 14mags on my front and then the drum mag on my belt allowing for 6mags there. And the final 2 mags on the other side of belt in a regular pouch.      The way I see it if I’m caught with my pants down and don’t have my plate carrier on I still have 8mags on my belt.    The only issues I foresee with this is old school buddy rushing is gonna suck with having all that bulk on the front. And the second is maybe the drum pouch with 6mags being On the belt is gonna lopside it and be too much weight in one belt spot.        I suppose it’s just gonna be trial and error. I’ll be sure to let y’all know what ends up working.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 12, 2018)




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## Gunz (Nov 13, 2018)

The bandoliers, for us, were just another improvisation, a way to carry the most mags and have them readily at hand. One of the things about infantry warfare is that infantry training doesn't always prepare you for the realities of actual combat operations. You find that guys will improvise, come up with their own solutions to re-jig gear, improve weapon deficiencies, shortcut standard procedures...or "lose" issued gear that adds weight and will never be used and should never have been issued in the first place. (Like gas masks, for us.)

@TT you'll figure it out.


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## 4859 (Nov 13, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> The bandoliers, for us, were just another improvisation, a way to carry the most mags and have them readily at hand. One of the things about infantry warfare is that infantry training doesn't always prepare you for the realities of actual combat operations. You find that guys will improvise, come up with their own solutions to re-jig gear, improve weapon deficiencies, shortcut standard procedures...or "lose" issued gear that adds weight and will never be used and should never have been issued in the first place. (Like gas masks, for us.)
> 
> @TT you'll figure it out.




Oh Yeah our promasks were definitely more useful in our living areas inside the wire than out.

We uh.... we went through a lotta creatine.

And the creatine went a lot through us....


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## Poccington (Nov 13, 2018)

Either use a daysack or else farm some magazines out amongst the rest of the fire team who can get them to you as needed. Failing that, tell everyone to eat balls and demand something belt fed.

Seriously, 22 magazines carried on your person is absolutely absurd.


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## policemedic (Nov 13, 2018)

22 mags @ 30rds/per comes to 660 rounds by old math.  Seems like an odd, random number—why not 30 for 900 rounds or 20 for 600?  Round numbers are easier (not counting the magazine in the weapon of course).


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## Gunz (Nov 13, 2018)

Poccington said:


> Either use a daysack or else farm some magazines out amongst the rest of the fire team who can get them to you as needed. Failing that, tell everyone to eat balls and demand something belt fed.
> 
> Seriously, 22 magazines carried on your person is absolutely absurd.




30-rounders, yeah. Heavy. Another 20-25 pounds. I mean you want as much ammo as you can carry with all your other gear. But how mobile are you? With 100 lbs you waddle. If you sit down on the hump to take ten your buds have to help you get back on your feet. That's Grunt Life. One could argue that Grunt Life is pretty absurd to begin with. 

The conundrum for our OP is that his Plt Sgt or whatever told him to carry 22 30-rounders and, in a typically military way, didn't explain how he was to accomplish that with his existing gear.

_*"...tell everyone to eat balls and demand something belt fed..."*_ Yeah, I love that.


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## 4859 (Nov 13, 2018)

Raytheons gotcha OP


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## The Hate Ape (Nov 15, 2018)

Maybe your squad leader just hates you brother.


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## medicchick (Nov 15, 2018)

Maybe he said a .22 mag, not 22 mags.


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## Marauder06 (Nov 16, 2018)

When I was in 5th Group I wore two SAW pouches on the front of my body armor.  I think I could fit four abreast and one across the top in each pouch.  One mag in the weapon and one mag in a pouch on the butt.  Bandolier added an additional four.  16 mags total.  That allowed for a lot of ammo to be carried, but it made it very uncomfortable to get into the prone.  But since I expected to spend most of my time in a vehicle, it made sense.

On later deployments with the Task Force I wore a triple double-mag pouch on the left side (6 mags) and the SAW pouch on the right (5 mags).  One mag in the weapon and another in the redi-mag (2 mags).  Two bandoliers (8 mags).  That's a total of 21 mags.

Here's the deal though:  I was not having to maneuver with that weight and bulk.  As a staff guy, I did zero patrolling.  I'd "patrol" to the helo or the uparmored Hummer or the MRAP or whatever was taking me out on one of my very limited number of missions outside the wire.  If I was going to be patrolling, I wouldn't carry that much ammo and definitely not in something as "floppy" as bandoliers. 

Our M4s were full-auto capable.  In a firefight, my role would be to help establish fire superiority and to break contact, so I probably wouldn't have a lot of ammo for very long.  I was definitely not going to die from lack of being able to shoot back.

It turned out to be moot anyway; seven tours and never fired my weapon at anything more threatening than paper zero targets.  Maybe I scared them with all that ammo?  ;)

Depending on what else they make you carry, you might be best with two triple double-mag pouches (12 mags) one in the weapon and one in a redi-mag (2) and the rest in pouches on your pack.  That way you'll have enough on hand when you need it in an engagement, but you'll be able to maneuver and get into the prone without a lot of stuff flopping around (and probably falling out) everywhere.


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## Devildoc (Nov 16, 2018)

Sounds to me like opportunity is a'knockin', anything you can sketch out and have a local person make to T&E?  Right when ALICE was being phased out and the first line MOLLE junk was coming out some of our guys were having custom stuff made.  I had (still have, somewhere) a med pouch made that looks like the cross between a GP pouch and a NARP leg pouch.

22 mags.  Damn.


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## Teufel (Nov 16, 2018)

I suppose you could also use a drop leg platform to add capacity. I wasn’t a fan of getting replacing the SAW with a magazine fed weapon.


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## Ranger Psych (Nov 18, 2018)

Devildoc said:


> Sounds to me like opportunity is a'knockin', anything you can sketch out and have a local person make to T&E?  Right when ALICE was being phased out and the first line MOLLE junk was coming out some of our guys were having custom stuff made.  I had (still have, somewhere) a med pouch made that looks like the cross between a GP pouch and a NARP leg pouch.
> 
> 22 mags.  Damn.



22 mags is only 60 more rounds than a basic combat load for a 249 gunner. Everyone panicshitting about omgweight...


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## Devildoc (Nov 18, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> 22 mags is only 60 more rounds than a basic combat load for a 249 gunner. Everyone panicshitting about omgweight...



That's good context. I'll buy that. I only carried 15 mags, that was not a problem for me. The rest of my weight was made up with medical shit and helping carry SAW ammo.


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## Teufel (Nov 18, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> 22 mags is only 60 more rounds than a basic combat load for a 249 gunner. Everyone panicshitting about omgweight...


 Its not just the round count. 22 empty magazines weigh a lot more than 3 empty SAW drums.


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## Kraut783 (Nov 18, 2018)

Gotta carry a bigger dump pouch too


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## Marauder06 (Nov 18, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> 22 mags is only 60 more rounds than a basic combat load for a 249 gunner. Everyone panicshitting about omgweight...



Nobody is "panicshitting" about anything, they're trying to help a guy who asked a legitimate question.  Do you have anything useful to add in that regard?


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## Ranger Psych (Nov 18, 2018)

Marauder06 said:


> Nobody is "panicshitting" about anything, they're trying to help a guy who asked a legitimate question.  Do you have anything useful to add in that regard?



Well, there's something those 9 or more posts that mentioned/focused on weight repeatedly (Exoskeletons, wheelbarrow comments, etc) have missed.  

What's the IAR weigh.  What's the SAW it's replacing weigh.

There's about a 10 pound difference to the better for a Marine with an M27.

What's 22 mags weigh empty?

5.5 pounds.

So you're already about 5 pounds lighter out the gate on empty weight to empty weight with about the same combat load. Yeah, 22 mags is going to be janky. Even jankier if you pulled the string to use bandoliers for carrying (I would love to see someone with 22 mags in bandoliers, talk about sloppy the junk wagon... WHERESYOURFRESHMAG I think this might be one no this one wait wtf why am I being strangled)

6 dual mag pouches on a chest rig or whatever you're wearing plus some more on the ruck still won't weigh the same as what a SAW gunner's weapon and associated kit weight was. Spare barrels, anyone?

Everyone isn't mungo in the military like I was and I've come to realize that, but my usual SAW load was 800-1000 and I maneuvered faster than the rest of the squad save my TL who was around 30 secs faster in the 2 mile than me and was irritated that he plateued around 11:15 in that regard.  If someone gets bitchmade by carrying a weapon system and it's associated equipment, either they need to train more (and harder) or they need to be swapped out to a duty position their intestinal fortitude can accomodate.


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## Gunz (Nov 18, 2018)

When I carried the Pig (my MOS), I had a 100 rd link belt for the gun in an ammo box attachment to feed into the loading port, two extra 100 round belts and a can of 762...with other belts distributed organically throughout the team. I don't know how much everything weighed because there were no scales in the boonies, but whatever it weighed, along with all the other shit I had strapped on me, it was heavy. Whatever. Heavy is Life.


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## Ooh-Rah (Nov 18, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> Heavy is Life.



Word.


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## Teufel (Nov 18, 2018)

I’m actually surprised the Marine Corps hasn’t issued something to solve this problem. Even if it’s imperfect.


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## Marauder06 (Nov 18, 2018)

Teufel said:


> I’m actually surprised the Marine Corps hasn’t issued something to solve this problem. Even if it’s imperfect.



How are high-capacity mags, like the 100-round drum, these days?  I remember there being reliability issues in years past.


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## SpongeBob*24 (Nov 18, 2018)

Question...has anyone shot 22 mags strait in this girl.....?


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## 275ANGER! (Nov 18, 2018)

Look into a "linked feeder bag/ammo bag", you can carry it like a satchel. I believe we used Tactical Tailor. I used to carry this bag if I was working the MK48 solo on a support by fire mission. You can modify the strap with a cinch (think VTAC/Blueforce/etc style sling) so it is cinched tight on you during movement and gives you the ability to rapidly loosen when needed. Not sure how many mags you can fit in the bag but it should give you some capacity.


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## Teufel (Nov 18, 2018)

Marauder06 said:


> How are high-capacity mags, like the 100-round drum, these days?  I remember there being reliability issues in years past.


I heard the same. No idea if it’s changed.


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## Teufel (Nov 18, 2018)

275ANGER! said:


> Look into a "linked feeder bag/ammo bag", you can carry it like a satchel. I believe we used Tactical Tailor. I used to carry this bag if I was working the MK48 solo on a support by fire mission. You can modify the strap with a cinch (think VTAC/Blueforce/etc style sling) so it is cinched tight on you during movement and gives you the ability to rapidly loosen when needed. Not sure how many mags you can fit in the bag but it should give you some capacity.



It’s too bad we can’t put the ammo in some kind of belt and feed it into the weapon from some sort of drum.


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## Kraut783 (Nov 18, 2018)

Teufel said:


> It’s too bad we can’t put the ammo in some kind of belt and feed it into the weapon from some sort of drum.



I see what you did there....


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## 275ANGER! (Nov 18, 2018)

Teufel said:


> It’s too bad we can’t put the ammo in some kind of belt and feed it into the weapon from some sort of drum.



Noob! Everyone knows that belt fed reloads in Call of Duty are slower than mag changes


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 19, 2018)

@275ANGER! Ho Lee Chit ain't seen you around in a long fucking time...  Glad your back!


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## Gunz (Nov 19, 2018)

Marauder06 said:


> How are high-capacity mags, like the 100-round drum, these days?  I remember there being reliability issues in years past.



Los Zetas has been field-testing c-mag reliability for years.


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## Gunz (Nov 19, 2018)

SpongeBob*24 said:


> Question...has anyone shot 22 mags strait in this girl.....?




We were in some contacts where we burned through just about all the 556 each, all but 50-rnds of MG ammo and literally all of our 40mm HE & lume and had to unass the AO to rv with emergency helo resup...not sure I kapeeshed your question Mr. Bob.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Nov 19, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> We were in some contacts where we burned through just about everything, 15 or 20 mags each, all but 50-rnds of MG ammo and literally all of our 40mm HE & lume and had to unass the AO to rv with emergency helo resup...not sure I kapeeshed your question Mr. Bob.



Our sister battalion had a platoon of 26 guys get ambushed by 75-100 insurgents, that fight lasted over 6 hours without ammo resupply, CAS, indirect fires or supporting units. 

Tales of that ambush are pretty freaking epic, the platoon leader took out a machine gun positions by himself with a pistol after being wounded. Gun trucks completely out of ammo, etc. 

Michael McCarty - Recipient - Military Times Hall Of Valor


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## SpongeBob*24 (Nov 19, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> We were in some contacts where we burned through just about all the 556 each, all but 50-rnds of MG ammo and literally all of our 40mm HE & lume and had to unass the AO to rv with emergency helo resup...not sure I kapeeshed your question Mr. Bob.



Apologies....I was just asking if the M27 would support 22 mags pumped thru it back to back.....the internet said yes so in reality it was a dumb question that I worded poorly.

Sorry!


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## Gunz (Nov 24, 2018)

SpongeBob*24 said:


> Apologies....I was just asking if the M27 would support 22 mags pumped thru it back to back.....the internet said yes so in reality it was a dumb question that I worded poorly.
> 
> Sorry!



No problem. I was smoking crack and juggling pomegranates when I read your post.😁


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## DasBoot (Nov 24, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> Well, there's something those 9 or more posts that mentioned/focused on weight repeatedly (Exoskeletons, wheelbarrow comments, etc) have missed.
> 
> What's the IAR weigh.  What's the SAW it's replacing weigh.
> 
> ...


Idgaf about weight- think about how bulky that will be, how hard it will be to get Prone or move his arms, how much “ohjesusohgawd” will go into changing mags and then remember where the fuck he put spent mags... as all my lady friends tell me, “the issue is girth.”


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## R.Caerbannog (Nov 25, 2018)

@TT  Think an assualt pack / backpack / grabbag solution might be your best and easiest option. Figure you're gonna be rocking an aid kit, NODS w/mount, dump bag, and maybe a grenade pouch or two on your plate carrier. Plus I'm willing to bet that there might be some other stuff that you or command want to put on your plate carrier as well.

Easiest thing might be to carry the standard 6 mags on your carrier, a separate mag on your person, and the other 15 mags can go into a dedicated compartment of an assault pack or grab bag that's integrated with your hydration system. If you're doing lots of patrols without a ruck and you're limited to using issued gear, this might be the easiest option. (plus you'll have room for snivel gear and licky's and chewy's)

If you're doing lots of movements with a ruck, I'd invest in a pack that you can snap/adhere to the top of your ruck. Alternatively, you can leave the rucks top compartment empty (or the top space) and stash your assault pack with mags and hydration bladder in the cavity and run the bladder hose under the flap.

Lastly, see if you can find the guidance that your Company and Battalion have put out regarding the IAR's mag loadout. This is just me, but I'd check to see how the other IAR guys have set their gear up in case everything else fails. At this point, I figure you've already got you're plate carrier set up.

Best of luck!


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## Ranger Psych (Nov 25, 2018)

DasBoot said:


> Idgaf about weight- think about how bulky that will be, how hard it will be to get Prone or move his arms, how much “ohjesusohgawd” will go into changing mags and then remember where the fuck he put spent mags... as all my lady friends tell me, “the issue is girth.”



It isn't that hard. I had to work with a 600 round mag loadout plenty of times when my SAW was down for whatever, and there wasn't a spare, yet we wanted automatic fire... My backup M4 hated it, but it did the job. Not the way I would WANT to roll, but hey, evety Marine (just) a Rifleman, literally, now.


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## Gunz (Nov 25, 2018)

I carried one of these for a couple of weeks at the behest of the XO. Across the chest on a sling, no tripod. Had an AG carrying det bags full of 40mm HE. You want to talk about heavy?

They tell you to do it but they don't tell you how. You figure it out.




"When they tell you to take the hill, you say, "Aye, aye, sir"...and you take the hill." -- William H. Dabney


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## Hillclimb (Nov 25, 2018)

That linked feeder bag with the VTAC/synching system tailored in sounds like the best scenario to me; one for the gunner and A gunner is an easy 1200rd plus up. Im going to bring that up for our next OPR purchase. Im actually mad I didnt think about it years ago. It's got me thinking back to being a new guy on the team and having to carry the SAW + 1000rds on a fire and maneuver range rushing an entire machine gun range sprinting at mach-jesus speed with my element leader.


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## 4859 (Nov 27, 2018)

Ranger Psych said:


> 22 mags is only 60 more rounds than a basic combat load for a 249 gunner. Everyone panicshitting about omgweight...



I think most of that was joking.

When we carried our dismounted loads, they came in drums, (or for us and our cobbled together dismount 240, boxes).

The problem wasn't so much the weight but the form factor and the environment we were operating in. The bulk factor made moving through urban environments quickly a problem, in ways it wasn't during training in other environments, as it fucking caught on everything, and buildings and brick don't give like small branches, it made getting into some really good firing positions cumbersome and 'slow', when every second mattered. We had to pick between a tradeoff of ammo accessibility or fire position accessibility. I think this might be why they chose to break up the load in magazines instead of drums.

Although thinking back on my comment on the rounds I expended in my engagements, that wasn't a very applicable example, as I was just one machine gun, out of 3 machine guns on the tank, out of 4 tanks in the platoon, 2 of which per tank were stabilized firing systems with ridiculous accuracy (I had a hobby of drawing faces to check how tight my zeroing adjustments were). We collectively expended metric fucktons of ammo a dismounted squad couldn't hope to match.


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## Gunz (Nov 27, 2018)

4859 said:


> I think most of that was joking.
> 
> When we carried our dismounted loads, they came in drums, (or for us and our cobbled together dismount 240, boxes).
> 
> ...





Yeah...but you had a tank, you lucky bastard.


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## 4859 (Nov 27, 2018)

Ocoka said:


> Yeah...but you had a tank, you lucky bastard.



Definitely felt a lot luckier in my tank than when dismounted, no lie.

Made building clearing a....


.....
.....
Blast.


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## J. (Nov 27, 2018)

4859 said:


> Definitely felt a lot luckier in my tank than when dismounted, no lie.
> 
> Made building clearing a....
> 
> ...



From one to another that was some great tank humor.


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