How magazines are carried?
 

Hi fellows I know some of you probably are rolling your eye's at this question?
Let me explain , the Vietnam era "B-52 TIPS" say to carry your magazines top
down with the bullets aimming away from you. So if your mag pouches get
shot you won't get hit by your own ammo. Now my question is, is this still ,SOP,
and if so. Why am I seeing magazines carried sideways in most of the newer
magazine pouches I keep seeing?
I've done about a dozen differen't searchs and can't find a good answer.
Hope I don't sound to stupid??? But this has been bugging me for the last couple
of weeks. And since I know SF are THE BEST at this stuff ya'll could help.

Thanks

Walter
(nighthawk45)

For what its worth I carry mine sideways to facilitate getting in and out of a vehicle quickly. Also if you find yourself climbing over walls in kit, its easier.

Just my .02

Walter:

The new pouches are on vests, not LBE. They are designed to carry the mags sideways for one or two mags each, keeping a lower profile over the body armor and everything else the guys have to wear, and to keep snagging when entering or exiting vehicles to a minimum. The load has moved from the waist to the chest. You would not believe the difficulty of unassing a burning vehicle under fire with gear getting caught on everything in the passenger area. It can look like a Three Stooges routine if not properly prepared for and rehearsed.

Another reason I believe is that it is much faster to reload a mag which is weak side located with the bullets pointed to the strong side. When the support hand reaches for the mag, normally, the index finger will be placed on the bullet side of the mag for better indexing and faster reloading. That is the same way that a pistol reload should be accomplished for maximum speed, and uses the same technique for all reloads. Many people will take advantage of lulls in the action to relocate mags from the harder to reach strong hand pouches to the faster weak had side, if there are empties.

I have never seen bullets that were hit on the primer and fired into the user. My belief is that if that happens, the bad guy bullets are going into you as well. If the mags are sideways, it really isn't a consideration.

Hope that helps.

TR

[QUOTE=nighthawk45] the Vietnam era "B-52 TIPS" say to carry your magazines top
down with the bullets aimming away from you. So if your mag pouches get
shot you won't get hit by your own ammo. Now my question is, is this still ,SOP,
)[/QUOTE}

I would be very careful about adopting anyone's SOP for anything. SOPs are developed for a lot of reasons-some good some stupid, however when it comes to the best way of carrying magazines or other items on your person you need to look at several things such as where you are going to be, the mission, what you are going to be required to do, weapons systems you are carrying, other items of equipment you are carrying, obstacles to movement, etc, etc, etc. We made our own ammo vests in Vietnam out of canvas that carried magazines 360 and we did so for several reasons. First of all everything in the rain forest has a thorn, second regardless of what position we found ourselves we could still reach a magazine without having to roll into the line of fire or go through weird contortions to grab another magazine, we needed protection of the ammo from the elements, and as we often flew in birddogs we could easily get into and out of the back seat without having to drag along web gear and still have access to ammo if we needed to provide suppression fire out the window after the pilot made a rocket run. In another one of my organizations we made multiple variations of magazine and demo carrying pouches and gear to allow ease of access, ease of movement, and ability to carry additional specialized equipment. In both cases mentioned above, these we designed for specific roles and functions and were the best for the mission requirements. Unfortunately issued equipment is designed for whomever and never fits right for all folks. You need to use your own intelligent initiative based on common sense and good guidance from folks with experience for the missions where you are going to be operating to find the right mix. One size will never fit all nor will one carry option meet all variables. Hopefully you have a chain of command that will allow you to modify what you need to within the realm of common sense and situational awareness.

I like to roll mine up and carry them with a hammer grip. Never know when some kid or a puppy is going to need a good swat.

Thank You
 

Your replies were a God send, Thank you Guy's

walter;)