I figure it would be useful for 1) when I start taking AR classes and 2) if ever I need my AR at home. All I see on YouTube are plate carriers which I don’t think is practical for me since 1) I’m not an operator wannabe and 2) I’m thinking putting it on isn’t quick.

I guess a dedicated belt with ar mag holsters is something I can put on around my pajamas at night if I need to? Apologies if this is a silly question. I can take being razzed.

UPDATE:

True to form, the multitude of well-meaning and well-reasoned responses have given me a better picture.

And fortunately, the timing of sales has given me the best of both worlds. I took advantage of a BOGO promotion to get outfitted plate carrier plates for my wife and I. Each also comes with a battle belt as an alternative option. They also have a 30% off for non-promo items which I used to get side plates, first aid kit, and a tourniquet.

If anyone’s interested, here’s the link to AR500 Armor.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rey HRH,

No

Belt mag pouches sound like a good alternative to chest mounted mags.

To deal with the same concern as the OPs, I bought a 5.11 2 Banger bag. It carries 2 30 round mags concealed but ready to use. Throw it on and go. $48 bucks.
Works for me!

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
... I bought a 5.11 2 Banger bag. It carries 2 30 round mags concealed but ready to use.

I'm confused.

First of all: If one if carrying an AR, one would assume they're carrying it slung. So the purpose of carrying the spare mags concealed would be...?

Next: I went to 5.11's site and looked. It's billed as "A quick, convenient, and modular carryall sized for two AR magazines," but no photos shown with it carrying two AR mags. There is a photo of it with carrying a pistol in its "concealed rear pistol compartment."

Which leads to my third point of confusion: If you're carrying AR mags, and a slung (assumed) AR, why would you need or want to conceal your pistol?

Not knocking your choice or recommendation, just very confused about the point of this product.

To the OP:

I asked a similar question some time back and a kindly SF member actually karma'd me a mag carrier. But, yeah: It's kind of "operator wannabe" looking

I wish I could recall who that was. I meant to send him the $15 he spent shipping it to me and it slipped my mind until now. I think we swapped emails. Gonna have to look that up.

I personally don't see any real difference in mounting time between putting on a set of plates with molle mag pouches versus a belt with mag pouches. Its easy enough to put on either even in your PJ's. The slung carry pouches are even easier to grab but are way, way less useful if you actually need a mag. We've argued a bit about this in other threads, but if I'm grabbing my gun to investigate something serious enough to grab a rifle at my house I'm putting on a set of plates. But I compete using belt mounted stuff as its much more convenient. In any case belt mounted will do what you want very easily and not look too tactical (as if that matters in your PJ's).

After considering every product I could find, I realized that a plate carrier was the most logical. If you are taking your rifle and need more than one mag, things are very bad. If you are putting something on to carry more mags, why not have armor and Ifak as well? You can put one on very fast buck ass naked after waking up, no pants required. Right now is the time to buy with sales. A fast and simple plate carrier. Good plates, “BLK25” for 25% off.

If you're looking for something "grab-and-go", how about bandolier?

One reason I like 20rd mags for HD.

a bit smaller and a spare fits in rear jeans pocket easily.

=====================

As others mentioned, if you are putting something on…it may as well provide armor protection.

I have armor under my bed with a spare AR mag, pistol mag and empty holster. For a training class I just add more AR mag pouches for convenience.

I like the active shooter / grab and go / tactical manpurse style bags. I have one I love from Hawkepacks that I don’t think they make anymore. It can hold 12 AR mags inside and six pistol mags under a flap on the outside. I keep closer to six AR mags with a small first aide kit and flashlight, plus 226 mags. You can grab it with one hand or throw the sling over your body.

I get what you mean. In a HD type scenario, you don’t want to look like some overzealous HSLD operator, and carrying an AR is aggressive enough. In your home or porch or whatever, it is quick enough to stash the rifle, etc., but a chest rig is more awkward to remove. Also, if you have your rifle in a bag in your car or whatever, the bag is far less conspicuous to a casual observer than a chest rig with plates and molle pouches all over it.

I had the same question and concerns. After posting here, and searching / researching elsewhere, I decided to go with what most call a battle belt, or war belt set up.

I went with a trex arms Orion belt setup. It does not lace through your pants, so you can put it on over a T-shirt, hoodie, a jacket, or over nothing if you have to jump out of bed in the middle of the night. The material on the inside is very grabby, so it doesn’t bounce around. I added a Safari land 6000 holster, and a few ESSTAC pouches for pistol magazines and rifle magazines. I bought everything used off of eBay, and arf.com
I am extremely happy with my set up, and it is easy to customize down the road. Here is a link to look at, similar to my set up.

https://www.trex-arms.com/stor...ully-Kitted-Warbelt/

Hmm ….
In view of recent events that have captured national attention I’m wondering whether the lesson has been learned more widely that aggressive action against someone who is visibly (how else?) armed with an AR is a good idea regardless of what other gear he may have.

More to the point, if someone is carrying a rifle I don’t believe that conspicuous accessories such as mag pouches, plate carriers, etc., will have much effect on the situation except, perhaps, to emphasize one’s resolve to anyone paying attention. Do we really care if someone will accuse us of being “tacticool”?

And as a practical matter, though, the more gear we must find and employ, the slower the process will be and possibly will distract us from what’s important. During the Benghazi incident one member of the contract security force didn’t have time to put in his contact lenses and had to respond to the situation without being able to see very well. He was very fortunate that that didn’t turn into a deadly handicap. My point is that we should assume that things are going to become as bad as possible in as short a time as possible, and he should have had a pair of conventional glasses lying next to his gun(s). Ideal? No. Better than being half blind? Infinitely.

If we really believe that we should have more ammunition available than the one magazine that’s in the rifle, there are ways to attach another magazine to the rifle stock, or—less desirable—to couple mags together. And beyond 50-60 or so rounds, perhaps we should be questioning whether discretion is the better part of valor.

FWIW, though, I too am a fan of the battle belt even though I also have a carrier with two III+ steel plates available as well as a level IV ceramic plate in a full vest with lots of other stuff. The belt has two loaded pistol magazines, a loaded 20-round AR mag, pistol holster, and tourniquet. I consider it to be much more important than the armor which could be more of a hindrance than a benefit in any situation I’d be likely to encounter.

For me, the 5.11 rig is less about concealment of the mags and more about having a grab and go set up. Mainly for when I am wearing a winter jacket. It keeps mags and pistol fairly readily accessible on the outside of the jacket. It keeps the weather off the mags /pistol too.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
For me, the 5.11 rig is less about concealment ....

That’s my point. If we’re running around with a rifle/carbine, does it really matter if everything else is concealed or not?

I think I've become a lot more practical since joining this forum. I used to border on mall ninja but have toned down quite a bit of that nonsense.

If I'm needing multiple AR mags, I'm throwing on a plate carrier cause shit just got real.

I think if I'm in an area where I THINK Iight need multiple AR mags, I'm immediately leaving the area.

If you're thinking about armor, try it on before you buy if possible. I bought a carrier and steel plates from AR500 and my beat up, middle age ass aint going far wearing that!

quote:

Originally posted by nukeandpave:
If you're thinking about armor, try it on before you buy if possible. I bought a carrier and steel plates from AR500 and my beat up, middle age ass aint going far wearing that!

That's why, after spending more than a little time looking into it, I decided to take a pass on armor. I have no way of knowing what will work for my nearly-old-as-dirt ass and what won't.

If I went out and spent several hundred bucks on armor, only to find it was impractical for me to wear, I'd be more than a little annoyed with myself.

Well yeah if you buy steel it will be heavy, and probably send frag into your neck.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
Well yeah if you buy steel it will be heavy, ...

Yeah, so I started looking at ceramic. That turned out to be hella expensive. Another reason I dropped the whole thing.

I’m not going to be traipsing up and down the mountains of Afghanistan. If I’m still in a firefight after 3 mags, I’ve lived with the Klingon adage for quite a while now: “Today is a good day to die.” I’m just doing my due diligence. I’m aiming to be just a tad better prepared than that lawyer and his wife who had one non functioning handgun out of two.

I was going to go with ceramic for the weight but it’s only good for one shot. Heck, I figure I’d go with steel.