I am revisiting an old topic. I thought I had an answer, but I am beginning to rethink my position.
Assuming things are bad enough that you think you need a rifle (and can get away with it).
How many rounds do you plan on carrying for your rifle?
How do you plan on carrying them with all the other stuff you need to carry? (For grins lets assume you are not just carrying the rifle around the house and in the yard.)
That would really depend on your environment and where you are deploying the rifle from (home, auto, etc.) and why. Can you add any details on what you’re looking for?
The correct answer is “depends.”
Personally I always have 4 30 rounders with my rifle. If you count the 20 round mag in the gun that’s 5 mags. The total package is not too heavy and still easy to conceal under a coat or light jacket.
Never hurts to have other mags available but practically 2-4 mags seem to fit the bill.
That is the answer I usually give.
I am thinking gear, but the gear is dependent needs. I am thinking, or say I am rethinking how I should train and what I should carry.
I am watching the guys at Magpul with single mags in single holders. This is nice and simple and if that is the only thing you are carrying…but I can not think of a time when that would be the only thing I am carrying and carrying a rifle.
Train the way you fight, fight the way you train.
And it is always nice to have lots of gear to choose from, but when it comes down to it, I don’t think there will be a lot of time to change out the gear and retrain the body/mind as to where stuff is.
So I am left with making a decision and living with that decision.
Well I always keep a single kydex pouch with a tek-loc handy. I can put it on just about any belt and it gives me quick access to a spare mag. A few mags handy to stuff in pockets is also a good idea. For true SHTF, I have a 5.11 type vest that will hold a buttload of stuff (including mags), and a go bag with more mags and ammo.
The situation will dictate what I grab.
I am also in the “it depends” category.
But let me say that if you are in a situation where you are working with someone else, you may want to double the number of mags in case you have to supply the other guy (assuming same type of gun of course). So in these situations, I keep 6 mags ready to go, that way we can each have 3 mags.
Joe Mamma
On the road…210rds for the primary rifle and 52rds for the sidearm.
At home…every magazine I own is loaded to -2 of capacity to help with spring life.
At least One 1000rd case of Doc’s Recommended loadings in reserve for each weapon I own.
Training…anything I can afford and buy bulk if I can find it.
Depends.
Loadout one is a “War Belt” setup with the ability to stow six mags, but I only carry three.
Loadout two is an old-school Blackhawk vest that holds twelve mags, but I only carry six.
Loadout one is most likely the one I’d break glass on if a grid-down popped off.
+1 for “depends”.
i’ve seen plenty of people over the years who hae a “survivaal” rig that’s full battle rattle LBV with 13 or more mags, plus a bunch more ammo in a pack.
the loadout becomes huge and will limit your ability to move quickly or quietly.
for me, i have a 2 mag pouch on the back of my Camelbak HAWG with two mags in it, and i also have belt mag pouches from Blade Tec and The Wilderness and a minimal chest rig from Spectre Gear that has three pockets that hold two mags each… plus a few pistol mags. (their website says it only holds one mag per pocket) the Spectre chest rig is easy to conceal under a light jacket.
i’d also like to get one of the Sneakybags or Hawkepack carriers and another one of the Spectre rigs. some of the simple “active shooter” rigs that can carry 2 to 6 rifle mags plus some pistol mags and are FAST to grab and go make sense.
and a spare mag on the gun in a buttstock carrier is also a good idea. i’m not a big fan of mag couplers or the Ready Mag.
DON’T count on local LE or NG handing out mags & ammo. don’t laugh, i’ve heard some people cite that as a reason for choosing the AR in 5.56.
my gear is planned in layers. spare mag on the rifle, spare mags on the belt, spare mags on the Camelbak and finally the chest rig. i can mix and match as needed.
for stored ammo… just look at the current trend in price and availability. buy it by the case and stash some. don’t burn thru everything for playtime/practice. a case per rifle is a decent reserve.
I can second this, there is not a L/E or national Guard unit in this country which would hand out weapons, magazines or ammunition to any civilian during a emergency. Your lucky just to get food or clean water after several days wait.
If you don’t have what you need before the event occurs then your Shit out of luck! The only one who is going to help you during a event is “YOURSELF” so buy and store what you need now!
Different gear for different scenarios. Hopefully I’ll be able to get to what I need when I need it. The kit I have with me I envision using to get to homebase. If I’m 500 miles from home and SHTF, then I’ll have to make do. Better to have something than nothing. FWIW: I’ve begun to take a serious loadout whenever I travel by car. Example: Went out of state 2 wks. ago. Took my HK USP .45 and wife’s USPc. 4 mags each, 3 boxes WWB .45. 2-2 mag(belt) holders and 2 OWB holsters. Threw in the 6920, 5 Pmags(28 in each), 2-200 rd. XM193 boxes. Eagle vest that holds three mags. Case of water(we drink lots anyway), box of Cliff bars. Sounds like a sh**load of gear. Packed nicely into trunk along with suitcases. Not visible to outside. Both of us have CCP’s and we traveled through states with reciprocity agreements. Not paranoid, prepared. Most likely little help available in a SHTF scenario(or worse). Fend for yourself. Lived in NOLA before, during, and after, Katrina. LE and NG were non-existent for first week(in enough numbers to do anything other than maintain order at selected sites).
While I have an AR, I still think the diminutive 22LR makes a good survival gun. You can carry a lot of ammo (1000 rounds), kill small game or 2 legged if needed, and it’s quiet. Maybe I’m wrong but…
I think this is what makes an AR the ultimate EOTWAWKI rifle. Throw in a conversion kit, or another upper and a couple of poundsof 22lr will keep you in game for a long time. Plus, when bullets start to fly is someone going to cry party-foul if you are throwing some cheap 22lr lead too? Not knock down, but beats a knife.
if im moving by foot, 210 rounds of 556 and 32 rnds of 45 on my vest, with another 120 rnds of 556 and 50 of 45 in my BOB. if im moving by vehicle that all depends on how much time i have to move stuff from the house to the truck.
I’ve almost finished setting up a khaki/foliage(-fashion fyi) s-type(left side carry) Fatboy Versipack.It holds 4 PMAG 30s nicely.I have an insert on the way to keep them a little more secure and upright but the size is just about perfect.
I also have two 17rd pistol mags in sheaths on the forward attachment point and another two in a Janus extension.
I added a Janus(sans buckles) to the waste strap(which has recently replaced the belt snap apparently) as well.So there’s plenty of room for my multi-tool,FAK,and other odds & ends.There’s still several attachment points for other pouches/etc to play with.
I’ll also use it to carry my M&P compact as a BUG to the FS on the right hip.
I guess you could call it a BOB of sorts…Fairly discreet…Easy to grab and throw over your shoulder…Highly modular…
5 AR mags(a 20 in the rifle) and 5 handgun mags…
140 for the rifle 226 total.
Edit-Forgot the 13 rnds of 9mm in the compact(239 total).
This is the current plan/project anyway.
ok, the Versapack is discrete. however the RIFLE that it feeds ain’t. sooo perhaps the only advantage is that if someone sees it in your home or vehicle it doesn’t look unusual… as long as you can keep the other hardware hidden.
i just got a Hawkepack Rifle BOB for a good price. i’d looked at several other versions but jumped on the RBOB when i found it.
but the whole “discrete pack” thing just doesn’t work once you grab the long gun. there is the Sneaky Bag rifle case… but it’s still oversize unless you have an AR pistol, a folding stock AK, or something else that’s very compact.
I was actually thinking more about getting some use out of the thing pre-SHTF.I had an Eagle chest rig and didn’t even want to wear it at the range(fudd-ville).With this I could(not that I would) wear it through the mall,after maybe moving the pistol mags into a pocket where they weren’t visible.It’ll be nice to really put it through its paces and work out any kinks.
This could also mean being more likely to actually have it arround if/when S does HTF.
Having said that…
I do think the Nike bat bag I often carry an AR in,in combination with the Versipack,would make for a fairly discreet way to move about at times when it may be desirable.
It’s definitely more discreet than a chest rig,carries more,easier to grab & go,can be used as a dump pouch,and I like the way it rides off to the left side.
id have to agree with you. i had a neighbor a couple years ago who was a Vietnam vet, and always kept a 10/22 compact model beside his easy chair with a 30 rd mag and a red dot on it for an all around quick one to get to. when i questioned his selection his only response was “everyone ducks when lead is flying by.” considering what he had unloaded in his safe it was a head scratcher for me, but who am i to question a guy whos been there done that?
Low threat of contact - USGI 4 mag bandoleer slung over the shoulder; tactical gear with 8 mags nearby.
Medium threat - USGI 4 mag bandoleer; SIGPRO “camera vest” with 4 mags on my person; tactical gear with 8 mags VERY nearby
High threat - Tactical gear with 12 magazines on person; couple 4 mag bandoleers stashed at rally point
I figure that if I’m going to have to carry significant amounts of ammo and it’s a SHTF scenario (house is unsafe to stay in, food shortages, desperate people, mob behavior, etc.) then I’m loaded with a heavy hikers backpack, as is my wife, and 4 little ones each have a small backpack with what they can carry (small mylar bags of water, some food, clothes, etc.). The packs my wife and I carry will have the balance of the heavy stuff including ham radios, batteries, lighting, water filtration, mres, food bar rations, tent, blankets, fire, cooking, fuel, etc.
With my pack being a good 30lbs, and with my <7lb AR on a 2 point or 1 point sling on front, I think I’d fill my 4 mags with ammo, then somehow pack another 200 rounds at least somewhere…burying the other 1500 or so rounds left behind. I’d also have a holstered glock 21sf and 2 additional mags on my belt for that, and maybe bring another 100 rounds of that somewhere.
We’d hit the railroad tracks and head out of town stealthily as possible. Or float out on the Bitterroot river if we could arrange it. RR tracks or river because the roads would likely be compromised and not low profile. Also, I’m assuming gas is long gone and our cars are useless. We would head to less populated mountain valleys facing south, or to near enough cities.
Short answer, having said all that: 320 rounds of 5.56 and 139 rounds of .45acp. Also, none of us are in shape enough to hump around 1000 rounds of anything, and I doubt carrying our packs would even be possible, but we’d try.