I decided to revisit the bandolier idea for several reasons and this is wad to came up with.
Started with one of the all molle leg panels from HSGI and immediately removed the factory leg strap, cut off the back half of the belt attachment. From there I installed a set of Mayflower Swift clips and modded two old Blackhawk 2 point slings to serve as a shoulder strap and waist strap. Pretty simple though it looks rough.
As I have it set up right now there’s a HSGI Bleeder pouch for the Bok (need to add a TQ strap on the side of the pouch), HSGI modular pouch (up to 3 M4 mags), HSGI old school open top universal mag pouch (also holds up to 3 M4 mags), and 3 pistol Tacos ( 2 for pistol mags, 1 for a flashlight).
When running 6 carbine and 2 pistol mags, things can start to get a but heavy but the padded back of the panel makes it a lot more comfortable. An added plus is that it can clipped in to a plate carrier if you want.
Right now I’m using it with 1 carbine mag in the open pouch with 2 in the closed top pouch for better comfort.
I like your concept a lot. Would you mind sharing pictures of how the straps are set up in the rear?
As a civilian, I don’t want a plate carrier but I also don’t want to attach a bunch of pouches to my belt because that is just a pain in the butt. This looks like it balances grab-and-go with the speed reloads a Taco provides and the carrying capacity of a dump pouch via the modular pouch in the center.
I’m a civilian and love the idea of a plate carrier. Mine doesn’t have every day application, but I know I have it if needed. It’s ran slick with no pouches as if right now. If I did, I’d run bfg 10 speed pouches so they lie flat when not in use.
I looked for a quick way to get a simple loadout on my belt. I found the raven concealment subload with their paddles is as simple as pulling it out of my bag, slipping it over my belt, and do what I need to. However the OP’s mission probably differs a lot from mine. Mine is purely self defense.
I did look at bandoliers, and go bags as options, but finding that blend of concealment, and ease of deployment can be difficult.
Anyways, I applaud those who modify and/or make their own gear to fit their needs. Excellent work.
Question. You’re carrying the bandoleer for mostly rifle support with the number of magazines on it. Now, the rifle is arguably the better tool than the pistol for a number of reasons. Since you already have at least two spare pistol mags on your belt, and since the rifle is the better option, why are you carrying another two spare mags for an inferior weapon when you could supplement the existing rifle mags with another rifle mag, or reduce weight or lower the outside profile by eliminating them completely?
I frequently see LEO’s carrying things just because they always have without any real thought into why those particular items sometimes, and when I ask their thought processes a lightbulb sometimes goes off for a more efficient way.
I see your logic, BC520. My usual rifle support is a BFG bandoleer with three rifle magazines. That said, I have two pistol magazines attached to my plate carrier and two with a go-bag in the trunk. In part, this is to resupply officers who may have been on the scene for several minutes before I’ve arrived. There may also be circumstances in which I might have to transition to my pistol. A colleague from an allied agency remarked that he is seen as a prophet in his own land because he ordered SBR’s for his department just before the Washington Navy Yard incident. Since I have a full size rifle, I might consider ditching it to clear a bazzilion cubicles in such a circumstance.
Of course, being a sergeant, I’d probably just be standing around the command post, feeling and looking important. Be safe.
With your posts and our discussions over the years on the various boards we’re on, I knew you’d have thought put into why you do what you do. You also can picture other officers loading up with a ton of things that priority-wise don’t make sense to carry why or where they do.
The spare magazines can used to supplement personnel that only have handguns or during times where the user of the bandolier only has 1 (if any spare magazines). The benefit of the Tacos is that other items can be placed in them such as a multi-tool, OC, etc if they arent needed to store mags.
ALso keep in mind that the bandolier is currently only in range use right now while the kinks in it are being worked out.
Being able to supplement personnel is something that can be considered, but it is highly dependent on standardization. If that’s the case, great, but it wholly depends on regions. My county alone I can ID four different calibers and over eleven different sidearms, and very few can be as easily resupplied as passing out G22 mags for G22’s or G23’s.
Working out kinks like this is something I enjoy doing as well. Consider running some exercises or tests during building searches, as that’s when I found that overall width away from the body started to become a factor in snagging or moving around on the body.
