IN PRAISE OF DUPLEXED AR-15 MAGAZINES

I wrote this about a decade ago, and over that time polymer AR magazines have pretty much taken over from the old mil-spec aluminum mags. Like almost everybody, I’ve been running 30-round P-mags, and I have set up my gear to accommodate them. Lately I’ve had the opportunity to do some rifle and pistol training that involves moving around and shooting multiple targets. In order to conserve ammunition, we’ve generally been loading only four rounds in our rifles and pistols. This allows us to focus on making efficient transitions between rifle magazines and then to our pistols, without burning up too much of our war stock.

So the other day, I remembered my old duplexed aluminum magazines, and so I hauled them to the range and used them in my trusty AR at the beginning of each stage. Now I remember why I originally plugged duplexed AR mags: it’s just WAY faster to make that first transition than dropping an empty mag and reaching into a pouch (on your belt or on your chest) for number two. And since just about everybody who owns an AR has a pile of perfectly good old aluminum mags in a box somewhere, why not make a double mag, just to try it out? It won’t cost a thing, and if you don’t like it, take it apart, and no harm done. (2020 note: that EOTech and the nasty steel ammo are long gone. I just grabbed the images from the old WRSA sight, which is still up, having been missed by the woke comrades. Note also in the photo that the left-side mag does not block the bolt release.)

So here is my old essay, which first appeared on the old Western Rifle Shooters Association website, and is now featured in “The Bracken Collection.”

Who wouldn’t want a sixty-round magazine for their trusty AR, one that fits in roughly the same space as a standard thirty-round mag?

Nobody I know.

Problem is, such a magazine doesn’t exist. But there is a way to link two thirty-round mags so that the switch from the thirtieth to the thirty-first cartridge is extremely fast. Much faster than any switch to a second magazine kept in a pouch on your body.

Twice as fast.

Some of us were doing this in the SEAL Teams decades ago. Today, companies make magazine duplexing gadgets that you can buy, but don’t bother with them. The old way is better, because the bottom of the homemade double mag is narrower and easier to grab and manipulate. This is because the two mags are in a narrow “V” shape. They are not parallel, as with the store-bought duplexing gadgets. You will understand why this matters when you do these speed changes in practice. The bottom of your duplexed mag is your handle during the switch.

So here’s how you make it.

Take two good thirty-round AR mags that you know work well. Then take an ordinary wood pencil, and cut off a two-inch piece, square at both ends. Place it cross-wise three inches up from the bottom of one magazine. Take green military “hundred-mile-an-hour” tape, duct tape, camo tape or green electricians’ tape, and bind the two mags tightly together, starting at their bottoms so they are touching.

Tape them all the way up to the pencil location. To make an even more solid mount, fill the gap below the pencil with silicone rubber before you tape them up. The pencil placement three inches up from the bottom is important. The slot between the two mags will just clear the magazine well of your rifle, and it will allow enough space for the open dust cover.

What about taping two mags end-to-end, with cartridges at top and bottom? Only in grade-Z action movies. When you hit the ground, you will be pounding dirt into the open magazine at the bottom, and maybe even denting or deforming the critical feed lips. And besides, doing it the end-to-end way makes a double magazine much longer than it needs to be. This end-to-end method makes a little more sense with very curvy Kalashnikov magazines. Not every rifle’s construction permits the use of side-by-side duplexed mags. They are perfectly suited to ARs, however.

Now you are at the range, and you have your duplexed AR mags ready to try. Load one so that the right-side mag is in the well, and the spare mag is fitting just along the left side of your rifle. This twice-as-heavy double mag will not fall out accidentally, or wear out the mag catch. It will drop free completely normally with the usual push of the mag release button. If you are doing a tactical reload before running dry, or if you do actually run out of cartridges, you will do everything the same as you did before, but faster.

Quite a lot faster.

Whether you are initiating an ambush or if you are on the receiving end, the first reload will very likely be the most critical of any engagement. If you can sustain rapid fire when the other guy’s weapon runs dry, your odds of seeing tomorrow will go up and his will go down. If you can cut your first reload time in half, it might make all of the difference.

Even having the ability to bluff greater firepower on your side than you actually possess is a good thing. You can do this simply by touching off up to sixty incredibly fast shots when breaking contact—a one-man Australian peel. Based on your rate of fire the opposition may mistake you for three or four shooters, and pause to think things over from behind cover over while you slip away.

This brings to my mind the old SEAL Team adage about the critical importance of dominating all sides of the following triangle, namely: “surprise, firepower, and violence of action.” (Law enforcement has tamed this down to the more PC “speed of action.”) A duplexed mag in your rifle gives you more effective firepower, which is always a good thing — especially at the critical beginning of a firefight or ambush. If you’re too slow on that first mag change, you might not need a second magazine.

Ever.

Here’s a hypothetical example; your mileage may vary, but the principle will hold.

How many rounds can you fire in three seconds? Really light up that trigger.

That is how many rounds might be fired at you by just one bad guy during the three seconds it may take you to fumble a mag out of its pouch and shove it up into the well. Why not cut that delay in half on your first reload? (2020 addition: You also reduce the odds of the dreaded “fumble-rooski” with that fresh mag you are trying to extract from its pouch unseen while your eyes remain on target. You are just grabbing the fat base of the double mag that’s already in the well, lowering it a few inches, and shoving it back up two inches over.)

You won’t always have your battle rattle handy, much less already on your body, when trouble comes along. Goblins do not call ahead. Will you holler “time out” under incoming fire or when your front door is kicked in, while you suit up like Robocop? You might not live long enough to be ready to fight, depending on the immediacy of the danger. No, when jumped, you will grab what is most handy and get in the fight, now! Maybe just the rifle itself. So keep sixty rounds really handy, in your rifle.

Another cool advantage to the V-shaped double magazine is that it will fit snugly over your belt, (or upside down in a sturdy pants pocket). No time to throw on your high-speed tactical harness, web gear, plate carriers and all the rest? Shove an extra double mag over your street-clothes belt, rounds down. You already have a double mag in your rifle, right? Now head out of your door with 120 rounds ready to go on a moment’s notice. Be ready to dominate. Always!

Should you duplex all of your AR mags?

No way. Duplexed mags don’t fit easily in many standard pouches. Only two duplexed mags will fit into a standard military three-mag pouch, a clear disadvantage. But your first sixty rounds can and should be hanging from your rifle, ready to go. (IMHO.) The big double magazine lives in your rifle waiting to go in harm’s way. It’s not a pouch queen. It doesn’t give one damn about pouches. (Dump bags it loves, if you have the time.)

One final point — there is the inevitable complaint that the open mag will become jammed with debris. It won’t. It’s up next to the receiver, and under your clear vision. You can see that the loaded mag is clean and ready.

“Old Sarge” will say not to do this. “Old Sarge” also said that optical sights would never cut it in real combat on a soldier’s rifle or carbine.

So why doesn’t everybody do this?

This is just my hunch (since I’ve been out of the tactical ops arena for so long), but I think that the “Big Army” and other large military formations find “one size fits all” SOPs to be easier for everyone to follow up and down the chain of command. Same in police departments, and these restrictive SOPs permeate the shooting world.

In the SEAL Teams, we didn’t suffer from this malady. We did whatever worked. And not even all SEALs liked this duplexed magazine trick. But you might. So give it a try — it costs virtually nothing.

And on your next range outing with your AR, do some speed trials. Compare changing between duplexed mags to changing to a spare mag kept on your body in a pouch. If you find it useful, use this trick, and pass it along to your shooting buddies. Otherwise, forget you read this piece, untape your duplexed magazines, and no harm done.

But for me — make mine sixty, attached to my carbine and ready to go.

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About the Author: Matt Bracken

Old frogman, sailor, boat builder, novelist and essayist. Matthew Bracken was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1957, and attended the University of Virginia, where he received a BA in Russian Studies and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1979. Later in that year he graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, and in 1983 he led a Naval Special Warfare detachment to Beirut, Lebanon. Since then he’s been a welder, boat builder, charter captain, ocean sailor, essayist and novelist. He lives in North Florida. Links to many of Matt’s short stories and essays may be found at EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com, along with excerpts from his five novels: the Enemies Foreign and Domestic series, Castigo Cay and The Cliffs of Zerhoun. His essays and short stories can be found in “The Bracken Collection: Essays and Short Fiction 2010 to 2019”. All of his short stories and essays may be reproduced on the internet, in part or in whole, as long as proper attribution is given, and they are not sold for profit without the permission of the author.

39 Comments

  1. WIHunter August 31, 2020 at 09:07

    Matt, interesting and ingenious way to double stack AR mags. I was doing something similar recently, brushing up on training at The Site, and our instructor was using a Readimag on his rifle. Worked very well for him, for quick reloads. Also has the advantage of being able to always have 2 fresh mags available after mag swaps.

    The advantage I see in yours is you don’t have to drop your first mag during your reload. Should you have the time after you’re ready to swap out your expended second mag, both can go in the dump pouch.

    Also obviously cheaper your way.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 14:14

      100% I support the use of the RediMag systems with AR’s. They are an excellent product.
      The Army issued them to several units prior to engaging with the enemy in Mosul, Iraq.
      My Squadleader turned me onto them. And I have advocated their products ever since.
      I keep a RediMag System on my Squad Support AR. Very nice because of the added weight, and you can reload without changing your shooting position. Combined with a TA31 ACOG and two heavy Strobe lights makes my weapon very, very accurate in rapid fire.

      Systems like the RediMag take the AR to a different level of weapon. It becomes more than just a “carbine” or a “rifle”. It very nearly fills the role left by the absence of belt fed weapons. Especially when combined with a fluted barrel, or a heavy MG steel barrel.

      • WIHunter August 31, 2020 at 21:25

        100% agree with comment about not changing positions to reload with a Readimag. Our instructor was conducting reloads from supin and prone positions without moving. Took me precious seconds to get a fresh mag from my battle belt compared to him.

        • NC Scout August 31, 2020 at 21:39

          If you weren’t training (or being told during the instruction) to reload from behind cover, then you’re wrong. If you weren’t training to move and engage from cover, then you’re wrong.

          Doing it static is fine for learning the economy of movement (ie, mastering the muscle memory of motion), but not implementing cover or understanding that reloading out in the open is suicidal.

          • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 22:55

            100% Correct Scout. This is very, very important advice. I was trained to keep my head up and my weapon pointed at the enemy; So that fire is not concentrated on any one member of the team, and the threat(my weapon) appears to be in the fight. But I suppose that was a choice of my leadership, and not actual military doctrine. I am not familiar either way as I have heard lots of different methods.
            Which is concerning… [Laughs morbidly to myself] Chaos doctrine makes for an unpredictable opponent. Amirite?

            And, might I add, If you set in your team for an ambush, once you give your team their sectors of fire, and secondary and tertiary orders in the absence of command and control, nothing is stopping the team from prepping their magazines prior to the initiation of contact or engaging with the enemy(Not reacting to fire, that is a different game for the uninitiated). It isn’t against the law to have the magazine in your hand, ready to load. If you have that luxury.
            When I was on an M240B gun team, We would prep our belts once we were in position. And check the belts for proper round-to-link seating after a march.
            But that might be a little advanced for this. However, the absence of belt fed weapons, and trained gun crews, requires us to split those margins to the best of our ability. We live on that slippery slope between efficient and effective and outrageously outgunned.

            I personally have a few 7.62×51 200 round ammo cans with loaded with 7-30 round AR mags. There is cardboard to silence the rattle.
            There is plenty of room in the can to stick your hand, and the mags are oriented properly for a proper and speedy draw.
            This prevents one from having to draw magazines from their kit. And can also be used to resupply from during LACE reports.

            Do you train for LACE reports? My friends and I have run gun team drills with our RPKs. Surprising effective, because the shooter can focus on the enemy, and not take his eyes off the prize.

            Just some two sense. I know this is your Barbecue, and I’m not trying to change the menu.

  2. Matt August 31, 2020 at 09:08

    Everything in this article makes sense and I will try it when next at the range.

    I will say that there is one faster reload – the one where you don’t have to reload at all. By this, I am referring to one of the several sixty round AR magazines that are on the market. They give you an uninterrupted sixty rounds. Is that always important? No. But if you’re trying to dominate an encounter, that being either an ambush or an unintended fight, it allows you to continue to put rounds down range when the other guy(s) are reloading.

    There are a couple of makers of sixty round magazines, Surefire, Schmeisser, and MagPul come to mind. I’m not a fan of the form factor of drum magazines so I’ve not played with the MagPul offering, but I’ve heard good things about them. I have picked up a Schmeisser or two, but have not tested them yet.

    I have used the Surefire though and have been impressed with it. It has fed reliably and I have no complaints with it. It is, though, a bit on the heavy side when fully loaded. I see the best use of this magazine being from a static position, such as an ambush or a security point on the farm. They make special pouches for it, but I’ve found it’ll fit in at least some of the double forty round AR magazine pouches. It looks like it ought to fit into an AK pouch, but not having one I don’t know.

    Some people have reported feeding issues with the Surefire magazines. I run mine in a 20″ AR. The shorter barreled variants tend to cycle just a bit faster so that may be the issue. I’ve also heard that it may be due to the use of steel cased ammo. Don’t know as mine works great. As with any equipment, if you decide to try one give it thorough testing before relying on it in a critical way.

    Matt

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 14:08

      All magazines need to be run in our respective rifles and tested for function. I use no less than full capacity for testing. These types of problems can occur with any make and model of magazine. Currently, there is so much gear flying around that I doubt people actually take the time, and dime, to test their gear outside of the gentlemen like ourselves who are more than hobbyists and collectors. I would assume there were feeding issues during the first few times their mags were loaded and fired. The inside of the feed lips have factory edges that can cause improper feeding. The feed lips smooth out after a while, if they can be saved. I would assume that steel cases can help to wear in your mags better, but brass works fine in my experience. If you have a magazine that malfunctions, you should throw it away. Once I purchased 20 Checkmate 30 round AR magazines. Nearly all of them were junk. Which is unfortunate because their M1A magazines and M9 magazines work just fine in my experience. I have dozens and dozens of their products. I got a bad batch of AR mags that must have been out of spec. They are all in the trash for a loss of $200. Magazines also get dirty, and gritty, and require regular cleaning if used in the field. A drum magazine tends to get really dirty because of the volume of fire that dirties up the feed lips relative to a stick magazine.

    • Matt Bracken August 31, 2020 at 15:37

      The primary advantage of the duplexed mag is that
      1. it uses mags you already have left in a box somewhere, no need to put out dollars for a specialized 60 rounder, not to mention the complex mechanizims of the “4 goes into 2” channels of the Surefire, or rotary mags. I think basic 30 round mags are damn near perfect, and super reliable, I just want to start out with 2 of them in the rifle.
      2. A duplexed pair doesn’t take up any more space, basically, than a single 30 rounder, and doesn’t change the balance point of the carbine. A single 30, or duplexed 30+30, gives you the same mag length from well to dirt when firing prone or crawling around. I am used to using “the magazine monopod” and I don’t like having one jumbo length mag that puts me higher off the ground.

      • rto-jerry September 1, 2020 at 16:40

        KISS simple Mr. Bracken. Thanks for the handy dandy “how to”!!

  3. Mark A Laughlin August 31, 2020 at 09:09

    I was ready to dismiss this idea from the point of view that I like to keep rifle inertia to a minimum (for ambi transitions and snap shooting from behind cover). I usually run 20 round mags for this reason.

    But Matt’s point of a rifle sitting on one’s hearth ready to go at a moment’s notice, likely without donning a bump helmet, body armor, and chest rig makes sense. A quick grab and go setup for the unsettled, but with remnants of civility, world we now live in.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 11:37

      Absolutely. 100%.
      I run 10 round mags to keep me faster than the guys who run 20 round magazines.
      My friend Matt runs 5 round mags and we call him Grease Lighting.
      He is leaps and bounds ahead of us in all aspects of warfare.
      Once, my M240B was too heavy, so I loaded a 5 round belt onto it, just in case.

      • brunop August 31, 2020 at 12:50

        You havin’ a bad morning, JP? Need some more coffee?

        I do, because I just spit mine on the computer.

        • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 13:56

          I did not have any coffee this morning. You can read me like a book. I feel like the best of friends. Also, I’m glad you appreciate my sense of humor. You made me laugh. Have a nice day brother.

  4. h0neyc0mb August 31, 2020 at 09:44

    I have run Surefire 60 rounders in gun classes before ..

    They ran great. The advantage is real.

    Of course we could all go to a belt-fed system (I own two) ..

    just kidding ..

    For an everyday carry guy .. I’m more of a lightweight platform guy .. most of my fighting AR’s are pencil barrels and my preferred mags are 20 or 30 rounders.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 11:43

      I can carry 750 rounds of ammo in 30 round stick mags with AK’s. Or 5 drums of 75 rounds @ 375 total. On the same kit.
      30 round mags are the way to go on your kit. But you should carry extra large magazines if you expect trouble.
      EDC is a different story. But if you see plumes of smoke moving closer and closer to your AO. And you hear a gunshot every now and then you should swap out to the big guns. (Assuming you live in a suburb like 90% of the country).

  5. Anonymous August 31, 2020 at 09:44

    5

  6. The Shootist August 31, 2020 at 12:44

    Transition to a pistol is always faster, keep lead flying, good idea to try the mags the way Matt said though.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 13:54

      In a room perhaps, or in a rolling firefight(Down streets). You should look into the “Redimag” system.
      They are currently sold out for a reason. I have one on my Squad Support AR. Very nice piece of kit for $100.
      I like the steel ones. But they should be painted prior to installation.

    • NC Scout August 31, 2020 at 14:30

      This is one of the, if not THE, stupidest concept purveyed in the so-called training community. It assumes a number of things:

      1. You have a secondary weapon. Lot of reasons you shouldn’t…such as, if you’re sneaking around in the bush, for starters. I never carried a secondary weapon. Just one more thing with a serial number on it.
      2. You don’t have a team. You shouldn’t be alone, as the last few incidents should have taught anyone with a brain.
      3. Your sidearms will be just as effective as your primary in your given environment. Nearly 100% of the time, it is not.
      4. You’re actually dry, not malfunctioning. If your weapon has malfunctioned and you’re simply transitioning to a secondary, without un-assing the issue or letting your team mates know (by yelling BLACK! at the top of your lungs), you’re setting THEM up for failure.
      5. You’re not planning on having a follow-on fight.

      The whole training concept comes from the Law Enforcement world, where deadly force generally follows failure to comply with verbal commands. Your primary fails for some reason and you transition to your sidearm, with most incidents happening within 25m. You’re usually alone, also waiting for backup.

      That ain’t what I train my students for.

      • Matt Bracken August 31, 2020 at 15:47

        To NCScout: My mentors were all Vietnam SEALs. To a man, nobody had any use for pistols at all, except for one suppressed 9mm “hush puppy” for occasional mission-directed use, and that was the exception, not the rule. (They were S&W M39 single-stack 9mm, firing subsonic ammo if it could be found, with a threaded barrel and a primitive suppressor using ‘shoot through’ rubber baffles that degraded with each shot, and were rebuilt for each mission.) Anyway, even with GI .45s available, nobody carried them. The universal thought was that they’d rather have 2 more 556 mags than a pistol and a spare mag or 2. It was expressed as, “Keep your M-16 running or you’re a dead man.” Typical SEAL engagements were from point blank to MAYBE 50 yards. Firepower ruled. No excuses for weapon stoppages.

        Now, I understand that modern vehicle-borne CQB is a different matter. But patrolling in the boonies? Leave the pistol home, and carry more 556 mags.

        • NC Scout August 31, 2020 at 15:58

          Yup.

  7. Sean August 31, 2020 at 14:07

    I am an old Sarge, and I say do it. And do the optics too. I started doing this when you first suggested it Matt, and haven’t dropped the practice. Not only faster, but it inspires confidence. My people grumbled at first, but they’re true believers now. I showed them how your first magazine tends not to be accurate, but those following are accurate. Best part is that this is low-tech, and cheap. If it works, don’t fix it.

    • Matt Bracken August 31, 2020 at 15:50

      Exactamundo. And we all have boxes of old metal mags collecting dust, so why not?

  8. […] American Partisan, via […]

  9. Ohio John August 31, 2020 at 17:20

    I have a double 30 in my rifle that’s on the wall behind me. I set the right mag about 3/4 inch below the top of the left mag. This keeps the right mag out of the way of the dust cover and well below the ejection port. I also keep mine topped off at 29 rounds because I can’t seat a full mag with the bolt closed.

    Just something I learned playing with them.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 19:27

      Excellent job. Trusting your equipment is a huge mental obstacle for many people.
      Which is probably why they keep buying mountains of guns for no reason. Because they are searching for that magic rifle.
      No-one is counting rounds in a gun fight anyway, and being able to seat a magazine properly and not fool with it is best.
      My good friend who fought in the battle of Fallujah told me all their magazines(in his unit 2/7 IIRC) were loaded to 28 rounds for this exact reason. You can insert any magazine into any weapon without having to slap the bottom of the magazine and fool around with it. It simply slides in a clicks. Slap the mag release. Reload accomplished, End of story, Return fire. No half feeds or slowing of the bolt that induces a malfunction. The hardest part of this is keeping count of how many rounds you load. The easiest, fastest way is to load them full, and remove two rounds.

  10. MichiganDoug August 31, 2020 at 18:41

    Do they have to be metal mags?
    I only have magpuls.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 19:19

      No, make sure you properly prep the surface of your Magpul mags. The Magpul mags are not big fans of tape when they sit in the sun for a long time. If you properly clean the surface of oils and solvents, you will have a better quality of construction. I recommend not taping them too tightly because it can induce a malfunction on the magazine when stored for long enough. A firm, one man tape job is preferable to a “hey buddy, hold this while I really give it a good go”. I used 1st generation magpul mags.

      Source: I taped up some mags and tested them after some time, one would not feed at all, and the other was permanently warped. I suppose the damage was permanent but I didn’t keep it long enough to see if it returned to shape.

  11. Unknownsailor August 31, 2020 at 19:29

    Blue Force Gear used to sell a customized version of the Redi-Mag that had lightening cuts in it.They called it the Redi-Mod. Saves a few ounces of dead weight. I have two of them, they sit on my primary home defense carbines. They don’t have it on their site any more, so they are discontinued I think.
    I can also report that a Surefire 60 round magazine can lock into a Redi-Mag along side a standard 30 round magazine. However, this is quite heavy.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 23:15

      I’m glad somebody tested this. I my experience, and on my weapon, I believe that dead weight keeps your weapon on target if proper distributed. A belt fed weapon is heavy for a reason, and it’s not so you look pretty for your Girlfriend or Wife. I’m also a water and granola and powdered protein kinda soldier. So my kit is heavy in some places, and light in others.
      Thanks for the technical intel, I will likely incorporate that into my weapon(s) because I bought extra, extra large Bipods. And they can accept all manor of magazines.
      Except The New York times. That magazine sucks, its always malfunctioning and culture jamming my weapons…

  12. Pedro August 31, 2020 at 19:30

    Gotta ask… can you do this with 3 mags? Other than the weight penalty, 90 rounds ready to go seems…. interesting.

    • Johnny Paratrooper August 31, 2020 at 23:09

      Yes. Yes, You can. You would do 4 if you really had it in you. (Kidding, laughter is healthy)
      Are you in the Maryland Area, cause your talking my kind of language. Maximum fire power; Always.
      However, you may want to confirm (If you don’t already know) that you have a proper tension on your magazine catch.
      I was an armorer (Airborne Infantry by MOS) for 5 years with the 82nd Airborne and I never once saw a mag catch break. But I have seen them become a little ‘Worn” and I have seen them not properly tensioned due to a “tired” spring. This should honestly be checked regardless of your magazine choice. It can cause two issues. The mag catch is easily “activated” by the slightest pressure, and the magazine can fall out of the gun if you have a combination of a tired spring and a smooth locking surface on your magazine catch. A simply pull test which is more Foot Pounds of force than the weight is all you need to check, and a youtube video will show you the basics of your magazine catch design, function, and maintenance. I bought a used rifle that was a competition gun, and for whatever reason the previous owner was all about SPEED!!!! And headaches apparently. It was also quite dirty.
      Some dirt and grit can get under the magazine catch. Which is an Armorer level service repair(IIRC), this is NOT a field repair.
      Hope this helps. The clock is ticking. PCCs and PCIs are very important.

      In the field, all kinds of stuff finds it’s way into your gear. Have faith though. Your equipment works. We tested the hell out of it in two wars for a combined total of nearly 40 years of hard use and action. Plus go knows how many other conflicts outside of Vietnam and various other manner of lovely and wonderful places full of nice, hard working people.

  13. FlyBy August 31, 2020 at 21:05

    This is a great discussion!! Very educational. Thank you all for your input.

  14. Curious Passerby August 31, 2020 at 23:43

    I remember reading about this in the Ranger Digest series, by Rick Tscherne. His books were great. He was full of useful tips and he added other good ideas people submitted. His small paperback pamphlets used to be in every PX, but they’re are long of print. Thankfully, Amazon has all 9? of his guides in one big softcover. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ranger-Digest-Vols-I-V/dp/1944476326/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ranger+rick+ranger+digest&qid=1598930663&sr=8-1 It’s great stuff. Everything from how to poop in the field to turning your poncho into a mini sleeping bag to effective scrounging.
    FWIW, I have all sorts of regular capacity 30s and others. Most of the higher capacity ones have been a disappointment. I prefer Magpul and the old fashioned GI ones. There are other good ones out there, but I’m OK with these. I could never afford the Beta-C drums when they were around post-Klinton ban. I tried one of the Korean ones, but it’s too finicky to be reliable. It even came with a tube of graphite powder to pour inside to make it work. Never saw a mag that needed that before. Learn from my fail- stick to the proven sticks.
    The AK is nice, because you have the well-established steel 40s and the Combloc drums. I’ve played with a 60 round AK mag by ATI. It worked well for me so far. I don’t intend to buy another (can’t right now), but it’s OK to play with. I don’t think it hurts to have a nice big one and a lot of regular ones.

  15. Gator September 1, 2020 at 02:03

    I have a couple of magpul mags with one of their mag links on my HD SBR, both loaded to 29 rounds. Might seem silly, but I keep hornady TAP rounds on the one that’s seated, and m855 on the other. Just never know what you’ll encounter or need so might as well have rounds that specialize in different things ready to go. I’ve done this for a while, not so much because of the ease/speed of reloading, although that is obviously a plus, but for the other reason you listed – you get up and grab it in your underwear in the middle of the night or end up walking outside with it, you have double the ammo already on you with no need to try to jam an extra in your waistband or something. It IS noticeably heavier like that, my wife hates it (she’s 5’2 and weighs about 100 pounds) because of the extra weight. Oddly enough, the extra mag bothers her more than the suppressor. To me it’s the opposite – suppressor adds more felt weight than the extra mag.

    I’ll have to give this a try, though. I do have a bunch of metal mags I don’t really use anymore. Can’t hardly find those MagLink set ups anywhere anymore anyways. Thanks for the write up.

  16. Cold Warrior September 1, 2020 at 09:50

    Wow. There was as much sage advice in the comments as in the original article!
    Thanks guys.

  17. Rakkasan Recon September 3, 2020 at 08:50

    Used to do that, I used an empty Skoal can to space the magazines though, and had a GI mag pouch with the dividers cut out attached to my ruck, and would keep them there when not in use.
    One thing that MAY happen, and I had happen to me in Panama, was that the top round in the other magazine will move forward under recoil and interfere with the magazine change. Not being full or having a weak spring are the culprits.
    In the old, pre-dump pouch days, we used to keep the empty magazines by dropping them in our shirts. I usually just dumped the duplexed mags and planned to write them off if they were used for real. Having duplexed mags down the front of a BDU blouse made going prone pretty unpleasant.

    • Johnny Paratrooper September 3, 2020 at 13:00

      Brilliant on all counts! And yes, sliding into cover and taking an empty mag to the guts is unpleasant to say the least. Im gonna make a couple of these things during my online re-education courses today. Equipment has a lifespan, It is unfortunate that magazines wear out. If you check your magazines, some of them can load 31 rounds for one reason or another. Though the fit is tight. Perhaps that would make a good second mag for rounds 31-60. Make sure they can be loaded into your weapon, sometimes they are too fat and won’t go in. It certainly is stressful when things don’t go according to plan.

      Also, thanks for your service in Panama, You guys really kicked ass. I knew a Green Beret who served there as a young ranger. He is a very, very awesome dude. Alvarez was his last name. Very, very cool guy.

  18. Salty_Armorer June 10, 2021 at 12:40

    I just gave this a try with my steel surplus AK mags, man what a difference. I was keeping these two mags taped together as described in the article with the feed lips pointing up and down and inserted in my rifle as a grab and go home defense setup, doing it this way has several advantages that are plain as day, not the least of which being that it actually feels lighter when in the gun [don’t ask me how that happened, but it does feel lighter than the way I had them despite the added weight of extra tape and the cardboard spacer I used in leiu of the pencil]. a tip for other AK owners wanting to try it: attach the mags so that the right mag is about an inch lower than the left mag, or to put it another way, when the left mag is inserted in the magwell, the top of the feed lips of the right mag should be about equal with the bottom of the receiver, this gives ample clearance for the charging handle and access to the safety selector is unimpeded. the height doesn’t have to be exact, this tip is just meant to help you avoid problems.

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