You can never have too much ammunition. At least, that is the mentality of many users that wish to strap on as much ammunition to their rifle as possible. While I typically like to have my carbine as light as possible, there are legitimate reasons to attach a spare magazine to the gun. I have seen many different ways to accomplish this, and some are better than others. But before we go into the options, let’s look at whether or not you need to have a spare magazine attached to the rifle.
For most citizens living in the United States, the chance that you will need to use your carbine in a defensive scenario is probably somewhere around the same odds as being struck by lightning while being attacked by a shark. That is not to say “don’t practice”, but let’s be real with ourselves. And should we find ourselves in that rare instance, we probably won’t need more than 30 rounds. But then again, more is better, right? In the realm of domestic law enforcement, the carbine will either be used in a uniform patrol response or by a member of a tactical team. For uniform patrol, most officers don’t carry a spare magazine on their person, so a spare mag on the gun can make sense. For tactical team members, spare mags can be carried on the vest so I would prefer to take the weight off the gun.
Some shooters like the magazine clamps, but I am not a fan. Too many times I have seen the top round on the spare mag jump forward during recoil or vibration of being racked in a vehicle which makes reloading quite a bit more complicated. The dust cover on a MagPul PMAG mitigates this issue but makes reloading that much more complicated. Buttstock pouches equally suck if you ever need to switch shoulders, or if you have a pool issue gun and the shooter is wrong handed. An active shooter bag is another option, but you have to remember to bring it with you when you grab the rifle.
The top round of the spare magazine can often walk out during recoil when using magazine clamps.
If you’ve determined that your application is benefited by attaching a spare mag to the gun, the Redi-Mag by Boonie Packer is a viable option. It completely covers the top of the spare mag keeping debris out and holding the top round in place. The latest version has an independent release for the spare magazine unlike the original version, where the spare mag release was slaved to the primary magazine release, resulting in many full magazines dropped on the ground. Keep in mind that the device changes the manual of arms a bit so you will need to dedicate some training time to it and commit to the system.
SOURCE: http://www.redi-mag.com
I ran a redi mag for a while and had to ditch it. It is amazing, how much heavier one magazine makes the rifle. It seemed like a great idea until we were running, multiple back to back drills, up and down a not so flat range. It is a better choice for a home owner or patrol officer just like you said. That being said my team leader runs one and loves it. Its just not for me.
Yes, the RediMag adds weight to the gun. It aint for everyone but definitely fills a need for certain circumstances.
When deployed in the military we pretty much needed some sort of mag on the gun thing as we frequently went into areas where guns had to be empty to enter ( don’t even get me started on the “logic” of this!) but stock pouches were used frequently but were a pain. I did use a kydex pouch which attached to the rails of the handguard which worked pretty well. Another consideration for spare mag on the gun is in places with mag capacity limits where ten or less rounds in a mag is the legal limit ( guess where I live!) so on board spare ammo does have it’s place but it is probably much more limited than the frequency of use
Great article Tim, and on the money across the board from my experience.
One area not mentioned that I really like a Redi Mag is on AR-15 platform designated marksman/”sniper” rifles. I have done several sniper schools with an AR. I found that using a RediMag with two 20 round mags makes it much easier working both tactical and speed reloads on the gun while in prone and working off the bipod. It is much smoother and efficient to not come out of position to exchange mags or reload or to have to contort your body to get a mags stored on the body.
I had not thought of that application. Thanks. Now I need to go buy a bunch of MagPul 20 rounders. Thanks for costing me money!
It’s a gift I have……;-)
Daryl,
That utility is fully functional on a square range where no one is shooting back at you. When you have to move a considerable distance and must be able to instantly align and fire the weapon to perform your assigned task over a prolonged period of time, the Redi-mag utility fades rapidly.
Frogman
Tim,
Points well made. I’ve had to kind of ‘defend’ the redi-mod on my gun, and my logic is that it’s great to run on a patrol gun to grab and go. For tactical use, I can always drop the mag an put it on the vest. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
DB is right on the money.
I have the BFG mod version.
Works well with DMR/SPR setup, but not great on carbine.
Any thoughts on stocks with built-in mag carriers, like the Mako Survival Stock?
Granted the primary use case for something like that seems to be to keep a loaded magazine with an unloaded rifle, but there’s no particular reason you couldn’t have a mag in the gun and one in the stock.
The Redi-mag can be an OK solution to a very narrow mission requirement. In actual gunfights it is pretty common for there to be bullet strikes on the weapons of those who are shooting each other. He who swings his weapon the fastest and most accurately typically prevails. I’ve seen enough of that to consider the ramifications of:
1) Any un-necessary weight on the weapon. Period.
2) The effect incoming fire will have on the Redi-mag and/ or magazines attached to it?
Like all equipment or tactics in a life or death environment, if the reward warrants the risk than it makes sense.
That said, I have a couple Redi-mags and they are rarely attached to my carbines. When they are I can pretty much template the other gear necessary for that particular mission type. The Redi-mag utility is that mission specifically relevant to my experience base.
Frogman