BIT?... DIY ammo battle packs

[Netpackrat]

Bringing this back up, for some show and tell on the 7.62x39 ammo bandolier I just finished making up. I'd had most of the stuff for this for a while, but didn't get around to putting it all together until now. Sorry there are no in-progress pictures, but it should be fairly self explanatory. I didn't drag the camera out into the shop until I was done.

I started with a Chinese made bandolier that is intended for SKS users. They have shoulder straps, and are meant to be worn as a chest pack. Since I just wanted to make up a bandolier that can be tossed in a backpack (or whatever), I cut those straps off to get them out of the way. There are a couple smaller straps on the sides, that are intended to be tied around the user's back. I left these in place.

Next, I turned it over, and coated the back side with spray on contact cement. Once this had tacked up, I folded the unit in half, sticking the back to itself using the contact cement. Then I tied the remaining straps together as an additional hold, then again at the very ends, so that they can be used as a handle, or to hang the bandolier from a peg. Each little pouch holds two stripper clips with 10 rounds per clip, so the whole unit holds 180 rounds, or 6 mags worth at 30 rounds each. This seems like a good amount to have enough to replenish magazines, but not add too much weight to a pack. There is a slightly larger pouch, that will just hold a magazine loader, sort of.





The magazine loader is kind of bulky, but it is the only one that I have ever found to work with an AK magazine. It's a known problem with the 7.62x39 AKs; reportedly even the Russians tried and failed to make a magazine stripper clip loader that would work. They remedied that with the 5.45 AKs, which can use a more normal looking "spoon" loader. I added some rubber bands to the closure to help keep it in place. I will find a better one at some point.

If you wanted to, you could probably use a vacuum sealer to waterproof this. Be sure to toss in a desiccant pack or two first, if you do. I wouldn't draw much vacuum, the main thing is to get it sealed.

[blackeagle603]

If you're only going to seal up a "basic load" of 200-300 rounds or so, you only need to do an annual check, including probably picking one mag's worth at random and test-firing it, because at some point, the seal will fail. It should work for that purpose, until it doesn't, then you'll want to/have to reseal the whole load.

Or just seal some humidity indicator cards in your packs.

[Netpackrat]

Necropost to note that I recently revisited the semi-DIY bandoleers for clipped AK ammo. As it turns out, the spray adhesive I used to stick the folded ammo pouch to itself was not adequate to the task. I made a second one of these using regular contact cement, which was better, but still not strong enough. I wound up drilling holes at strategic locations and stitching them together with .025" stainless safety wire to keep them from coming apart.

They work, but I'm going to keep an eye out for something better and easier. The biggest issue is that the stripper clips that are available for 7.62x39 are of relatively low quality, so when you pull one out of a pocket, it's common for a round to be left inside. Even so, it's still much faster than reloading magazines from a pile of loose ammo.

[Aesop]

I'm going to keep an eye out for something better and easier.

So what you want to use, is ordinary garden variety Shoe Goo.
Back in the day, before I owned a decent sewing machine, I needed renfair costumes, so I cut the pieces, used ShoeGoo for the seams, and pressed them together with heavy books.
Twenty years later, the ShoeGoo seams are still intact, this after the equivalent of a solid year in summer sun UV, and the equivalent of washing without regard to water temp every other day for that time.
It's simply the best fabric adhesive I've found, bar none, provided it's mashed into the fabric well enough, and the two sides/pieces are squeezed together to cure overnight. When I've used it for its intended purpose, on shoes, the repair outlasts the leather shoes and rubber soles themselves, every time.
If you hand- or machine-sew through it to reinforce it, the threads and seams will probably outlast the guns served.

And they peg it at WallyWorld for 9 bucks/tube.

[HTRN]

Guys, the real enemy of long term storage of ammunition is Heat, then temp swings, then humidity. Store it in a relatively dry basement, and it will last a half a century.

[Netpackrat]

Be interesting to see how the ammunition kept out at our cabin fares in the long term... It gets down to -50F or colder in the winter out there, and can see +80-90 degree temps in the summer. So far, none of it has failed to go bang.