The Gun Counter

I came into a bit of money, and - having not spent any real money on myself in years - pulled the trigger on some gear for training. Some of it I can use for competition, and all of it would be good-to-go for a SHTF rig.

I ordered a war belt from ATS, along with their inner belt and suspenders. I don't know at this point if I'll need the suspenders; some guys use them and others don't, but I don't want to find out I need them and then have to pay shipping on a $14 item.

Then I clicked my way over to SKD Tactical and picked up a double AR mag pouch and a double pistol pouch by Tactical Tailor. I'm not sure if I'll put those two side by side on the belt, or mount the pistol pouches directly on the AR mag pouch, but we'll see when it all comes in. I grabbed this tiny little roll-up dump pouch by EGL. I'll use it to toss my mags in after the excitement wears down until I can recharge them.

The exciting thing, to me, was the blowout pouch I bought: the ATS Medical Pouch (Small). Here's a closer look:

The pouch appears fairly standard for an IFAK, even down to the buckle/clasp that Uncle Sam issues. But once you unfasten the buckle, it has a medical-red colored loop; pull on that loop, and the entire pouch pulls away from the Velcro backing which itself is attached via Molle to the war belt (or vest). I'd say that's a pretty ingenious design. Put it at the 6:00 position on the belt, and you can access it with either hand. The other thing I like about this pouch is the Velcro all along the top of it. In other words, the Velcro (patch panel) only faces upward. I found a plethora of medical pouches at Mil-Spec Monkey. I thought they only made morale patches (and good ones at that), but they have an entire line of utilitarian patches, too. I bought a First Aid "Cross" patch (2" square), a 1" long "NKDA" patch and a 1" long blood type patch. I fought with myself over color scheme - they have desert, multicam, forest, ACU-Dark, ACU-Light, SWAT - but in the end, I decided on the standard bold white / fire engine red patches. I figured A) the patches are facing straight up; B) I'll be doing training and competition, not blending into the foothills of Kandahar; C) If I need this pouch, I want the information to stand out like a turd in a punch bowl; D) If I ever use this rig for SHTF, anyone who ends up killing me solely because they saw a dirty white 2" patch from straight above me deserves to win.

I ordered everything in Coyote Brown. Why? Least importantly, I got tired of camouflage trends shifting every few years and being unable to find items that matched. Again, it's not critical, but it does cause my OCD to flare up. The real factor? I don't really want to be associated with anyone else. Black is associated with law enforcement, camouflage and OD Green is associated with the military. There's nothing wrong with anyone who does something else, but I personally just don't want that visibility. I also think that in my environment, Coyote Brown will be a whole lot less noticeable.

Finally, for my pistol, I ordered a Blade-Tech DOH (Dropped and Off-Set Holster):

As you can see, the holster keeps the pistol canted away from the hip for easier draw around a war belt, or for females. It's also dropped about an inch-and-a-half lower than a standard holster (Fobus or similar). It attaches to the stiff belt inside, or lining, the war belt, and rotates to some extent. Reviews say retention is beautiful, and adjustable. They have options for professional-level retention, so if you're in the business of doing bad things to people who deserve it, the option exists.

So, when all this gear trickles in over the next week, it should look something like this (NOT my pic):

I'll post a detailed review of these items when it all comes together. Until then, your comments (as always) are welcome and appreciated.

I was looking at that same holster a while back, but skipped it as there are no retention models available for my pistol. I am going a similar route with a VTac Brokos belt. My only issue now is finding suitably short enough rifle mag pouches for 20rnd mags(I ordered a few 20rnd P-Mags permanently blocked to 15rnd to comply with PRNJ law). I suppose I could have ordered "blocked" 30 rounders, but I'd hate to mix them up with the full capacity mags I keep "out of state".

The trauma kit is an interesting design, but I'm assuming comes empty. There is a pretty good write up on a personal BOK over on We The Armed(MadOgre's forum).

Thanks, Chris. Do I want to use a chest rig AS suspenders, and affix the belt to that rig? If so, how? Or instead, do I use suspenders under the chest rig?

TheIrishman, here's what you're looking for:

Tactical Tailor 20RD single stack... double stack... and triple stack pouches. I've ordered from LA Police Gear three times, and was pleased twice, and marginally pleased once after they only shipped a partial package and thought they'd packed it all. They immediately corrected the issue.

CByrneIV wrote:
It was to firmly supportive, well padded, and heavily loaded, it stood up on its own.

Battle Bra?

Good holster. It's a pretty common choice in production and single stack - I have run one quite a bit. TMK, it's mostly meant as a game holster for men/regular one for women. It gets a bit awkward for men, in that you have to keep your arm up to avoid hitting it, but I believe the offset part I'd removable.

Looks to me like you've made some good choices. I like ATS's gear, and have a few of their pouches. The Magna Mags were one of my favorites before I bought my new ones. You've made some smart decisions keeping the belt slim. I recommend the same if you ever get a chest rig or body armor. I don't like pouches that mount two rifle mags on top of each other on my chest. They make it difficult to get prone.

I'm actually working on a similar set up right no;, I'm replacing my older Tactical Tailor war belt from deployment with a padded Brokos Belt with a rigger's belt insert. I'm still waiting on another blow-out pouch (more on that in a second) and I'm going to try out Ares Armor's adjustable universal holster. I went with HSGI's Taco pistol and rifle mag pouches because they're designed to fit a large variety of magazines. They've worked well with each type I've tried. Although, they were the biggest bitch to attach.

My belt will go (counterclockwise, starting at the buckle):
Single HSGI Taco pistol pouch
Two single HSGI Taco rifle w/ kangaroo pistol pouch
Maxpedition Rolly-polly dump pouch, which will be upgraded at some point.
(My rigger's belt has a rear tie-in loop in the very back. I'm not planning on doing any Australian rappelling or hanging out of helicopters, but when I bought it I thought "Man, that would be a great thing to use to drag a deer out of the woods.")
Two blank columns (may put a small pocket here, nothing big, as I like to be able to sit down)
DS Tactical Blow Out Pouch
Ares Pistol Holster
Leatherman MUT
Benchmade switchblade (from deployment issue )

I switched from a full-size (3 columns wide) IFAK to a more streamlined 2 columns wide blow out kit. I'm using SOE's mini-detachable blow out kit on my duty flak right now. It's just big enough to fit stuff to treat a gunshot wound. I did sew a grab handle onto the top that I made out of a piece of red tubular webbing. I also run the strap through the handle for additional security, as I knocked it off the velcro platform once. I'm getting a DS Tactical Blow Out Pouch to mount on my belt. I like the smaller ones as I think that you can fit just enough in there to treat a massive hemorrhage which would kill you before you can get proper medical attention. Good choice on the detachable ATS pouch, that's a very good and popular one.

Short, kind of funny story involving dump pouches: They've very handy, and I had one mounted on my war belt. We were at 29 Palms, doing a workup before deployment. I kinda had a cold, so I grabbed a roll of TP from a porta-john to blow my nose with. I opened up my dump pouch and dropped it in there, then closed the top. Later, I had also crammed in a notebook, pair of gloves, and a bunch of other stuff. I didn't shut it one day, and the TP was at the top. One of my buddies saw it after I came out of the porta-john and just said "It really is a dump pouch." They are damn useful though.

With your choice in coyote brown, most people will just start to think you're a Marine. Most of our gear is changed to that as it's supposed to be a better camouflage across a wide range of conditions than any other pattern or design. Whether or not that's true, it still works very well in all of America.

I think that having a good pistol belt with the same gear that you've bought is a great thing to have around the house if you are serious about defense. Of course, I say this as a guy who is a self-admitted huge gear queer and owns his own plate carrier.

I have been looking for the right pair of suspenders. Finding it a challenge to find some which work well, but will not get in the way of me drawing my sidearm. I also want low profile stuff so I can throw a plate carrier over it.
My take on it is that the belt is a stand alone unit. Pistol, pistol mags (2), dump pouch, First aid kit, gas mask (remember, I work with a SWAT team, so my shit gets used, especially the gas mask). I actually do not run rifle mags from it. that's what I use my plate carrier and bandoleer for. I also have a 60 round surefire mag in my "go to" carbine. If I have time to "kit up" I grab the bandoleer (6 mags 5.56), and don the plate carrier (1 mag 5.56, 1 mag pistol, 1 tourniquet). Functionally, I end up with 9 mags of ammo for the rifle and 4 pistol mags. If I have more mags lying around I have some ten speed pouches for them on the plate carrier and belt. Still, that is more than adequate for any foreseeable situation. this way, even if caught flat-footed, and all I have is the belt, it's 3 mags of pistol, plus the medical stuff. Or, if I only have time to grab my rifle, I still have 60 rounds rifle on tap, which is still enough to forgive a lot of sins.
btw, I really like the ten speed gear/ Helium whisper stuff:
http://www.blueforcegear.com/categories/Helium-Whisper/
very light, very compact. The only drawback is that it is hard to insert mags compared to kydex and nylon stuff. My philosophy on it is you should not be returning mags to pouches at speed. throw it in a dump pouch, or replace it when you have time.

Does your surefire mag work?

Aglifter wrote:Does your surefire mag work?

Yes.
Even ran it through an M4 on full auto without issues.

Lucky dog!