Load Carriage for Training Classes

Many people, when deciding to take their first carbine class, have a hard time figuring out what equipment they need to take with them to the class. Yes, we all know that we need a gun, ammo, cleaning kit, hat, glasses, ear protection, etc.  The most often questions seem to arise with regards to holsters, magazine pouches, slings, chest rigs, vests, belts, etc.

Level 1

First and foremost, the gear must work for you, in your intended role, and not encumber other items of necessity.  What the hell does that mean?  It means that you need to select your gear as a system, not as individual parts and pieces that may conflict with one another, and that the items in this system will have a priority list.  For example, civilians (both LE and non) will most often have a primary focus on a handgun because that's what they are most likely to have on their person in an emergency.  Whether attached to a duty belt, attached to a pants belt in plain sight, or attached to a pants belt and concealed, the handgun is the primary weapon for the vast majority of civilians.  As such, it's the gun you're most likely to have on your person when a need for a firearm arises.  At best it is likely to be the tool you use to "fight your way to your carbine".  So, does it make sense to choose a load carriage system that doesn't work with your handgun in it's normal mode of carry?  If you're a police officer that carries a rifle and load carriage system in the trunk, does it make sense to select a vest that covers your holstered duty weapon when you put it on?  It is critical to make gear selections that complement one another.

Secondly, and keeping the above in mind, is a layering approach to the system.  Start with your primary handgun in it's CCW/duty rig with spare magazine(s) and other daily carry gear, and build from there.  If attending pistol-only training then here is where it should end; bring your CCW/duty holster and mag pouch(es) and be done.  You may wish to add a dump pouch attached to the belt for carrying additional ammunition or magazines to the line, but this pouch should be used to feed the belt-mounted magazine pouches and not the gun.  From there, begin to add gear in the same way as you would in an emergency situation.  What is the least amount of gear you might be able to grab with a rifle?  The gun itself?  Perhaps a spare mag with it stuffed in a pants pocket?  A spare mag in a belt-mounted carrier?  A bandoleer? A chest rig?  A full armored plate-carrier?  Build up layers as you would in real life and based on your role.  Remember that it all has to work together as a system.

I use two different dump pouches for different purposes.  When running pistol-only, or light rifle use (meaning one or two rifle magazines), I like the Eagle Industries Duty Evidence Pouch.  It packs down nice and small when not in use, is easily deployed, and is very lightweight.  It will hold several pistol magazines and/or about two rifle magazines before becoming overloaded.

The other dump pouch I use is the CSM Gear Drop Pouch which I use when I'm going to be running a higher round-count class with more magazines.  This pouch will hold at least 4 AR magazines and is a heavier-duty option than the Eagle above.  It also has a bungie drawstring inside the main opening which makes it easy to get magazines stowed in it but makes it harder to accidentally lose them when running or going to prone.

Eagle Industries Duty Evidence Pouch collapsed
(image taken from www.eagleindustries.com)

Eagle Industries Duty Evidence Pouch deployed
(image taken from www.eagleindustries.com)

Eagle Industries Duty Evidence Pouch in use on belt with CCW rig
(image taken from www.cumberlandtactics.com)

CSM Drop Pouch
(image taken from www.csmgear.com)

Level 2

For me, the next level up from my CCW rig plus dump pouch is to add a spare rifle magazine, or two, in belt-mounted pouches.  My thinking here is that, at best, I am likely to be able to grab a single spare magazine at the same time as the rifle if I ever needed it in a defensive application.  Having that magazine in a pouch that is easily attached to the belt would be ideal for me, but the magazine may also simply be stuffed in a pants pocket.  This may not be applicable, or possible, for someone in an LE role but it's what works for me. 

There are several good designs, but my one preference is that they be easily attached and removed.  Pouches that offer better security (i.e. are not easily attached and removed) may be used for class assuming that they mimic the setup of your go-to pouches.  I also find that belt-mounted magazine pouches worn behind the centerline of the body can approximate the location of a magazine stuffed in a rear pants pocket.  Regardless of the method of carry, the bullet orientation (front vs. rear) should be consistent every time to ensure a singular muscle memory for speed reloads.  These first-layer magazines will function as your speed-reload magazines regardless of what other layers you add to the system.

I like the kydex single-magazine pouches made by Ready Tactical and sold by SKD Tactical.  They have an open-ended kydex clip that is molded as part of the pouch and can be ordered in a variety of belt widths.  Get the loop sized to the belt you use.  There have been some reports of the clips from holsters and pouches such as these breaking off, but if you monitor them for signs of wear this should be a non-issue.  I also keep separate training gear and go-to gear, which ensures that the go-to gear is fresh but broken in.  In other words, it's in optimal condition for it's intended purpose.

Ready Tactical AR15 Ambi Speed Pouch
(image taken from www.skdtac.com)

Bulman Gunleather, also offers their QMP magazine pouch in an AR format.  This design has a snap loop on the back of the pouch which allows you to attach or detach the pouch quickly.  This is an excellent design, is more secure and less prone to breakage than the Ready Tactical kydex above, and is much nicer to look at to boot.  I keep these as my go-to pouches and use the Ready Tactical pouches as the training version.  I have run the Bulman leather pouches enough to ensure that they are broken in, and keep an eye on them for signs of dry rot.  Milt Sparks also makes a version with the belt slot sewn in.  Both options are custom-order items, can be expensive (the Milt Sparks I have were $60/each), and may require additional care due to the material.  But, they are far and away better looking, don't have the breakage issues of the kydex, and are kind of a unique item to have if you're into that kind of thing.

Bulman Gunleather single AR magazine pouch

Milt Sparks single AR magazine pouch

For many classes this is actually all you need.  For classes like Randy Cain and Louis Awerbuck where you shoot 600-800 rounds in three days, one magazine in the gun and two on the belt (or perhaps even just one) will likely be all you need for a given rotation.  If you keep loaded spare magazines on hand you'll be able to rotate out your depleted magazines at the various breaks.  Some classes, like Pat Rogers, Jeff Gonzales, or Magpul Dynamics, will require more rounds overall and therefore more rounds per rotation.  It is always best to contact the instructor and find out how many magazines you will be expected to carry to the line.  For example, Pat now requires 5 magazines per rotation, with one of those being in the gun.  This leaves 4 magazines that you must carry on your person, and would get rather cumbersome to try to carry on a belt.

Front view of basic concealment rig plus rifle magazine.  Note that with a vest or un-tucked button front shirt this rig could easily be concealed even with the rifle magazine.

Strong-side of above.  Gloves and Emerson knife in rear cargo pocket.

Support side view of same.  In typical daily carry the pistol magazine would ride behind the belt loop.  When adding the rifle magazine I simply move the pistol magazine forward and then add the rifle magazine in it's position.  The clip attachment of the Ready Tactical Kydex pouches make this easy.

Level 3

From there, I add a chest rig.  I have been using a chest rig in one form or another on and off for about 10 years now.  The history and evolution of my chest rig can be found here.  Suffice it to say that it is critical to ensure that the chest rig you choose does not interfere with your previous layers of gear.  Your belt-mounted rifle magazine pouches (if utilized) should not interfere with your primary carry setup, and your chest rig or vest should not interfere with either of the other layers.  If you are in a law enforcement role, you may find that you have to make changes to your duty holster setup to accommodate an issued chest rig, plate carrier, vest, etc.  Fortunately for those of us that buy our own gear, we can pick and choose items that complement one another.

In terms of use, I utilize the chest rig primarily as a means of carrying additional ammunition and equipment to feed my belt-mounted gear.  If I perform a speed-reload of the pistol, I do so from the belt and replenish the empty pouch with the pistol magazine carried on my chest rig when I have the chance.  The same goes for the rifle magazines.  I move from strong-side to support-side when removing magazines form the chest rig to replenish the pouch, and the magazine furthest to my support side becomes my speed-reload magazine if I exhaust all of the magazines on my belt.

My current chest rig of choice, and my default suggestion to anyone looking for one, is the Eagle Industries Chest Rig M4, MOLLE, LE.  Open-top, kydex-lined pouches that securely hold all magazines from GI to Pmags.  Lancers and the new Tango Down magazines can be a little tight.

Eagle chest rig in use while dry-firing carbine.  Notice that the waist strap does not interfere with the pistol in a concealment holster.

Eagle chest rig in use while transitioning to pistol.  Notice again that the waist strap is low-profile and does not interfere with the dominant hand when drawing the pistol.

The bottom line here is that, for me, I use the chest rig to back-feed the belt pouches.  In order of priority, the magazines could be numbered like this (with 1 being the highest priority):
1 - belt-mounted pouch
2 - left-most chest pouch
3 - center chest pouch
4 - right-most chest pouch

If I happen to be carrying two magazines on my belt, then everything shifts down one as follows:
1 - forward-most belt pouch
2 - rear belt pouch
3 - left-most chest pouch
4 - center chest pouch
5 - right-most chest pouch

If I happen to be wearing only the chest rig, with no belt-mounted pouches, then the priority shifts up as follows:
1 - left-most chest pouch
2 - center chest pouch
3 - right-most chest pouch

In an emergency reload situation I always grab for the lowest numbered magazine.  So starting from fresh, I would grab magazine #1, then #2 for the next emergency reload, then #3, and so on.  At a lull, or break, I would replenish slot #1 with the magazine in slot #5, slot #2 with the magazine in slot #4, etc.  If I have more empty slots than magazines, the priority is always for the lowest numbered slot, so if I had only one magazine left it would go in pouch #1.

In this way, I believe that I am training my muscle memory to look for the magazine I am most likely to have; the one on the belt or in a pocket.  Some drills do require more magazines and result in having to perform an emergency reload from the chest rig, but this isn't bad training either.

Level 4

Finally, and I have yet to reach this stage, would be to add an armor carrier.  Some classes require armor for shoot-house scenarios.  I have not had the opportunity to attend such a class as of yet, so I have only begun to research the many options available when it comes to armor.  For now, I have decided that I would choose a carrier that holds both soft armor and plates that would allow my current chest rig to be worn over it.  Obviously the chest rig would have to be adjusted larger to fit over the armor.  The problem with this setup would become one of conflict with my primary CCW on my belt.  Drop-leg holsters are intended as a way to address this conflict but radically change the draw stroke as compared to drawing from an IWB holster.  Since I don't envision a scenario whereby I would need a rifle for a defensive purpose AND would have time to put on armor, I haven't had to address this issue from a practical standpoint.  At some point, however, it will become an issue from a training standpoint, and at that time I will have to address it.

One option that I have begun to look at to address this issue is the Blade-Tech "Drop and Offset" or "DOH" loop which keeps the holster strictly belt-mounted but drops the holster slightly down and away from the body.  When I carry in a Kydex holster, it is a Blade-Tech.  Use of the DOH would allow me to continue to use the exact same holster, just a little bit lower which would hopefully allow access.  I will continue to update this page as my research, and trial and error, continues.

To sum up, the keys to good gear selection for training classes are:
1) Know your role.
2) Know your instructor (and what they require).
3) Think of all of your gear combined as a system.
4) Establish what is your primary weapon and prioritize that gear.
5) Select other gear to work with your primary.
6) Layer your system based on your role.