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How would you recommend saving magazines when SHTF?

  • Drop them and don't worry about it.

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • Put them in a drop bag/pouch.

    Votes: 53 75.7%
  • Attach them to yourself/weapon.

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 5 7.1%

  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
Personally speaking, I dumped the rifle fetishism. Most plausible SHTF scenarios do not require shooting, let alone 180 rifle round load outs. A Mossberg 590A1 with ghost rings is my SHTF primary. With slugs I'm good out to 100m. Any shooting longer than that is probably a grand jury inquiry when the law comes back.

The weapon carries its mag with it.

I do practice handgun magazine retention drills because I've busted up too many floor plates over the years. If you train to keep the mag, you can always opt to drop it without trying to retain it but doing the reverse is harder without the practice behind it.

the prevailing SHTF theory on the internet is, that as soon the SHTF every thing will turn into World War Call of Duty
 
There are already zombies, look at Occupy Portland they now have nazies on thier side Nazi Zombies.
Or is it Zombie Nazies?
either way you will need a mag bag
 
There are already zombies, look at Occupy Portland they now have nazies on thier side Nazi Zombies.
Or is it Zombie Nazies?
either way you will need a mag bag

Zombie Nazis are Nazis that have turned and become Zombies.
Nazi Zombies are Zombies that chose to become Nazis after they turned.
Thank God Southpark sorted out the Ghost Pirates/Pirate Ghosts thing for me!
 
I am a firm believer that training to drop your mag on the ground is the correct move. If you have just expended 30 rounds or have a malfunctioning weapon during a fire-fight you’re in a bad place and there is only one priority, get it back up and running, not save a $15 mag for later (should have a metric sh!t ton of mags in the first place). After ensuring your survival, retrieve the mag(s) if possible. Now if you have hard cover or there is a lull in the lead throwing that is different, by all means, perform a tactical reload and stuff the empty or partial empty in your cargo/back pocket, down your shirt or in a dump pouch. My belt and large chest rig do have dump pouches, I use them as general purpose pouches including mag retrieval. Not a fan of the tether option either, too easy to get hung up.

What about immediate transition to hand gun rather than rifle speed reload?
 
Spetsnatz has a unique way of transitioning but you end-up fireing the handgun with a single paw.
They also have a neat way to speed load a full AK mag, takes about 2 seconds
 
OK y'all that HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN LIVE FIRE,and not someone shooting over you for drill,how much does all that tacticool training help?
After the bullets start come your way,doesn't it throw most of the training out the window?

I've never had someone shooting at me so I can't say. But I would guess that most of us won't do real well under fire.Training or not
 
OK y'all that HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN LIVE FIRE,and not someone shooting over you for drill,how much does all that tacticool training help?
After the bullets start come your way,doesn't it throw most of the training out the window?

I've never had someone shooting at me so I can't say. But I would guess that most of us won't do real well under fire.Training or not

What happens is that you revert to your training, dead cops have been found with empty shell casings in thier pockets because they were trained to police up thier brass at target practice which is how the whole drop the mag fad started, but that fad is based on a police shootout where back-up is supposedly only minutes away and all ammo is loaded in mags /speedloaders so reloading mags is not an issue. That is a peace time shoot-out @under 20 feet. In urban warfare there is lots of cover, if you drop a mag and move to different cover you won't get that mag back, it will disappear. If you do a "tacticle mag change" and drop the mag you will have left a loaded mag on the ground, bad ju-ju all way round.
PPL here will scoff at the idea of packing 10 pounds of ammo/mags and tell you there will never be any street fighting; as a person that lived through several race riots and witnessed a 56 chevy make a suicide run against a road block manned with a 30 cal belt-fed, seen snipers shoot fire fighters and even airliners as they approached LAX, seen mobs rush police after the cops had emptied thier revolvers I'm here to tell you that is a fantasy.
The same PPL will tell you to drop your mag and leave it for later.
Train like you fight because when TSHTF you will fight like you trained. Make seeking cover your first reaction. Retain your mags when possible.
 
Police helicopters come under fire in LA every night, NOW. The rule of law in that city is teetering, gangs outnumber cops by 2-3 to 1. Gangs do not run from cops like they used to because the gangs are now cartel gangs doing what they do in Mexico because they have infiltrated the cops and the politicians.
Anyone interested in learning about gang warfare against cops or advanced urban guerilla tactics can get the info on the weeb off of cartel websites, commie/islamist/nazie sites.
 
My M1 Garand doesn't use mags. It uses clips. I got 60 clips. If I loose a few I'll be OK.

My M1 carbine uses 15rd Mags I have 15 and will soon have 20 along with another 20 10rd stripper clips if possible I will pickup any mag I switch out.
 
What happens is that you revert to your training, dead cops have been found with empty shell casings in thier pockets because they were trained to police up thier brass at target practice which is how the whole drop the mag fad started, but that fad is based on a police shootout where back-up is supposedly only minutes away and all ammo is loaded in mags /speedloaders so reloading mags is not an issue. That is a peace time shoot-out @under 20 feet. In urban warfare there is lots of cover, if you drop a mag and move to different cover you won't get that mag back, it will disappear. If you do a "tacticle mag change" and drop the mag you will have left a loaded mag on the ground, bad ju-ju all way round.
PPL here will scoff at the idea of packing 10 pounds of ammo/mags and tell you there will never be any street fighting; as a person that lived through several race riots and witnessed a 56 chevy make a suicide run against a road block manned with a 30 cal belt-fed, seen snipers shoot fire fighters and even airliners as they approached LAX, seen mobs rush police after the cops had emptied thier revolvers I'm here to tell you that is a fantasy.
The same PPL will tell you to drop your mag and leave it for later.
Train like you fight because when TSHTF you will fight like you trained. Make seeking cover your first reaction. Retain your mags when possible.

I think this nails it on the head, but I wanted everyone's thought on this before I made a decision (sometimes the best ideas don't have to be your own).

When practicing self-defense shooting, we have to be able to constantly adapt your tactics to the situation. There is no right or wrong answer here because many of us have different priorities, situations, physical abilities/limitations and carry preferences/restrictions.

What I mean is this...

Today, (in a non SHTF situation) if you heard a gunshot while you were shopping with your wife, you might do something completely different than if you heard a gun shot if you were by yourself. You might simply try to take cover, aim your gun at the door to a bathroom (creating a defensive position) or look for an alternate means of escape. If you took any shots at this person, you'd be extremly cautious about innocent bystandards and making a bigger target of yourself.

In a SHTF situation, you might just dump a mag in the direction of the shots and retreat or advance upon the shooter.

We have to adapt to the situation. When I carry a firearm for defensive purposes, I have to have a completely different mindset than when I am carrying on a prisoner transport or even when I was in the service. Each one has their own specific considerations that must be looked at...there is no "one way" that will work for either situation. SHTF brings upon it's own sets of problems...the very bullets from your gun cannot be as easily replaced as they once were. Immediate Medical assistance is pipe dream and any offense people would flip you off for in the past will currently get you shot. Weapons, ammunition and magazines are essential equipment for protection for you and your loved ones.

Anyone who thinks that they can protect themselves and their loved ones with a bolt action rifle or shotgun, alone, must either be:
*Overly confident in their abilities
*Have great adaptation skills and no physical ties to one place or person(s)
*Never been in combat past a video game

One semi-auto firearm can suppress a possition. While this is done, you could be flanked and killed or captured. If you just rolled your eyes reading this, then I suggest clicking the "unsubscribe" tab, because this thread was never intended for you in the first place.

This is no fantasy or anything that I hope happens. Social collapse is a concern of mine. My proximaty to fairly large cities is alarming, my neighbors have no plans or provisions of their own (despite my attempts) and know of mine. One would say that my OPSEC sucks. My greatest fear is leaving too late (having to shoot my way out) or having to come back into town for provisions (need anti biotics because one of my group members has Sepsis). I also know that I cannot prepare for everything, so I should be prepared for anything. I hope that my guns never have to fire a single bullet to take another person's life, but I am not nieve enough to think that it will never happen.

If you think that you, alone, can defend your property and you live in close proximate to a city or town then you are sadly mistaken. Unless you intend on living in a hidden shelter, your chances of surviving are low.

But I digress...

There is no right or wrong answer here, I just wanted to know what you guys thought was best. From the poll, it looks like the suggested action is to retain your magazines, via a drop bag/pouch. From the replies it sounds like you should do it while behind cover. Are there a lot of you guys that practice this? I just left a range, yesturday, where this was suggested to me. Yet nobody retained a single magazine. Under time, stress and with multiple targets everyone dumped their magazines on a tactical reload while behind cover...one even cycled the action after replacing the magazine due to muscle memory (ejecting a live round). If you do not train this way, you will resort to what you do train the most on. And if you don't train at all, you are setting yourself up for failure. Being good at gun fighting is an art. You cannot simply be good at marksmanship. You must be tactically knowledgeable, phyisically fit and mentally capable of ending someone's life. These skills fade when you do not practice them and weaken when you do not always consider the possiblity of violence.

Saying "it can never happen" is setting you and your loved ones up for failure. If you chose to dissagree with me then I ask, why you think you are a sheepdog? If you are truly a sheepdog, then you know that simply owning a fence won't keep the wolves away. You must be constantly vigilant and ready. If TEOTWAWKI never comes, then it never comes. I will have waisted my time and money on something that I enjoy doing. But if it does and I didn't prepare for it then I am only setting myself up for failure.

However, be warned that if you come running to me with your hand out or a weapon towards me or mine if the SHTF- I will not hesitate to defend myself or my loved ones. Remember this, because that neighbor you think you can just run to or take from that has the above mindset will educate you on how you've waisted your time and energy arguing with people like me than trying to better yourself or your situation.

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
- Sun Tzu

*edited to add...*

On the flip side, do not rely on gunfighting, alone. Gun fighting skills are only a small part of prepping. Self preservation is the goal here, not using your skill set against another person to take what provisons that they've acquired. Doing so makes you a RAIDER, and a bad guy in my eyes (i.e. a wolf). Gun fighting, gardening, medical knowledge and other survival skills are equal in importance. If you cannot protect yourself from malnurishment, disease, nature or raiders then you are as equally dead. Being overly prepared in one area and under prepped in another is just as dangerious. As it has been said many times on this forum "the more you know, the less you need". We all know that there is a limitless source of information and knowledge available to you at a second's notice (i.e. the internet). All you have to do is print it so, at a minimum, you have a source of reference for later. Obviously you won't be able to learn how to garden or reset a broken bone by reading a book...a lot of this takes experience and practice (just like gunfighting!), but at least you'll have a foundation to retreat to. Maybe reading them during down time? Using them as materials to teach your children since they are no longer in school? Do not waste the time and resources you have, right now, by simply shaking your head and typing an argument as to why I am wrong...especially if you have a family to take care of.

*Riot Out*
 

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