by Suarez International TN Staff Instructor
Ryan Acuff
I got an email last week from a guy that was wanting to take a Fighting Rifle class I'm teaching in March. One of his questions was "Other than a rifle, what other equipment do I need?". Good question!
If you plan on employing your rifle for more than just a safe queen, you’ll need a way of holding ancillary equipment. When deciding what to get, we need to understand that there are lots of different missions to plan for. Private citizens should at a minimum have a rifle with a good sling and have a haversack with enough space to hold the two bare bones pieces of gear…ammo and water. There are plenty of options for this role, the Terrorist Interdiction Bag or the US Peacekeeper Rapid Deployment Pack. A step up from there and we start to get into equipment that is typically associated with high risk operators, Military/SWAT/Security Contractors/Partisan Operators etc. For those of us that train in high risk operator tactics I recommend a layered system also referred to as “lines of gear”, with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd line.
Let’s start off with the first line. I’ve always liked the ALICE gear that was so popular years ago, which was basically a belt with padded shoulder straps. Today’s rifleman has a similar option. Enter the era of padded MOLLE belts. I’ve played around with no less than 4 different brands of MOLLE belts. All worked, but weren’t just right. At a friend’s suggestion I bought the High Speed Gear Inc. Suregrip belt along with “Taco” mag pouches, 1st aid pouch, and suspenders. The belt comes with a removable polymer stiffener (insert witty remark) and an inner duty belt. The inner belt is thick enough to hold up thigh rigs without the belt rolling over. In my case a Blade-Tech WRS in flat dark earth. The MOLLE portion also has 3 open slots in the bottom for mounting sub-loads, such as the Blade-Tech. The MOLLE belt’s Suregrip feature is an inner lining of Neoprene that helps to keep the belt in place and aids in distributing the weight.
The belt can be used as just an outter belt to carry the holster, pistol mags, and dump pouch or you can really load it down with extra rifle mags and even Nalgene bottles. I chose to go middle of the road and currently have my pistol, three rifle mags, two pistol mags, cool guy multi-tool, med pouch, Surefire light, and dump pouch mounted. The Tacos pouches work great at securing different magazine types. Everything from Makarovs to .45 Glock 21 mags will fit in the pistol pouches. The rifle pouches fit both the AR15 mags and US Palm AK30’s and are tension/size adjustable via shock cord. The rig is set up so that I can still go prone and actually move while wearing it. Another approach would be to place just one rifle mag on the belt and the rest would be on a chest rig (2nd line).
The suspenders help to reduce fatigue with shock cord loops at the ends. This really helps to stabilize the belt platform while running. This is important because if you can’t run in your gear then you're either using the wrong gear for you or you're using crap. The suspenders go unnoticed when worn in conjunction with hydration bladders, chest rigs, and rucks which would fall under our 2nd and 3rd lines of support gear.
Keep in mind that gear is not the prime focus of our training and tactics, but we can’t dismiss it either. Having quality equipment is important. You shouldn’t have to fight with your gear every time you’re on the range and certainly not in the real world. We’re fortunate that we live in the golden age of quality support gear.
Links to train with Ryan in TN and KY
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist"
Ephesians 6:14
Good article. Perhaps follow up with 2nd and 3rd layers of gears you referred to.
Posted by: Brian P | 02/21/2011 at 15:20
Every year I invite people on a "full battle rattle" trail run. It a real eye opener for most people, and has resulted in some major changes to the way we run our gear.
Posted by: Jack Ryan | 02/23/2011 at 10:01
Pack light to fight right. Count em on your fingers, 5 things only. Guns, Ammo, Water, Food, Dry Socks.
Posted by: BattleRattleRanger | 12/31/2011 at 02:05