Dear Mr. Rawles –
Hello again from Baltimore, Maryland, where I believe spring may have finally decided to stay this time, in spite of the inch of sleet and ice we received last week. Sounds like your family is dealing with your mud season as well.
The good news from Maryland is that the state’s bans on assault weapons has died in committee. a 5-5 deadlock has prevented the bill from moving forward into the house, so the issue is dead once again for this year. The bad news is that the federal ban still looms on the horizon. I have known for some time that it isn’t a matter of if laws like these are approved, it is a matter of when. As a result, I have made several investments in “hardware” over the last few years, and am now in the process of acquiring magazines and the like for them.
I would like to know your opinion of the “Mag Cinch” system, where two mags can be fastened together for quick and easy reloads. It looks slick, and sounds like sound concept, but I’ve never actually used one either. I also haven’t been able to find one that works with the FAL or any other .308 battle rifle either. I see them for AKs and ARs, but nothing for HK93s, CETMEs, or FALs. Do they make a Mag Cinch for any of these rifles?
My new [expanded edition] copy of “Patriots” arrived over the weekend. I will begin devouring it tonight. Take care and God Bless. – Tim in Baltimore, MD
JWR Replies: I’ve always considered dual or triple magazine systems a bit “gadgety.” Its something that the “Tommy Tactical“/Arm Chair Commando crowd all seem to consider a must. But IMHO, if you can’t solve your immediate tactical problem with one magazine without a lightning fast reload, then you are severely outnumbered. You should have been working as part of a fire team! But, in fairness, I suppose that they might make sense for a G.O.O.D. or Escape and Evasion situation where you are on your own and you need to lay down a lot of suppressive fire, to break contact.
At this juncture I should also mention that one problem with duplexed or triplexed magazines is that you typically carry just one of these duplexing do-hickeys, and all of the remainder your ammo in standard magazine pouches. So where do you put the duplexed magazine once it is empty? (Since they don’t fit in ammo pouches.) I surmise that you could put a parachute cord loop on it, and once emptied, clip it to a carabiner on your web gear. (Like some of the Blackwater boys do.) But again, aside for some specialized situations, the whole duplex/triplex magazine concept seems like more of a Mall Ninja fashion statement than something that is truly practical.