Sir
I saw in the blog someone mentioning the stock pouches soldiers have on their rifles overseas. Sadly these pouches are there because our servicemembers are not trusted with a loaded weapon while on the FOB. We are required to maintain possession of the weapon and a minimum amount of ammunition (usually one magazine) but we are not allowed to have the weapon loaded. Unfortunately we don’t teach our servicemembers to be safe with weapons–we simply don’t allow them the possibility to have an accident. – Jake
Dear Jim:
I use the SpecOps [brand] Ready Fire Mode pouches, and second your recommendation.
The biggest advantage I see is that you will often not have all your web gear (with spare mags) on your body in a self defense or survival situation. Standing guard duty in a crisis, of course you will, but often you are doing other work or resting, and not wearing full “battle rattle” 24/7. So having an extra mag on the gun – in one grab and go package – could be a lifesaver.
Secondly, the extra weight of a mag at the end of the buttstock counterbalances the front-end heaviness of many .308s. So, even though you are adding weight to the gun, the weapon handles better and feels better. Most noticeably, it is easier to balance in one hand while changing mags. Plus the extra weight helps with recoil.
Finally they have very thoughtfully provided a D-ring to attach a sling to the top of the buttstock.
Better photos and more technical details at the Spec-Ops company web site …but Midway USA offers it at a better price than the factory [for direct sales]. Regards, – OSOM