Do police or mil use coupled magazines?

[mecra]

I for some reason remember being told that no one couples mags, like for an a r15. But with the Paris shooting, one of the pictures is of their SWAT-like units using coupled mags in an assault rifle. So I just thought I'd ask the question again.

[LumberZach]

I have no facts on the issue, but I think it is personal preference of the shooters. I don't know of places that ban it or anything, but it seems to be somewhat random who uses them.

[Randygmn]

I've seen MANY swat pix with mag couplers in use

[UnaStamus]

It varies by agency. Some agencies do it as a matter of SOP, some agencies allow it to be optional per the officer and rifle, and some don't do it all. The previous agency I was with used 20rd surplus AR mags, which could not be loaded to full capacity and function reliably. The mags were downloaded to 18rds, and a second mag was coupled on. When I joined the department, we switched to single 30rd mags and kept 20rd mags in the glove box to be grabbed by officers when needed. The coupled mag capability was looked at, but I opted to procure Go-Bags and load them with an additional 4 mags each.

Our SWAT guys could couple mags at their leisure. Some did, some didn't and SOP allowed them to do whatever they wanted. The snipers ran HK G36Cs as support rifles, and the HK G36 mags are designed to attach to each other with built-in coupling nubs. They all ran coupled mags, but it made more sense for them because the G36 was designed to run with coupled mags and not have controls obstructed.

My current agency allows coupled mags at officer discretion, and the SWAT guys can do it too, though most don't.

I know agencies that run rifles that do not allow coupled mags as well.

The thing to understand is that very few agencies have matching policies and SOPs with relation to firearms. It's normal to see things being done differently from agency to agency.

[farmerj]

In our unit, we banned the practice. It interfered with allowing the rifle to be rested on the magazine for aiming and it generally ended up with the magazine having damaged feed lips

[Erik_Pakieser]

I don't personally like it because it throws the gun off balance. On an AR15 side-by-side coupled mags can also interfere with the dust cover opening all the way.

That said, I do use them on "grab and go" guns, like the one I might keep in my vehicle or carry in a bag.

If I don't have time to grab extra magazines in a rig I like having at least one extra mag attached to the gun. If I can't solve my problem with a rifle and 60 rounds I probably need to proceed with a tactical withdraw.

One other issue with coupled mags is that the rounds in the extra mag will sometimes "walk" out as you fire the gun. For this reason, I only use Magpul PMAGs for this, because they have a dust cover that prevents it from happening. Coupling the mags offset from each other (one below the other) will also help with the dust cover problem.

I've also toyed with the Surefire 60 rounders, but I'm not sold on their reliability for a defensive weapon.

[Dave Timm]

My agency currently does with 2 20 rounders. It doesn't interfere with operation and is a little more compact on the rack than a 30 rounder. We too load both to 18. Tac guys are issued rifles and most, in not all, up hear just use 30's with more on the vest. With our current squads being how small they are, reaching to glove box has become a real pain. The guys/gals like having the extra mag on the gun.

[UnaStamus]

The dust cover obstruction is sort of a situationally-dependent issue. If the rifle is being used in direct contact, it should be a non-issue because you should be running your mags R>L. For training use, I'm big on closing the dust cover between strings of fire and when you get to the second mag, it does obstruct if you don't have the mags situated correctly. That said, coupled mags should generally be a combat/direct-action-only option with people only training to use them for the initial contact. I've seen people looking for mag pouches to hold coupled mags, and that's generally a recipe for disaster.

I have also seen the bullets walking out of the mags slightly. I still would never use the Magpul covers, as those are difficult to remove with fine motor skills and even then, it's time-consuming. If I were to carry a rifle with a spare mag on the rifle, my preference would be to run the Redi-Mag as opposed to a coupled mag. Just my preference though. YMMV

While the balance of the gun is a bit off, I personally feel it's still better with a coupled mag or a mag in a Redi-Mag attachment than the Surefire 60rd mag. The Surefire mags hang down too low and cause a pendulum effect that really bothers the crap out of me. Coupled mags tend to keep the weight closer to the "centerline axis" if you will. It's kinda like running with weight in your hands- you're much more stable with the weight held against your body than carrying it at arms length.

Just my $0.02

[shooter115]

I'll use them in competition from time to time if a COF has a mandatory reload or extremely high round count stage. Never had an issue with bullets walking, but I'm also shooting a rifle with a brake on it to minimize recoil. Having covers on Pmags would be completely counter intuitive IMHO.

That said, for duty or defensive purposes, which is an area I have never had any real instruction, unless I spent a lot of time training on it and used them regularly, I'm not sure I would want them. In competition your reloads are planned to take place at a certain place in the COF, so your'e consciously thinking about the reload and how it's going to take place. In a real gunfight, when doing your best not to **** your pants, when that bolt locks back my first reaction is most likely going to be to drop the mag and go for another, just because it would be instinctive. Guessing my coupled mag would be laying on the ground with one full mag yet. Can't say for sure and hope I never find out.

[Erik_Pakieser]

The PMAG cover can be removed very quickly by hooking the "tab" of the cover on the edge of the Ar15 magazine well and pulling down. You can also remove other dust covers using this method.

I'd forgotten about the Redi-Mag. The only issue with that is I've seen shooters, over and over again, drop the spare magazine on the reload. With both systems, training and practice is the key. You can never practice enough.

[Randygmn]

With either the redi-mag,coupled, or taped, both mags drop free when the mag release is pressed. Much different reload than what is normal to most. But, with training under stress, like most everything else, the new technique can be learned fairly easily. But I wouldn't recommend coupling them for defensive purposes until mag changes become second nature, because you will wind up dropping both mags unintentionally under stress.

[UnaStamus]

With either the redi-mag,coupled, or taped, both mags drop free when the mag release is pressed.

With relation to the Redi-Mag, that was the Gen1 model only, and that was discontinued in 2009. The only model now is the Mk1, which is basically an enhanced Gen2 version which utilizes a separate mag catch/release that works independently of the AR. The reason why I like the Redi-Mag is because it allows you to perform mag changes the same as if you were going for a fresh unattached mag.

[cgrant26]

The extra weight and cumbersome arrangement isn't worth it IMO. I'd rather just pull a fresh magazine from a mag pouch.

When you have to carry the thing around with you all day, every day, (or even for a few hours) weight savings becomes an important factor.