Post by voodooaddict on Feb 26, 2012 10:05:21 GMT -5
This isn't intended to a step by step how-to guide on setting your own rig up the same way. Nor am I a paintball god dictating that if you don't follow my example you will burn in dead-box hell for many seasons. Just trying to give people ideas for their own setups. Thank goodness rig setups for pistols are such a personal thing... so much fun trial and error.
I've loved playing dual pistol the past couple years. But it does have a serious drawback over the simplicity of single pistol. No free hand to catch an ejected magazine and reload. I often have to set down one of the pistols to reload. I'm hoping this season with my new rig setup, I'll won't need two hand for a reload nearly as often. Another bonus of the new setup is nothing is actually attached to my pants belt, I can easily take off all the gear and relax for a game or two in the worst of the summer heat. (Plus, no more running to bunker someone to loose my pants halfway there due to a full dump pouch pulling at just the wrong moment. <DOH!>)
Onto the details:
12 Mags in eight M4 pouches on shoulder supported, vest like, Chest rig, attached to molle belt. Center 4 mag pouches with 2 mags each, outer 4 with one mag each. For first strike only, I've got 7 first strike mags, with the center two M4 pouches doubled up and the outer M4 pouches for 10 round tubes filled with 12 FSR each. The rig is the result of some good deals on used gear at the army surplus store and some time sitting at a sewing machine, knowing that if I screwed something up, I wouldn't ruin something expensive shiny and new. Most components of the rig were originally ACU. I dyed it brown, giving it an almost dark brown digital camo look. Not necessarily going to always play with 12 mags, but for larger games I have the option. Technically, I could double up on the 4 outer pouches making it 16 total, but that jutted out a bit too much and interfered with the "no look, one handed" use of the dump pouches. Doubling up on the outermost pouch also makes the holster draw more difficult.
2 Pistols in Full Clip holsters on old leather belt. Modified to sit at a forward angle. Angle allows an easy holstering/drawing for either my short, light and shiny x.0s or my sighted and Flasc "mock suppressed" 9.1/8.1 combo. Isn't intended to be a holster angle/setup for running/diving/sliding at a full clip while the pistols are holstered. This is more for between games walking to/from the fields. Waiting in the deadbox, ect, ect. If I'm running, I'm expecting both pistols to be in hand. You'll also notice that the mag wells sit almost vertically ... more on that later.
No Look Mag ejection directly into 2 Dump pouches. Modified to stay open just enough for the mags to eject right into them one handed. But not too much so that mags easily fall back out. Previously, I would just eject to the ground when using duals, then collect after shot out. It's satisfying, but that only works well for small quick games at my trusted field. I need the dump pouches for the larger/longer scenario games. (Or ejecting FS mags... I don't like ejecting those to the ground.)
And the unexpected star of the show... No Look, One handed, Reloads. Thanks to the orientation of the holsters, the mag well is nearly vertical. I'll be able to reload the pistols independently of each other while keeping a bead on potential targets. In truth this was not the original intention of reorganizing the rig for this season. This was an amazing side effect that came out of lots of trial and error finding a holster config that worked well for all of my pistol setups.
I haven't had a chance to play with it in this config yet. But I have put it through more then a few paces in the treadmill test and it stays put and remains comfortable. I've also practiced with a few hundred no look reloads and holstering/drawing over the last two weeks. The new one handed no look reload process is not quite reflex yet, nor as fast as reloading a single pistol setup using two hands. But I already feel it's much quicker and has significant benefits then my previous "methods" of reloading with dual pistols. With dedicated practice I'm hoping this will become a reflex like action. Effectively removing my last drawback of using dual pistols.
Not shown - Pursuit pod on belt when not using first strikes. Elastic straps for 12 grams on left wrist/arm for scenarios.
To Do List - Acquire/Add small water bottle pouch or H2O system for long scenario games. Add Utility/ID pouch for Phone/Cash/Displaying scenario credentials.
Temptation - Also get a small/light MCR3 chest rig from GMAN1 for shorter games. Set it up with four black M4 pouches I've got laying around for a max of 6-8 mags.
I've loved playing dual pistol the past couple years. But it does have a serious drawback over the simplicity of single pistol. No free hand to catch an ejected magazine and reload. I often have to set down one of the pistols to reload. I'm hoping this season with my new rig setup, I'll won't need two hand for a reload nearly as often. Another bonus of the new setup is nothing is actually attached to my pants belt, I can easily take off all the gear and relax for a game or two in the worst of the summer heat. (Plus, no more running to bunker someone to loose my pants halfway there due to a full dump pouch pulling at just the wrong moment. <DOH!>)
Onto the details:
12 Mags in eight M4 pouches on shoulder supported, vest like, Chest rig, attached to molle belt. Center 4 mag pouches with 2 mags each, outer 4 with one mag each. For first strike only, I've got 7 first strike mags, with the center two M4 pouches doubled up and the outer M4 pouches for 10 round tubes filled with 12 FSR each. The rig is the result of some good deals on used gear at the army surplus store and some time sitting at a sewing machine, knowing that if I screwed something up, I wouldn't ruin something expensive shiny and new. Most components of the rig were originally ACU. I dyed it brown, giving it an almost dark brown digital camo look. Not necessarily going to always play with 12 mags, but for larger games I have the option. Technically, I could double up on the 4 outer pouches making it 16 total, but that jutted out a bit too much and interfered with the "no look, one handed" use of the dump pouches. Doubling up on the outermost pouch also makes the holster draw more difficult.
2 Pistols in Full Clip holsters on old leather belt. Modified to sit at a forward angle. Angle allows an easy holstering/drawing for either my short, light and shiny x.0s or my sighted and Flasc "mock suppressed" 9.1/8.1 combo. Isn't intended to be a holster angle/setup for running/diving/sliding at a full clip while the pistols are holstered. This is more for between games walking to/from the fields. Waiting in the deadbox, ect, ect. If I'm running, I'm expecting both pistols to be in hand. You'll also notice that the mag wells sit almost vertically ... more on that later.
No Look Mag ejection directly into 2 Dump pouches. Modified to stay open just enough for the mags to eject right into them one handed. But not too much so that mags easily fall back out. Previously, I would just eject to the ground when using duals, then collect after shot out. It's satisfying, but that only works well for small quick games at my trusted field. I need the dump pouches for the larger/longer scenario games. (Or ejecting FS mags... I don't like ejecting those to the ground.)
And the unexpected star of the show... No Look, One handed, Reloads. Thanks to the orientation of the holsters, the mag well is nearly vertical. I'll be able to reload the pistols independently of each other while keeping a bead on potential targets. In truth this was not the original intention of reorganizing the rig for this season. This was an amazing side effect that came out of lots of trial and error finding a holster config that worked well for all of my pistol setups.
I haven't had a chance to play with it in this config yet. But I have put it through more then a few paces in the treadmill test and it stays put and remains comfortable. I've also practiced with a few hundred no look reloads and holstering/drawing over the last two weeks. The new one handed no look reload process is not quite reflex yet, nor as fast as reloading a single pistol setup using two hands. But I already feel it's much quicker and has significant benefits then my previous "methods" of reloading with dual pistols. With dedicated practice I'm hoping this will become a reflex like action. Effectively removing my last drawback of using dual pistols.
Not shown - Pursuit pod on belt when not using first strikes. Elastic straps for 12 grams on left wrist/arm for scenarios.
To Do List - Acquire/Add small water bottle pouch or H2O system for long scenario games. Add Utility/ID pouch for Phone/Cash/Displaying scenario credentials.
Temptation - Also get a small/light MCR3 chest rig from GMAN1 for shorter games. Set it up with four black M4 pouches I've got laying around for a max of 6-8 mags.
