British Infantry Rifles

[HorseSoldier]

Are the L85 PLCE mag pouches doubles or triples?

You can get two FAL mags in an American ALICE 3x30 5.56mm mag pouch, but you'd want to stuff the bottom with a spare field dressing or two to make them easier to retrieve. I'd imagine the same would be true with PLCE pouches. (The American ALICE 3x30s had dividers as well. Most everyone cut them out as soon as they were issued back in the day.)

Improvisation using a water bottle or utility pouch as an ammo pouch would be common (these were designed so that they would fit as some rear troops just used one (double) ammo pouch).

Water bottle/canteen pouches are definitely good ammo pouches. Vietnam era US troops used them preferentially to the issue mag pouches, as they could hold more mags with reasonable retention and were quicker to get into (US pouches being open topped -- am I remembering right that PLCE has a lid?). They'd also be a good deal for anyone having to make do with an AK or other alternate weapon using non-STANAG mags (including L1A1s).

[Legbreaker]

We were able to get three SLR mags in the Steyr mag pouches - it's a squeeze but it can be done.
The ideal though was to use the 200 round minimi pouch for the 20 round 7.62 mags.
FYI, 100+ rounds of 7.62 will fit in the minimi pouch. It's not perfect and stretches the pouch well out of shape, but it's better than holding it in your hands....

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by HorseSoldier

Are the L85 PLCE mag pouches doubles or triples?

You can get two FAL mags in an American ALICE 3x30 5.56mm mag pouch, but you'd want to stuff the bottom with a spare field dressing or two to make them easier to retrieve. I'd imagine the same would be true with PLCE pouches. (The American ALICE 3x30s had dividers as well. Most everyone cut them out as soon as they were issued back in the day.)



Water bottle/canteen pouches are definitely good ammo pouches. Vietnam era US troops used them preferentially to the issue mag pouches, as they could hold more mags with reasonable retention and were quicker to get into (US pouches being open topped -- am I remembering right that PLCE has a lid?). They'd also be a good deal for anyone having to make do with an AK or other alternate weapon using non-STANAG mags (including L1A1s).

The PLCE ammo pouches that are issued are a double pouch with each holding 3 magazines. Early versions had dividers that were removed by later versions. They are easy to remove with a knife anyway. Commercially there are also singles and triple pouches available.

Sounds as if SLR mags might fit after all (I don't have one handy to check).

PLCE water bottle pouches do have a lid, many squaddies however use the entrenching tool pouch for a water bottle (it is a perfect fit but you can't carry the mug).

58 webbing will hold 4 x STANAG mags, 5 if you force them in making them hard to remove. A common trick with 58 webbing was to get cardboard or plastic inserts to keep the pouch rigid, mainly for parades but sometimes in the field.

ALICE pouches fit on both PLCE and 58 webbing but slide around.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by James Langham

ALICE pouches fit on both PLCE and 58 webbing but slide around.

Where there's a will...
Whenever I needed new pouches, or simply had the opportunity to go over gear what was being returned to the Q-store, I'd take the oldest, rustiest clips I could find. The newer plastic ones were ok if you needed to modify your webbing fairly regularly, but there's nothing like a decent bit of rust to keep things in place.
Electrical tape and baling wire also have plenty of uses on webbing and even a bit of scrim wedged strategically into place can help firm things up.

In my opinion, a soldiers webbing should receive nearly as much care and attention as their weapon - webbing that comes apart or slides around in combat is at best a serious nuisance and at worst can get you killed.

[Ramjam]

I cheated on my webbing. I pot riveted all the pouches to my belt and to each other. The buggers never came off after that and it was a nice fit without anything bouncing around.
As has been said, where there's a will there's a way.

[Legbreaker]

I know a few people who did that but thought it wasn't the best idea as it meant you couldn't change your webbing easily if you were suddenly handed the machinegun and needed to carry belts instead of mags.

[Targan]

I used a lot of tape on my webbing, and as mentioned by Leg the padding things out with bits of scrim trick works well too. All the old hands that I encountered in the infantry treated webbing set up and maintenance like an art.

[Legbreaker]

It is an art. It's amazing how many just throw it together and wonder why it all comes unstuck in the field and why they're always developing sores and blisters.
Boots are the same - they have to fit well and be kept supple with leather dressing / polish. A soldiers feet also need serious attention, airing them out as often as possible, changing socks as often as possible and treating even the smallest problem immediately.

It's the attention to these sorts of detail which seperate the real soldiers from the pretenders. Much of this attention to detail tends to be ignored in the field by novices though and reserved for the parade ground.

A soldiers weapon must be maintained properly to function correctly. The soldier himself should give his body the same attention or they're going to fall in a heap eventually.