AIWB mag changes???

[strow]

Can we have a discussion on the finer points or lessons learned on AIWB mag changes from concealment? If this has been discussed before I could not find the thread.

Does anyone have any suggestions for consistently clearing the cover garment on AIWB mag changes and keeping it cleared long enough to retrieve the spare mag?

I am hovering around the 4.75-5.0 second mark on the FAST drill/test during live fire, but foul the mag change with the cover garment more frequently than I like. On the mag change I am struggling to clear the cover garment and keep it cleared or pinned long enough to get the mag out. Oddly enough this happens more during dry practice than live fire at the range.

Do some of you quickly pin the cover garment with the left forearm while retrieving the mag? Or just pull the cover garment high enough that your left hand can get to the mag before gravity drops the garment?

Suggestions? Dry practice ideas?

[UNM1136]

I think Massad Ayoob used to be of the opinion that the pistol is harder to conceal, therefore that should be (A)IWB. Magazines are better off on the belt. I don't know what his position is now....I don't own a IWB mag pouch, despite having several IWB holsters.

Anyway, I have always taught Palm out, with the thumb from tip to wrist pointed down up against thr torso, starting at or near the midline.Since the thumb is against the body as the hand slides towards that side. When the thumb finds the magazine, the index finger can easily be laid upon the front of the mag, and the fingers are free to grasp. By keeping the thumb against the torso you move any cover garments out of the way. You can even push the tip of the thumb inside the beltline (no deeper than the most distal joint) to both guide and prep the snatch from the pouch, whether inside the waistband or out.

BUT, my training is more for officer survival than competition, and I would rather err on the side of taking more time to be sure, than to take the chance of going fast and missing a manipulation.

pat

[GuanoLoco]

I was just watching slo mo of one of my FAST videos and it looks like I grad a handful of shirt weak hand, pull it up, then use the friction from my thumb/inner forearm to keep the shirt up while I grab the magazine.

[strow]

UNM1136, If I am understanding you correctly with the “palm out / thumb into waistband”, that is actually a direction I was heading earlier today while trying to work through the problem with dry practice. I also think this is similar to what AsianJedi mentioned in a “1+1 video I just finished watching.

[DAVE_M]

I carry my mags rounds forward AIWB(ish). Weak hand pulls the garment up and grabs the mag. I've never had an issue with my cover garment getting in the way.

[UNM1136]

UNM1136, If I am understanding you correctly with the “palm out / thumb into waistband”, that is actually a direction I was heading earlier today while trying to work through the problem with dry practice. I also think this is similar to what AsianJedi mentioned in a “1+1 video I just finished watching.

I think it is just good drills. In the past I have had to carry pistol and rifle mags anywhere from 1 o'clock to 8 o'clock. Support hand lifts garment and then heads for the belt line. This motion works anywhere from 1 to six o'clock counter clockwise. It works with my 1911, Glock, and M&P mags as well as my rifle mags.

I also do another Massad Ayoob techniqie, and something most instructors say to never do, and that is I return tac loads to magazine pouches, usually backwards. Everyone lectures that you want to reload full mags from pouches, and partially depleated mags go into a pocket. The tired logic is that you don't want to do an emergency reload with a magazine that is partially depleted and potentially have a single shot pistol when you need more. I have never liked this answer because I am trained to reload from pouches, not pockets, and the fact of the matter is with mag capacities of 15-23 rounds on board and limited magazines on my person I want to run my pistol like my rifle, and I want a compelling reason to tac load. It makes no sense to me to put a magazine with 10 rounds in it out of the fight without a good reason. If I am speed loading my pistol I need rounds in it now, even if it is only one or two, and then speed load again. Placing the magazine back into the pouch backwards gives me a tactile reference on full mag vs unknown.

Sorry about the tread drift. Rant off.

pat

[txdpd]

I grab the bottom of my shirt with my left hand, rotate my elbow up to do a bicep curl, while keeping my hand high, rotate my elbow down to pinch the shirt under my triicep and go to work on the reload.

[txdpd]

.....

[LittleLebowski]

I think Massad Ayoob used to be of the opinion that the pistol is harder to conceal, therefore that should be (A)IWB. Magazines are better off on the belt. I don't know what his position is now....I don't own a IWB mag pouch, despite having several IWB holsters.

Anyway, I have always taught Palm out, with the thumb from tip to wrist pointed down up against thr torso, starting at or near the midline.Since the thumb is against the body as the hand slides towards that side. When the thumb finds the magazine, the index finger can easily be laid upon the front of the mag, and the fingers are free to grasp. By keeping the thumb against the torso you move any cover garments out of the way. You can even push the tip of the thumb inside the beltline (no deeper than the most distal joint) to both guide and prep the snatch from the pouch, whether inside the waistband or out.

BUT, my training is more for officer survival than competition, and I would rather err on the side of taking more time to be sure, than to take the chance of going fast and missing a manipulation.

pat

For me, I agree with @Mas

[LOKNLOD]

For me, I agree with @Mas

Me too. I probably only have one spare mag on me, so if I'm swapping it retaining in in the most accessible place is pretty critical. If I need to do an emergency reload after having already done a tac-load, man am I ever in some deep trouble, and even if that mag only has 3 rounds left, I'm going to need them badly...





For the OP, what kind of mag pouch arrangement are you running?