Using the SAW with 50 round belts

[GeddyMX]

On the SORD site there is a unique 6 x 50 rnd link pouch for SAW gunners designed by Special Forces:

http://www.sordusa.com/product.php?productid=132&cat=23&page=1


What advantages does employing multiple, loose 50 round belts have over a pair of 100+ round nutsacks or standard 200 round drums?

Thanks in advance,
- a former SAW gunner

[Jason Falla]

The 300 round gunner panel was a concept for SAW gunners to have 6 individual 50 round belts in a lower profile than the standard 200 round boxes or other soft pouches.

When you have the boxes in a pouch on the man, your profile is governed by the length of the round not the width. So we decided to make a pouch that would allow a gunner to carry 300 rounds with a low profile.

The panel also elevates the need to wear an H-Harness to contain box mags and the gunner can wear the panel on the armor carrier or chest rig. Most companies don't make carriers for gunners.

I was a 249 gunner in AFG and make my own set up to contain 2 x 200 round soft pouches and 2 x 125 round soft pouches. Having that amount of concentrated ammo on the front of the vest really in annoying. So in order to distribute some of the weight a little more evenly, the 300 round panel can assist there.

For SF doctrine, the panel works quite well during break contacts as you can fire 50 round belts and simply reload another on the go quite easily. You can also link them together to create a 300 round belt in order to provide sustained fire support during attacks.

The 300 round gunner panel can provide an alternative to large pouches while maintaining a lower profile than standard box mag pouches for specific tasks.

Typically the amount of rounds to be carried in front line positions will be dictated by the command and the 300 round panel may or may not be useful.

[Endur]

I wish I had one of those as a saw gunner on my first deployment. I had 4 200 round drums but it was so uncomfortable and due to size it was hard to place them as to be not so annoying. Then one of the squad leaders in my platoon said as a auto rifleman on one of his earlier deployments he had never used over 600 rounds in a fire fight so I rounded up 6 100rnd nutsacks and used those in conjunction with a pmag as an ohh shit mag. Much more managable on long foot patrols.

I don't mean to hijack the thread but my question to you is what do you think of this; http://www.tyrtactical.com/products/details/backpacks/mico-light-and-heavy-machine-gunners-assault-pack/ ?

I wish I had that thing when I had to carry the 240 on my last deployment. We had a 50rnd starter nutsack and had to carry 800rnds in a assault pack along with a tripod, pas13 and binos. Our plt sop, man did that suck. I highly doubt the army or any branch at that would buy those in bulk and issue them to units for deployments.

[Jason Falla]

It looks like a very specific product for one purpose and so long as it doesn't hang up and create stoppages it looks like it would work well.

It would save having to carry loose belts in pouches on the hip for sure.