How do Snipers carry ammo?

[ASH556]

I talked to a buddy of mine who does it for a living and he uses a bandoleer type arrangement that he had a guy make for him. Just curious how others do it? Do they make cards that fit in mag pouches similar to shotgun ammo? How do you set-up for "quick" availability? Also, in the fight, do you get to the point where you're loading only one round at a time, or do you just fill the box during lulls? I'm asking specifically for a bolt-action rifle, the answer is obvious for an auto-loader.

Thanks!

[MOA]

Most military rifles are going to detachable magazines. I know the one person I trust on the matter carried ammo in a bandoler, I think 80 rounds. I don't think he ever got in extended sniper fire fights tho.

[JB326]

I will start by saying that I'm not a military sniper, but I am a LE Marksman/ Observer. My preferred method is the Blackhawk folding pouch (http://www.blackhawk.com/product/STR...,1317,1391.htm). I carry one on each side of a self rigged LBV. I wear them along my sides (front of the vest is slick) so that I can access the ammo easily in the prone, with either hand.

My partner on the other hand just sticks the plastic carriers that the ammo comes in into his cargo pockets. To each his own.

[mvelimir]

Good old Yugo M48 Mauser loading with 5-round clips.

[RGR]

Like other have said most mil rifles are moving to detachable mag. That said I have a fair amount of deployed time with the M24, my first and still beloved. I used a Eagle pouch (much like a shotgun one you referenced) that I carried in my cargo pocket. retention

[cbr]

A few rounds in a stock pack on the gun, and the plastic carriers that come with Federal Gold Medal Match fit perfect in mag pouches made for AR/M16 mags on a LBE vest.

[GTF425]

I had the (mis)fortune of serving my deployment with our Battalion Scouts. I was attached to the sniper section as an ammo bearer/grenadier.

For our M110's I kept the magazines in pouches on the back of my plate carrier. If we were all silly-suited up I had a bandoleer that carried 12 M4 magazines and 6 M110 mags that draped across my chest. If I was taking out an M14, I could fit 6 mags in place of the M4 mags.

For the M82 I had a similar setup. Due to the rarity we were taking out the .50, I just took my .308 pouches off of my plate carrier and replaced them with large utility pouches that I ghetto rigged some 550 cord across the top and tied a slipknot to retain the mags. We never humped the .50 on LRS missions, so I never made a bandoleer rig for it.

Our Platoon Sergeant's motto was that if we ever had to use our weapons, we failed as scouts. We never used the M24 in contact but gave the M110 a lot of trigger time. Our snipers mostly stayed in a position of overwatch and fired at targets of opportunity while those of us with the "line" weapons would gain fire superiority while our FO worked his magic.

[boltgun71]

I carried an M24 for 16 months in Afghanistan and used a Tactical Tailor Multi-Purpose Pouch to carry my spare ammo on my kit and a Eagle cheekpad with pocket to carry spare on the gun. The Tactical Tailor pouch fits two boxes of 7.62mm SB or LR ammo in the cardboard boxes perfectly in the main compartment, I also put the boxes in ziplock bags to keep them waterproof and from falling apart. In the front velcro pocket of the pouch I kept 5rds tracer and 5rds AP on stripper clips for special situations if need be. Then in the Eagle pouch on the gun I kept 20 rds of loose ammo. I carried 70rds as my typical combat load. For extended missions I kept a few more boxes tucked away in the ruck just in case.

Here is a link to the TT pouch.
http://www.tacticaltailor.com/multi-purposepouch.aspx

Couldn't find the Eagle one on their website but here is a similar one from Blackhawk.
http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Amm...d,191,1406.htm