US PALM AK Attack Rack mag orientation

[BaronFitz]

I'm working on getting the proper gear together for a LAV AK class in November in time to make sure it all works together.

The US Palm AK Attack Rack chest rig looks interesting, but from looking at the pictures, it looks like it holds the mags with the rounds pointing to the wearer's left if the mags are baseplate up.

I've trained to run rifle mags in a chest rig baseplate up with the rounds pointing to the wearer's right, equivalent to keeping pistol mags with rounds pointing forward on your left hip, and it looks like the curvature of the mag pouches on the rig forces you to carry with rounds pointing to the wearer's left.

Anybody know the straight dope on this?

[albatrossarmament]

I'll chime in with my experience. I saw the same issue when I was looking for AK mag pouches for my VZ58 which I was using in a short carbine course. It seems "most" AK users prefer to grip the mag with a "beer can" technique that requires the mags to be facing to the left (assuming you are right handed). This is opposite of how I run my AR mags, and I did not want to learn a new technique. I ended up buying the left-handed MOLLE pouches that US Palm offers, and attached those to a standard MOLLE compatable chest rig. Worked like a champ and I was not any slower than the average shooter in the class.

I dont have any real good pics of this set-up, but you can see a typical reload time here, Im the shooter on the left:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gn3SadSmvc

[K Town]

As albatrossarmament stated, most AK shooters (Me included) use the "Beer Can" grip during loading, unload, and reloading since the AK uses a rock-in magazine instead of the AR's push/insert magazine. Inserting AR mags like pistol mags works for the AR platform but try rocking an AK mag in while holding only the base plate with a pistol mag style grip... it's not pretty. People have to remember that when running an AK that's it's an AK, not an AR so do not treat it like an AR. Now I'm not saying the basic operations of a carbine are different when running an AK (Reload, tactical reload, you get the picture) but the individual steps are going to be different hence the very specific magazine orientation of the Attack Rack. Yes the mags are facing the opposite direction than the majority of AR and pistol mag setups but remember how the AK's mags and operation are very different from that of the AR. So basically in short the mags are like that to help facilitate an effective "Beer Can" grip specific to AK mags.

On a side note AK-74 mags can be run effectively like AR mags due to their lack of the "Curve" found in AK-47 mags but remember you still have to rock them in so plan accordingly.

[BaronFitz]

Thanks for the feedback on the differing grips. In the meantime, I decided to run HSGI double Taco mag pouches on my plate carrier. They allow the mags to be pointed either way, so I think some experimentation is in order before I step to the line at the course.

My AK is a 5.56, so the curvature is closer to a 74 mag than the original 47. We'll see if I can get away with one technique for all rifle mag types. :D

[K Town]

The Taco pouches are fantastic for AK mags since they have the plastic liners that are impervious to the wear caused by the locking lip and tab. I can't stand how companies (I won't name names here...) try to sell over sized AR mag pouches claiming their AK friendly while the lip and tab rip them to shreds as they flop around due to the lack of proper fit. Since your running 5.56 you should be able to position them exactly like your AR mags and be totally fine but I would still recommend trying them out facing (The bullets) to the left to help ease the transition into rock-in mag changes.

At the end of the day do what is the absolute best for you and your goals and run with it. Plus it's always fun to out shoot people with an AK as they fiddle with their tacti-cool tan 2k+ AR :ph34r:.

[docsherm]

If you are looking for a 47 / 74 chest rig I would look at these:

http://beezcombatsystems.com/Chest-Rigs_c5.htm

I have one and it is great. There is a very good review on Military Moorons site:

http://www.militarymorons.com/equipment/2ndline3.html#bcsak

The "Pull Forward" adjustment straps are the Heat.