TactiPul Magazine & Ambi-Catch Improvements to Rifleman Firepower
By the Staff of the 1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne)
When you replace 20 or 30-round magazine floor plates with Tactipuls;
C Products, LLC
30 Elmwood Court
Newington, CT 06011
(860) 953-5007
...you add a roughly 1" hard plastic loop to the length of your 20 or 30-round aluminum or steel magazines--but they are still 1/4" shorter than a 40-round magazine--so disruption of your prone firing position is minimal. In retrospect, maybe having the magazine SIDEWAYS as in the Sten SMG might be a good idea for future M16A5 variants. The hard 1" plastic loop enables you to force the loop into the National Molding Universal Retention Clip (URC) quickly to retain your magazines.
It's vital that you store ALL your magazines bullet side down--and pointing to the RIGHT if you are right handed...
and to the LEFT if you are left handed so you can run your index finger down the proper side with the pointy bullet end so you can remove the magazine up & out and then rotate it smoothly to orient and load into the magazine well.
If your index finger feels the squarish bump at the back of the Tactipul your magazine is not being held right for quick reloading. Your THUMB should feel the squarish bump on the back of the Tactipul.
Norgon Ambi-Catches and Tactipuls should be authorized items for Soldiers to buy and fit to their magazines and M16/M4 assault rifles/carbines as it is now in the USMC with the former.
Norgon, LLC
7518 K Fullerton Road
Springfield, VA 22153
(703) 455-0997
(703) 569-6411 (Fax)
The Norgon Ambi-Catch can ordered through the "supply system" via its National Stock Number (NSN):
NSN 1005-01-537-6498
As we all know, every second counts in a gunfight.
The Ambi-Catch was tested by NSWC Crane, is authorized for use in all USMC M16s/M4s, is currently being issued with all C7A2s/C8s in Canada and will be included in Denmark's new M/10 Carbine.
Where the Ambi-Catch really shines is for left-handed shooters who can now simultaneously release old magazines with their trigger finger and reload new full magazines with their opposite hand.
RAPid MAGazine ChANGe RETention (RAPMAGCHANGRET)
Right-Handed Rapid M16/M4 RAPMAGCHANGRET
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGYYMrhzLhg
Tactipuls enable an unique way to reload magazines and retain them described by the following technique of "RIPPD"*:
R
I
P
P
D
Shoot: Continue-the-fight.
Snap: empty or near empty magazine onto National Molding's URC when you can.
* Another option is RAPP-D if you have large hands and can grasp both the old and new magazines instead of Inserting (I) your finger into the TACTIPUL loop, you would "Acquire" (A) the old magazine.
Left-Handed Rapid M16/M4 RAPMAGCHANGRET
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvwD0m6sjKM
Notional Left-Handed U.S. Army Soldier in Multi-Cam ACUs depicted employing RAPid MAGazine CHANge and RETention (RAPMAGCHANGRET).
To do the RIPPD technique while firing the M16/M4 left-handed requires the Norgon Ambi-Catch so the left hand trigger finger can press the mag catch button simultaneously as the right pinky finger pulls the magazine out and hooks it.
R
I
P
P
D
Shoot: Continue-the-fight.
Snap: empty or near empty magazine onto National Molding's URC when you can.
**********************
RIPPD should be almost as fast as dropping magazines to the ground--but without losing them.
**********************
+ No lost magazines dropped to the ground = you have them to reload so you can continue firing your weapons
+ Just as fast as dropping mags to the ground
+ Saves time (up to 10 seconds fiddling around) and weight compared to dump magazine pouches which wouldn't have to be carried/take up space on LBE
+ Low-Cost Combat Multiplier Individual Soldiers/Units Can Obtain Now
Soldier's Load Considerations
The Tactical Taylor Multicam FLC usually has 4 x twin 30-round magazine pouches and 2 x large utility pouches usually reserved for 2 x 1 quart (32 ounces) canteens (64 ounces total) in addition to a 70 oz (little over 1/2 a gallon) Camel-Bak with drinking tube on the Soldier's back. This comes to a total of 134 ounces or 1 gallon and 6 ounces of water = 8.34 pounds of weight.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WgxgoTAGL0
Unfortunately, 40-round magazines are too long to fit in the magazine pouches. However, if you don't like the MWG 90-round drum you can use a mag coupler and start off with 2 x 40 round magazines joined together for 80 rounds of firepower with one mag change--actually a shift over.
Take a 13-14" piece of gutted 550 cord and run it through the tunnel formed between the magazine hold positions on the IDF mag coupler and tie an overhand knot, fuse ends with a flame. You can now start a firefight with the twin 40-rounders and than clip it to an URC and continue the fight with 30-rounders.
Same also applies to starting a firefight with the MWG 90-Rounder--switch to 30-round mags after clipping it to the URC. 40-round mags can fit into the two large utility pouches--but at the expense of something else like water, so we recommend clipping them by URC instead.
WATER
Mc FLC 3.0 pounds
1 gallon of water Camel-Bak/2 x canteens 9.0 pounds
___________________________________________________
12.0 pounds
AMMO
8 x 30-round magazines with Tactipuls = 8.8 pounds 240 rounds 5.56mm
Option A
1 x 90 round MWG drum/SKEDCO Assault Pk 4.0 pounds 90 rounds 5.56mm
or
Option B
2 x 40-round magazines coupled 3.5 pounds 80 rounds 5.56mm
or
Option C
2 x 30-round magazines coupled 2.2 pounds 60 rounds 5.56mm
or
Option D
1 x 30-round magazine in M16/M4 1.1 pounds 30 rounds 5.56mm
________________________________________________________________
Option A: 12.8 lbs 330 rounds
Option B: 12.3 lbs. 320 rounds
Option C: 10.8 lbs. 300 rounds
Option D: 9.9 lbs. 270 rounds
SUB-TOTALS
Option A: 24.8 pounds
Option B: 24.3 pounds
Option C: 22.8 pounds
Option D: 21.9 pounds
Option E?
If you want to sacrifice 1 quart of water or carry the 2nd canteen in a smaller pouch, one of the large pouches can carry 4 x 40 round magazines = 6.8 pounds = 160 rounds 5.56mm.
SUB-TOTAL
Options A + E = 24.8 + 6.8 = 31.6 pounds = 490 rounds
B + E = 24.3 + 6.8 = 31.1 pounds = 480 rounds
C + E = 22.8 + 6.8 = 29.6 pounds = 460 rounds
D + E = 21.9 + 6.8 = 28.7 pounds = 430 rounds
This doesn't sound bad except the MultiCam ACUs are 6 pounds, boots 3 pounds, body armor and helmet, 23 pounds, weapon 7 pounds....for 39 pounds....so really the Soldier's Load is
40 lbs+...
You can either have 300 rounds and weigh roughly 10 pounds more or 400 rounds and weigh 20 pounds more or 500 rounds and weigh 30 pounds more.
50 lbs or 60 lbs or 70 lbs....
FOOD & SHELTER
As you can see with hard body armor there is little or no payload left for food/shelter weight. This is why we must live COMBAT LIGHT NOW--no rucksacks! A buttpack based system only adds at the most 10 pounds of weight--this should be the norm!
www.combatreform.org/combatlight.htm