11-18-2011, 11:34 PM
stanc Wrote:Not sure I see speed reloads as being really useful for other than 3-gun competition. In all of the videos I've watched of Iraq and Afghan combat, there has not been a single instance of speed reloading. Even in the incident in the OP, the Marine would've had his rifle reloaded quickly enough if he had stowed the empty mag in his trousers cargo pocket instead of trying to put it back into the mag pouch.
Stan:
Very astute observation. So far I haven't met a guy who had to do a speed reload because he was about to be shot if he didn't. Not sure if this little saying is still around but it went something like "Change your magazine when you need to, not when you have to", or something of the sort.
I also question the wisdom of trying to retain a five dollar empty magazine when someone's life is at immediate risk. However, in training they really do have to hold on to that empty magazine and I figure they will do in combat what they do in training. In this case, perhaps the Marine was just doing what he was trained to do?
LR55