Though there are tons of mag pouches on the market, and there may be some good ones I am not familiar with, finding a really good mag pouch is not as easy as it should be. We are mostly concerned with concealed carry pouches here, so we will mostly stick to that for today.
My most used mag pouch is the old basic Mag Carrier (BMC) from Rich at Custom Carry Concepts. Todd Green asked Rich to make it as the original maker of that style of mag pouch had stopped years before. As with most everything else, Rich got it right the first time and to this day, it is still the best concealed carry mag pouch on the market. Unfortunately, I only have them for Glock mags, though my P30 mags happen to fit them very well. The BMC has the smallest footprint, the fastest draw, the correct ride height, and the right tension. Most other pouches can’t even get two of those right.
Safariland used to make the model 71, which in its original form, was designed to carry on the work done by the old Milt Sparks rubber pouches that were so popular with certain groups. The 71 was an improvement, as you could carry almost any magazine in it. Then they “improved” the 71 by making the belt loop a little easier to use, as well as rounding the bottom of the pouch. The gen 2 was a complete fail, and I only use the gen1 versions.
The 71 is not usually my first choice in a concealment pouch, but if you need to accommodate different mags, it is my go to solution. Today I was shooting the P30 as well as an HK45, and switching between mags was seamless with the 71. It carries pretty tight to the body, has just the right tension on it and it allows for a fast draw, whether you are using a single stack 1911, a double stack 9, a Glock, or a USP45. You can even put sub gun mags in there in a pinch.
The 71 was my go to pouch for tactical stuff for most of my tactical career. It takes abuse well, doesn’t lose mags even when hanging upside down from helicopter skids (not a recommended practice), and takes up very little space on my real estate poor gunbelt. When I was using both a G22 and a 1911 for SWAT work, this pouch worked great as I only needed to swap my holster out.
A relative newcomer, but also a modern version of the old Milt Sparks pouch, Tango Down collaborated with Milt Sparks and came up with a very useable double mag pouch. It is flexible and contours well to the body but if you prefer a single pouch, it can be cut into two separate pouches with an exacto knife in about about 5 seconds.
The original Milt Sparks magazine pouch was a favorite of mine and many others, but it was pretty much only for 1911’s. The current version is billed as being for 9 and 40 Glock mags, but it also fits the HK45 mag very well and I imagine it will fit a few others that I haven’t tried yet. A friend at Milt Sparks was kind enough to send one of the new ones to me when they first came out. At the time, I tried it out and then put it away. It worked well enough, but it didn’t do anything that I really needed at the time so it didn’t get much use. With my current use of the P30 and HK45, this pouch has once again become very useful.
It is not the first choice for concealment, but it is very reasonably priced and it works well if you need to sometimes conceal your mags and sometimes open carry them. If you had to outfit a team on a budget, this would be a great choice as it works well for open carry on a tac belt, as well as concealed carry.
As you can see in the photo, the CCC pouch rides a bit higher than the other two, which conceals and draws very well for me. Also seen in the photo, I cut off the shirt guard on the Safariland pouch. It never helped me, and just got in the way so all of my pouches get that treatment.
I have pouches from a few other makers but am mostly less excited about them, even if they generally work and are currently available. If you have a pouch you really like, I would love to hear about it.
ETA: CCC is unfortunately no longer in business.
I Googled: Custom Carry Concepts, but the link came back with: “No information is available for this page.”
I have had great success with Black Jacket Holsters (https://www.instagram.com/blackjacketholsters/) through their Amazon store (https://tinyurl.com/56njwujf).
Their mag pouch holds the magazine very securely for every day carry, yet easily allows the magazine to be withdrawn when it is time for a reload.
My needs require that the magazine holder (and my holster) can be taken off quickly without taking my belt off.
The belt clip keeps the holder securely on my belt, yet allows me to take it off quickly when I need to.
I’ve had two of these mag holders for several years now, wear them daily, and would gladly buy them again if (if) they ever wear out, but they show no signs of doing so.
(I have had the belt clip on several Comp-Tac mag holders crack and break off.)
Black Jacket was very receptive to my request that the magazine (G19) fit the mag holder so that there were two rows of witness holes showing. This allows me to grip the magazine they way that I prefer when withdrawing it from the pouch.
Replies after messaging them on Amazon were very quick.
They sent me pictures of the completed items before paying to ensure they were exactly what I wanted.
Because of the retention method of the magazine, it takes up more real estate than the examples you have shown above, but as a civilian, belt space isn’t as much of a concern as it would be with a police officer.
Great article and information – thanks!
That is certainly a big mag pouch, but if it works for you, that is what matters. I should have made clear in the post that CCC is no longer in business, I will edit it, thanks!
I think I was looking at the wrong pouch. The one in your link is pretty normal, but the one on their page is a giant pancake pouch. Which are you using? I assume it is the smaller one.
The first few photos in their Instagram page does show that giant mag holder, but if you scroll down a bit you can see the more compact mag holder.
The mag holder I use is the one in the Amazon link.
Yeah that’s what I figured. That is quite a big pouch they make though, I wonder why.
Have you tried the Fero 2 from Tenicor? I seem to recall you being one of the first supporters on PF before they blew up into the mainstream, years ago. I could be misrememmbering though. Anyway it looks promising and I’ve been meaning to try one but have yet to get around to it. I’m also looking to try the kari from Raven to see how the reverse cant helps with printing, if at all.
Other than that i use iwb pouches from dark star gear or jmck, throw away pouches just for range use from kytex, a small stash of CCCs, some of the closed loop owb pouches from jmck that i believe have been discontinued as well, and on certain occasions a soft pouch from mastermind tactics when i need deep concealment.
I have used the Fero 2, but did not include it in the post as I gave it to a friend in need and never got it back. I remember it working, but not much else as I have been without mine for a while now. I did prefer the original Fero though, as I prefer mag pouches that don’t use tension screws. The original was fantastic, I’ll have to get another Fero 2 and mess with it some more. I also prefer a closed belt loop, though clips today obviously work and some work well. I have some JMCK pouches as well and though they work, I don’t prefer them.
The reverse cant really works when carried in front of the hip. On the hip or to the rear of the hip, as I carry, is better with a straight drop. Let us know how it works for you.
I like the integrated mag carrier approach now. I use a Tier 1 Concealed Axis so my holster and mag carrier are connected and forward of my hips. In the past I’ve used the Dark Star Gear Koala and found it to be a solid piece of gear. When I was on the job I used the Safariland 71’s for everything.
Good to see you here! I used the integrated stuff for a few years, but have found that the stand alone aiwb holster and mag pouch behind the hip works best for me. Much better concealment and faster reloads for me. I do understand the appeal of the integrated setup though.
I still have a couple BMCs, but I wish someone would start making the design again. I doubt Rich would care since he isn’t in the holster business anymore.
The BMC is still by far my favorite mag pouch. Most other pouches can hook my shirt during a reload, but the flat bottom of the BMC prevents the shirt from getting stuck underneath the pouch.
The question is, who will make it? Kydex guys these days want to just crank stuff out and are not generally interested in custom type work.
I’d probably ask Tom from DSG or Tony from JM since they have long connections to p-f.
https://cpwsa.com/pistol-accessories/240-ready-tactical-solid-loop-mag-pouches.html
The closest I’ve seen. I recall RT having pouches similar to kytex previously but did not know they made a closed loop version. Might be worth trying to see how close it gets.
Looks worth a shot, thanks. I’ve got a local guy who is interested in trying to reproduce the BMC, so for now I’m waiting to see how that turns out.
Please let us know if the local guy (1) works out and (2) decides to produce enough to sell nationally. Thanks
I certainly will!
I have been working with a 3D one. Purchased off of eBay. Initial impression are quite favorable relative to the BMC based on:
1. Agency Quals
2. A recent Tom Givens Instructor Class
3. A recent Agency RDS Transition Class
I have no connection to the product. I have purchase 3 at full price 15USD shipped CONUS for my own use.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173768011949