Magazine Pouch

[particle]

Hello all - I decided to go ahead and add magazine pouches and belts to my offerings. While I'm not dissatisfied with my current pattern for a single mag pouch, I would like to see if anyone can offer suggestions on how to make it better. Last night I made a trial build of a double-mag pouch. It's the same style, just wider. By the time you allow a little space between the mags, the stitch lines, and the belt loops, the double pouch seems fairly wide to me. I debated moving the belt slots to the rear via folding the front over to the rear and letting that form the belt tunnel. I also debated making them bi-directional so the same pattern could work for left and right handed shooters.

What weight leather do you prefer for mag pouches? The one shown below was built with 7-8 oz, with a 5-6 oz reinforcement.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Care to show pics of your preferred pouch style? Should I build a wooden dummy, glue it to a board, then mold the outer piece of leather to the wood block, then sew it to the backing so the back of the pouch is flat? Seems like a lot more work for a $30 item.

For some reason I always have problems with thread tension on the pouches - even if they are cut from the same hide, same section, and sewn immediately after a perfectly (meaning the tension was perfect) sewn matching gun holster.

(note that the reinforcement piece wasn't supposed to be darker - the first piece got messed up and I had to cut another one - when I dyed it, it was a couple hours after I dyed the rest of the mag pouch and I accidentally put on a heavier coat with the airbrush)

[NoahL]

I like it--very classy, and I like the two-tone effect you accidentally got as well. I'm not much help in the design of a double mag pouch, though. I would guess your idea of putting belt loops on the back would be best, because I can definitely see how it would get pretty wide otherwise.

[LeatherCaptain]

Looks good to me. I get what you're saying about having the back of the pouch be flat. To me, it's a totally different look. I think it's a better style for mag pouches that have the belt attachment directly behind the mag but it seems to detract from the pouch when set up with the belt attachment system as you're applying it.

What are you applying to your edges by the way? And, do you always leave the interior undyed?

Edited May 7, 2010 by LeatherCaptain

[katsass]

Hello all - I decided to go ahead and add magazine pouches and belts to my offerings. While I'm not dissatisfied with my current pattern for a single mag pouch, I would like to see if anyone can offer suggestions on how to make it better. Last night I made a trial build of a double-mag pouch. It's the same style, just wider. By the time you allow a little space between the mags, the stitch lines, and the belt loops, the double pouch seems fairly wide to me. I debated moving the belt slots to the rear via folding the front over to the rear and letting that form the belt tunnel. I also debated making them bi-directional so the same pattern could work for left and right handed shooters.

Hi particle. Great work!! As to a double pouch, I went the way of a belt tunnel to decrease the overall width as well as making them bi-directional. I don't do many double mag pouches, but here is one I made not too long ago. Totally different style than yours but it works. Also mags can fit either way.......made them slightly loose for steel challenge matches. Mike

P.S. That's a rivet in the center...not a snap, and it's just for eye appeal as it serves no real purpose...the back is actually stitched down.

Edited May 8, 2010 by katsass

[BigRiverLeather]

I'm going to do some more double mag pouches tonight. I offer three basic styles - pancake - I put tension screws on this one, not sure if it is worth the effort or not, but for $10, I'll do anything

Here is one for a G30 .45 mag HUGE, but he was happy. This is where I decided al of my mag carriers would have heavier leather on the back

The back

Double snap with a snap loop on each side

and a belt loop with the loop behind the mag pouch.

One improvement I am going to make (at least I hope it is) is to use a heavier 8-9 oz leather on the back and 6-7 on the front. That way when I mold it the back should not give as much for the molding keeping the back flatter.

I also cant the front mag forward for easier access.

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

I like it. It was smart to make it look like your holsters. That will help you sell sets. I think the only thing that I would change is the bottom profile. See how angle of the leather from the loops basically matches the shape of the magazine, but then the edges flare out to allow room for the mag? Instead of cutting the pattern so the mag area hangs down, why not just raise the position of the magazine and run the two loop angles together where the bullet is?

This would have numerous benefits. First, the higher magazine position would allow easier access to the mags because there is more to get your hands on. Next, the bottom of the mag holder would sit higher making it easier to conceal, so this model would work well even for the folks who bought your IWB holsters. Even if it did show below a cover garment, the smoother shape is less conspicuous and therefore less noticeable. Another added benefit is that the smoother shape is easier to cut out and edge, which saves you time and effort when building them.

[particle]

Thanks for the input everyone and the pics you provided. They're much appreciated! I agree the mag can probably be raised up a bit to ride higher on the belt. I'll tweak the pattern and proceed forward. Will post pics of the set once I'm done with them. Thanks again everyone!