Most of the sources I've read say "belt only, everything else only gets in the way", but they were all from the US where you can use standard capacity mags. Can you pack enough Canada-legal neutered gear on a belt alone and still be able to shoot prone? Any additional suggestions/specifics/pics will be welcome.
3 gun belt/vest?
- Thread starter TRaTSeRiF
- Start date
Yeah the belt only works with the 30 shot AR mag and high cap pistol mags. They carry a lot less gear in the states. Up here it would depend what guns you will be shooting as to how much area needed to hold the mags. I am new to 3gun and want to get good gear but find it very hard to do until my guns are all sorted out.
Thanks... Now could you tell me what's typical for more successful shooters.. 2 doubles for pistol and rifle? Where on the belt would they typically go? What about the shellholder for the shotty? I'm so green at this that you'd think I'm Irish, but wanna start off right. For now I've decided on a CR Speed belt and the Bladetech DOH holster, everything else is out in the open.
Leviathan024
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- GP Alberta
+1 im looking for a 3gun setup also! pistol,ar mags and a shotshell carrier must all fit comfortably
Practice. Having all the cool gear means nothing without practice.
Speaking from the perspective of TH3G... Three pistol mags and three 10rnd rifle mages are enough if you're a decent shooter who doesn't need to fire 20 rounds at one target.
For shot shells... The trap shooters bag of loose rounds is not really ideal.
There are a few "systems" on the market to choose from.
Google "carbon arms" or "ALS caddy's" to get an idea.
Many shooters are going with/learning the "load two" or "load four" method.
depends what matches you are attending. my u.s. 3 gun rig is just a double alpha belt with 2 bladetech ar mag pouches that I use with 30 round pmags but will also work with coupled lar mags, 2 pistol mag pouches, and a ap 4x4 and then all I do is transfer my holster from my ipsc rig.
As far as taking gear on/off the belt it depends on the match. I did strip a bunch of my gear off my belt at the last TH3G match because we finished on the urban prone stage and stripping off the gear I didn't need let me get down lower to the ground. Most matches you will pretty much configure your gear before the match and leave it that way the entire match, not because of the rules but because you'll need it all and won't have time to keep reconfiguring everything.
That being said, modular gear is an advantage if you compete in lots of different types of matches. I use the same belt for IPSC handgun, IPSC Shotgun, IPSC Tournament/Grand Tournament, and 3Gun, and depending on the match I configure things differently. E.g. for the IPSC shotgun provincials all I had on the belt were shotshell 4x4 caddies, and I ran 1 more caddy than usual. The next morning I reconfigured the belt pretty quickly upon arriving at the TH3G handgun/shotgun match to take off one shotgun caddy and put on my pistol pouches and holster. If all your gear has quick on/off features like the Bladetech Tek-lok attachment or similar then it's faster and easier to change things up without having to take everything off the belt in order to slide on one more pouch in the middle.
That being said, modular gear is an advantage if you compete in lots of different types of matches. I use the same belt for IPSC handgun, IPSC Shotgun, IPSC Tournament/Grand Tournament, and 3Gun, and depending on the match I configure things differently. E.g. for the IPSC shotgun provincials all I had on the belt were shotshell 4x4 caddies, and I ran 1 more caddy than usual. The next morning I reconfigured the belt pretty quickly upon arriving at the TH3G handgun/shotgun match to take off one shotgun caddy and put on my pistol pouches and holster. If all your gear has quick on/off features like the Bladetech Tek-lok attachment or similar then it's faster and easier to change things up without having to take everything off the belt in order to slide on one more pouch in the middle.
Use your regular pistol belt setup with 3 pistol mag pouches. Get two 6 round or three 4 round shotshell caddies and put them along the front of your belt. Get one Bladetech single AR mag pouch (assuming you run an AR), and put it weak side around back, behind your pistol mags. If you use LAR mags with couplers, have one double in your pocket to load with. This will give you 40 rifle rounds, 30 pistol, and a dozen shotgun, which should be enough for 99% of stages. I have a sidesaddle so I can load my shotgun to start from that. If there is a longer shotgun stage, I just throw a few extra shells in a pocket or leave a box of shells staged where I need them.
This is what works for me. YMMV. Hope it helps.
This is what works for me. YMMV. Hope it helps.
Thank you gents. Needing lots of practice with my "mad skillz" is a given. Got lots of practical advice here, so I'll go with that. Soon enough I'll be running one event at a time, but before I fly out, I wanna try some true 3gun events and got a bit over a year to do that 
So, that would be the "CALIFORNIA COMP. WORKS - 12 GAUGE SPEED STRIPPER"? Where can I get them locally? For shotties, should I get a couple of 6 shell strippers in addition to a couple of 4-shell strippers? Will it hold 2 coupled LAR mags?
I've used these, they work well. The 6s are fairly tall, I have to put them right on my 9 o'clock or else I can't bend over. Useful there, though, especially since my shotgun magazine holds six. Also good for loading 3+3 if your hands have trouble hanging on to four shells at a time. Don't know if they hold AR mags.
Haven't seen them domestically though. I recommend Red Tip Bullet as a Canadian source for the AP Custom 4X4 carrier. Best price I've seen anywhere.
Thanks for the tips. A very important question before I place an order from Brant...
How inconvenient are double mag pouches? I heard from someone that they give less flexibility for moving them around, but the time is getting tight, I need SOMETHING and at the same time I don't want that "something" to be something I'll regret
How inconvenient are double mag pouches? I heard from someone that they give less flexibility for moving them around, but the time is getting tight, I need SOMETHING and at the same time I don't want that "something" to be something I'll regret
And that's it for me, going to checkout. Thanks
Update: Done - CR Speed belt, 2x Blade Tech double mag pouches, Blade Tech DOH holster. I'll probably have to get by with a vest for LAR mags next Saturday, but I'm in touch with 667 on those shellholders for future shoots.
Last edited:
