You're losing the context of my question. The gear requirement only specifies where everything has to be when the shooter starts the COF - it can't be extended to anything the shooter does after the start signal, which is how people were trying to cite 8.6.2.4. My argument is that it doesn't work in that context and ergo can't be used to award a PE for someone shooting with a mag in the hand (if withdrawn after the start signal).
Please stop telling people to "move on". The reason this thread exists isn't to attempt to penalize people for shooting with a mag in the hand; it's to clarify what actually is and isn't a penalty as the IDPA rulebook is, unfortunately, very subjective. Most of the people replying are SO's and a lot of us are MD's so we need to know how to properly adjudicate shooter actions. IDPA is unwilling to provide black and white answers on these topics so here we are.
Personally, I refuse to award a PE for "staging" when there's no hard rule about it. If IDPA wants to outlaw it, simply write a rule and it's handled.