Home made mag holders

[Garrett]

Anyone ever try making their own kydex mag holders? For that matter, does anyone know of a source for sheets of kydex?

I'd like to make up some mag holders for a couple of different types of subgun mags. I don't think anyone currently makes competition-type mags for these. In the past, I've used my Safariland mag holders for Para mags. I would loosen up the screws and jam the mags in. These would work okay, but were not exactly ideal. You can see from the picture below where my rear mag is trying to get away. I think I ended up loosing that one by the end of the stage. Good thing I didn't need it.

I hope to be able to build something similar to the Safariland 773 mag pouches, just longer, and made to fit my subgun mags. I got several comments & questions from other shooters at that match. Although many had been shooting for years, they hadn't ever done any IPSC shooting, and had never seen any "competition" gear. About the only other types of mag carriers available are the "tactical" mag holders and WWII surplus gear. While both hold the mags securely, they are SLOOOOOW to reload.

[Loves2Shoot]

I've bent up some pouches using standard pvc sheet plastic and a heat gun. It works very well and you're local plastic supplier should have it in stock.

[Garrett]

Cool. That might be worth taking a look at.

What did you use for belt loops? Did you just bend out one piece of PVC, or did you make a seperate set of loops and attach them somehow?

[shred]

Big plastics suppliers will have or be able to get sheet Kydex. I bought a 4'x4' sheet long ago (had to take red since that was all that was in stock) and still have plenty left.

[Loves2Shoot]

I made them out of one piece of plasic. I made a template out of thick paper and cut piece of wood the size of the belt and mag I want it to fit. A basic t shaped piece of plastic works for about any mag out there.

I would have had to get a crate of Kydex to get it at our local supplier

[fastshuter]

Find a machinist,I have a shooting buddy that made his own out of plastic, that plus the holster as well. Anything is possible.

[Carlos]

I believe an outfit called Texas Knifemaker supply has some. Ibought Micarta from them & they shipped fast; prices seemed OK. A gunsmith friend used their Kydex for M-14 magholders for "He-Man" division. I would order the thicker Kydex if possible. Not hard to work with according to him. D.

[johnhurd]

there is some on EBay right now 12" X 12" sheets .093 thick

7134801940

[Scooter]

I made a bunch of mag pouches for both pistols and rifles.

I can get Kydex from a local plastic distributor. The smallest piece I got was 2'x4' of 0.060 for $20.

A good subsitute would be ABS plastic, but most places don't have anything thinner than 1/8".

[9MX]

I've bent up some pouches using standard pvc sheet plastic and a heat gun. It works very well and you're local plastic supplier should have it in stock.

yup. here in the philippines, a lot of holster/pouch makers use pvc to fashion out, safariland clones. i'd take pictures on my next match and post it here

[raz-0]

http://www.texasknife.com/

and

http://www.knifekits.com/kk_1mainframe.htm

[a-44978]

I use .090 for IWB holsters and .125 for race gear.

Finding plastic can be an adventure.

with that said

Toaster oven,dremel,stiff plyable foam,small pieces of wood,beer,patience and a little time .Oh yea and a jig saw ,mine is a junky hand held.

Beware of toxic fumes from overheating.

make a stiff paper template

fold the paper around the piece and trim until your ready to plug in the toaster.

Warm the plastic until it gets like a lasagna noodle

wrap it around mag,blaster,flashlight etc

then press stiff foam around everything with peices of wood ,i use a couple of 6" squares of plywood.

let cool.a few minutes will do

then trim,fit,trim,fit,polish..................................................................

..............

sounds crude(who am i kidding)ok its crude and your fingers get a little burnt but sometimes it turns out cool

And you can mke hlosters,holders,pouches that are not available anywhere.

Now uncle mikes makes an IWB for what it costs to plug in the toaster oven

Good luck

[Scooter]

The Uncle Mike holsters are injection molded. The injection molds are pricy, $60K+. But after that initial investment, they can run the injection molding machine 24hr/day can crank them out by the thousands.

[shred]

Dremel makes a bit that's excellent for hogging out kydex-- it looks like a drill with the spiral on the outside instead of on the inside.

[Garrett]

Thanks to everyone for the info. I ended up getting a sheet of kydex from knifekits.com. I was working out of town at the time, so all I had to work with initially was a hotel hair drier (not hot enough and kept shutting off from overheating) and the little propane camp stove that I brought along to cook with. (Should my mag holders smell like the polish sausages I was cooking while I was working on them?)

When I got home a few weeks later, I discovered that the full-sized barbecue grill works out much better. Just put on some leather gloves and hold the piece over the burner until it gets limp. After a few attempts, I got a decent pattern worked out and ended up with a pretty good end product.

The mag holders ended up working out really well. They can hold a 30-round mag full of .45 ACP or 9mm and not have a problem. I can run, turn, and jump with no problems. But they make for a fast reload.

I ended up having enough material to make three holders for each type of gun. I put them all on a belt and would just move the belt around depending on which gun I was shooting.

[Heath]

I was able to find .125 Kydex from McMaster-Carr for $6/sqft which is about half as much as anywhere else I was able to find. It is available in several different colors, including black.

http://www.mcmaster.com search for "kydex"

They have other thicknesses as well. If I needed more than a couple of square feet, I'd try to find a dedicated plastics supplier. I know there's one in San Diego that will sell 4x4' and 4x8' sheets.