Take me with a grain of salt in this one, as I never ran an AR even less in combat conditions, but I don't like this duplexed approach.
1 - Mud, sand, and other stuff can get into the mag, and when you feed it to your AR you absolutely fuck it up.
2 - It will make your weapon heavier, so it will tire you quicker and will reduce your maneuver capacity.
3 - Speed wise, I could bet my ass if you practice reloading you can have the same or even better times for a quick reload.
1. Not really. At that position, you're unlikely to get much of anything into your 2nd mag.
2. So? A pound, maybe two? The loads we carried on a basic patrol would blow your mind. Another pound or two?even over the course of several days?will have no effect. And for what it's worth, 15+ years later, I can still keep up with my brothers in uniform. I know, because I do it on a regular basis.
3. On a range, where you get to just drop a mag and come back for it later, sure, you might get close to the same time, but in the field?be it combat or SHTF?you need to stuff that dropped mag into a pouch or cargo pocket. Having done that thousands of times myself, I know how long it takes a proficient shooter to do. Joe Gunner, mall ninja, won't reach that level of speed and proficiency any time soon.
That being said, I am comfortable enough with my AR to just run a single 30 round mag, and if things get too hot, I have a chest rig w/ 8 more handy, but don't write off duplexing as a gimmick or ineffective?it came from tier 1 units, not Hollywood. It works, it's just a matter of personal preference.
