Setting up a range belt, or a battle belt can sometimes seem like a daunting task. Ask yourself, what really needs to be on a belt? Well, setting up a range belt, or battle belt really comes down to what capabilities you want out of that belt system. Do you want a belt that is lightweight and carries only the essentials? Is there a need for a range belt setup that replaces, and carries all the equipment necessary for your loadout? Is there a need for the range belt in a survival, or an emergency situation? Do you want a hybrid range belt, or battle belt designed to take some of the load off of a plate carrier? Ask yourself these questions before picking a direction to setup a range belt. You may want multiple range belts for different applications.
Picking a Foundation Belt for Your Range Belt Setup
ANR Design’s preferred range belt is the Blue Alpha Gear Duty Molle Belt & Battle Belt Lite belt. These are great host battle belts. They do require a liner belt, which is a Velcro inner belt of 1.5″ that fits through all normal pants. The duty belt preferred width is at the 1.75″ size. They are super sturdy and load bearing range belts. Blue Alpha Gear has a bunch of cool accessories that allows modularity of your range belt. They have the padded Velcro liners to create a rubberized texture surface to put over a jacket, or over garments if you don’t have access to your liner belt.
While on the subject of Velcro and building a stable foundation for your range belt setup, make sure that you invest in a roll of hook Velcro. Make sure to always apply stick-on hook Velcro to all of your hard plastic accessories when using a duty belt. Going through the Molle loops on the duty belts isn’t always the best practice. You’ll get a much more stable platform by going over the belt itself with a belt clip. To make sure that it clings on to the liner belt that is attached to your pants, use hook stick on Velcro on your hard plastic accessories so that they maintain a positive contact against your liner belt.
Medical Equipment and IFAK on a Range Belt
Accidents happen when Firearms are involved. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when. Especially, if you’re putting thousands of rounds downrange a year. One always hope that any accidental or negligent discharges happen in a safe direction downrange. In the event, that a bystander or yourself is injured, it always is imperative to have basic medical training to stop the bleed of a gunshot wound. Medical kit is an absolute must. Stopping the bleed kits are very important. We also like to have Halo chest seals available. Halo chest seals keep blood in the body, and you need more than one. If you have a pass-through on a gunshot wound you want to cover the front and back of the wound channel to keep blood in the body. They are specific to thorax gunshot wounds.
Tourniquets and Placement on a Range Belt
Tourniquets are an absolute must when stopping bleeds on a limb or extremity. One tourniquet may not be enough to stop a bleed. Most professionals choose to carry a minimum of two tourniquets on their persons. The international preferred tourniquet is a North American Rescue CAT 7. Make sure that you are purchasing your tourniquets from a reputable vendor and that the tourniquets that you receive have the injection molded numerical NATO stock number listed on the product. Cat7 tourniquets have a NATO stock number that certifies their authenticity. Do not just simply Buy tourniquets from Amazon. It’s preferred to have a tourniquet available to my right hand and a tourniquet available for my left hand. This is important if one of your limbs gets injured and you can’t physically reach for a tourniquet on one side of your body, you have one available to your other side. The preferred belt of choice is the Blue Alpha Gear tourniquet sleeve on the front of my belt near my appendix for my first available tourniquet. The first tourniquet should be carried up front on the operator. The best way to carry a tourniquet near your appendix on a range belt is with the Blue Alpha Tourniquet Holder.
The ANR Design Shaman IFAK is packed with all the medical gear and accessories you need to stop extremity and thorax cavity gunshot wounds in the event of emergency. The ANR Design Shaman IFAK also has a CAT 7 Tourniquet sleeve on top.
Rifle Magazine Carriers & Pistol Magazine Carrier Loadouts for a Range Belt
There has always been an argument on how many magazines one should carry on a battle belt. For range use, you should have the amount of magazine carriers preferred for the application. If you are competing in USPSA competition, you may only want to have three to four pistol magazine carriers. Deeper pistol magazine carriers are a must when performing adverse training. The ANR Design Deep Concealment pistol magazines keep even the longer of 21 round capacity mags, safe on your battle belt. If you are building out a battle belt that you intend to pair with a plate carrier of your choice; you may choose to only have one AR-15 magazine pouch, and a pair of pistol magazine carriers. If you do not intend on utilizing a chest rig or plate carrier, you may want more than one rifle magazine carrier.
The Ridgeline drop is an accessory that bolts directly to the ANR Design rifle magazine carrier. This accessory lowers the AR-15 magazine below the Beltline and tips it away from the body. This allows more freedom and less conflict with a chest rig or plate carrier system. You will no longer have issues with your magazine rubbing your plate carrier or interfering with access to your cummerbund of a chest rig. The Ridgeline Drop on ANR Design magazine carrier also is very useful because it makes the magazine very accessible when in the prone.
Tools on a Range Belt
Not everyone carries tools on a range belt, but it is not a bad idea to have some sort of tooling accessory. Multi-tools are great to assist in clearing malfunctions, removing split or separated brass casings from the chamber, changing your iron sight windage or elevation, tightening Castle nuts, and many other uses. Popular multi-tools carried on Range belts are the Leatherman mutt, and the multitasker.
Adding a dump pouch to your range belt
A compact dump pouch is essential on a range belt or battle belt. It is a storage bag that can be rapidly deployed if necessary. It’s a great home to store empty magazines that you pick up on the Range or Battlefield. It is a alternative storage carrying system for all kinds of on the Range or off the range items. Historically, dump pouches on Battle belts evolved from Special Forces SOE pouches for explosives and other sensitive media.
The smallest and lightest weight dump pouch on the market is the ANR Design compact dump pouch. It has the storage capacity of up to eight fully loaded AR-15 magazines and can handle years of rugged abuse. It also has a shock cord that restricts the opening orifice of the dump pouch. And a stiffening cord in the pouch itself to keep the pouch open and easily fillable.
Carrying a Knife on a Range Belt or Battle Belt
Knives are super useful in all scenarios, offensively or defensively. Knives are Fantastic Tools. Depending on what purpose you are building out your range or battle belt, should dictate the type of knife you want to carry. Therefore, if you are building out a battle belt for breaching capabilities, you might want a beaching knife. For a more offensive range belt, you might want a knife that has multi-purpose. If you are building out a range belt for a bushcraft setup, a Bushcraft knife might be the best knife for you. Leather sheaths on a battle belt is not the way to go. Always carry your knife in a KYDEX sheath to protect the knife. Ax Wax is a wonderful product that protects the blade from the elements and sweat. You rub it on the blade and let it dry and then wipe off any excess. It hardens overnight and creates a waxy barrier.
Picking your holster for a Range Belt Setup
Most off-the-shelf KYDEX holsters for a range belt or a battle belt are what is considered a level 1 retention system. Level one retention is friction that holds the firearm in place inside the holster. Therefore, in a tactical application, you might want to consider a holster that has mechanical retention. Mechanical retention is defined by level two annotation. Once you get into level 3 holsters, you are talking about holsters that are typically NIJ certified and carried by police officers. Level 3 holsters are not utilized by Special Forces or military units.
Levels of Holsters for Commercial Use on a Range belt
Level 2 is typically the cap for mechanical retention on a holster. Most folks in the commercial, civilian space of firearm training will always have a level one or level 2 holster. Standard friction KYDEX holsters are very safe in a tactical environment or a training environment, as long as you set the physical retention of the holster correctly so that the firearm doesn’t accidentally fall out of the holster.
Mounting the Holster to a Range Belt
Finally, we conclude range belt setup with how to mount your holster to your belt. This can be a direct Mount outside the waistband holster that has individual belt loops. Alternatively, and more popularly, civilians and range-goers prefer a quick disconnect holster system. Safariland holsters has the QLS mounting system. G-Code has the RTI mounting system. Blade Tech has the boss mounting system. The ANR Design Nidhogg holster has mounting holes for all three of these holster belt mount systems.
Unfortunately, quick disconnect holster assemblies get expensive fast. You now need a female receiver mounted to the belt so that you can remove the holster that has the male portion of the receiver. The ANR Design drop leg assembly solves this problem for you. It has an articulating fulcrum thigh strap system. This keeps the gun tight to the body when you draw. It also has the most slimline, and modular belt mount system for the holster to mount on to the belt.
Conclusion
This concludes how to set up a range belt in the vision of ANR Design. We hope this helps you build out your range belt or tactical battle belt most efficiently.
Alex Costa
Owner of ANR Design LLC.