Spare mag 100% of the time??

[RobertJ.]

I carry extra ammo for whatever I'm carrying. If it's an auto, it's my Model 39. I found a leather folding knife sheath on ebay with the exact dimensions as the magazine. I was going to spring for a Galco, since that's what most of my carry holsters are, so instead of 30 bucks I spent 5 with shipping! So, yes, I always have extra ammo.

On a road trip, I make sure my wife and I are very well armed. There's usually several firearms, and not always just handguns, and more than enough ammo for any emergency.

 

[TeaDub]

Always. I carry one reload (magazine or speed strip). When I work the late shift, I usually carry my airweight as a BUG. A speed strip is super light and disappears in a pocket. So I carry one reload for each firearm.

 

[WC145]

I would never presume to advise an LEO on how much ammo to carry on duty. Were I in that line of work, I'd want all I could carry. However, as someone who does his best to avoid trouble, I have to weigh the benefits of being armed for any scenario against the inconvenience of carrying an M4 and a full combat load of ammo. But seriously, I choose to carry just in case I need to defend myself and my family. I chose an M&P for its reliability, but I'd feel just as safe with a Glock or Sig. I take meticulous care of it and only carry quality ammo that I have thoroughly tested in my gun. Yes I know that any gun can fail, and if mine does I will be screwed. My point is, no matter what I carry, I could easily imagine a situation where it wasn't enough. I have to draw the line somewhere. I have several mags and they are all loaded, but if I ever find myself needing to go somewhere that I feel I'll need to bring extra mags and maybe some body armor, I think I'll stay home. And I would never bring a Kel-tec to a skunk fight.

I'm not telling anyone to carry a bunch of mags and wear body armor. I'm saying that 1 spare mag is a simple, easy solution to any number of issues that can crop up that aren't gunfight related, which is why I cited a couple of examples of needing a spare mag from personal experience.

The Kel-tec did a fine job of putting the skunk down, and all three rounds would have been rung the bell on any target with a bigger head. Sure, it wouldn't have been my first choice if I'd had one, but that was the gun I had on me so I made due. Tough to hide anything bigger than that in scrubs.

 

[Mark40]

I didn't mean to offend. Just saying that needing to use my gun is a million to one thing. Having the mag fail in that particular moment makes it more like a hundred million to one. I'll take my chances.

 

[Hapworth]

The reason for carrying an extra mag is not for more ammo. Obviously more ammo is a good thing, but the first reason is in case of a malfunction. So yeah, the 8 rounds in the gun is plenty for the vast majority of situations. However, if most gun fights are over in 3 rounds or less, I at least want to get all 3 rounds.

Yes, I always carry a spare.

Hard to say which is primary and which is secondary since the reasoning is user dependent, but agreed, it's ultimately for both reasons.

The oft-cited 2.2 round average in a citizen self-defense shooting -- though personally comforting since I love J-frames -- comes from a study that's approaching decades old in the data it uses, and is severely hampered by aspects of its methodology (it only draws from successful self-defense incidents, it includes animal shootings, etc.).

When I examine the increasing body of video surveillance evidence available to the general viewer of self-defense shootings -- both LEO and citizen -- more often than not I see a lot of rounds expended, needed, successful, or otherwise.

So, many valid reasons to carry spares...

 

[smokey04]

Well, I guess the rest of you have your reasons, pro or con. For me, I generally carry TWO .45s ,a Defender and an Officers Mod. ACP or CCO. My primary carry is in a Galco Miami Classic shoulder rig. I carry two full sized 8 round mags on the off side of the shoulder rig,not so much for extra ammo but for balance of the rig.Both pistols have Officers ACP short butts so my 8 round spares are equipped with Wilson Combat steel butt pads "47 BOX" that converts 8 rd. Mags to Officers size frames. It's all about balance and.... if you should ever need it it's there. Nick

 

[vito]

I often dress in a t-shirt and jeans. More often than not my carry gun is in a holster in my right front pocket. Wallet in right rear. Keys, phone and money clip in left front pocket. Kleenex in rear left pocket. If my intuition says to carry extra ammo I slip a speedstrip or extra mag into my left front pocket, but that makes it pretty crowded and bulgy in there. So most of the time I have only the ammo that is in the gun. As others have already said, maybe I'll be screwed because I had insufficient ammo, but I think the odds are overwhelming that I will never actually need a gun for self defense, and if I do, the odds are that even my 5-round 642 will be enough. Extra ammo, let alone a second gun, is just a bit too much for me to haul around most of the time. If I am wearing a light jacket, or a shirt with a pocket, then the phone goes there and then I might slip the extra mag/speed strip into my pocket.

 

[American1776]

Always spare ammo, be it a revolver or an auto.

Revolver: two speed strips on a pouch on my belt.

Auto loader: one or two spare magazines. If it's my PPK/s, i'll put a spare in a pocket. My HK P7 gets one or two spares on my belt in pouches.

 

[WC145]

I didn't mean to offend. Just saying that needing to use my gun is a million to one thing. Having the mag fail in that particular moment makes it more like a hundred million to one. I'll take my chances.

No offense taken. My point was that having the mag in my duty piece self destruct for no apparent reason when it did was a million to one thing but it happened. Burning half a mag to kill a skunk so I could get it out of my trap was a long shot but probably a lot more likely to happen, maybe 100k to 1, but still, it happened. Neither situation was on the list of reasons that I carried spare mags, and yet, in both cases, it was a spare mag to the rescue.

We all rolls the dice and takes our chances and hope for the best. You've got no idea what the future holds. Hell, the mag in your carry piece could be hung up right now and you wouldn't know it. It never hurts to hedge your bets where you can.

 

[Kanewpadle]

We have a spare tire. What are the chances we'll need it?

We have car insurance, life insurance, health insurance. What are the chances we'll need it?

Spare car key? Extra batteries? Umbrella?

We take chances everyday. Most of us prepare for the occasional mishap.

So doesn't it make sense to carry a spare magazine?

In my mind it does. Some people are prepared and some aren't.

I'm not paranoid. Just better prepared.

 

[ClayCow]

Its kinda mandatory for health and car insurance

 

[Kanewpadle]

Its kinda mandatory for health and car insurance

Maybe. Some people have different priorities.

 

[ClayCow]

Maybe. Some people have different priorities.

True. But thats what everyone elaea insurance is for = p to cover those who have other priorities. I dont condone that at all btw.

 

[Mark40]

We have a spare tire. What are the chances we'll need it?

We have car insurance, life insurance, health insurance. What are the chances we'll need it?

Spare car key? Extra batteries? Umbrella?

We take chances everyday. Most of us prepare for the occasional mishap.

So doesn't it make sense to carry a spare magazine?

In my mind it does. Some people are prepared and some aren't.

I'm not paranoid. Just better prepared.

How many spare tires do you have?

 

[PirateJim]

I've been following this thread with some interest and am wondering if I'm missing something. There have been numerous mentions of "magazine failures" and suggestions (not saying they are wrong!) that magazine failures are the most common problems encountered with pistols. But aside from WC145's account of the baseplate mysteriously detaching I have to admit I'm not sure what sort of "failures" are being described.

I answered early that I don't regularly carry a spare magazine. I do appreciate that it's important to be as prepared as reasonably possible for various eventualities, but the question becomes what is reasonable. And aside from a few instances over the years where I've identified a particular magazine that didn't work right in a specific gun, I don't recall ever having a "magazine failure." Can we get some specific descriptions of magazine failures that would require a spare? Maybe I need to rethink what goes in my pockets?

 

[CH4]

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words:

Fits fine under a suit coat.

Beautiful rig! Who made it?

The weapon it carries is way out of its league...
You throw that bad boy on when you run out for a loaf a bread and a six pack? ;-)

 

[CH4]

How many spare tires do you have?

Touché!

 

[Mark40]

I've been following this thread with some interest and am wondering if I'm missing something. There have been numerous mentions of "magazine failures" and suggestions (not saying they are wrong!) that magazine failures are the most common problems encountered with pistols. But aside from WC145's account of the baseplate mysteriously detaching I have to admit I'm not sure what sort of "failures" are being described.

I answered early that I don't regularly carry a spare magazine. I do appreciate that it's important to be as prepared as reasonably possible for various eventualities, but the question becomes what is reasonable. And aside from a few instances over the years where I've identified a particular magazine that didn't work right in a specific gun, I don't recall ever having a "magazine failure." Can we get some specific descriptions of magazine failures that would require a spare? Maybe I need to rethink what goes in my pockets?

I make it a point to use each of my mags most every time I shoot. Call me anal, but I even disassemble and clean them occasionally. If I ever detect any problem, be it a loose fitting base plate or whatever. I would scrap the mag immediately. I realize that stuff happens. I've been in trouble with Murphy's law many times.

 

[jpc647]

I'll play the part of oddball. I only occasionally carry a spare since the vast majority of the scenarios I can imagine will resolve one way or the other without reloading. Yeah, I'll be sorry when the zombie apocalypse begins, but other than that, I don't anticipate a protracted gun fight.

I'm in the same boat. I've only been carrying a couple of years, but I don't typically travel through violent areas. I carry a shield, usually with the smaller 7 round mag, and to me, the gun itself is the preparedness. I understand a lot of you guys might live in harsher places, but for me, I rarely ever even consider a back up magazine.

The only time that comes to mind is when I went hiking/camping. Even then I found it to be over the top.

Part of it may be I don't have any of the fancy mag holders gadgets you guys do, and I actually prefer a cheap IWB Blackhawk holster as it's soft against my side and it doesn't mark up the frame over time.

 

[Smoke]

The following was posted by Masaad Ayoob in another thread on this topic here and there's really nothing I can add to it

Two complete reloads was standard equipment for most police officers before any of us here were born. If I was asked in court why I carry spare ammunition, my answer would probably be the same as my answer for why I load with hollow point ammunition:

"Sir, if the police determined it was the best thing to use to protect people such as myself and my family, it seemed obvious that it was the best thing for ME to carry to protect myself and my family."