When Did It Start? (Carrying an Extra Mag)

[WardenRoss]

In the old days we were taught to always have a spare mag if carrying an autoloader.

It wasn't necessarily because of extra rounds but in case of a mag/cartridge failure, damaged mag or an accidental mag eject.

,

 

[Valmet]

As far as civilian ccw goes, I feel like it largely came about in the 1990s. LA Riots, the spike in crime, the seemingly increasing prevalence of shootings, etc. it has snowballed ever since IMO.

 

[erikpolcrack]

My M1911 was purchased from a veteran who carried it in France during WWI. It came with a two-magazine pouch that slipped onto the pistol belt. It is unit marked and came with two original two-tone mags.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I went out with friends last Saturday and when we got back to my house for dessert, I went into my bedroom and started taking all the stuff out my pockets and took off my gun belt, holster and spare magazine. One of my friends (we were talking and so he followed me into the room) was in shock and asked, "how to you carry all that stuff around all day"? My answer was that I started 50 years ago and just got used to it. When we go on a cruise, plane, etc. where I can't carry, I actually feel naked - lol.

My EDC gear:

*Sig P365 with 11 rounds on board either in OWB or in front pocket holster
*Spare 10 round mag for above - in belt mag. pouch or other pocket
*Syderco Delica knife
*Tiny keychain sized SAK
*Wallet
*Key fob for whatever vehicle I am driving
*Cheaters
*iPhone

A good pair of Union Bay Cargo shorts with large pockets, a good gun belt and balancing out the weight makes all the difference. I rarely ever wear long pants.

Pretty much the same load out except no SAK but a AAA flashlight.... and
sometimes sunglasses.

Generally the gun is a 3913,6906 or Beretta Compact 15+1 depending where I'm going, what I'm going to be doing and how long will I be gone!

Spare mag(s) for each in the center console.

Bottom line one needs pockets.... lots of pockkets!!

 

[Piwo]

In the old days we were taught to always have a spare mag if carrying an autoloader.

It wasn't necessarily because of extra rounds but in case of a mag/cartridge failure, damaged mag or an accidental mag eject.

,

This...

People can do as they see fit. I have said before that magazines sometimes come out of guns at the worst possible time. In my career it happened to my partners. Both were on gun runs, In one case the mag fell out of my partner's S&W 5943 as we bailed out of our car. It hit his foot and went under the low ground clearance "Shamu" Chevy. He seamlessly replaced the mag with one from his belt at a dead run for cover.
I'm aware of many more magazines lost out of guns and pouches during foot chases and other dynamic events. As a firearms instructor it was not uncommon to see folks drop magazines during requal. I have seen multiple times magazine bases pop off and eject contents. This happened most when we got a bad batch of glock magazines. It seemed to occur randomly...it was discovered later that it was due to one magazine form in one magazine mold at glock and they made it right.
The bottom line for me is that an extra mag or speed strip gives me an option that I hope I never need. The crisis/emergency NEVER comes in the way we want it or when. Civilian gunfights are rare. Reloads in civilian gunfights are rarer still. But extra ammo is like an extra umbrella insurance policy. I'm not talking about carrying 6 extra mags. One extra reload is reasonable and convenient. If only for malfunctions.

 

[chief38]

Pretty much the same load out except no SAK but a AAA flashlight.... and
sometimes sunglasses.

Generally the gun is a 3913,6906 or Beretta Compact 15+1 depending where I'm going, what I'm going to be doing and how long will I be gone!

Spare mag(s) for each in the center console.

Bottom line one needs pockets.... lots of pockkets!!

I do carry a small, very powerful flashlight as well (actually 3 if you count the second one on my keychain and the third in my cell phone. - I forgot to mention that.

 

[chief38]

And let's not forget it "evens us out" so we can walk tall and centered, not at an angle - LOL!!

 

[Smoke]

How about, say, Texas Rangers with 1911s? Were they carrying spare mags?

Some were, some weren't. But even in the revolver days there were spaces on the gun belt for extra ammunition.

How about, say, WWII officers with 1911s? Were they carrying spare mags?

In the Army a handgun, a holster and a double magazine carrier are standard issue. for the 1911 with 21 rounds and the M9 with 45 rounds.

Even when I worked as a security guard the standard issue was the gun, the holster and a double magazine carrier.

I can't speak for anybody else but when I started carrying a handgun I carried it with two reloads because that's the way the Army taught me to do it.

 

[Frailer]

… a AAA flashlight....

I've said many times that *everyone* who doesn't carry a flashlight should try dropping a 1-AAA light (like a Streamlight Microstream) in their pocket every day for a week. You can't know how incredibly handy these things are until you've experienced it.

(I could say something similar about the humble Victorinox Classic.)

Back on the original topic, I don't think of carrying a spare magazine as a new thing. With that said, there has been increased belief that doing so is *essential* during the past couple of decades.

 

[JMD999]

As pointed out above, a second mag is part of some malfunction-reaction procedures. Many mag-carry pouches are designed for two mags. To me, "extra mag" ordinarily means a fourth mag for FMJ. Sometimes I carry one, often I don't.

I'm sure that a persuasive person could convince me that four are normal, and that it is only a fifth mag that is extra.

"Normal" ? Depends where you live.. Chicago/ big city I'll dress for the threat.
I live in "Mayberry RFD" and get by with a pocket revolver.
But I carry 4 more bullets than Barney!
Mike

 

[BAM-BAM]

Some argue that they don't need a spare mag because they have 10 or 12 round in the mag. ; or if you need to reload you're in over your head!

 

[TheTinMan]

I went out with friends last Saturday and when we got back to my house for dessert, I went into my bedroom and started taking all the stuff out my pockets and took off my gun belt, holster and spare magazine. One of my friends (we were talking and so he followed me into the room) was in shock and asked, "how to you carry all that stuff around all day"? My answer was that I started 50 years ago and just got used to it. When we go on a cruise, plane, etc. where I can't carry, I actually feel naked - lol.

My EDC gear:

*Sig P365 with 11 rounds on board either in OWB or in front pocket holster
*Spare 10 round mag for above - in belt mag. pouch or other pocket
*Syderco Delica knife
*Tiny keychain sized SAK
*Wallet
*Key fob for whatever vehicle I am driving
*Cheaters
*iPhone

A good pair of Union Bay Cargo shorts with large pockets, a good gun belt and balancing out the weight makes all the difference. I rarely ever wear long pants.

Add a flashlight and you're good to go! Seriously, with 65-year old eyes my flashlight gets used nearly every day and often more than once.

<I jumped the gun posting this but think it's worth emphasizing. Also, I had beef cows until the end of last year and HAD to have a flashlight for all sorts of things>

 

[robvious]

my late father did custom leatherwork as a hobby to pay for his ammo... I remember him making magazine pouches and speedloader pouches back in the 1970's... I still have a few of them... some so simple it is scary.. just a folded rectangle of leather with a few stitches in the corners... dyed to match the belt.. slide it over the belt and inster the HKS speedloader.. kept everything in place until the belt came off.. even for potty breaks... ingenious actually

 

[rosewood]

Spare mag isn't only about running dry. You never know when for some reason or another you mag release is hit and your mag falls out. Instead of fumbling around on the ground, you grab the spare. You never know. It may be that your mag release was hit and you didn't know it. When you pull the gun out to fire, 1st round fires and mag hits ground. Then you gotta do something.

Rosewood

 

[Hawg Rider]

As an accomplished everyday "Gray Man", I try not to stand out too much when out in public. Although I do CCW, with a spare mag, I tend to consider it more of a "fire extinguisher"...something to get me out of and away from trouble should the worst happen. I don't ever expect to become involved in a prolonged gun fight and need to shoot 30+ rounds! But should I have a mag malfunction or inadvertent mag drop, I have a spare. Always good to have some extra ammo onboard.

 

[Heinz]

The original question was when did it start. All of my WWI-era German pistols have a spare magazine pouch built into the holster. This includes the Luger and the various 32 Autos.

 

[Muley Gil]

Back in the '90s, I was working a part-time security job. I was in uniform and carrying a 1911. All of a sudden, I heard "SPU-RONG", followed by the sound of .45 ACP rounds hitting the floor. The welded floorplate on the magazine had given way.

I stepped into a small office, swapped in a new mag and then went and collected my ammo, plus the spring, follower and the floor plate.

The failed mag was mil surplus and IIRC, it was stamped CS on the toe.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I started defensive carry at age 14 in 1990. Excluding the time where an NAA Mini might be my only gun due to NPE issues, I usually carry one reload for whatever platform in on deck that day. If we are headed to a more isolated area, multiple firearms and multiple reloads are accompany the trip.

 

[cd228]

Digging through some old manuals, I found Pollard (1918), Chas Askins (1940), Weston (1978),Rauch (1988) did not address reloading or carrying reloads. However, Cooper (1981) had sections on reloading and magazine pouches. Cooper commented that the reload was rarely required, but should be practiced. Cooper also talked of reloading a Semi Auto in his 1961 book.

neither the books Holstery or Blue Steel & gun leather could give me a date to when mag pouches where added to shoulder rigs.

Based on that, I'd say it's more of who trained the user that drove the carrying of extra ammo vs a particular time frame.

I'd also hypothesize the the Internet has made us more aware of it. As i mentioned, no one I knew in my area in the 90s carried a reload for a CCW, but Cooper talked about it decades before. Had I been able to read Cooper's work at the time I might have carried spare ammo.

Also, the comment about the trends in violent crime (or what we are shown on the news) in 2016 probably plays a factor as well. Unfortunately, I don't have data to prove/disprove that.

 

[alwslate]

Probably started back during the Civil War with the use of cap and ball revolvers. An extra loaded cylinder or two probably came in very handy.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I first started carrying a Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag when I was 15. Mainly for bear. Chest rigs didn't exist then so my dad bought me a holster and belt. I carried 20 extra rounds just in case.

He wanted me to be able to protect myself in case we got separated.

Many years ago a wise man told me to always carry extra ammo. So I do. One, sometimes two extra mags or speed strips.

It's like American Express. Never leave home without it.

And I was a Boy Scout.

 

[SG-688]

Clark shoulder holsters had attached spare ammunition pouches in the 1930's .

Supporting the OP observation: The often mentioned irony that the Illinois State Police, the first state agency to adopt the Model 39 9 mm pistol, did not allow for spare magazines on the belt for the first couple of years until a pouch was added to the back of the crossdraw flap holster, and then again from 1976 when the Safariland special 254 border patrol style was issued to about 1980. Uniformity in parade was paramount.

 

[3S16]

After four years in the Marine Corps, 13 months in Vietnam, and 32 years in Law Enforcement, I never met anyone involved in a gun fight that ever complained about having TOO MUCH ammunition.
Now in my mid 70's, I carry a Sig P365 with a 12 round magazine + 1 in the gun, and a 12 round spare everyday. I feel 25 rounds works for me.

 

[Alk8944]

Any prudent person who carries a firearm for defensive purposes has always carried extra ammunition in one way or another. It was normal to do this so no one said anything about it until carrying spare ammunition/magazines became a matter of discussion in the gun rags and on the internet! The question isn't when did people begin to carry spare ammunition/magazines, but when did it become a matter of discussion, and why!

How about carrying a back-up gun? For me it began after reading "The Onion Field" by Joseph Wambaugh!

Not only a back-up gun, but when I was in uniform I commonly carried as many as four knives, always at least three! A knife was a required piece of equipment by my departments uniform regulations, but you would be amazed how often other officers, who did not carry any knife!! asked to borrow mine. I always asked what did they need it for and where was their knife? I would guess that fewer than half of the officers on my dept. carried a knife of any sort, even though it was required! Rarely did they want it to cut something, usually to pry or use as a screwdriver. They didn't borrow my knife!!!!

If you are curious, the knives I carried were a normal pocket knife, a lock-blade belt knife on my Sam Browne belt, and a boot knife/dagger.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Pretty much the same load out except no SAK but a AAA flashlight.... and
sometimes sunglasses.

Generally the gun is a 3913,6906 or Beretta Compact 15+1 depending where I'm going, what I'm going to be doing and how long will I be gone!

Spare mag(s) for each in the center console.

Bottom line one needs pockets.... lots of pockkets!!

My load out these days also includes a small bottle of lens cleaner and a micro fiber cloth and if I plan on eating, a couple of those teef pickers with the floss.

 

[Oldsalt66]

Magazines account for a large percentage of stoppages and malfunctions so it's best to be able to discard a troublesome one and replace it in the event you're in a bad situation.

Besides, ammunition is consumed quickly and no one in a gun fight ever wished that he brought less ammunition.

These days the trend is for law abiding gun carriers to try to find the tiniest , low capacity pistol that can be concealed with the least effort, while the thugs are carrying full size pistols with extended magazines.

I always carry a spare magazine or two.

 

[demkofour]

I did not get into guns deeply until about 20 years ago or so. But, it seems to me that when I was a kid, 50s, 60s, and perhaps later, I don't recall people with semi autos carrying back up mags.

I speculate that carrying an extra mag or more is a fairly recent phenomenon.

Am I wrong?

When I was a LE firearms instructor (back in the day) and now as a civilian FI, instructing CCW classes, I equate carrying a spare magazine to the spare tire in your trunk- you'll never need it until you need it. If you don't carry a spare magazine, well then take that spare out of your trunk, because you're never gonna need it, right?!?!?!

 

[scott53]

I got my PA Concealed Carry License in 1977. I've carried a spare mag from that day forward. I've seen too many mags fail on the range during matches or just practice. The spare solves that problem.

 

[chief38]

No back-up gun for me. As much as it is quite prudent for a LEO to do so, I am not and have never been one. My feeling is that if I'm going to carry the extra weight it will be in the form of an extra mag and ammo, not an extra gun.

 

[shawn mccarver]

When I was working I carried one spare mag. The pile of mags was to get me through a 60 round qual without holding up the line of Glock shooters.

Now that I am a retired gentleman of leisure, I don't carry a reload.

And I, for one, I am happy that you were able to retire and become a gentleman of leisure! I knew you carried that SIG for most of your career, but I don't recall seeing a picture of it previously and I was a little surprised by the wooden grips. When did you put those on?