How many rounds are enough to carry....for YOU?

But remember, the only times you can have too much ammo are if you're on fire or drowning.
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hahaha good one... I guess one has to find the compromise between statistics, confort of carrying, training, conceivability, etc etc etc
 
One reload for whatever I'm carrying. Most of the time that's a single stack
.40 or .45, on occasion it's a J frame .38.
 
Five, six or seven.....what ever my micro sized pistols will carry ( the "five" is for my j frame Smith) has been sufficient for me since retirement. If i need more than that you will see me running and screaming through the woods.
 
If i need more than that you will see me running and screaming through the woods.
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I think that is one of the biggest misconceptions about using deadly force. If you COULD go off "running and screaming"...why didnt you do that first?

The LEO in the vid i talked about earlier, had NOWHERE to go. The badguys blocked the exit.

You dont get to pick your fight and you dont get to call timeout to run away.
 
I carry my 1911 Commander with 8+1 plus a spare 8 round mag. 17 rounds total of Critical Defense 185gr HPs.

I too agree with its better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Carrying a spare magazine is not difficult and everyone should do it. Just a slip in the pocket on your way out the door. Simple as that.
 
sharkbite said:
SO... You chose your path.
A.. Sit there and be another victim?
B...Draw your 5 shot J frame with NO RELOAD? Trying to stop mtpl attackers with a small hard to shoot gun that only has 5 Rounds TOTAL
C...Draw your Glock/M&P/1911/any full sized FIGHTING handgun and use the skills you have honed thru diligent training and practice on the range.
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In the real civilian world, my experience has been that diligent training and practice on the range has had much more of an effect on the outcome of a violent encounter than the number of rounds and/or ease of reload of your equipment.

Since you're throwing out low probability scenarios, I'll take D or E, (although F is a possibility). Unfortunately, the vast majority of FIGHTING handgun owners will pick G:

D...Draw your legal assault rifle out of it's carry case and use the skills you have honed thru diligent training and practice on the range.

E...Fall back to a covered position and use your earbud and throat mic to coordinate the tactics of your SWAT team (that was sitting there waiting with you) as they draw and use their assault rifles and skills they have honed thru diligent training and practice on the range.

F...Draw your 5 shot J frame and use the skills you have honed thru diligent training and practice on the range.

G...Draw your Glock/M&P/1911/any full sized FIGHTING handgun that you have never had any type of actual firearm or tactical training with and with which you could not pass even the most basic qualification test and think you're going to use it like you see on TV and the movies.
 
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I don't intend on getting into any long protracted fire fights, especially with the jframe. 2 or 3 fast shots at point blank range at my assailant(s) and I'm headed in the other direction (either for help or for a bigger gun). He'd be a fool to try and follow me.
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There are cases where an assailant soaked up more than five shots and kept on coming. With the drugs on the streets these days I wouldn't want to trust my life to five rounds. If an attacker takes three hits and is still following you that's a good clue that you might be in a bit of trouble. The last two are going to have to count.


Now, some will say (see some of the above posts), that "he was a cop and im not...so i wont be involved in a situation like that". Ok, lets explore the line between offduty LEO's and the armed citizen. A lot of people think that because we have a badge in our wallet, that somehow makes the ACTUAL fighting different. It does not. It might change why and when we fight. But the skillsets are the same
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True point. Whoever you are you better hope you have enough ammo to be the last one shooting.
 
Lol

F and G need to be an apples to apples comparison. In your example i think the truth of the matter is a guy that is carrying a "fullsize FIGHTING handgun" is the MORE likely of the 2 to train regularly.

I dont see many of my defensive handgun students that carry a 2" J frame on a daily basis
 
Does anyone watch the Front Sight Reality Check episodes? (They're like 5 minute videos on YouTube.)

I think in most of those there aren't usually a lot of shots fired but the TYPES of encounters shown give me some perspective on what can happen. I definitely feel like the more ammo I have the better. It's a toss up between what you shoot best with and how much you can carry. For me, I'll just start carrying my second magazine regularly. That's 16 shots available for me.
 
I stopped carrying revolvers some years back because of the limited capacity combined with the time to reload. I always carry a spare mag for my carry semis. My most common carry pistol by a large margin is a Glock 26, and I carry a spare 12-round mag with it. My pocket pistol, carried once or twice a week, is a Sig P238, and I carry it with a 6-round mag and a 7-round spare mag for backup.
 
When I carry, it's the 8 rounds in the Shield. I'm a thin guy and concealing just the pistol with the flush magazine is enough of a challenge, especially in summer when I'm most often wearing just jeans and a t-shirt.

And if I need more than 8 rounds, I figure I've already made a few bad decisions that day:eek:
 
When I was in the Navy and standing armed watch, I was issued one loaded weapon and two extra magazines. So today (as a civilian) I naturally carry a loaded gun and who spare mages or speed loaders, which equals 15 to 36 rounds depending upon the gun I'm carrying. I've tried carrying just one spare magazine or speed loader, but it just doesn't seem right. Navy training/conditioning is hard to break. Of course, it doesn't seem all that unreasonable so I'm really not all that interested in changing - and if I need more than 15 - 36 rounds, then I'm probably screwed anyway.
 
There never is 'enough' rounds, nor 'to much' power.

There is only what I hope I can get by on.

Life is a compromise. It's also a gamble that is full of risk.

Deaf
 
Whatever I'm carrying. All of my Rugers are 357 mags 2 are 5 shot and one is a six shot plus I carry one speed loader. I might get into a situation where I wish I had an Uzi, but that's fantasy and very unlikely in my real world.
 
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