Spare mag. When is extra ammo a good idea

R

Ramey

New member
I went from carrying a Beretta Storm that had 13+1 to a Shield .40 6+1. Sometimes I grab the extra 7 rounder; sometimes don't. I feel if I'm out in a very rural area( the sticks) or metro one (the big city) an extra mag is a good thing. What do you guys think?
 
Definately a good idea to carry a spare mag, something like 90% of semi-auto failures are magazine related.
 
When is extra ammo a good idea
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When is extra ammo NOT a good idea?

When I was younger, I used to get some exercise walking around in a lovely, rural area called South Vietnam. Some friends used to walk with me. I never heard anyone complain that he was carrying too much ammunition.
 
Extra ammo and mag is the best answer. Everyone is right about that.

I don't always follow that good advice. My carry stuff is usually just the mag that's in it. My fatalistic approach is that I figure if my one mag of ammo doesn't do the trick, things aren't going in my favor anyway.

I often times slip an extra mag in my pocket, more than not.

I've slacked off lately; I would never ever do anything without my pistol. For years on end. Now sometimes I put the pistol in the safe before leaving home.
 
Fair warning - this is an old topic. It often leads to folks insulting each other.

Folks will say the average gun fight is 2 or 3 rounds and if you carry more, you are nut, paranoid, wannabee commando, etc.

Others will say that you might run into the rare, high intensity event where you may need more ammo or a malfunction is best solved with an extra mag. There are such incidents but rare.

Some folks will not understand statistics and this will start a flame war.

So let the discussion continue about your choice and risk analysis. Insult personally someone else's choice and you are in trouble.
 
Man, it's hard to believe it was ten YEARS ago, but it was. February 12, 2007. Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah. Many of you will probably remember hearing about it. A lone gunman, armed with .38 caliber revolver, a shotgun, and a backpack full of ammunition, started shooting people in the parking garage, then entered the mall and began shooting people. He killed six and wounded four before he was engaged by an off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction, who happened to be shopping there with his wife.

The officer exchanged shots with the shooter, pinning him down until an on-duty patrolman and then the SWAT time arrived to finish off the shooter. The off-duty officer, Kenneth Hammond, was carrying a Kimber 1911 that held either 7 or eight rounds -- I can't find the article, but I think in one interview he said it was one of the compact Kimber's with a 7-round magazine. From one of the articles I could find on the incident:

He now had a clear line of vision to the gunman and fired at him. Due to pending investigation, Ken cannot disclose how many rounds he fired, but he did share that his limited cache of ammo was a point of concern.
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Obviously, we don't head to the mall for Valentine's Day dinner with the wife, expecting to be in a gunfight against an adversary with a backpack full of ammo. But, as shown, it can happen.
 
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I generally don't carry an extra mag because of me. By the time I fumbled around, get my extra mag and get it in the gun, the bad guy will have done me in. As Dirty Harry said "A man has to know his limitations."
 
I used to religiously carry an extra mag, every time. Now, I often don't bother. Even on duty in plain clothes... Of course at least then I usually keep my rifle in the trunk.

Honestly I think it is best practice. I don't do it out of laziness, comfort, being cheap, etc. I refuse to spend money on a magazine pouch that I'm almost positive I wont wear. I did carry in my back pocket but that gets uncomfortable. Front pocket is a no go because I have too much other crap I keep in there... So I'm basically limiting myself due to comfort and being too lazy to find an alternate solution.
 
I generally figure it a good idea but I often don't. My carry gun holds 14 + 1 and I've never had a failure of any kind with range or carry ammo. Not too worried about running out of ammo in any violent event but the idea of a magazine failure does bug me sometimes so I usually slip a spare in my pocket, sometimes a 16 round mag since it's not much bigger and the extra ammo doesn't hurt
 
I do notice a difference with LEOs, off duty or retired. I think they are more likely to have a sense of duty to exhaust all means available to them at the time if the incident... much like the mall story mentioned above. I've never been in law enforcement, so I don't have that sense of duty to the public. My duty is to my family and to get home to them, or get them to a safer location.

In my mind, I don't plan on engaging a mall shooter unless it leads to my safety. In reality I can't predict, but I'll probably engage him as much as anyone else here.
My reasons for carrying are different than the off duty or retired officer. I'm sure most carry for protection and they carry in case duty calls.
 
Hypothetically if you knew you were going to get into a gunfight today would you leave your spare mag at home? Now tell us why are you carrying a gun for again?
 
Hypothetically if you knew you were going to get into a gunfight today would you leave your spare mag at home? Now tell us why are you carrying a gun for again?
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Hypothetically, going into a gun fight I'd take my VZ58 or AR 15 rifle and vest with 5 magazines at the least with my pistol as a backup.

Carrying a handgun is a reasonable measure for self defense and easily doable. Most people will never need more than a few shots. The amount of people who need a reload is likely a sub 1% fraction of all of the people who will ever end up in a gunfight (LEO and military excluded). So it becomes a question of cascading risks.

I'll tell you one thing I'd like to have if I knew I was going into a gunfight; a good first aid/trauma kit and at least a couple dozen hours of training to use it. I don't know many people who carry those with them religiously the way some do a spare magazine, although I'd argue that's more likely to do you good since someone in a lethal force self defense scenario could likely receive gunshot or stab wounds.
 
The amount of people who need a reload is likely a sub 1% fraction of all of the people who will ever end up in a gunfight (LEO and military excluded)
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Why exclude LEOs? It would be foolish for them to not carry spares as they are looking for the bad guys... But ask who are the bad guys looking for? Hint it aint the cops.

The only reason to leave the spare at home is convienience, but there isnt anything convienient about carrying a gun. Seems like if your going to make the effort it wouldnt be a big deal to grab a spare.
 
I don't know about carrying them, but it is a good idea to keep a supply of extra magazines at home. Have you looked at the price of some magazines lately? I recently saw two MAS 49/56 magazines go on ebay for $115 (Before shipping)! The price of .308 and larger magazines is really up there.
 
My shield is carried with ext mag only (sold all flush and bought all ext) wether it be the 40 or 45 Im carrying. Spare mag on weak side in carrier. Also a spare in each ctr console of vehicles
( not real accessible always but there jic).

Never heard of too much ammo be it in storage or in a gun fight.


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It's almost the same concept as carrying a gun. I have for over 50 years and never needed it. Same would go for magazines. You just never know when you will need it. If you're smart, when you know you will need a gun or an extra mag, you will not go there.
 
I have never carried a aftermarket mag. (never /ever) Only factory tuned originals. If a threat isn't resolved in the first two touch off's. (double Tap) All the rest fired are simply enlarging your carbon footprint.:D
 
I'm one of those knuckleheads that limits himself to only five or six shots in a revolver.
If I am dressed, a revolver is always on my person and a speed strip with either five or six additional rounds is in my right front pocket accordingly.
I'm not saying that I could or would ever need them, but I never thought it was a bad idea for them to be there.
 
I put the extra mag for my Shield in my pocket, no problem. When I had the double stack Beretta the extra mag required another carrier. That was seldom used. I know that comfort and convenience aren't the main thing but to me it is something. So where is the line? I guess for me if the gun has double digits in the magazine I'm less apt to strap on a spare.


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