Spare mag. When is extra ammo a good idea

I think carrying extra ammo is always a good thing. It always seems the main concept for edc is carry the biggest gun with the most ammo that you are comfortable carrying. For most of us that may mean a pocket revolver or a single stack with an extra mag or speed strips if possible.

I do not mean to hijack the thread but I think dakota.Potts makes a very good point about a med-kit.

I am often found with a small backpack that I have a med kit attached to. I used to teach basic first aid, cpr, etc. I also have drilled, worked with and been trained by our local fire dept. I always think it's a good idea to have a med kit on hand. You would be surprised how often you may need it. My decision for me came from a lot of backpacking and experience in first aid related fields.

Most people don't ask me about my backpack and I brought it to work daily and just about everywhere else, especially if I spend the night somewhere. It isn't on me 100% of the time but worst case it is in the car. If anyone asks, I usually say stuff for work. The contents include a medkit, extra mags,water purifier, hydration bladder, and 3 day boat rations along with work related stuff. The medkit contains your basic first aid, Israeli bandages, quick clot, tourniquet, etc.

My brother in law caries a mini medkit that is litterally pretty much a thick wallet.

One thing that I do think is highly beneficial to add to edc that is very easy to wear is a tourniquet. I actually have seen several people having one on them and it seems to be a growing trend in the Leo community at least around me.

Anyways, food for thought.
 
I used to religiously carry an extra mag, every time. Now, I often don't bother. Even on duty in plain clothes... 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...
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5whiskey have you seen these? From the outside, they look like a pocket knife clipped in your pocket.

I always had trouble finding a good place to conveniently carry a spare mag and previously settled on a belt knife pouch as my best option. However, I think the Snagmag is a much better solution now. I use them to keep a 1911, Shield or CZ75 mag in my left front pocket along with my cell phone. In my right front goes my wallet, keys and flashlight.

It's a bit pricey for what it is (should be about half this price IMO), but as a solution to my problem I can afford it. One day I'm going to try making my own with some sheet kydex and a heat gun.

http://www.snagmag.com/snagmag-concealed-magazine-holster/
 

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It seems that a lot of people swap guns/magazines/holsters/belts? ETC. ETC!

On a constant basis, too much spare money? Normally experimenter?

For the last few years, 5 or 6? My load out, normal dress. Is a Glock 19, spare Glock 17 magazine, full of NATO hard ball. Flash light, all on the outside of the belt. Couple of folding knives, light weight.

Cover? Florida shirt. Always. Been in a gunfight? No. Want to get in one? No.
Been in lots of fist (?) and what ever was handy fights in my younger days.

If you watch TV, read the info on these blogs, seems like gunfights, shootings, criminal activity's are happening to some people, some where, a lot!

Let us look at the circumstances around the response, to an attack, of any nature, having a pistol, with sufficient oomph, and capacity seems like a good idea, yes. Not just on Week ends, or only when the lights are on, like at night? But always.

Out with the love of my life, my Wife, necessitates opening doors, holding hands, being there when she is getting up from a table in a restaurant, places like that? Always see her into the Jeep. What can I say, I am English.

What does Gen. Mathis say's? Be prepared to kill every one you meet? That too.
 
Brit said:
What does Gen. Mathis say's? Be prepared to kill every one you meet? That too.
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Sorry, but the Marine in me is compelling me to correct this.

It's General Mattis. And his full quote is, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."

His quote was part of a directive to his Marines in Iraq, and it's probably not the best thing to post in relation to civilian concealed carry.
 
Theohazard.

So sorry, it was early! Might not be such a bad Quote, in as much as the amount of people I have met in my few short years living in Florida. Who have told me "I could not shoot anyone" But carry a firearm.

Below off topic, I do that.

I met General Mattis at an IALEFI Annual Training Conference, in a Hotel, owned by an Indian Tribe, in Florida, Hillsborough County? years ago.

Our membership cards were checked on entering the hall "No REPORTERS!"
His Staff? were dressed like contractors, very serious young men.

He was the Guest Speaker! What a speaker. He received a standing ovation. We will have a great man in the Government in General Mattis when he starts work!
 
When things like the Fort Lauderdale incident happens, I tend to drop an extra mag in my pocket.

But that doesn't change my strategy of putting distance between me and the shooter without delay; armed or not.

That happened in a place that I've never been armed.
 
I have a deleted a post that violated what I said were the conditions for this discussion. If you don't have anything to contribute except sarcasm, pass this one by.

Given a reasonable assessment of risk factors what is your carry load?

The issues are:

1. Do you plan for the single opponent gun fight that might be resolved with no shots or only 2 or 3? Please try to be statistically sophisticated. The average doesn't mean that it always happens. You have a distribution of fight intensity and do you plan a cut off in the tail of intensity for the rarer higher intensity fight and what is your cut off?

2. Do you plan for the rare but intense incident where more ammo is a good thing? What level is that? Most pros that I know consider a semi with one or two extra mags or a J frame and speed strips a reasonable carry load.

3. Do you know that one reason for an extra mag is for malfunction drills in semis? Don't tell me that your gun is 100% reliable? It is till it fails in crisis. If you shoot or train a good deal you know that everything fails. One way to resolve many malfunctions is to rip out the mag in clearance. Then what? It's on the ground - thus at least one reload mag is a good thing. I've been there is training and matches.

So discuss things like this. Bring up other points.
 
I once had a carry pistol that ejected its mag while holstered ... in public. Somehow when turning, something put enough pressure on on the release to cause this.

It coulda happened in my car, and not even known it. (Although 17 rds missing is noticeably lighter)
This gun does not get carried anymore. I did some experiments and it was just too easy to unintentionally eject the magazine. But silly things do happen. I once found half of a zip tie in the barrel of my beretta. I was doing some work, I had put the gun away, but still had my holster on. It was open on the bottom, but I guess somehow a zip tie got into it, and pushed into the barrel when holstering it.

Silly things happen that you don't expect.

I've also thought about switching to revolvers, but then your ammo is limited.
Every decision has pros and cons.

Statistically, I'm going to be buried having never used a gun to defend myself as a civilian. That's mostly why I leave the extra mags at home when I do. But I'll never know for sure.
 
I guess I might be a little slow, but I've never read or heard of anyone ever using a 2nd magazine or reloading in a defensive situation. It seems to be something that the attacker does (the guy at the Florida airport used three mags yesterday and surrendered when he ran out of ammo).
 
Second magazines have been used, South Africa/Israel/and here in the USA, but you will not get all details ending up in the Lame Stream Media I suppose.

If you have gone to the trouble of holstering a Glock 19 on the right side, in a fast presentation designed Kydex holster, a G17 magazine and Sure-fire light on the left just balances the Gun to some extent.

I guess what I am saying, is WHY NOT! carry an extra magazine? What possible reason could you have, for not carrying an extra magazine.

The case of mistaken identity comes to mind, you are (could be) targeted in error. By more than one person, instantly you are in the thick of an assault!
My old saying the from mid 80s, "MORE IS BETTER, ALWAYS!" comes to mind.
 
I almost always have extra magazines in the car, but I usually do not carry them on my person unless I'm going to an area that concerns me.
 
Seat belts, parachutes, guns and extra ammo. If you suddenly find yourself needing one and don't already have it - you will likely never need it again.

Why do your carry a gun? Just in case!
Why would you carry an extra mag or two? Just in case!

I carry two quick loaders for my revolver and I practice using them from all kinds of positions. in my car I have two boxes of ammo for the revolver - 100 rounds. Why? Just in case.

Seat belts, parachutes, gun, extra ammo... better to have it than to wish you did.
 
One other thing I usually point out in these debates where someone talks about the average shots fired, thus you don't need more.

The antigun folks push magazine limits and draconian ones are in force across the antigun states. Bans of mags were in the AWB.

Thus, if you say that all you need is 2 or 3 and more is ridiculous, you give good PR for the mag bans.

Why can't Governors Cuomo and Brown simply quote the gun forums to denigrate folks who want higher capacity magazines. Since they are good for rampages and not needed for the average self-defense situation, the rampage risk supports a ban for these not useless items.

Same goes with the MSR argument, if the gun is for hunting - you don't need a 30 round magazine. It's only for weapons of war. Get my point?
 
Spare mag? Carry a whole extra gun! :)

But in all seriousness, as much as I'd like to carry an extra mag, I'd much rather have a gun with a capacity that I feel comfortable in not having to reload.

A good point made earlier. By the time you reload in a typical self-defense encounter, if the bad guy isn't down already, it would make me wonder how much good that extra mag would do...
 
But in all seriousness:

1. One major reason for the extra mag is malfunction clearance beyond the tap, rack and bang. A legit school of thought is just drop the mag on a malfunction and reload. Don't say your gun is 100% reliable - that's a joke.

2. If the bad guy is down - how many times do we have to say there can be incidents with more than one bad guy and you can miss even one bad guy. Your excellent at the square range isn't the whole game.

I fail to see why we have to repeat the same points for an extra mag. At least folks should understand them and then make the conscious decision to ignore them or say they see those risks as minimal even if possible - rather then not understanding the principles.
 
It's always a good idea to have an extra mag at one's disposal. Can one do it all the time, probably not, but I try to have an extra mag or backup gun whenever I carry.
 
Let me put it this way:

If you are in shock as the bad guy comes at you and you pull your gun and shoot until it is empty and he is still coming will you wish you had more ammo? It is alway better to have too much ammo than not enough.

If you have never had a need to pull your gun in self defense then you know nothing about what your abilities are under those conditions. Practicing at the range when you are calm and relaxed doesn't apply when your body is filled with adrenaline and you fear dying in the next few moments. Your brain can't think and your fine motor skills are gone. You will likely be shaking from head to toes and unless you are well trained for that level of stress you are not going to be able to hit your target.

Training under stress, with a hundred things feeding into your head, is the only way to prepare for such an incident. Just because you can shoot a one inch group at a black bulls eye at 25 yards with careful attention to your grip, breathing, sight picture, and trigger pull doesn't mean anything when you are attacked. You are not prepared for it and you are likely to die.
 
Back in the 80's and 90's when I worked in a gun store I carried an extra mag or 2 speed loaders. Now its what's in the cylinder or the mag in the gun and for me that's enough.
That's not true for home defense. For my G26 I have 6 magazines placed around the house. Am I nuts? Don't care.
Its all what you feel comfortable with.
 
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