# Do you carry a spare mag?



## khellandros66 (Oct 1, 2007)

How many of you carry a spare mag, if so or not tell me why.


----------



## cncguns (Dec 15, 2007)

I always carry a spare mag, for 2 reasons. The obvious is more ammo, but also if the mag in the weapon fails for some reason I can swap mags quickly...I try to practice this at the range also.

I also carry a speedloader whe I'm packing my sixgun...


----------



## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

I beleive a man should carry a mag or a speed strip at the very least. I know that most gun fights are only 3 or 4rds but I think it's foolish not to back yourself up a little.


----------



## submoa (Dec 16, 2007)

cncguns said:


> I always carry a spare mag, for 2 reasons. The obvious is more ammo, but also if the mag in the weapon fails for some reason I can swap mags quickly...I try to practice this at the range also.


+1

Does it help that I load each mag with ammo from different lot numbers?

If 31rds of 9mm JHP and a cellphone can't get me out of a civilian jam, its time to sell movie rights.


----------



## longtooth (Feb 24, 2008)

I carry a 1911. One spare mag always. Holidays, out LATE in the night, traveling at night, I will carry a double.
Real high threat level - Rita dances in Texas I have a quad pac & a BUG.


----------



## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

I carry spare mags in my center console, in my duffle bag (at work), or in my jacket pocket (when it's chilly).

XD45 4": Console, bag, jacket pocket, and nightstand.
XD9SC: Console, and jacket pocket.
P3AT: Other Pocket.


----------



## propellerhead (May 19, 2006)

No. I'll use my 10 rounds to get me out of a situation. I'm not planning to stay around and defend a fortress.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I carry one spare mag. My pistol could malfunction, I could miss a lot, or I could accidentally drop my main mag.

Besides, it's poor form to go home with a half-empty gun. :mrgreen:


----------



## JohnnyFlake (Jan 30, 2008)

I always carry a spare six round Colt magazine, with .380 rounds, for my Pony Pocketlite. I carry it in the same belt pouch that I carry my cell phone in.


----------



## Ram Rod (Jan 16, 2008)

Most of the time I carry a spare mag. More so with my SIG P220 8+1.


----------



## tschmittel (Jun 26, 2007)

Mike Barham said:


> I carry one spare mag. My pistol could malfunction, I could miss a lot, or I could accidentally drop my main mag.
> 
> Besides, it's poor form to go home with a half-empty gun. :mrgreen:


Sounds like a Jeff Cooper quote.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

tschmittel said:


> Sounds like a Jeff Cooper quote.


I'm not sure. It may be something I read from Col. Cooper that just stuck in my head. If it is Cooper's, all credit goes to him!


----------



## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

As Clint Smith say's "Because I can".

:smt1099


----------



## Dsig1 (Dec 23, 2007)

I carry a spare mag about half of the time. Depends on the gun and carry situation. At a mall, definitely carrying a spare mag. Playing a round of golf with my P3AT in my pocket, probably no spare mag.


----------



## nukehayes (Sep 22, 2006)

I carry a spare mostly because all of my carry guns only hold 6-7 a piece and they aren't .45s either. In a situation where I would need it, I really don't know how well I will shoot, so it's a good idea to have something extra. Besides when I carry it it's not uncomfortable and rides in a Gerber or leatherman multitool pouch, no one knows the difference. Maybe, I'll just carry my P32 vice a spare mag, I dunno, I need to get a holster for it first.


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Yes and no. When I'm with the kids, there is a spare mag in my bag. When I'm out and about by myself, no. I will break down eventually and get a mag holder for my belt eventually though.


----------



## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

I usually do but there are times when I don't. Probably 90%-10% for carrying an exra one.


----------



## mikej997 (Jan 26, 2008)

Most always I do carry a spare mag. Of course my carry is a Kahr PM9 so WITH the spare mag, I carry a whopping total of 14 rounds. 

Mike


----------



## jmg (Aug 16, 2007)

I always carry a spare mag.
It doesn´t take much space and I don´t like to use the full capacity of the mags. Trying to not damage the springs I only put 10 rounds in the mags (old Army habit).


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

jmg said:


> I always carry a spare mag.
> It doesn´t take much space and I don´t like to use the full capacity of the mags. Trying to not damage the springs I only put 10 rounds in the mags (old Army habit).


We only load ten rounds in the Check-Mate mags because they choke otherwise. But _good_ magazines work fine when loaded to full capacity. It's not compression that wears out magazine springs, it's movement.


----------



## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

I can't carry at the moment, but I'll chime in anyways. When I can carry I will carry a spare mag. More than likely it will be in a horizontal Galco belt carrier as well.

-Jeff-


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 28, 2007)

On the average I carry 2-3 spare mags with 17 rounds in them besides what is in my gun. Call me paranoid or prepared... I don't care either way.

Train hard, train often, and train REALISTICALLY!!!
_______________
Brian K. LaMaster
President-Innovative Tactical Concepts, LLC
Instructor-Counter Force
Modern Warrior Talk
"High Impact Training" 
"Serious tactics for serious situations!"
*Check our Advanced Pistol Fighting Course out in the April 2008 issue of SWAT Magazine! The article is titled Unarmed and Armed Combatives*


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> On the average I carry 2-3 spare mags with 17 rounds in them besides what is in my gun.





> ...train REALISTICALLY!!!


So help me out here. How is carrying a total of 69 rounds "realistic?" Under what realistically-possible circumstance would one be called upon to fire well over a box of ammo in a self-defense scenario?

I just left a war zone and I didn't carry that much pistol ammo.


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 28, 2007)

Expect the unexpected! Just because MOST situations take place in a matter of seconds, and there are only about 8 shots fired, doesn't mean that YOURS will. WHAT IF you needed that extra magazine? Is it not better to be prepared and not need, than to need and not be prepared? Yeah, it is unlikely that I will, but again, WHAT IF. Is there a point of carrying too much ammo, most certainly, but only YOU can decide what that is.

If I knew when, where, and what the situation I were to encounter, I simply wouldn't be there or better yet, I would bring my long gun and plenty of friends with long guns. I did not say that I carry that many rounds ALL the time. I just said, there are times that I do. Hey, it's your life, do what YOU want to do.

Is carrying 69 round realistic? I think that it depends upon where you live, go, etc. For some people, you MIGHT need more. :mrgreen: What is the likelihood of you being attacked? Realistically that is? The odds are pretty low. So, then why do you carry a gun if the odds are low and they are. Because you MIGHT need it!

Of course you didn't carry that much pistol ammo because you had a rifle. The average soldier carries what, 180 rounds? Why, because he MIGHT need it at any moment.

Train hard, train often, and train REALISTICALLY!!!
_______________
Brian K. LaMaster
President-Innovative Tactical Concepts, LLC
Instructor-Counter Force
Modern Warrior Talk
"High Impact Training" 
"Serious tactics for serious situations!"
*Check our Advanced Pistol Fighting Course out in the April 2008 issue of SWAT Magazine! The article is titled Unarmed and Armed Combatives*


----------



## khellandros66 (Oct 1, 2007)

Got a XD9 SC now, looking at the Galco IWB Holster, but first I am awaiting my Pearce Grip Extension for some trial practice, if I like, I will pick up the Galco Matrix Mag Holster since It will be easiert to remove IMO.

Cheers

Bobby


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> Expect the unexpected!


Of course. I carry a spare magazine. But three? I have never heard of a civilian situation in America that required four double-digit magazines. Hell, I haven't even heard of a civilian shootout that required a magazine change.

Unless you're LEO, I just don't see the point in burdening yourself with pounds and pounds of lead. Then again, I try to assess my situation realistically. But even in heart of darkest St. Louis, I don't think I'd lug around three spare mags. I'm not too concerned about being attacked by the entire membership of MS13 all at once, though.

Everyone has to find their balance, though, and if you really think you might need 69 rounds to get through a single day in modern America...well, I wish you luck.



> Is carrying 69 round realistic? I think that it depends upon where you live, go, etc. For some people, you MIGHT need more.


Well, Bruce Nelson once said that having lots of rounds might be useful if you plan to miss a lot. :mrgreen:

I do not know of any place in America where an armed citizen has needed to reload three times in a defensive fight, though. Do you? Can you cite _any_ case where it actually happened? Can you cite where any citizen even came close to firing that many rounds from a pistol? The highest round count I am aware of was with Harry Beckwith, but he hosed from an AR and, IIRC, a submachinegun while using some pretty stupid tactics.



> Of course you didn't carry that much pistol ammo because you had a rifle. The average soldier carries what, 180 rounds? Why, because he MIGHT need it at any moment.


The basic combat load for a rifle is actually 210 rounds. But a lot of the time I just had a pistol when rolling around the base or FOB, and then I carried 15 in the M9 plus 30 spare rounds. Of course, the chances of a FOB being overrun at any given time are very small. But the chances of needing 69 rounds in America are even smaller - FOBs have actually been overrun.

Anyway, a soldier needing a combat load for a rifle in a _combat zone_, where firefights are relatively common, is vastly more likely than an American armed citizen needing three reloads for his pistol.

It matters not a whit to me how many rounds anyone carries. Some people also carry AKs and ARs in their car trunks for no particular reason. And I further realize that as someone who makes a living teaching people defensive use of handguns, you have a vested interest in making the world appear more dangerous, and the use of pistols more likely, than it actually is. The company I work for has a similar interest.

But let's not pretend carrying three reloads in relatively peaceful America is "realistic," when the odds of needing that many rounds are so astronomical as to be dismissed.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

Personally, I don't carry any extra mags... unless I'm going to the range. And especially now that I own and carry a gun that holds 15+1 rds ,I don't really see the need for more rounds. If I find myself in a self defense situation where I need more than 15rds....then I'm screwed anyway. But, that's just me.


----------



## Kyle1337 (Mar 22, 2008)

I have my 357 in my car with a mount under the seat and 2 speed loaders in the center console. My carry weapon right now is a 9mm with which I carry 2 spare mags, in the gun is 15 JHP and two 17rnd mags. If that is not enough, like one guy said, it's time to sell the movie rights. As far as what I've seen stated above, I know it's a bit much. But I am a bit of a survivalist, If I have to bug out quick I know what my options are and I know what I have in my car. +surgical kit, first aid kit, non parishable food for a week, and power battery back for my GPS and laptop with satellite internet connection, emergency band scanner and a CB radio.


----------



## propellerhead (May 19, 2006)

I don't carry a spare magazine for the same reasons you 2-mag people don't carry a third spare, which is the same reason the 3-mag people don't carry four mags. For all of us, it's a balance between what we expect to use and what we are willing to sacrifice. That scale tips different for everyone. It's a personal choice and not one person's choice can be made a universal choice for everyone.


----------



## Thunderhawk (Jun 28, 2006)

I don't usually carry a spare mag, just the one in the gun. I do carry a speed strip when I'm carry a revolver though.


----------



## TampaSsgt (Apr 3, 2008)

I ALWAYS carry at least one spare mag, and sometimes two spare mags for my Colt Combat Commander .45 ACP. :smt023


----------



## Mosquito (Mar 11, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> Expect the unexpected! Just because MOST situations take place in a matter of seconds, and there are only about 8 shots fired, doesn't mean that YOURS will. WHAT IF you needed that extra magazine? Is it not better to be prepared and not need, than to need and not be prepared? Yeah, it is unlikely that I will, but again, WHAT IF. Is there a point of carrying too much ammo, most certainly, but only YOU can decide what that is.


With your average being 8 shots fired in a matter of seconds, that means (according to your 69 round carry) you are prepared for some situation that requires 8 times the mean. Doesn't that sound a tad ridiculous?



[email protected] said:


> Is carrying 69 round realistic? I think that it depends upon where you live, go, etc. For some people, you MIGHT need more.


Please name a situation (in a 1st world country) where 69 rounds would be an absolute necessity_. If _you are in a situation in a 1st world country where you need 69 rounds, I would consider dropping the pistol and using an automatic.



[email protected] said:


> What is the likelihood of you being attacked? Realistically that is? The odds are pretty low. So, then why do you carry a gun if the odds are low and they are. Because you MIGHT need it!


This is the only thing in your post I agree with. But, there is a big difference between caring a handgun, and carrying a handgun with the ability to fire it 69 times.

Realistically for any situation that doesn't involve a war zone, you'd be fine with what is in your handgun, and _maybe _1 extra mag.


----------



## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

Okay...I can't carry in the state I currently live in (soon to change hopefully), but I have to agree with maybe carrying ONE extra mag solely for the reason that the mag in the gun may malfunction. Other than that I cannot see a reason to carry an extra magazine. If I couldn't handle a situation with the 17 rounds that my XD9 can hold (assuming the mag in the gun doesn't fail), then I might as well run screaming like a girl. Just my .02

-Jeff-


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

I"m not a LEO and not in the military. IMO, those are the people that need to carry large amounts since they might be in a _firefight_. For the rest of us "average Joe's", who are very unlikely to be in the middle of the shootout from Heat or a scene from Black Hawk Down, carrying that much ammo is borderline :smt171


----------



## Mdnitedrftr (Aug 10, 2006)

js said:


> Personally, I don't carry any extra mags... unless I'm going to the range. And especially now that I own and carry a gun that holds 15+1 rds ,I don't really see the need for more rounds. If I find myself in a self defense situation where I need more than 15rds....then I'm screwed anyway. But, that's just me.


Same here.


----------



## ki4dmh (Sep 11, 2007)

Two of them.


----------



## B R Y A N (Apr 3, 2008)

my main carry xd sc9 has a 10r clip +1 I only have that with me somtimes during the winter months when I have more clothing on I have a spare mag just for the hell of it.


----------



## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Being my carry pistols are mostly all 1911's I like to have spares with me. I will always have one extra on me and there's two more under my Jeep seat in an old Army two mag canvas mag pouch. Those steel sliding belt clips really make it easy to get it attached to the underside of my drivers seat:smt023
If I'm wearing one of my shoulder rigs they both have the two mag pouch on them so I can at times have a good bit of ammo hanging around. I guess that is one time I can say I'm hung well:smt082


----------



## BLS86 (Jan 22, 2007)

The only time I carry a spare is when I am going hunting in the woods all day. 

For normal carry however, I seem to be with the minority here. If one full mag of .40s doesn't get the job done, they win.

As for needing three mags, could you really justify self defense of a supposedly immediate threat, given that you had enough time fire and reload 60+ rounds without being hit yourself?


----------



## niadhf (Jan 20, 2008)

It seems reading this, that for most people it depends on what they are carrying and how many rounds the gun holds. Mine are all (right now) 7 or 8 round guns, so I have one or two with me, somewhere. Maybe on me, maybe in the truck or van, but that gives me 14-16 rounds, about the same as many of you with high caps.
Why don't I get a high cap? The only one that I have found that fits my hand well is the xd (sc-9 thanks), and that means for me here in NY, 10 rounds in a mag. period. I usually have a speed loader and or a box (again in the transport) if carrying a revolver.


----------



## James NM (Jan 4, 2007)

Mike Barham said:


> I'm not sure. It may be something I read from Col. Cooper that just stuck in my head. If it is Cooper's, all credit goes to him!


IIRC, the Colonel said that the reason he carried an extra mag was so he wouldn't have to take home an empty gun after a gunfight.


----------



## Teuthis (Apr 9, 2008)

*Spare Ammo*

If I am carrying my S&W Airlite T I just go with the five in the chambers. I usually have a speed loader of another five in the car. If I am carrying my S&W M&P c9 I have eleven or twelve in that and don't need more.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

James NM said:


> IIRC, the Colonel said that the reason he carried an extra mag was so he wouldn't have to take home an empty gun after a gunfight.


Thanks! Credit does indeed go to the Colonel!


----------



## michael P. (Apr 13, 2008)

I think there is more of a need to day than there was a few years a go to carry more magazines. The reason is all of the active shooter situations that are taking place. Lets see, Virgina Tec, Jonesbouro, Lincon Nebraska(mall shooting), Colorado Springs, Columbine and the list goes on and on. None of these shooters were stopped buy officers that had been dispatched to the scene. They all killed themselves or were shot by civilians or off duty cops. The bad guys are carrying a lot of ammo in theses situations and it might not hurt to have a lot ourselves. If nothing else for suppressive/metered fire to keep the bad guys head down while people get away.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

All of those shootings were perpetrated by one or two shooters, albeit some of them heavily armed. If you would like to use "suppressive/metered" fire in a school or a mall or a church, I wish you luck and will be glad if I am not downrange. I will stick to a limited number of carefully-controlled shots, so I do not add to the casualties.


----------



## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

I really can't imagine any civilian using suppressive fire to help evacuate a building. The average civilian, myself included, does not have that type of training. 

I agree with Mike, if you're gonna try soemthing like that, make sure I'm nowhere near by. And let me know how the lawsuits turn out.


----------



## michael P. (Apr 13, 2008)

Obviously if you have a shot at the suspect then take it. In an active shooter situation, some would not draw their gun and retreat, some would advance on the threat and take them out before they could hurt anyone else. If one didn't want to do any of those things, but instead wanted to drive the suspect away for the location where people were already hurt, so that they could be evacuated or safe until police showed up, then metered fire might be an option. This is simply firing a round every one or two seconds in the direction of the bad guy to keep him pined into a room away from you. You would want to fire at something that had a good backstop, like a door header or into the ground. Risky yes but so is letting him come move in on you. You would have to have a lot of ammo on you to try this and their is a danger of the cops showing up and shooting you, I admit. Good for a quick retreat but inappropriate in several instances, your right.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

I know a wee bit about suppressive fire, but thanks for the explanation. We've hashed out the active shooter thing here a couple of times, I think, as has every other gun board in the Known Universe (some with more common sense than others).

Quite honestly, I think the factors required for an armed citizen to engage in suppressive fire are so many and so unlikely as to be almost completely discounted. I think that the realistic chances of Joe Sixpack requiring suppressive fire are slim enough (almost nonexistent) that basing your gun or spare ammo load on it is entirely silly and mall ninja-ish.

Using your scenario, you would have to:

A. Be present when an "active shooter" starts firing.
B. Be armed (possibly in defiance of the law, as at a school or church in some states).
C. Somehow have him contained so he couldn't maneuver on you.
D. Somehow have him contained so he couldn't maneuver on others.
E. Have a satisfactory backstop - in what may be an unfamiliar environment - so you could pour rounds into it. (Woe betide the guy who starts "metering" rounds into what he thinks is a safe backstop, but is actually flinging them into a room full of innocents.)

I don't know that it's so much "risky" as utter fantasy.


----------



## michael P. (Apr 13, 2008)

Obviously this is not a tactic that you are going to add to your training. Although you did describe a pretty good time to use it. Not likely, I will give you that. And I could see why somebody would refuse to do it for both legal and tactical reasons. Sorry to bring you guys of topic.


----------



## jmm076 (Apr 2, 2008)

Mike Barham said:


> Some people also carry AKs and ARs in their car trunks for no particular reason.


Not to hijack this thread, but can a civilian carry an AR in their trunk with ammunition not loaded? IE in a trunk safe or something similar. I knew a friend who did but he was DEA so it was expected... I would hope I never needed a rifle. But look at the civilians that were injured in that California bank robbery shootout.

As for the OP, I would consider carrying two mags on me and maybe one or two more in the car at most. I'm not Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing... Plus the more I'm carrying, the more that could print and then I'm not concealed anymore.


----------



## michael P. (Apr 13, 2008)

I know that in my state you can. I my state you can carry it loaded in the passengers seat. You can even take it out and carry it. Although this wouldn't be a good idea. You just can't conceal it on your person. Which would be hard to do with an AR. There may be city laws that go against stated law though. The best way to find out is to contact your local police department.


----------



## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

Carrying a rifle in your trunk or even concealed on your person is perfectly legal in Arizona. Your milage may vary in Texas. Luckily, the half of the HGF members who don't live in North Carolina live in Texas, so someone will be along shortly to sort you out.


----------



## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

I carry a spare magazine, giving me a total round count of 27. The thing is, I don't carry a gun to save everyone around me, I carry it to end the bastage that is killing people. I think that if you have to shoot more than 27 rounds at a bad guy, you are in WAY over your head, and you should get the heck outta there. The general likelyhood that you would have a clear line of fire to the suspect in a crowded area is very unlikely, unless you are within defensive distance (7-10yards). At that point, there would be no need for suppressive fire, nor would there be a need to pin them down. At those ranges, there probably isn't a lot of cover that would stop most rounds anyways. A 9mm will go thru drywall and possibly the suspect at those ranges. (ball ammo). Not that I'd recommend shooting thru a wall because of unknown background, but mainly to point out that much more than 27 rounds, and you are going to be hard pressed to either not have been shot by this point, or already have eliminated the threat. 

Spare mags are in my view are a good idea, but carrying an ammo locker with you isn't necessary.

Zhur


----------



## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

I "carry" spare mags for both of my Xds in the center console of my truck.

If I need more rounds in my house, I'll just grab gun number 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... The only thing not loaded is the 22...

JW


----------



## Marcus99 (Apr 23, 2008)

Since I live in MA I can't carry, but if it was legal for me to do so I would in a heartbeat. I live near an area where there is a very high rate of crime due largely to the immigrant population, and going into that area I would feel much safer if I had one of my handguns with me. Hell, a few weeks ago there was an incident in the police report where two guys beat another guy who was picking up a pizza
at a pizza place that I go to almost every week.

When my grandfather was in the service he carried an M1911 with two spare mag's. Granted, that was during war and he was an MP. When the war ended and he got out of the service he still carried that same M1911 but without the spare mag's. He attributed that to the fact that back then the M1911 was heavy and bulky (has it changed since 1945?). When he switched over to a smaller .32 Beretta he carried a spare mag.

When I get my NH CCW I plan on carrying the P99 that we have. I feel confident that god forbid I need to draw my sidearm that the P99 would function flawlessly. As for a spare mag I'd carry one (two's overkill IMO) for the reasons stated such as having a backup mag in case the loaded one fails and in the event that the situation calls for more than 10+1 rounds. There's also the added fact that I'm not that great of a shot, especially with those high grain 9mm's that are meant for personal protection : )


----------

