# How many rounds do you feel you need



## shaolin (Dec 31, 2012)

I am doing a survey of how many rounds of ammo in 1 mag do you need to feel safe? I like to have at least 8+1 in my gun coming from either a 9mm or 45acp.


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

How many rounds to carry is a personal preference and will most likely have many different amount of rounds by those who respond.

Here is an interesting article.....
Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Nowadays, I'd like to have 10 or more, AND a spare mag, but I could get by with 10 without feeling unarmed.


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## shaolin (Dec 31, 2012)

Cait43 said:


> How many rounds to carry is a personal preference and will most likely have many different amount of rounds by those who respond.
> 
> Here is an interesting article.....
> Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job


Yes that was a nice read. I have heard of such cases but they are far and few to what is really needed but who am I to say what another may need. Like the vest I carry and the sidearm I have is only meant to stop the majority of encounters. On most days I still carry my S&W 3913 with one spare however if I were in uniform I would carry a Glock 22 with 46 rds of ammo with a 29rd mag and a 12 gauge for back up in the trunk. Is it the perfect soulution "no" but just like the 1986 Miami FBI shootout "one can never have enough ammo"


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## acepilot (Dec 16, 2012)

I fill up my magazines to capacity, whatever that may be for each carry gun, but it is usually 10-15 rounds.
One never knows just how much one will need, as shown here:
NRA News Special Report From Ginny Simone | "The Wrong House: Career Criminal Meets His Fate" - YouTube


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## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

Back in the olden days when the Ten Commandments were still being taught in America's public schools, I was comfortable carrying only six rounds; but, now that the Holy Bible no longer really matters; and, the Judeo-Christian God is (for all practical intents and purposes) intellectually and politically, 'dead', I'm carrying a lot more.

In my G-21: Twelve rounds in the gun, and sixteen more in a properly setup Arredondo magazine on my waist.

In my G-19: Sixteen rounds in the gun, and sixteen more on my waist. (Yes, I use Glock factory, '+2' magazine extensions along with Wolff, '+ power' springs in my G-19; and, decades ago, I learned the wisdom of downloading my semi-auto magazines by, '-1' round.)

This said, I also subscribe to the spiritual admonition, '_The horse is prepared against the day of war; but safety is of The Lord._' (Proverbs 21:31) Consequently, I tend to believe that my current, 'belt load' is sufficient. Anyway, after firing the first three rounds I instinctively begin aiming for the head. This technique is part of my regular pistol practice sessions; and I do it on IDPA targets all of the time. 

NOTE: That was quite some pistol shooting! Sergeant Gramin is very good with his G-21!


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## DWARREN123 (May 11, 2006)

I like having as many as I can carry, you never know!


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## millsriver (May 26, 2013)

I want just one more than I needed.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Seems like more and more these days, police officers are wearing load-bearing vests as part of their daily uniform. Not to mention cargo pants with plenty of pockets. 

I have mixed feelings about the militarization of LE in the USA, and I have stated that in the past. But, as I struggle to keep an open mind, I can and do see both sides of the issue with the current status in this day and age. 

Also, the trend is now for most all LE to keep a rifle in their patrol vehicles, in addition to the standard shotgun. And, there's rumors floating around about full-auto firearms being introduced and becoming SOP for the vast majority of patrol units. 

The game is changing and we are not yet sure as to the degree of necessity.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

millsriver said:


> I want just one more than I needed.


That's the answer!

I used to carry a pocket gun: Six in the gun, and five more in its reload.
That was enough.

Now I carry something just a little larger, but somewhat less powerful: Eight in the gun, and seven more in the reload.
That's enough too.

_It's not how many rounds you carry, but rather what you are capable of doing with them._

That is, practice, practice, practice!

I can understand the cop who carries more than 100 rounds on his person.
Cops have to move toward the sound of shooting. It's their job.
They can never know in advance, how many BGs they're going to be facing.

But we're civilians. Our real job is avoiding gunfights.
If you can't avoid the gunfight, then get it over quickly, and retreat to cover (or escape) while you're doing it.
That set of tactics does not require more than 100 rounds. I am not convinced that it requires more than 25 rounds (he said, picking a number out of the air).
And if you don't do stupid things, in stupid places, with stupid people***, you probably don't need more than 10 or 15 rounds.

***this phrase used with thanks to Gabe Suarez


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## 85UL (Jan 20, 2014)

I carry a .38 revolver and feel comfortable with 5 rounds and a quick strip with 5 more.


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## OGCJason (Nov 4, 2013)

Why carry less than a fully loaded magazine? What's the point? Why would you ever want to be at half capacity? It's like saying you are going to go for a run, but only fill your water bottle up halfway. Makes no sense...


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...At my age, it'd be a very short run. I wouldn't need a full bottle of water.


Nobody said anything about a less-than-full magazine.


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## AdamSmith (Dec 18, 2013)

I like 10 + 1 in my 45 ACP and 8 + 1 in my 12 gauge.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

I could be wrong and maybe things have changed drastically in the last few years, but most depts. and agencies stipulate how many rounds an officer may carry on his person, and the type of ammo as well. 

That's not including shotgun and/or rifle rounds. Just handgun rounds for his duty weapon carried on his person.


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## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ....... Nobody said anything about a less-than-full magazine.


Actually, I did; but if someone doesn't get it then he doesn't get it. No fault, no foul.

Then, again, there's also the other side of the quandary: What makes anyone think that stuffing as many rounds as possible into a pistol is, either, good for the gun or going to save his life?

When one commentator has fired (What?) something less than ten or twenty thousand rounds; and another commentator has fired more than a hundred thousand rounds whom do you think is going to have, 'a better handle' on the situation?

(Entire branches of the United States Military have, on occasion, been required to download their weapon magazines, and to do it for extended periods of time. Personally, I don't think guns have changed that much in the past 100 years. Magazine-fed, cartridge-actuated devices are still magazine-fed, cartridge-actuated devices; and, 'Murphy's Law' continues to apply.)


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## Gator (Dec 11, 2006)

Five more than the other guy has !!


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## Pistol Pete (Jan 8, 2010)

Gun holds 5.


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## OGCJason (Nov 4, 2013)

For the record, I "download" my magazines weekly, rotating one into service while the others "rest", so I reiterate my position that while carrying, why bother going with less than a full load?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

OGCJason said:


> For the record, I "download" my magazines weekly, rotating one into service while the others "rest", so I reiterate my position that while carrying, why bother going with less than a full load?


You're actually causing your magazines excess spring fatigue, which will lead to malfunction sooner than if you just left them loaded all of the time.

Working the spring up and down, as you load and unload, is what causes springs to fail.
Leaving them continually compressed (or always unloaded, for that matter) does not "wear them out."


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## OGCJason (Nov 4, 2013)

There are different schools of thought here, one being as Glock Doctor mentioned to periodically rotate equipment out of use, and the other being excess wear and fatigue. 

The same logic has applied in other venues as well when considering maintenance and wear/tear on an alternator for starting a vehicle versus shutting it down to conserve fuel. 

Other venues for this concept include IT where log logic was that you could cause damage by excessive starting and restarting a computer. 

Longitudinal studies and technological improvements have demonstrated that the "wear and tear" mentality doesn't hold water. A computer would have to be restarted in excess if ten times per day over its useful lifespan of 3-5 years to possibly have the switch that makes that electrical connection fail. Is it possible it will fail earlier? Sure, anything is possible. 

Likewise, vehicles has been analyzed for a Lon time and idling any more than 10 seconds burns more fuel than it takes to start a car made after 1950's. Is it possible your starter or alternator will fail earlier than expected over the useful life of your car (10 years)? Sure. Is it probable? No.

I respectfully submit that "spring fatigue" is a similar condition where an obscure possible outcome is being used to rationalize or justify one set of actions that really is focusing on the exception than the rule. 

I have fixed my own computers so often I can do it in my sleep I have been a DIYer long enough to know how to replace a spring in a mag if it fails, and am willing to accept the purported risk of spring fatigue to continue my current service rotation. 

That said, I'm not here to tell anyone their approach is either right or wrong. To each their own, and I hope the same will be afforded to me. 

Thanks.


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## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

Ahh, Guys, I'm not talking about spring fatigue. My comments are aimed at the increased pressure applied to the slide by forcing it to operate over the top of a fully loaded magazine after the pistol fires that first, '+1 shot'. Spring fatigue, isn't really germane to anything I've said; that's an entirely different subject. 

Whenever the slide has to operate over a fully loaded magazine additional pressure is exerted against the extracting case rim, and the cartridge mouth of the top round. Additional pressure is, also, applied to the slide's pickup rail, as well. In my experience, '+1 loading' simply makes things too tight for a semiautomatic pistol to be 100% reliable - THIS is what I've been talking about. 

Over the past decade I've had no more than three failures-to-feed. All of them occurred with the top round when I had my Glock loaded to full magazine capacity + one. Neither do I need to have five more, three more, or one more round in my pistol than the bad guy has in his. What I've got to do is (1) be holding onto a 100% reliable handgun and (2) hit the target with (ideally) all of the first three rounds. If I can do that then I don't care if the other guy is holding a machine gun. Once my first three pistol rounds break the BG's concentration no amount of extra ammunition is going to be a threat to me. 

Spring fatigue and rotating equipment in and out of service are subjects for another thread.


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