Spare magazine or 2nd Pistol?

If you had carry space for a spare mag or a backup gun, but not both, which would you choose?

  • Spare magazine

    Votes: 76 78.4%

  • Backup gun

    Votes: 21 21.6%
  • Total voters
    97
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I carry a Rohrbaugh R9 in my pocket as my primary. I carry a Remngton RM380 in my rear pocket as a backup. They're almost the same gun. They have almost identical triggers and the guns are shaped the same and have the same sights.

I would have purchased another R9 for my backup except that they cost around $1250.00 and the RM380 cost $99.00 :)

I don't carry any backup magazines on my person.

I do have a SAR B6P - CZ copy in my car and that has 20 rounds in it. I also have a GHB in my car and that has a little Taurus Millennium G2 PT111 in it with a 20-round mag and a few spare mags. But when I'm away from my car, I just have the R9 and the RM380.
 
JeeperCreeper said:
...Or a knife.

I voted spare mag for reasons already stated
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My primary edc is the Beretta 92FS with a spare magazine carried in a leather pouch on my belt on my left side. The pouch looks like the multi-tool ones that are commonly worn in my part of the country.

My backup is a very sharp single blade folder that can be opened with one hand carried clipped in my left front pant pocket.

In the highly, highly unlikely chance that I would be unable to get to or use my Beretta my plan is draw the knife with my weak hand, flip it open and start slicing and dicing. The knife is very lightweight and I don't even realize I am carrying it. Even though it is my backup weapon it's main use is cutting apples, oranges and sausage for snacks.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
... I've carried this way for the last couple days and I'm digging it.
How 'bout you?
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For years, during non-cold times, when I was going out in the civilized world wearing long pants (usually brief shopping forays) I carried my KelTec P3AT in a Polite Society ankle holster.

I was never completely comfortable with this configuration, mainly because if I do not feel that I can freely & rapidly move at a moment's notice, I am not comfortable.

Probably the only way for me to have overcome that would have been for me to wear another PS ankle holster on the other leg loaded with an equivalent weight ... and travel this way for extended periods of time until it felt "normal".
 
I carry a LW Commander in .45 ACP with two spare mags. One in a magholder.com carrier and the other in a pocket.
 
I voted magazine, but I'm really on the fence. I mostly pocket carry, so I do have a backup gun when I carry IWB. However; for a semi auto handgun, the magazine is the weak link. Most failures are magazine related, and a stiff blow or drop might be enough to break your baseplate or bend a feed lip, but will almost never knock the gun itself out of the fight. A second mag, T-R-B: you're back in the fight.

I practice reloads a ton, and can more easily and naturally swap magazines than I can get to a second holstered gun. Since for you it's a wash, the answer is a wash as well. I'd go with whatever makes you the most comfortable, and practice mag changes and accessing your second gun until you're blue in the face. Then practice some more. Eventually, I'd bet a winner will emerge for you.
 
GBExpat said:
For years, during non-cold times, when I was going out in the civilized world wearing long pants (usually brief shopping forays) I carried my KelTec P3AT in a Polite Society ankle holster.

I was never completely comfortable with this configuration, mainly because if I do not feel that I can freely & rapidly move at a moment's notice, I am not comfortable.

Probably the only way for me to have overcome that would have been for me to wear another PS ankle holster on the other leg loaded with an equivalent weight ... and travel this way for extended periods of time until it felt "normal".
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For the first 5 years I carried, it was ankle holster only- I worked in a pool hall where the uniform included a tucked in polo shirt- so ankle carry is actually FIRST nature fore me, lol. At one time or a other I had a M60 J-mag, Beretta Tomcat, or Mustang down there. The Pico is so light, I forget its there.
 
Throughout my LE career I carried extra ammunition in either speedloaders or magazines (having carried both revolvers and pistols during my career). It never came down to having to decide whether I would only carry either extra ammunition or another gun. Why would it be different in my retirement?
 
CDW4ME said:
If I had to pick just one, it would be a 2nd option gun.
For added option, carry where it (2nd option) is accessible to non-dominant hand, in case something happens to dominant hand.
I had a squib factory "premium" SD load lodge in barrel, also an extractor edge break, both during practice, reinforces benefit of 2nd gun.
I carry 2nd option in non-dominant hand front pocket; I can put my hand on it without revealing I'm carrying, can't do that with primary pistol IWB.

However, I don't have to pick, so I get both. ;)
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This is the complete package, easily conceals wearing a loose polo and cargo shorts:
all this.jpg
 
An agency I worked for years ago required us to carry an issued backup to our service weapon. It was a whipping. I've been in plainclothes for years now and either have a leather mag holder on my belt or simply put a magazine in my offside front pocket, whether I'm in pants or shorts. I've never had a problem carrying like that.
 
I have carried both. And sometimes at the same time. A spare firearm weighs a whole lot more than a spare reload. You also have to take into account where you can put a second firearm vs spare reload. A reload has slightly more carry options than a second firearm as to body placement while being concealed. In a direct comparison to carrying a spare magazine OR backup, I prefer the magazine in all regards.
 
A second magazine for an auto-pistol is not just a reload; it is a replacement assembly of vital parts. If I am toting an auto-pistol, I almost always have a second magazine, or more, with me.

I do not always tote an auto-pistol. Since retiring from LEO-ing in January 2018, I have tended to carry revolvers. Spare ammo remains the norm, but not necessarily in a speed-loader.

A second gun is not a daily thing, but I do carry a second gun a significant part of the time.

For the purposes of the poll, I counted any spare ammo as a “spare magazine,” and checked that box.

I will add that my daily-carry knife is a serious weapon, too. At least when within the borders of my home state, and when within most of the adjacent states, when I have only one gun, it is not usually my only weapon.
 
In the spirit of the OP's question, I went with a spare gun. Here's the reasoning. If your mag malfunctions, a spare magazine will fix it, after a standard tap-rack attempt, dumping the bad mag and then loading a new mag. That sounds like it's taking more time than drawing another gun. If you gun has a malfunction that is not mag related, then a spare mag does you no good.

Having said that, I personally carry a spare mag, because of weight, space, expense vs probabilities of use and malfunctions.
 
While a through video. I only know of NM that has a problem with more than 1 CONCEALED carry pistol. Any others???
 
If I were going to carry a spare gun, I would carry it somewhere more accessible than an ankle holster. Said another way, given the choice between a spare gun in an ankle holster and a spare magazine that I can reach without bending down or lifting my leg up, I would take the spare magazine by a huge margin.

Also, if I were concerned about reload times/spare rounds, I will echo the comments already made: I would not carry a gun that took so long to reload that retrieving another pistol from an ankle holster took about the same time.
I can draw the Pico pretty quick by putting my ankle on a chair, or by dropping to the opposite knee.
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I'm not going to get into the idea of needing a chair to get to a backup gun because that seems like a concept that should be pretty obviously a bad idea needing no explanation. But it's probably worth pointing out that taking a knee in a dynamic encounter like a gunfight limits mobility considerably. If things are really bad enough that a reload is necessary, MOVING during the reload seems like a really good idea. Standing still seems like a very bad idea, standing still and taking a position that limits one's mobility seems like an even worse idea.
.....I already have an actual cell phone and a Buck folder on my left side OWB, yet another belt case would be pretty cumbersome and might attract attention. In the back pocket is a pain when driving- literally. In my front pockets are my keys on one side and wallet in the other. I don't want to risk dumping my spare mag when pulling out either...
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I understand the problem. I carry a lot of stuff on my belt and in my pockets (cellphone, two knives, multi-tool, flashlight, pistol, keys, wallet, magnifying glass, pen & pencil, pager mandated by work) but I still manage to find a place for a spare mag. I do agree that if you go with pocket carry for your spare mag, it should not share that pocket with anything else.
 
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