How many rounds should your carry gun have loaded in it?

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There are absolutely people who carry large guns with lots of reloads. I'm not calling anyone a liar. BUT...do they really carry it? What is reality vs fantasy? My EDC holds 7+1. That's it. My pockets are already full and my business dress doesn't allow for tactical pouches here and there. But I carry. I carry because my gun is comfortable enough to carry at all times, so I do. Is it naive to walk around unprepared for a multiple aggressor, multiple shot situation? Some would would argue that. I'd rather have 8 rounds in my PPS at all times than 16 in my full size P226 sitting in my safe that day. Just carry. If you can commit to carrying the higher rounds and the gun that shoots them, I applaud you. Not even sarcastically. Just carry something.
 
In a revolver, fill it up until you are out of holes (assuming its a drop-safe revolver). In a auto, I put in a full mag and chamber a round. I don't "top off". Single stack (1911) reload mags are loaded to full capacity. On a standard capacity double stack, reloads are -1.
 
In a auto, I put in a full mag and chamber a round. I don't "top off".
Curious; why? Are you avoiding the administrative handling of +1 loading, or avoiding full magazines?

And I carry 25 rounds of 45ACP: 9 in the gun, and 2x mags. It balances nicely that way.
 
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So you are carrying a gun for 1-90 years, how many rounds should you have in the gun, and at the ready. This would be your EDC, or Every Day Carry weapon.
Not sure what the OP is asking. I carry my EDC full of ammo, I can't imagine any reason not to. If the question is about the minimum capacity acceptable for an EDC gun, mine range from 8 to 18 except on the rare occasions I carry a 5 shot revolver. Always at least one extra mag.
 
With one exception, I've never given this much thought. I strap on (or pocket) my pistol and carry an extra mag, so that varies between 17 & 28 rounds. The extra mag isn't as much for quantity as quality.

The one exception... my wife and I extracted a homeless teenager from a bad neighborhood. Two guns and 45 rounds tucked away here and there on my body. Do I need to carry that much every day? Gheez, I hope not.

I don't want "carrying" to cultivate paranoia in my life. I have the permit, and why not carry if I can? So... a gun and one mag, for functionality.
 
guyfromohio - yes, there are plenty of folks who carry a >10 semi and an extra mag. It is not hard to do. Yes, they also sometimes carry something smaller and accept the risk that having enough rounds for some horror show.

We have discussed carrying for the modal low intensity incident vs. the rare but possible high intensity incident, along with the extra mag for malfunctions. We discussed it endlessly.

Make your own choice.
 
Curious; why? Are you avoiding the administrative handling of +1 loading, or avoiding full magazines?

And I carry 25 rounds of 45ACP: 9 in the gun, and 2x mags. It balances nicely that way.

For me loading to +1 always seems to put more pressure on the magazine release such that if it gets bumped or pressed accidentally, it ends up popping out more readily. But it is also nice to avoid the administrative gun handling.

I keep my guns at whatever capacity they hold when I take them out plus maybe a spare mag or two.

A related story....
Several years ago I was asked by a coworker to help him pick out what I thought were different sights for his 1911. He insisted on having me meet him in the parking lot so he could show me the gun. I was quite surprised to find that the gun had no sights on it whatsoever. Come to find out he had bought it that way.

I was even more surprised when I asked for the mag and he told me he didn't have one and didn't see the need for one. He theorized that one round of .45 would be plenty and besides 7 extra rounds added "too much weight". I ran through several scenarios with him (what if his first shot missed or there were multiple attackers, etc) and his response was "the first round will kill the first person and the rest will run away".:what::scrutiny: I handed his gun back to him and walked away.

I'm really curious what sort of 1911 he bought that came with no sights and no magazine!
 
Curious; why? Are you avoiding the administrative handling of +1 loading, or avoiding full magazines?

And I carry 25 rounds of 45ACP: 9 in the gun, and 2x mags. It balances nicely that way.
2 reasons- it is the way I have always done it in the military, and 2, if I clear the weapon, there is an extra round floating about cause it won't fit in the mag.
 
Lets see.

If carrying my P320: 1 chambered and 17 in the magazine. Plus two extra magazines loaded with 17 rounds each.

If carrying my P229: 1 chambered and 12 in the magazine. Plus two extra magazines loaded with 12 rounds each.

If carrying my Glock 42: 1 chambered and 6 in the magazine. Plus one extra magazine loaded with 6 rounds. The 42 is not my primary carry, it's a backup that may be holstered small of the back, ankle or in the backpack that I usually have with me.

The above is my standard training configurations so I EDC like I train. My AR platform is also integrated into my defensive training. However, I don't sling my AR when I'm out and about. I'm sure most people would would become a bit freaked out should they even notice the AR across my back.
 
For many years my EDC has been a LW Commander sized 1911 in .45 ACP. Nine in the gun and two spare mags for a total of 25. I've recently picked up a Sig P365, so the new loadout will be 13 in the gun and two spare mags, if I can find some carriers for the, for a total of 37 rounds.
 
Each of us make our choices based on our situation, expected threat, and environment. I am not LE, and therefore I am not trained or expected to close on and apprehend anyone.

I carry 7 rounds (6+1) in a pocket pistol a large majority of the time. Occasionally I’ll have one or two 6-round spare magazines.

So far thru 58 years, I haven’t been under-gunned. And I understand that my choice will work until it doesn’t.

(My answer is for on-body carry. My vehicle carry is different,)
 
For me loading to +1 always seems to put more pressure on the magazine release such that if it gets bumped or pressed accidentally, it ends up popping out more readily. But it is also nice to avoid the administrative gun handling.



I'm really curious what sort of 1911 he bought that came with no sights and no magazine!
It was an RIA that he had bought used and overpaid for.
 
When you watch the videos on Utube of how many rounds it takes to stop some of the bad guys that are roaming around waiting for an opportunity, it makes you think twice. I used to feel in the early 70's that a 5 or 6 round snubby was sufficient for anything, with a spare reload. After watching about 50 videos of shootouts "hopefully I won't be in one of those", but before these guys stop advancing, many have received the entire mag from a Glock 17 or 19, and are still trying to fire at police.
So being the kind of person who likes to prepare for the worse situation, and knowing that bad things happen to good people , I choose to carry a 10-13 round minimum in my 365 or my Glock 26, from know on. If you walk into a gas station in any neighborhood, hell can be released at any time.
I have carried in he house for 30 years , since my home invasion. Best neighborhood and best secured building in that neighborhood, so I am biased in that sense, but you know what they say, if it happened once, it can happen again. A couple things I learned that may help someone, are, always set your alarm, before opening your door to leave your home, and when a stranger walks up to your car, keep your hand on your gun, usually it starts out with something like"do you know where this address is, or do you have the time, can you spare a few bucks or can you break a twenty. It usually is nothing, but some times it's something, and having your hand on your gun, practice shooting from a seated position. And there is no way you will get to a gun stashed in a bedroom drawer if someone crashes through your door, or a kid opens the door for your dog, or a friend, being older now with no kids in the house, it's easier to implement rules than say my neighbors who have 4 toddlers between 6 months and 6 years plus a labradoodle, but some folks are blessed with luck.
In the end all you can do is be ready, for something and hope you never need what you are preparing for.
 
It is all personal preference. And it is always a caliber comparison, because nothing is perfect and you sacrifice some things to gain others in a firearm. How concealable it needs to be and doing and wearing what, or perhaps how secure and concealable depending on what you are doing. Different guns conceal better with different attire and sometimes the activity dictates the attire.

It needs to be controllable, while being effective. That is strongly related to caliber, and becomes more so the lighter the firearm.
Weight and size are related to capacity and caliber as well. The loaded ammunition can weigh half what the firearm does, and more with spare magazines.
The law where you live can also play a role. I think larger round count of something just adequate would certainly be easier to use, but prefer more powerful calibers because where I live you are limited to 10 rounds or less. If I am only going to have 5-11 rounds even in a full sized pistol they better be decent. While I believe a 9mm would be just fine without that legal limitation as a full sized handgun, and can even see some use of higher capacity smaller ammunition like the FN 5.7 if I could consider such capacities. Still though keep in mind most gunfights are quick and if the other person is shooting you how many rounds are important before they will just be what is left in your gun?

All of this while it is a secondary safety precaution for most and should not hinder your life. Also depending on who you are in the family or group. Some people want to be more of the watchdog and perhaps they can take on the burden of something more limiting. While maybe someone else in the group just needs the bare minimum of something that is lethal force in size or carry burden or they won't bother carrying a lot of the time anyways.
Still yet some people are complete airheads and really shouldn't be compelled to carry a gun because someone else thinks someone that doesn't keep track of the firearm or have any sense of retention is made safer by having a gun.
Having a gun is a responsibility that is bigger than just being able to use it, and includes keeping other people from accessing or taking it from you, and preventing accidental or negligent discharges, while retaining self control and composure in normal altercations and arguments in life, and being able to handle sad events and loss. Keeping a loaded deadly weapon with you regularly is a responsibility and burden.
Failure to meet those responsibilities can make the firearm cause you more harm than it prevents, and plenty of people shouldn't carry or shouldn't carry at different times in their life.

The gun you have or do not have still leaves you as one person with a hand gun.
Neither are ideal situations for an encounter, but options are good and you can sometimes make a lot happen with options.
Your lifestyle and being aware make a much bigger difference most of the time, and whether you can use your firearm or not can make a much bigger difference than how many rounds it has in it.
Most people are good though, and while treating the entire world as a threat may make security easier, it neglects that for every person out to do you harm many more are not. Balance compassion with security.
And nothing makes you immune to harm. Anyone that lives in public can be killed by anyone else that lives in public and there is nothing they can do about it. Especially if they don't try to get away with it. Think about that, there is absolutely nothing you can do if any other person is willing to trade their life to go after you. So starting from there having effective weaponry is pretty much for everything less than that.
There is far more common causes of serious injury or death than being the target of a predator, and your ability to deal with such things is just your right as a human being, not the primary risk in the world. Security is important as is compassion. As we move into the permanently surveiled society fewer and fewer predators will escape the police state and so we just have to decide what is done with them. It is that police state that will enslave you and extract out of you the value of your life to pay for itself you are more likely to be the victim of.
So don't dedicate too much to being ready for the ultimate combat pistol gunfight against organized crime.
 
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It depends on what gun I am carrying 1-250 rounds.

I have killed a lot more things with one shot than any other number of shots though.
 
I would say 5 rounds minimum without a reload. A 2 shot derringer type of gun wouldn’t be a choice I’d make.
 
I am not sure where to post this, so I figured here was my best guess. So you are carrying a gun for 1-90 years, how many rounds should you have in the gun, and at the ready. This would be your EDC, or Every Day Carry weapon. Opinions are welcome , with reasons would be better. Please refrain from saying it depends on where you are going, as you can get in trouble just as easy , in your house as in the worse place in town, if we knew where and when someone was going to put you in that kind of a jeopardy, we could just stay in a bunker that day.
Also , this is not a caliber comparison, a hit is a hit, a miss is a miss. The number of rounds only, and your reason, please.
Best example I ever heard,and got to thank him for it ,was a FBI agent involved and solved THE worst shootout in the history of law enforcement [ during my tenure as a LEO ].

Edmundo Mireles, Jr., was tha SA FBI agent that took out the 2 shooters / killers.

His words are to the effect " carry all the ammunition you can".

He originally stated " carry all that you need",but he amended it to the above words.

To each his / her own,I know how I roll.

Minimum = Glock 23 & a spare mag for a G-22.

There are days and places that I go much heavier.
 
Typically I carry a Defender in .45acp that I top off and I keep a spare mag nearby. Sometimes in my pocket or sometimes center console. So I guess 8-15 rounds.

I also rotate a vp9sk with a 13 round extended magazine and a Glock 19. I carry a spare for each in similar fashion as my Defender.

When I'm especially lazy it's a Glock 42 in cagro pants pocket. No spare mag
 
If I go light, its 7+1 (ext mag) and a 6rd mag in my pocket.
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The scariest moment of my life was the day I was riding a motorcycle home from work and I looked around me and I realized that the driver of every car around me had a cell phone in their hand.
Hey, in my state, that's illegal. However, citizens here can buy legal weed and toke up whenever they want … amazing the number of stoned drivers I detect on my state highway every day (ah, it'd be interesting if I was still on patrol) …

On a normal day, I've got a SIG pistol with sixteen rounds on tap plus at least one 17 round mag on the belt. I know for a fact that I've seriously ticked off some bad people over the years, so I plan for the worst on a daily basis; plus, I consider myself a fairly astute observer of the general degradation of our society over the past couple decades, thus a carry gun is as much a part of my life as fire extinguishers, insurance and seat belts.

And yeah, always top off …
 
My daily carry gun for almost 30 years holds 5 rounds of .44 Spl. and I don't worry about that at all.
 
If I'm carrying a semi-auto pistol (and I almost always am) then my load out is always the same- a full mag in the sidearm and one in the pipe with one spare mag @ 11:00 o'clock on my belt. Usually this means my HK P2000 with 14 in the gun and 15 in the spare mag. If I swap out the P2000 it's usually for a VP9 or P30S. All of them will work with the same P30 magazine.

Occasionally in very hot weather I'll carry my Beretta Nano. In that case it's nine in the gun and one eight round mag (always carried in the same location).

Very rarely I'll grab the Ruger LCRx 3". It just holds five (normally loaded with 158gr+P LSWC). In that case I'll have a speed strip. This would only be worn to the gym or running a brief errand.

I'll note that is just for urban CCW. In the woods while camping or hiking I'll be carrying more ammo and likely more than one firearm. My rationale is that help might be a long time coming or may never come so I'll have to deal with whatever I'm dealing with alone.
 
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