Comfort level on ammo configuration

Jeff White said:

There are a number of possible malfunctions that are best solved by replacing the magazine. No spare magazine takes this option away and could leave you with a non-functioning pistol when you need a functional pistol.

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A non-functioning auto pistol is then just a club or hammer , unless you are really quick at loading single rounds

.455_Hunter said:

Please respond to the poll and comment on your reasoning, such as immediate higher available capacity versus having an seperate independent feeding device available in case of malfunction.

Option three is intentionally excluded- spare higher capacity magazine.

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I'll play along! To me a spare mag is critical, option #3 which you intentionally omitted would be my default (or close to it). I chose the first option as it's one I actually use a fair amount. In warmer weather I often carry my Beretta Nano with an 8 round mag and one in the chamber with a spare 8 round mag on my belt carried horizontally @ 9 o'clock. As Jeff White points out some malfunctions are best addressed by swapping mags. And as I have mentioned in other posts, it seems common in the gunfights I've studied in the media & literature for participants to shoot to slide lock regardless of the ammo capacity. This can be lack of training, panic, adrenaline dump, etc. I really don't want to be standing around with an empty gun after the initial exchange.

There are virtually no circumstances where I will have a firearm and no ability to reload. On rare occasion I will carry an LCR with a speed strip. To be candid, I am not going to be able to reload the LCR quickly from the speed strip. I simply don't train it very often nor do I carry that gun regularly. But going back to the above scenario I'm at least going to be able to reload if I survive the initial exchange. Not ideal but better than nothing. FWIW this is generally just when I pocket the LCR to walk out to the mailbox.

Since my EDC is a S&W Shield 9X19mm, option one works for me. Along with that the avoidance of stupid people, places and things also applies. If you are not Law enforcement and or Military than your chances of being in a shooting situation diminish substantially. I've concealed carrier legally since the early nineteen eighties with no incidents requiring application of force and or display of a firearm.

LightninST said:

A non-functioning auto pistol is then just a club or hammer

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Yeah, and it's not nearly as good of a club or hammer as a non-functioning revolver.

I'd prefer the 16+1 with no spare magazine. But only by a small margin.

Why? I don't carry guns that aren't reliable, so I'm not terribly concerned with a failure issue. And if I need more than 9 rounds, I might as well have them in the gun.

But my real answer, would be another one you didn't include: Two guns. Because if I'm not carrying atleast one reload, it because I have extra ammo in another gun.

Carrying a second gun as EDC takes some dedication and commitment! It's tough to convince even CCW holders to carry one gun every day much less two! If you do that regularly I commend you on your dedication to being prepared for anything. I always have a spare mag but rarely carry a second gun. When I do so it's almost always in the woods when I'm far away from any support/backup.

WrongHanded said:

I'd prefer the 16+1 with no spare magazine. But only by a small margin.

Why? I don't carry guns that aren't reliable, so I'm not terribly concerned with a failure issue. And if I need more than 9 rounds, I might as well have them in the gun.

But my real answer, would be another one you didn't include: Two guns. Because if I'm not carrying atleast one reload, it because I have extra ammo in another gun.

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Everything you wrote is what I was thinking. And I’ve said it before, for me, carrying an extra mag is annoying as hell. I’d rather carry a bug than a blocky magazine.

WrongHanded said:

I'd prefer the 16+1 with no spare magazine. But only by a small margin.

Why? I don't carry guns that aren't reliable, so I'm not terribly concerned with a failure issue

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I voted 16+1 too, and for the same reason. I've also tested every magazine for reliability for guns I've carried.

Phaedrus/69 said:

Carrying a second gun as EDC takes some dedication and commitment! It's tough to convince even CCW holders to carry one gun every day much less two! If you do that regularly I commend you on your dedication to being prepared for anything. I always have a spare mag but rarely carry a second gun. When I do so it's almost always in the woods when I'm far away from any support/backup.

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With the right set up, and body shape, it’s easy. It takes a little experimenting and a few more holsters in the box o holsters but it’s not as hard as it seems.

Hartkopf said:

With the right set up, and body shape, it’s easy. It takes a little experimenting and a few more holsters in the box o holsters but it’s not as hard as it seems.

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Agreed. I'm not claiming I do it religiously, but it's easy for me to drop that spare 13-15 round magazine, and slip a G42 or SP101 in my pocket or waistband (holstered of course). When I carry a BUG, it's always on my non-dominant side. And there it can provide a few additional options.

.308 Norma said:

Yeah, and it's not nearly as good of a club or hammer as a non-functioning revolver.

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Always go for 8” or longer barrels you never know
That could be a poll what gun is best for clobbering someone!

Jeff White said:

What do you carry? In over 40 years of carrying guns professionally (Army Infantry and LE after I retired) I never came across the 100 % reliable gun. I can say I’ve owned a couple where the only failures in thousands of rounds were caused by ammunition or magazines, they were still failures. That’s why I carry an extra magazine.

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Primary EDC guns are Gen 4 Glocks. G22 and G23, both with aftermarket .357 Sig barrels. Are they capable of failure? Certainly. All mechanical devices are.

But the idea that a gun that doesn't fail to function on the range, would fail in an SD situation (which all by itself is very unlikely); and fail in such a way that a fresh magazine would fix the issue; and in such scenario that I would have the time to fix the problem by switching the magazine during the fight.....just seems really really freaking unlikely. And if I'm actually concerned about that particular compounding of occurences, a second gun seems more prudent than a spare magazine.

Since I no longer own anything double-stack, the choice is a simple one for me.

Option 4. Six in a revolver. Problem solved.

10 + 1 with 17 round reload.

LightninST said:

That could be a poll what gun is best for clobbering someone!

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Hi point 45 should be on the top 5.

I voted for the first option. I carry a first-generation Ruger® LC9 (7+1) but I installed the MagGuts® conversion on my two mags thus they are now 8 shot. I really love this gun!

Hartkopf said:

With the right set up, and body shape, it’s easy. It takes a little experimenting and a few more holsters in the box o holsters but it’s not as hard as it seems.

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I also believe it is not as necessary as some would believe it to be.

I've carried and used a lot of various double stack and single stack duty weapons, as well as personally-owned weapons, since the revolver days of LE. I've also used some excellent quality and design holsters for plainclothes/off-duty.

When it comes to "comfort level", a single stack can make carrying a concealed weapon more comfortable for those 8-16+hr days and nights, especially having to often get in and out of veh's, chairs, etc.

Now, as far as "comfort level" of meaning feeling good about trusting anything made by man to be 100% infallible, under all conditions and in all circumstances? Yeah, right ....

I’d take a double stack all day long. If it is an edc worthy of being an Edc then I’m not too concerned about needing a mag to fix a problem with the one that’s already in the gun. It should go bang every time. Even a mediocre pistol can bust off one magazine. Also in the event that you had trouble you’ll either have cover and time or you won’t. Extremely unlikely that the difference in time to correct the malfunction between the two configurations would be the only deciding factor in the outcome.

I would go with a smaller, more compact semi-auto with an 8 round magazine and a spare versus a perhaps larger pistol with a just a 16 round magazine (unless of course it's something really small, like a SIG P365 or a Springfield Armory Hellcat, then all bets are off)!

I'll take my 365 with the one n the gun; I already carry too much "stuff"