A spare reload if needed

[The Night Rider]

You like the Berky? I've been considering one.

When I make ice with Berkey water it looks like glass.

It's the best tasting water I've ever drank.


and it is a purifier not a filter. You can run Tijuana tap water through a Berkey and drink it

 

[trackskippy]

My training was just the opposite, we were taught not to bring anything. Bringing any weapon to work was a firing offense and criminal offense. Even a very small pocket knife would get you fired (and arrested). All weapons were forbidden in the Texas Prisons where I worked. Unless you happened to be on the Perimeter Security Team (which I was). But still you did NOT bring a gun to work. You used theirs when you got there.

I spent a good part of my life working in NPE's and carried guns, knives, and a few other things every day. You do what you feel best, just don't ever count on anyone having your best interests at heart other than yourself.

 

[armoredman]

Yeah, I keep getting MyPatriotSupply ads for it, kicking the idea around, thanks.

 

[Eutycus]

Interesting - I've been with AZ DOC for 22+ years now - we have a gun locker at the entrance for staff to park personal weapons, been using it every day I come to work - it's part of policy. Since we don't have a changing area anywhere but the lockdowns, I am not interested in coming in, in uniform, unarmed.

We did come to work in uniform but would have never made it through the main gate had we a weapon on us. I always thought a Locker Room was a good idea but none were ever provided.A gunlocker was later provided for Transportation Firearms, but still no weapons were allowed inside the Perimeter Fence. I had the good fortune to be a Transportation Officer the last 4 years of my career.

 

[trackskippy]

We have a Big Berkey as well. We got it as a back up should the well ever go down. Havent really used it a lot, but its worked great when we have. The wells in our area have sulfur patches now and then, and you don't smell or taste it once its gone through the Berkey.

Only downside to them is the cost of the filters. They arent cheap.

 

[The Night Rider]

We have a Big Berkey as well. We got it as a back up should the well ever go down. Havent really used it a lot, but its worked great when we have. The wells in our area have sulfur patches now and then, and you don't smell or taste it once its gone through the Berkey.

Only downside to them is the cost of the filters. They arent cheap.

We're only using it for drinking and cooking for 2 people. Our filters should last the rest of our lives. We did buy an extra set though

 

[Rick McC.]

I am sure this topic has been covered many times before. I've read so many reports by police agencies , by the FBI and so called armchair experts. That the usual gun fight is settled within five feet and the average is three shots fired in 6 seconds.
Am I being over the top paranoid by carrying an extra reload on me? I carry a 9mm with a 15rd mag, and I carry a spare of the same round count. I don't go to any bad areas, am very aware of my surroundings. I just want the extra for that just in case 100,000 to 1 time if needed. Does anyone else plan this way when carrying ccw?

I certainly carry reloads; and have for as long as I’ve been carrying (48+ years).

 

[CraigC]

Has anyone who carries a spare insinuated that those who don't are woefully unprepared?

Uh yeah, all the time.

And of course, everyone knows exactly the number of rounds any gunfight will take, right?

Again, no one has said that. Some of us are just a little more realistic about the odds. Aren't you also assuming that you have enough? Aren't you also compromising by not carrying a rifle and a chest rig? Everybody is compromising in one way or another. Don't pretend that we are and you aren't.

 

[The Night Rider]

Uh yeah, all the time.

I'll give you that but it hasn't happened in this discussion

 

[The Night Rider]

Here's the reality for me, I've been carrying a gun for about 20 years. At work and not at work.

In all that time I have fired exactly zero shots in self-defense. I have needed to reload my handgun during a selfdefense encounter exactly zero times.

As I've mentioned previously I was trained to carry two reloads. So, I carry two reloads.

I don't intend what I'm going to say next to be offensive.

The older I get, the less I worry about what other people do or why they do it. If you choose not to carry reload that's really not my business and I am not going to waste one second of my time I'm trying to convince you to do it my way.

It's your life you live it as you see fit.

 

[CraigC]

I'll give you that but it hasn't happened in this discussion

I probably have this discussion mixed with two or three others in my head but I'm almost certain it has.

Here's the reality for me, I've been carrying a gun for about 20 years. At work and not at work.

In all that time I have fired exactly zero shots in self-defense. I have needed to reload my handgun during a selfdefense encounter exactly zero times.

As I've mentioned previously I was trained to carry two reloads. So, I carry two reloads.

I don't intend what I'm going to say next to be offensive.

The older I get, the less I worry about what other people do or why they do it. If you choose not to carry reload that's really not my business and I am not going to waste one second of my time I'm trying to convince you to do it my way.

It's your life you live it as you see fit.

That's how I look at it. I've been in two situations where I thought I might have to shoot somebody. Neither was planned or expected. Both involved an assailant with a firearm already in their hand. the first was armed with a rifle and about 20yds away. The second with a revolver in a vehicle moving about 70mph. My survival if either situation had come to shots being fired would've been more dependent on my ability to land the first hit and/or take cover, than anything involving magazine capacity or reload speed. Both situations proved that cooler heads prevail.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

It would be a rare time indeed that I'd carry a firearm without a reload for several reasons. First is that it would be very awkward to survive a gunfight and have to stand around with an empty gun if another threat was to come along. In videos and AARs of police shootings I've noted a tendency to shoot to slide lock regardless of capacity. We all like to think we'll do better but there's guarantee of it. The second reason is that I have no idea how many rounds I might need if I ever need to use my firearm in extremis. If I knew there'd be a gunfight I'd be sure to be somewhere else! Barring that I'd rather have a carbine, body armor and a half dozen magazines. But I'll almost certainly not be thus armed unless I am assaulted at home (or while camping maybe). So I will be limited to a handgun. I can't shoot a handgun as accurately or as quickly so it's reasonable to assume I'll need more rounds to get the same amount of effective hit. Lastly the sidearms I generally carry range from maybe 25 oz loaded to 50 oz; compared to that a speed strip or spare mag is a minimal amount of extra weight.

Of course, I am not obsessed with keeping my EDC weight down as I usually have the gun, mag or speed strip, pocket knife, flashlight, keys and cell phone.

 

[The Night Rider]

In videos and AARs of police shootings I've noted a tendency to shoot to slide lock regardless of capacity. We all like to think we'll do better but there's guarantee of it.

Realistic training is the best way to alleviate that

 

[GEM]

As we know the overwhelming number of carriers have no training besides a state course, if mandated or some rounds on the square range or a rock at the 'ranch'. No need when it will always be 3,3,3.

The number of competitors in the tactical games is about 25K for IDPA and 37K for USPSA. Trainers comment that most of their business in advanced courses are a small cadre of the same folks. I noticed that myself.

There is a large discussion of why folks don't train:
1. Dunning - Kruger of males who think they are instinctive warriors for the 3,3,3.
2. Fear of embarrassment in some manly endeavor rather than viewing initial crappy performance as a learning experience.
3. Expense, time, distance
4. For LEOs - not interested, learned enough at the academy and the state or city should pay for it.
5. Small risk of getting hurt - Owie - been there. Interesting bruises to explain at the faculty locker room. Did you fall down and go Boom - No - sims at a tactical shooting school. OMG - you are crazeeee!

 

[SDGlock23]

For me I've found that typically if the gun holds 10rds or more, I don't carry a reload but if it carries less than 10rds, I do. Never really thought why but that's how I've been doing it. Generally speaking, I don't want to rely on statistics for any given scenario because yours could be the one that defies statistics.

 

[The Night Rider]

For me I've found that typically if the gun holds 10rds or more, I don't carry a reload but if it carries less than 10rds, I do. Never really thought why but that's how I've been doing it. Generally speaking, I don't want to rely on statistics for any given scenario because yours could be the one that defies statistics.

Spanish Peacock

 

[Barmcd]

I carry a Springfield XD-9 with a 15 round magazine and don't carry a spare. I also carry a Springfield XD-S and Glock 42 and carry spares for both of them because they have much smaller capacity.

 

[Dave T]

The weakest link for a semi auto handgun system is the magazine. If the magazine fails what are you gonna do?

Revolvers are another discussion entirely. If I were involved in a shooting with a revolver, even if it was the proverbial "3, 3, 3" I would want spare ammunition for an administrative reload. You don't want to be standing there with a half empty revolver in case the bad guy's friends show up from around the corner.

YMMV,
Dave

 

[Triggernosis]

OK, can someone please tell me what a "square range" and a "3,3,3" is?

 

[Barmcd]

OK, can someone please tell me what a "square range" and a "3,3,3" is?

I think a square range refers to a tactical range where you can shoot different directions. I think 3,3,3 is 3 rounds at 3 yards in 3 seconds.

 

[Kleanbore]

OK, can someone please tell me what a "square range" and a "3,3,3" is?

"Square range"is the vernacular for a shooting range in which shooters fire at stationary targets located directly in front of them--the line of shooters and the line of targets form two opposite sides of a rectangle.

'3, 3, 3" refers to those oft-repeated, unrealistic statements that the "average gunfight" involves 3 shots at 3 feet or three yards and is over in 3 seconds; there are variations.

Both are useful for gaining proficiency in basic gun-handling, but neither provides realistic training for defensive shooting.

More realistic training involves drawing while moving, turning to face the target, shooting with a balance of speed and precision (quite a bit more rapidly than one usually sees at the range), and in many drills, reloading to clear stoppages. Still more realistic is Force on Force training with simunitions. But few people engage in such, and it would not be "realistic"to expect many people to do so. Those who do so are undoubtedly better prepared than people who do not, but those who do not can at least learn something by attending a session or two to see what it is all about, and then decide whether to add it to their lists of goals.

A spare reload? It is surely prudent, but I do not carry one, nor will I comment on people who do or do not.

 

[hey smepl this]

As others have said, do what makes you comfortable. Myself, I do not carry reloads. I either have 5 shots in my snub or 12 in my Canik, and that’s it. I just think the odds of needing more ammo are low and I hate carrying more weight and mass than necessary. I’d go crazy carrying a pistol even as large as a Glock19, much less carrying another magazine, but it’s just personal preference.

Same with flashlights. I’m not going anywhere that will require me to walk in the dark with my gun out. I can’t even imagine such a scenario. But that’s just me.

 

[wayneinFL]

Same with flashlights. I’m not going anywhere that will require me to walk in the dark with my gun out. I can’t even imagine such a scenario. But that’s just me.

I started carrying a flashlight during the hurricanes in 2004. I use a flashlight as much as I use a pocketknife. Probably more.

 

[Boom Vang]

Only you can do you. Keep calm, and carry on.

 

[PCFlorida]

I am not a cop (thank the Lord) but I read about this Officer a few years ago, and how his view made him carry a lot more ammunition.

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

Before the call that changed Sergeant Timothy Gramins’ life forever, he typically carried 47 rounds of handgun ammunition on his person while on duty

www.police1.com