How many spare mags for CCW

[SoCalShooter]

I have a double mag pouch. So I carry two extra mags. Same type of gun you are using.

 

[only1asterisk]

Since one is none and two is one, I only carry one spare (for a total of 3).

David

 

[Katana8869]

I am a single stack .45 or a revolver guy. I carry one reload no matter what kind of gun I am carrying. Every now and then I will slip my j-frame .38 into a pocket as a BUG to supplement my SP101 .357, however most of the time I feel comfortable carrying just the SP and a speedloader.

I always carry .38's in the speedloader because I find them a little quicker to load into the guns and I can use the .38's in both the SP101 and the j-frame.

 

[recluse]

I carry a Glock 21SF, three spare mags (for 53 rounds, total), a cellphone and a flashlight. I hope I'll never need any of them...

 

[SilverState]

one extra for me

 

[Mandirigma]

when I carry my 1911 its two spare mags, when I carry a glock its usually one extra fullsized mag.

I also however keep 2 1911 and 1 of each Glock caliber (9mm and .357sig) mags in each of my vehicles, as I don't know which gun/vehicle I'm going to be with on any particular day.

Every month, rotate the unloaded one, so that every mag gets a month off once every 4th month. Number your mags so you know which one is next for it's month off. Doing this makes the mag springs last longer.

Spring wear comes from the tension on compressing and uncompressing your springs. I generally shoot each mag a half dozen times then leave them loaded. I do number my mags and track how many rounds I use through them so I know when its time to change the springs.

But if this method is what puts your mind at ease, by all means ignore me

 

[Titan6]

Spring wear comes from the tension on compressing and uncompressing your springs. I generally shoot each mag a half dozen times then leave them loaded.

It is amazing how may people do not believe this to be true. I do something simliar. I test a mag a few times and if it is working then I simply leave it loaded only unloading and taking apart every few months for cleaning depending upon the enviornment (dusty enviornments casue cleaning much more often). For the range I have a spererate box of magazines that I know are less reliable or were previously a carry mag that was replaced with a new one.

If you carry a pistol that functions reliably and you maintain it and the magazine jams are a statistical rarity. Once you work out the probabilty string of you being attacked, needing your weapon, shooting, and then either a jam or needing to reload then we start to get well into lottery sized odds against all of these happening.

 

[silentpoet]

I carry 1 extra full capacity USP45F magazine because I have not purchased a third yet. My sig 229 I carry 2 spares, but one is a pro mag, it is the last mag I reach for. My sig magazines are just the neutered 10 rounders.

I keep thinking about buying another pistol, but really I need magazines and more ammo.

 

[FerFAL]

Lately I’ve been carrying my Bersa 9mm and a spare 19 round mag loaded with Hirtemberg EMB (expandable armor piercing ammo)

The mag in the Bersa holds 17 rounds of 115 gr. JHP +P Gold Dot.

The spare mag is either in my left pocket jacket or the front left pocket of my jeans, where I leave it with the rubber covered plate exposed (but concealed under my shirt/t-shirt.
It rides nicely next to the Cold Steel folder in the same pocket, and the rubber plate cover is easy to grab.

That gives me 36 rounds. 2 extra mags would be better but that will have to do for now.

FerFAL

 

[blackcash88]

Since it's still warm here, I only carry my PM9 which only holds 6 rounds in the magazine. I carry two spares in my left pocket. I figure if I can't get it done with 19 rounds of +P 9mm JHPs, well...

In the winter, I will carry either a G19 or Kimber 1911 IWB with no spare mags. The PM9 and two spare mags are still there. I'll do the NY reload thing if my primary chokes.

 

[Mandirigma]

Lately I’ve been carrying my Bersa 9mm and a spare 19 round mag loaded with Hirtemberg EMB (expandable armor piercing ammo)

The mag in the Bersa holds 17 rounds of 115 gr. JHP +P Gold Dot.

The spare mag is either in my left pocket jacket or the front left pocket of my jeans, where I leave it with the rubber covered plate exposed (but concealed under my shirt/t-shirt.
It rides nicely next to the Cold Steel folder in the same pocket, and the rubber plate cover is easy to grab.

That gives me 36 rounds. 2 extra mags would be better but that will have to do for now.

FerFAL

A NOTE: For those that are unfamiliar, FerFal has lived through his country in a real life SHTF situation. looking for the link to the original posts frugalsquirrels forum iirc.

 

[benEzra]

If I go through say 15 rounds of .40 S&W and I am still on my feet and fighting I need a rifle and body armor, not a reload. But just about everyone I know that carries, carries one or more spares though. Don't know a single person that ever needed it even when they needed their gun.

If you fire *one* round of .40 S&W and your gun fails to feed the second round because of a bent feed lip or whatever, you'll want a spare magazine. Or if your gun whacks against something hard and the magazine baseplate comes off.

IMHO, carrying two spare magazines on the opposite side from the firearm helps balance the weight better, if you are carrying strong-side in a belt holster. From a round-count standpoint, one spare for a double-stack firearm may be enough, but I carry a single-stack 9mm so I would want two spares anyway.

 

[fear-mn]

The one arguement I don't see here:

What is the prosecutor going to convince the jury about how many rounds you were carrying??

I read 53 rounds!! That's not defensive, that's offensive. Expect to hear Rambo stories if you ever have to use your firearm while carrying 53 rounds.

Most of the answers here are well founded. One extra mag for a low cap firearms seems reasonable. If you cannot diffuse a threat with less than 18-20 rounds, you may want to evaluate your training and start building confidence in your skills (easy argument for a prosecutor to render you incompetant in court). You CAN function under extreme duress, but you have to train for it.

After saving your hide, you have to keep your hide out of prison. Making sure you have a very solid reason behind what you carry, that 12 of your peers will deem reasonable is very important.

But to answer the question, I carry one reload if I'm carrying my 5 round revolver. I carry no reloads if I'm carry my XD (10 or 13 rounds) or my PT111 (12 rounds). I am not worried about being able to diffuse a threat with 10 rounds. If I were, I'd be chasing more training classes and building my skills and confidence.

 

[blackcash88]

I am not worried about being able to diffuse a threat with 10 rounds.

I don't care how reliable your pistols are because they CAN still FAIL/MALFUNCTION at any time.

You may not even get close to dumping a full mag if it jams on the second or third shot with that knife wielding maniac hopped up on meth or something charging at you.

 

[benEzra]

The one arguement I don't see here:

What is the prosecutor going to convince the jury about how many rounds you were carrying??

I read 53 rounds!! That's not defensive, that's offensive. Expect to hear Rambo stories if you ever have to use your firearm while carrying 53 rounds.

Only if you *shoot* 53 rounds in a situation that didn't justifiably call for 53 rounds to be shot.

If you are carrying a Glock 17 and two spare mags in a standard 2-mag carrier, that is not Rambo at all. Odds are that most any CHL holder carrying 1 gun and 2 spare magazines is carrying less ammunition than local law enforcement is.

Most of the answers here are well founded. One extra mag for a low cap firearms seems reasonable. If you cannot diffuse a threat with less than 18-20 rounds, you may want to evaluate your training and start building confidence in your skills (easy argument for a prosecutor to render you incompetant in court). You CAN function under extreme duress, but you have to train for it.

I carry a low-capacity single-stack 9mm (8+1) and 2 spare 8-round magazines. That is 25 rounds. I would hope that if I ever did have to actually use the firearm (God forbid), that I would not have to fire 25 rounds; most of that is reserve. If were expecting I'd actually need to fire 25 rounds to stop a lethal attack, I'd want to be carrying a lot more than that in order to have a reserve. There is no penalty for having unfired ammunition left over; there is a BIG penalty for running out of ammunition before stopping a lethal attack. And there is certainly enough tragic experience in law enforcement circles to show that in a significant percentage of cases, having a reload or two can save a life.

Also, if you have only 10 rounds and it takes 9 or 10 rounds to stop a violent attacker, you are unarmed until the police arrive. You had better hope the person who attacked you doesn't have any accomplices.

After saving your hide, you have to keep your hide out of prison. Making sure you have a very solid reason behind what you carry, that 12 of your peers will deem reasonable is very important.

What you are carrying doesn't determine whether or not an act of self-defense is ruled justifiable. The circumstances under which you are attacked do.

Considering that a double-stack firearm and two spare magazines is almost certainly the same as your local police officers carry, the "they'll call you a Rambo wannabe for carrying even two magazines" doesn't hold water at all, IMO. Six or eight magazines, maybe; two, no.

But to answer the question, I carry one reload if I'm carrying my 5 round revolver. I carry no reloads if I'm carry my XD (10 or 13 rounds) or my PT111 (12 rounds). I am not worried about being able to diffuse a threat with 10 rounds. If I were, I'd be chasing more training classes and building my skills and confidence.

Again, one of the primary reasons to carry a spare magazine is to allow your gun to function at all if the primary magazine is damaged or jams. A couple of magazines also offset the weight of the firearm on your belt.

If you are comfortable carrying no reserve magazines, that's totally fine with me. But I am not a "Rambo wannabe" for choosing differently, unless Rambo carried a low-cap Ladysmith...

 

[Mainsail]

CCW only? I carry one or two extras on the off side when open carrying.

 

[Loomis]

Mandirigma, Titan6:

You are describing fatique. I am describing creep. Both are failure modes. For a spring that sees few loading cycles, creep will be more of a factor than fatique.

And if YOU don't believe Me, then by all means, ignore me.

 

[Mandirigma]

Loomis, I'm aware, just not terrible concerned about creep, to my understanding, its on "High capacity" magazines. (hate that term)

I've recently (couple months back) pulled out a few pre-ban mags I had for my G19. Loaded them, and let them sit in various places in ammo cans (garages, attics, outdoor storage, indoor closest, I move a lot) since I bought the gun in 2000.

Both ammo and magazines functioned without a hitch. I pulled them apart, cleaned and lubed them then re-charged them. Back into the ammo cans they went.

Now, for my AR- mags, these I usually fill these 2/3rds. but I also have loaded stripper clips in the same cans.

Also before my grandfather passed he shot my tupperware, and I his all steel 1911, we shot some 1911 mags he had in the attic from when he retired from the Coast Guard, said they had been loaded since the 50's. Again, without any hitches. That gun went to his favorite grandson (I'm only a step grandchild). But I went out an bought an unreasonably expensive 1991a1 for myself. So HA step-cousin!

 

[possum]

double stack guns, i carry one spare minimum, sometimes 2. single stack guns, like 1911's, i woudl definetly say 2 reloads.

 

[ctdonath]

Anecdotal upper end:
Knew a guy who went thru 50 rounds in a defensive shooting. He was in an open well-lit parking lot, they were hiding in the dark behind bushes.

 

[recluse]

ctdonath wrote: Anecdotal upper end:
Knew a guy who went thru 50 rounds in a defensive shooting. He was in an open well-lit parking lot, they were hiding in the dark behind bushes.

Thank you! These things do sometimes happen. I simply want to be prepared for them...

 

[giddonah]

This thread would have been better as a poll.

 

[Leanwolf]

CTDONATH - "Anecdotal upper end:
Knew a guy who went thru 50 rounds in a defensive shooting. He was in an open well-lit parking lot, they were hiding in the dark behind bushes."

That would be a very interesting story to read. Can you post the event and resolution??

L.W.

 

[ctdonath]

Guy was working as a security guard. Walking to his car at night, three local teens decided to use him as target practice. They were hiding in bushes in the dark, and opened fire when he was in the mostly-empty well-lit parking lot. Squeezing behind a curb was the best cover he could get. As the attackers fired, he watched for muzzle flashes and fired back accordingly. Took 50 rounds to terminate all three threats. He was charged, and acquitted.

That's all I know. Sometimes you don't pry for further details.

 

[shadowalker]

I carry at least two spare magazines, both for spare ammunition and mechanical reliability.

There are so many things a prosecutor may say, JHP bullets, having a CWL, carrying a firearm, getting training, etc. I would far rather explain myself later than lose the fight.