My article, "How many pistol magazines is enough?"

[Trebor]

Here's my latest Michigan Firearms Examiner article:

How many pistol magazines is enough?

If you missed them, here are my earlier articles on CCW tips:

Advice to new concealed carry permit holders

Advice to new CCW permit holders: Part 2 - Carry like a pro

Seven tips for summer concealed carry

Five tips for CCW pocket carry

 

[TJx]

A significant factor for me in the number of mags I have is the potential of another capacity restriction ban.

I also number or mark my mags to keep track of ones that start acting up or are not suitable for self defense use.
A example of this is I have one Glock magazine that doesn't have the full metal liners, I have it marked "R" for range use only because leaving it loaded it will eventually split along the back just like 3 other Glock mags I had.

 

[David E]

Six magazines, total?. For a serious/primary defensive handgun??

Maybe if you don't shoot much.

 

[skt239]

Six magazines, total?. For a serious/primary defensive handgun??

Maybe if you don't shoot much.

So what's the magic number?

 

[PabloJ]

Shlomo Baum mentioned six or more if I recall correctly. Running out of ammo in an engagement is a bad thing.

 

[TarDevil]

Oops

 

[Trebor]

Six magazines, total?. For a serious/primary defensive handgun??

Maybe if you don't shoot much.

Actually, I meant six mags as a minimum. But, I wasn't specific enough on that in the article. I edited the article to say that six is the minimum I recommend.

 

[wow6599]

I think 7 or 8 is enough (I always want more) for a double stack 9mm, i.e. a Hi Power, M&P, Glock, etc.

For a single stack gun like a 1911....probably 12 or more.

 

[vba]

I have boxes filled with magazines, from American Rifleman, American Handgunner to old copies of Guns and Ammo.

 

[Skribs]

Oh, total magazines. I came into this thread expecting to read about how many you carry.

 

[SN13]

I think it's BS to have "Range" and "Duty" mags. All springs wear out with use. The problem I see here, is that you "Function test" the duty mags and then leave them for duty use, but in the meantime your GUN's own springs are losing potency at the range while the range mags lose potency. Eventually you may have a recoil-spring that functions 100% with the worn-out "Range" mags but doesn't have enough UMPH to cycle those top rounds from that STIFF, never used but "Function Tested" "Duty" mag.

And of course, you don't find this out until you NEED the mag to work... because you "Function tested" it once and didn't want to wear it out.

 

[David E]

So what's the magic number?

For a serious gun, I put it at 12, but if you shoot more than most, double that.

(Now someone is going to misconstrue that to mean carrying that many mags on your person, which isn't at all what I just said.)

If it's a hicap, buy what you can while you can.

 

[mdauben]

Six magazines, total?. For a serious/primary defensive handgun??

Maybe if you don't shoot much.

This seems pretty reasonable to me and I generally aim for a half dozen magazines for each of my semiauto handguns. That gives me one in the gun and one on the belt for CC, with four "spares". Obviously, more is almost always better but there are always other things I could spend my money on (including more ammo) rather than another mag so that seems reasonable for someone interested in everyday SD. FWIW, all my SD guns have at least 13 round mags.

Now, if you are a competition shooter or are seriously prepping for SHTF, YMMV.

 

[thunder173]

Usually just one. If I lay them out correctly on an opened one,...., most of my revolvers will be on the two pages.

I had to say it..........devil made me do it!

 

[holdencm9]

Hmm I gotta start buying more mags! I have 3 or 4 for handgun. Even for range toys I have that many because I usually shoot with others and it is nice to be able to start reloading a mag while the other person shoots through a mag.

I would love to have more, but they are just so darn expensive it seems! $25 seems to be the low end and some of my guns take magazines that usually run $40. I think the key is to just buy one or two at a time, here and there, and then they add up. I wouldn't say that anytime you buy a gun you immediately have to run to the store and buy 5 extra magazines for it, but definitely start collecting them over time.

I think it's BS to have "Range" and "Duty" mags. All springs wear out with use. The problem I see here, is that you "Function test" the duty mags and then leave them for duty use, but in the meantime your GUN's own springs are losing potency at the range while the range mags lose potency. Eventually you may have a recoil-spring that functions 100% with the worn-out "Range" mags but doesn't have enough UMPH to cycle those top rounds from that STIFF, never used but "Function Tested" "Duty" mag.

Have you heard of that ever actually happening? Of course the easy solutions are to either replace your recoil spring once it starts to get weak, or function test your duty mag occasionally...like once every 10 range trips or something. But I don't see that phenomenon as a major concern.

 

[SN13]

Hmm I gotta start buying more mags! I have 3 or 4 for handgun. Even for range toys I have that many because I usually shoot with others and it is nice to be able to start reloading a mag while the other person shoots through a mag.

I would love to have more, but they are just so darn expensive it seems! $25 seems to be the low end and some of my guns take magazines that usually run $40. I think the key is to just buy one or two at a time, here and there, and then they add up. I wouldn't say that anytime you buy a gun you immediately have to run to the store and buy 5 extra magazines for it, but definitely start collecting them over time.



Have you heard of that ever actually happening? Of course the easy solutions are to either replace your recoil spring once it starts to get weak, or function test your duty mag occasionally...like once every 10 range trips or something. But I don't see that phenomenon as a major concern.

But you see the mags all magically failing the day you need them in a SD situation?

Hardly.

 

[Trebor]

I think it's BS to have "Range" and "Duty" mags. All springs wear out with use. The problem I see here, is that you "Function test" the duty mags and then leave them for duty use, but in the meantime your GUN's own springs are losing potency at the range while the range mags lose potency. Eventually you may have a recoil-spring that functions 100% with the worn-out "Range" mags but doesn't have enough UMPH to cycle those top rounds from that STIFF, never used but "Function Tested" "Duty" mag.

Have you heard of that ever actually happening? Of course the easy solutions are to either replace your recoil spring once it starts to get weak, or function test your duty mag occasionally...like once every 10 range trips or something. But I don't see that phenomenon as a major concern.

I reccomend rotating out your carry ammo (or HD ammo) every six months. This is when you'll also function test those duty mags. If cost is a concern, you don't have to have fire all your mag loaded defensive ammo every six months. If nothing else, shoot up the mag carried or stored in the pistol and cycle one of the backup mags as the carry mag. That way the longest you'll go without cycling through your duty mag ammo is 18 months. (This assumes three duty mags loaded with carry ammo).

I'm amazed how many people load up two or three mags with defensive ammo and still haven't shot that ammo years and years later.

 

[Girodin]

Just range guns that I shoot regularly I like to have at least that many. For defensive guns I prefer more. For a gun I'm going to take to a pistol class or use for competition, the more the better. Personally I like to have at least 10 mags for everything. Its as many as I ever carry plus a few extras. If I am wearing a chest rig I can carry 4 pistol mags on it (in addition to 4 rifle mags). I can carry two more on my belt and one it the gun. I like to have a few more spares as well.

Other factors being equal I do consider mag cost when buying a gun. I tend to buy a mag or two for a gun when I find them on sale and slowly build up my supply.

 

[Trebor]

Other factors being equal I do consider mag cost when buying a gun. I tend to buy a mag or two for a gun when I find them on sale and slowly build up my supply.

That's what I do as well. Mags can get expensive, that's why you do need to decide how much you want to sink into mags as opposed to another gun, or training, or whatever and why it's easier to buy them in onesies, twosies, instead of going out and sinking the cash into buying say 10 mags all at once.

 

[W.E.G.]

Every "batch" of magazines I carry has to be expendable.

I can't recall ever actually losing a magazine.

But there is always the possibility that I will suffer some incident where the batch is lost for good.

Need several BATCHES of mags for important guns.

I'm satisfied with just one mag for my Luger.

More fore the rest.

 

[mukwah]

Always "just one more"!!!!

 

[coalman]

I like to have one more mag than I think I'll ever needed.

Minimum = 6
Carry = 3
Range = 3 (allows practice of reloads)

Gaming
IDPA = 4 (range +1)
USPSA = 7 (range +4)

I consider 10 mags a good start.

 

[Manny]

I agree with 6 minimum, one for the gun & two reloads plus a set of spares strikes me as right. Never thought about range & duty mags, but sounds like a valid concept. I am very in favor of bumping to 9 to 12 each if at all possible, just have to get the finances to allow for it.

 

[bikerdoc]

Minimun = 5

Reality = I got at least 10 for my 1911, and 9mm each

The again being a gun guy for 55 yrs you tend to accumulate stuff

 

[holdencm9]

But you see the mags all magically failing the day you need them in a SD situation?

Hardly.

I think you misunderstood. I am not saying that the duty mag concept is to protect the mag. Moreso just a convenience so that you don't have to unload and reload your defensive ammo every time you go shooting. Back when I only had 2 mags, it was a pain to unload the defense ammo EVERY time I went to the range, only to have to reload them once I got back. And as we all know, it is the cycling of the mags that causes them to wear out. So that's why I went and bought more mags.

I reccomend rotating out your carry ammo (or HD ammo) every six months. This is when you'll also function test those duty mags. If cost is a concern, you don't have to have fire all your mag loaded defensive ammo every six months. If nothing else, shoot up the mag carried or stored in the pistol and cycle one of the backup mags as the carry mag. That way the longest you'll go without cycling through your duty mag ammo is 18 months. (This assumes three duty mags loaded with carry ammo).

I'm amazed how many people load up two or three mags with defensive ammo and still haven't shot that ammo years and years later.

I agree and do follow the practice of rotating out the defensive ammo, but it is more like once every year, or whenever I see a good deal on defensive ammo I'll buy a couple boxes and then shoot through whatever is in my mags. It is more for the sake of the ammo and my familiarity with how it shoots than any concerns about the magazine though. We've all heard of 1911 magazines stored fully loaded functioning fine 30 years later, it isn't the storage that wears out the spring it is the compression/decompression cycles that leads to fatigue.