Spare Handgun Ammunition

[GRB]

I wrote a piece on my blog about carrying spare handgun ammo, and it got me to wondering just how much spare ammo people usually carry with them - therefore this poll. This is under Strategies and Tactics because it is a poll about the tactics of how to carry a handgun and or spare ammo.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

[Hardtarget]

My opinion only...if you can't reload...are you really armed?

My carry only has 6 rnd mags...so even with a reload I don't get even with some of these 15 rnd hi-cap 9's.

Still...I like to have a reload.

Mark.

 

[mr_blove]

I carry the XD .45 with the 13+1 round cap, if I need more than that then I am in the wrong situation with no plans of E&E. I am always am looking for a exit.

 

[ajl2121]

Well I don't usually carry, because I can't legally. But in the extreme cases where I might have to (i.e. chaos or natural disasters) I am prepared with 5 magazines. 1 mag in the pistol, 2 mags in a mag pouch on my belt, and 2 mags in a mag pouch in my bag. Total equals 50 rounds of .45 ACP for my USP. I would also carry an additional 50 rounds in box.

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

One full spare magazine is enough for me.(9x19)
Cant think of a situation where I needed more.
Plus its easy to carry when you got a holster with a place for one.

 

[40SW]

Although FBI data shows that the average engagement expends less than two rounds of ammunition, I subscribe to the "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it " axiom. Peace of mind is pricess and a protracted engagement requiring multiple rounds of ammunition is a possibility. I like to be ready just in case. My answer is at least having one reload, be it an extra magazine for a semi or an extra speedloader for a revolver. I also carry a folder (knife), as well as a flashlight. I also advocate the idea of carrying a BUG (backup gun).

 

[esq_stu]

one spare mag or one speed strip or one New York reload

 

[Bo]

I'm with Mr.Blove, if 14 rds. in my XD 45 is not enough, I'll call a time out while I leave.

 

[ilbob]

I have seen a fair number of cop shooting videos where the cop blasts through a magazine and fails to hit anything, and then reloads and does the same thing again, sometimes at amazingly close distances. One would think the sheer number of chunks of lead in the air would result in a hit at some point.

I also recall the case of an armored car guard who shot it out with a robber in the basement of a hospital in Chicago back in the late 70s. The robber and the guard blasted away at each other from 10-15 feet. The guard had a second revolver (a snubby as the story goes) and somehow managed to hit the robber with the second gun, after missing him 6 times with the first. IIRC, total of 17 rounds fired from 10-15 feet results in one hit in the foot.

I vote for extra mags. I think carrying an extra box of ammo is maybe pushing things a bit, but whatever trips your trigger.

 

[foghornl]

2 spare 1911-A1 magazines.

 

[scubie02]

I generally carry one spare mag, but every once in awhile if clothing or circumstance dictates I just drop something small in a pocket going down to the convenience store, so I had to answer sometimes no reload.

 

[Richmond]

reloads

I voted carry a single reload.

My normal daily carry is a J frame, and I carry 10 extra rounds. When I carry one of my .45s, I carry one extra mag.

 

[RyanM]

Always two reloads for each handgun carried, regardless of capacity. Mainly to balance the weight, but more shots can't hurt.

 

[Biker]

Although I sometimes carry a BUG, I don't carry extra ammo. My main CCW holds 5 rounds of 45 LC. If that don't get the job done, I'm having a real bad day.

Gotta die of something.

Biker

 

[Autolycus]

I myself would suggest carrying two reloads, if only to balance the weight of the firearm on your belt.

Either way you dont hear about people complaining that they have to much ammo in a gunfight.

 

[Biker]

True, but you *do* hear of people missing a lot.

Biker

 

[El Tejon]

2 spare mags. It's the way I was trained and what I am used to.

Besides the extra weight is exercise and I figure that it won't hurt me any.

 

[TomB7777]

My EDC is a S&W 642 in the right front pocket. I always carry at least one Speed strip in a back pocket.

 

[Cannonball888]

You left out the option of carrying two loaded handguns and no spare mag. It's faster to draw a second gun than to reload.

 

[mpmarty]

My carry compact 45 acp holds eleven rounds. I practice with it every week end to the tune of at least a hundred rounds. I compete at IPSC with it and if eleven aren't enough, I had no business being there in the first place. I have used a pistol in self defense or other legal ways three times over my nearly seventy years and never needed more than three rounds, carrying nearly four times that many feels just fine to me. Yes, playing IPSC I do reloads "on the run" and a scenario may encompass as many as thirty five or more rounds but that is "gaming" not real life. One has to realize the difference. I don't carry so I can get into the battle of the little big horn.

 

[kd7nqb]

If I am carrying its a M&P.40 with 15+1 capacity. If 16 rounds of .40 wont stop them then I have lost already. However I do occasionally slap one a spare mag mostly for weight balance.

 

[RevolvingCylinder]

My opinion only...if you can't reload...are you really armed?

Next time someone points a loaded weapon at you without spare ammunition, tell them they're not really armed.

 

[40SW]

"My opinion only...if you can't reload...are you really armed? "

Yes, you are armed with factory ammo. ,which is more defensible in a court of law. (sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[rcmodel]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it already, but a spair mag is generally more useful then the ammo in it.
I always carry at least one extra mag when I carry any auto pistol.

Magazines can fall out, become lost, bent feed lips, damaged, etc.

Without a working magazine, an auto-pistol becomes a very unhandy Single-Shot.
And those guns with a magazine safety won't even fire!

rcmodel

 

[40SW]

Excellent points made.
The need for a spare mag in a semi auto to counter the following possibilities.

1. Missed shots due to extreme stress.
2. Primary mag falling out due to unintentional depression of the magazine release button (again due to stress).
3. You are not in a controlled range environment, so the stress level in a tactical engagement is very elevated, making 1 & 2 real issues.
4. Both eventualities make plausable sense.
I agree. Extra mags to counter this is reasonable.

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