The spare mag issue...
There are lots of sides to this issue that get glossed over.
Firstly, I carry a 5" 1911 with a wilson 8 rd mag condition 1...if I have pants on it's there. I do not normally carry a spare mag "on my person" unless I am traveling a lot in the city (I live in "Mayberry" USA...I work in a gunshop there are spare mags in my desk and "a couple other places" if I need them as wel as on my nightstand in my center console in the truck and if I needed more (doubtful) in my rangebag in the back of the cab (range mags loaded with ball or SWC handloads) If I'm going to be in the city I do carry a spare in my front left pants pocket. On rare occassions I even leave the 1911 and carry a pocket rocket (it's usually only a few times a year around christmas...I still have my EDC folder a taclight and...well I'm a big guy anyway and while generally jolly I've hurt someones feelings a few times without a weapon if it came to it. (There's also usually a riotgun in the truck behind the rear seats (loaded when legal...unloaded with ammunition legally secured the rest of the time...just in case of sudden
zombie apocalypse whilst away from the country homestead. Sometimes it's an AR if I'm spending non-hunting time at the hunting club (general varmint stopper of choice when greater than front/backyard/livingroom distances involved) There are certain areas I do actually put on my double mag carrier when I visit...but normally I don't visit places that make me wonder if I have "
enough ammo one me"-LOL
I work at a gunshop....so I
could strap-up 50 pounds of mallninja "tactical" garb or open carry in $200 sharkskin holster and carriers if I wanted to walk around in it all day. I wear an untucked shirt over it SS belt pancake type holster and very few people notice it. I don't notice the weight of the gun...I notice if it's NOT there-LOL (most of you know what I mean that have been carying the same "oldschool" HG a long time) Cheap $65 Bianchi autoretention leather holster on a wilderness frequent flyer belt (I think that's what they call it?) ...the one with the derlin rings buckle (retired instructor belt to buddy who still uses it daily years after I used it for years). I could carry a spare mag pouch and a single mag or mag and light combo or whatever the belt will support it well -but I just don't want to wear all that crap daily for whatever reason it seems silly or redundant unless traveling "for me".
However what is usually lost in these threads most places is that the best reason to have a spare magazine is not simply extra ammo. The
best reason is that 98% of the time most stoppages with any semi auto can be most quickly "100% guaranteed cleared" and HG restored to working order by a "tap rack" that if unsuccessful is immediately followed by a mag change (tactical reload if you wanna sound extra gun-chique-LOL)(if doublefeed ect drop mag rack 2-3x's and tap rack bang with new mag inserted)
You can dry fire with snapcaps/dummy rounds practice "draw from concealment click....tap-rack click" drop mag (or pocket...I drop it in practice because it's smoother and faster) followed by 2-3 times rapid rack (to clear potential FTE without even looking or assessing...in the time that takes you can just shuck it 2-3 times IMHO) then insert mag smoothly with gun up in front of you in your line of sight to potential target...I turn it almost halfway sideways while loading...many try to keep looking over the sights in a firing position while loading...whatever works for you) then tap rack click) repeat drill
If you have 4 mags a handfull of snapcaps/dummy rounds you can back to backdryfire practice this several times ina row. I reach into my pocket for next mag because when I have one that's where it is but if you do carry one on the belt ect practice geting to it and orienting and loading smoothly just like you practice draw from concealment. (just make sure you double clear gun and double check all mags and get all live ammo and other mags the heck away from you whilst you do this...common sense of course) This is just as important and possibly more productive than live fire drills with dummy/snapcaps because you can brush up regularly with this method.
You can modify it for livefire practice obviously with mixed live/dummy ammo -common sense range safety in place of course.
Some practice holding the expelled or potentially problemed mag (or it may have just been the bum round now on the floor more likely) they clear 2-3X's then reload the SAME mag and "tap rack bang" IMHO it's more logical and a MUCH more guaranteed fix to to dump/extract the mag rack a few times quickly and reload 2nd mag (load, tap, rack, bang) If there is time and space pocket the original mag...you might just really need whatever rounds are left sure. But get the gun working again in as few steps as possible. USUALLY a tap rack will get it anyway (thank heavens) But if not why not 100% eliminate the possible "problemmed mag" (may be more rounds in same mag with same issue that cause FTF/FTE afterall) there are few few "mistakes on purpose" I can make reloading .45acp for my 1911 that will often stump my gun into a DF/FTE type "messy jam"...it's not picky but there are a few seatings it doesn't like and I have a known bad extractor I can swap in to make things even more "interesting" It's actually hard to induce problems in a GLOCK but there are always snapcaps (and blazer alum cased ammo...do you feel lucky?-LOL) This is an area I rarely see discussed while "how many guns how many mags" get repeated 2-3X more often. (and BUG's are good....I just don't cary one...I preffer to be really good with ONE HG...just me...many more learned folks go the other way on that issue...and a draw is certainly faster than the above...no doubt...I just got enough crap on my belot and in m,y pockets as it is...if I was in LE I probably would carry a BUG (back-up gun)
The extra rounds are almost completely secondary to having a spare tested working mag with fresh known good ammo backing up what is in the gun. Also this type of thought process and practice will make you feel better about shooting out your carry rounds (or top half of mag anyway) on a semi-regular basis...because no matter how good you get you won't want to do this for a "hostile audience"-LOL My carry mag ammo tends to start getting kind of rough looking after a month or two of loading and unloading ect...I like to run the mags with ball/SWC and a small amount of my handload HP fodder when I shoot....then I cycle back to factory carry ammo...this is usually when I swap frpm my A) to my B) in the gun mag. (Normally I just draw and shootup the mag in the gun then reload and go to 2nd mag after range session and reoald first (after a quick cleaning if called for...love the steelbase lo-pro wilson 8 rounders...so easy to clean fast) I hope this keeps me from ever needing the above skillset.
Whatever you carry and however you do things -practice doing them smoothly and safely slow and deliberate at first before you pick up the pace...or you're just making things worse for yourself (harder to unlearn bad habbits than learn good ones)
hope that helps someone...again I'm not an expert...but I did once stand next to one on a bus...he wasn't wearing an open-carry G20 in a sharkskin holster with matching belt and pouches either...go figure!
