Why carry extra mags?

onlurker · Apr 5, 2011

protect our rights said:
and if you CAN't get away, and run out of ammo? Beg for mercy?

If I'm running out of ammo, even if I were to use the two loaded spare mags that I carry strictly for balance, there is little chance any extra ammo will be of benefit.

protect our rights · Apr 5, 2011

onlurker said:
If I'm running out of ammo, even if I were to use the two loaded spare mags that I carry strictly for balance, there is little chance any extra ammo will be of benefit.

Well I was simply saying that if you CAN'T get away those two extra mags will help. You said you would rather run if you were in the situation where you were having to reload. I was saying that what if you couldn't get away (ie: trapped, cut off from exit, mass shooter ect) You'd be happy you had those extra mags.

Not sure if you would want to use them though, you might be off balance when your getting away....:lol:

onlurker · Apr 5, 2011

protect our rights said:
Not sure if you would want to use them though, you might be off balance when your getting away....:lol:

Funny guy, :lol:

That's a pretty strong assertion saying that extra ammo will help, especially when you consider the unique nature of self defense situations. Extra ammo might help but like I said, there could very well be bigger problems to worry about that can't be solved by merely reloading.

We could play "what-if" games until we're blue in the face, but to argue that carrying spare ammo strictly for those "just in case" situations of reloading is bordering on paranoid IMO.

JoeGlock40 · Apr 6, 2011

its not bein paranoid, its bein prepared for the worst. if you think about it, why are you carryin a gun in the first place, "just incase" right, just incase that rare situation ever happenes where you need it in a self defense or defense of others situation.. if the SHTF i wana try to be at the best advantage i can get over the BGs..cuz you know a casual thug wont be carryin spare mags, but sumone hell bent on mass casualties, like the incident in tucson and other cities alike, them poeple carry multiple mags and/or weapons..but thats just me

cbpeck · Apr 6, 2011

Everybody has their own comfort level.

Most of the time I carry 9+1 in the gun & one spare 9rd magazine. I feel that this is enough for almost any imaginable situation. It permits me the ability to perform a tactical reload or a full reload, and the ability to replace a malfunctioning magazine with a fresh one. That being said, my carry gun has never jammed, so the likelihood of a malfunction happening when I need it most is extremely unlikely. I do agree with the "prepare for the worst" crowd, though.

Sure, I could carry a second spare mag, or a third... for that matter I could carry a messenger bag full of spare mags loaded with HP, AP & Incendiary ammo, but I don't. We all draw the line somewhere.

Dreamer · Apr 6, 2011

Mas49.56 said:
Good luck in a high stress situation with running, holding your mag and rack tap assess reload with the same hand, you're a better man than I am. And if it's your mag causing the malfunctions? I'm not riding you, but if your going through the effort to carry a pistol it's no great effort to have at least one spare IMHO. I want you to win.:dude:

Except when the FTF caused the next round to flip over in the top of the mag when you drop it. Re-inserting this mag would just result in another FTF, with the added advantage of possibly damaging your gun or jamming it in a way that would take MINUTES to clear, as it tries to feed a round in backwards. (I've actually had this happen a few times during USPSA matches)

In a real SHTF scenario, a fresh mag is ALWAYS the best answer. You can pick up and assess the problem with the original "trouble mag" after the smoke clears from the second mag's rounds...

onlurker · Apr 6, 2011

JoeGlock40 said:
its not bein paranoid, its bein prepared for the worst.

Preparing for the absolute worst case scenario, which happens to be statistically improbable in this case, is walking the fine line of paranoia. Isn't one of the first "rules" of self-defense to do what you can to avoid the situation all-together? For the most part, we know what sick psychos look for when it comes to targets; large grouping of people (malls or schools for example) and/or people of importance such as political figures. If we remove ourselves from these situations, we're left with petty criminals where reloading most likely wouldn't be necessary, let alone a shot fired.

JoeGlock40 · Apr 7, 2011

onlurker said:
Preparing for the absolute worst case scenario, which happens to be statistically improbable in this case, is walking the fine line of paranoia. Isn't one of the first "rules" of self-defense to do what you can to avoid the situation all-together? For the most part, we know what sick psychos look for when it comes to targets; large grouping of people (malls or schools for example) and/or people of importance such as political figures. If we remove ourselves from these situations, we're left with petty criminals where reloading most likely wouldn't be necessary, let alone a shot fired.

i agree..but theres the times you just cant avoid places like that..like when your spouse and/or kids buggs you to go out...but i get what your talkin about... just keep your self aware of wuts goin on around you and be prepared to take action, whether its run like hell to get out of the area if you can safely or just do wut you gota do to save yourself and the others with u...in the end as long as i go home and not leave in a body bag and my loved ones do the same, thats all that matters

protect our rights · Apr 7, 2011

JoeGlock40 said:
its not bein paranoid, its bein prepared for the worst. if you think about it, why are you carryin a gun in the first place, "just incase" right, just incase that rare situation ever happenes where you need it in a self defense or defense of others situation.. if the SHTF i wana try to be at the best advantage i can get over the BGs..cuz you know a casual thug wont be carryin spare mags, but sumone hell bent on mass casualties, like the incident in tucson and other cities alike, them poeple carry multiple mags and/or weapons..but thats just me

+1

cbpeck said:
Most of the time I carry 9+1 in the gun & one spare 9rd magazine. I feel that this is enough for almost any imaginable situation. It permits me the ability to perform a tactical reload or a full reload, and the ability to replace a malfunctioning magazine with a fresh one. That being said, my carry gun has never jammed, so the likelihood of a malfunction happening when I need it most is extremely unlikely. I do agree with the "prepare for the worst" crowd, though.

Sure, I could carry a second spare mag, or a third... for that matter I could carry a messenger bag full of spare mags loaded with HP, AP & Incendiary ammo, but I don't. We all draw the line somewhere.

+1

onlurker said:
Preparing for the absolute worst case scenario, which happens to be statistically improbable in this case, is walking the fine line of paranoia. Isn't one of the first "rules" of self-defense to do what you can to avoid the situation all-together? For the most part, we know what sick psychos look for when it comes to targets; large grouping of people (malls or schools for example) and/or people of importance such as political figures. If we remove ourselves from these situations, we're left with petty criminals where reloading most likely wouldn't be necessary, let alone a shot fired.

So avoid the mall, avoid town meetings, basically change your life to not become a victim. Well I changed my life by carrying. I WILL continue to go to these places, and I will be prepared if something does go down. If you avoid situations like these just because the small chance someone goes crazy and starts shooting up the place, that my friend is what I would call paranoia.

onlurker · Apr 7, 2011

protect our rights said:
So avoid the mall, avoid town meetings, basically change your life to not become a victim. Well I changed my life by carrying. I WILL continue to go to these places, and I will be prepared if something does go down. If you avoid situations like these just because the small chance someone goes crazy and starts shooting up the place, that my friend is what I would call paranoia.

How is preparing oneself for "the worst" less paranoid than avoiding said places altogether?

And I wasn't saying to outright avoid those locations, i.e. "I have shopping to do, better avoid the mall for the off-chance someone might shoot up the place." The point that I was bringing up is that most people will be avoiding those places simply because their day-to-day business doesn't bring them there. Not to play the "it won't happen to me" card, but simply not having any business at these locations GREATLY reduces the exposure to the risk of a gun fight.

markand · Apr 7, 2011

If you're going to go to all the trouble of carrying the sidearm to begin with, carrying an extra magazine or two hardly adds that much extra weight or bother. A couple of extra magazines does, however, make it easier to recover from a FTF and gives you the ability to fight a larger fight against more assailants than somebody who only has the ammo in the gun. Not likely? Perhaps not, but do you want to bet your life on that?

ocholsteroc · Apr 7, 2011

JoeGlock40 said:
i carry a glock 22 with 15 round mags and i still carry 2 spares and a BUG...the spare mags are incase i have a mag failure or a double feed and then its just best to change mags..plus i carry 2 spares on duty so i feel alil under powered you can say if im not equalled off duty since itll take alot longer for Leo to get there if the SHTF..but thats just me

^ What he said but the BUG, I always carry 1~2 spares. What if jam/ or mag failure. Why limit yourself to just 1 magazine? what if you got more than 1 attacker?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaVcP7xKBYc&feature=fvwrel

Did you see this video of a Marine attacked outside of a movie threater?

20 attackers..... Well he didn't have a gun but if he was a man with a CCW and he only had one magazine that would not be good. What if the attackeers had their own guns?

Please do not post, if I have to use more than my 1911/lcp 5/6/7 shot gun then I am done for. No you arn't.

Badger Johnson · Apr 7, 2011

Should always carry at least 2 additional mags, or have a partner with you who is also armed.

Reason?
o If you have a FTF, drop the current mag and insert a new one.
o If you are wounded in the arm, you'll have to use one hand to reload so you should carry a mag next to your gun.
o WHEN the fight is over, you're standing there with an empty gun what do next? "Duh", anyone?

Chances of a FTF and an empty gun if you have an 8 round single stack - very high. Assume you hit the target with at most 2 of 5 rounds.

So at least 2 mags, one next to the HG, and don't attempt to fight with mags in your pockets. They are for resupplying your belt carried mags. Thus carry 1-2 more in your cargo pocket.

The number of absolute rounds in your gun has NO bearing on how many mags you are carrying because a magazine can and does go bad, jams, falls apart - they're just thin metal and plastic things.

$.02

Claytron · Apr 11, 2011

carry one extra mag to switch to in case of a failure that isnt simple enough to fix with a tap-rack

one aspect you dont hear people talk about alot is how carrying extra magazines can affect you in a courtroom. You hear guys talk about carrying a 45 with 2-3 extra mags and then a sub compact as a backup, also with 3 additional mags and one thing they dont take into consideration is how hard they are going to get hammered by a lawyer for having 50+ rounds on them.

thinking you will need 5 or 6 mags and 50+ rounds is a fantasy. Of course its POSSIBLE that you could need them but if you are going to follow the mindset of more is better why draw the line there, why not just wear a bandolier filled with mags or something?

CarryHard · Apr 11, 2011

MikeTheGreek said:
Very good point, I was thinking about carrying mine in a thigh rig to try and ease some of the pressure on my hip from carrying a full sized handgun around all day.

I'm about to spend 130$ on a level 3 thigh rig..

ixtow · Apr 11, 2011

Why extra mags? For the same reason you carry your gun: You might need it. Hope not. But it would be a pretty sad day if one more bullet could make all the difference....

I've never seen a gun with no ammo manage to fire.

ocholsteroc · Apr 11, 2011

ixtow said:
Why extra mags? For the same reason you carry your gun: You might need it. Hope not. But it would be a pretty sad day if one more bullet could make all the difference....

I've never seen a gun with no ammo manage to fire.

Good answer!

There was a SD shooting where a woman had a 5 shot subnose, she killed 2 out of the 5 suspects I believe, I forget the whole story, all I know is 1 or 2 people got killed and she had to reload.

thebigsd · Apr 11, 2011

I carry extra magazines because I feel it it important to always be prepared for whatever situayion I might encounter. Like others have said, I could have a mag failure or come up against a bigger problem then one mag could handle, etc.

Namchief · Jun 24, 2011

I have a glock27 and carry a 15 round Glock22 mag as backup. This is what I carry while in MN and IA. I could carry 2 Glock 27 mags but would only add 3 rounds. I would have to buy another Glock 27 mag as I have 3 mags for the 27 I rotate every month and when on their off month I unload and release the spring fully as I do with all my mags. Using the Glock 22 mag which I already have 3 of because of owning a Glock 22 would get full use of my mags. Does this sound about right to everyone?

Warp · Jun 26, 2011

IMO extra magazines for a semi-auto pistol that is being carried openly (this implies the gun is large enough to have an acceptable capacity) are primarily for potential malfunctions. The additional ammunition is more of a nice bonus. That is how I view it, anyway, but then the lowest capacity semi auto I have is 10+1.

Why carry extra mags?

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