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My usual carry is a G19 (15 + 1), G36 or compact 1911 (both 6 + 1)With the G19 I almost never carry a spare mag, With the 1911 or G36 I sometimes carry a spare mag and somtimes not - and feel guilty when I do not.

What do most of you carry?

Dave B.

I do not carry a spare 100% of the time.....but it is more often that not. There are situations when I am wearing scrubs that make it very difficult to hold my pants up with just the loaded gun! another ounce on the waist and I will get charged with exposure of my gun and buttocks

I do think it is very IMPORTANT and need to start doing it full time! I bet it would be much more important after hearing the first CLICK!
Jason

1 if by Glock

2 if by Kimber

2 if by 1911 or XD, 1 if by mouse gun. (I figure that 13 rounds out of the mouse gun ought to hurt any BG's feelings enough to make them walk away, or maybe just their ears. )

Col. Cooper told our class in (1984) "One magazine is no magazine, two magazines are one magazine". He didn't look at spare magazines as only extra ammo. He considered the possibility of equipment failure.

You carry one mag. and it fails (follower, spring, mag. base), and you're up the proverbial creek. Of course, extra ammo is nice too.

Sounds like a smart man to me!

Hoss

When all is well & no percieved elivated threat level, I carry 2 extra 10 rds for single stack 1911. Aftermath of Rita I carried 4 and one extra for the BUG and knife. +1 for what flint said. Even quality equipment can fail. He & I were training one day & he carries quality arms & shoots them well. Had a major malfunction. Forgot the proper name but failure to extract then another cramed in behind it. Can happen to any of us w/ the best arms & quality ammo.

I carry a Gloack 23 which is 13 in mag one in the pipe ,I carry one spare mag. most of the time if I am going to Austin,SA or any big city I carry 2 spares . I fell that 40 rds of Win.180 Ranger T-series should be enought and it isn't I should of been on the range a bit more .

300shooter

WOW! The consensus certainly seems to be in favor of more spare mags/ammo! I guess I should rethink this a little. I have always felt that for the type of confrontation most likely to occur that 16 rds was sufficent, never even thought of the defective mag scenario.

Now how do you'll carry these extra mags? Do you use mag carriers and if so what type.

Dave B.

In a personal role I believe the odds are I would only need the ammo in my handgun. However, equipment can fail. I carry a spare magazine always.

In a professional role, I carry at LEAST 2 magazines. Sometimes a second gun.

I grew up hearing the classic quotes "If you can hit 'em in six shots, you won't hit em with 12..." and other such non-sense mostly from guys who'd never been within 100 yards of a real gunfight. Still, I've always carried at least one spare magazine because all that I'd read from guys who'd actually needed a gun seemed to indicate that it was at the very least, a wise idea. Several of those guys said in one way or another that "two is one and one is none."

One day , I showed up at the range with no intention of shooting the match that day. All I had with me was my daily carry gear which on that day was a Glock 19 with that one spare magazine. Well, one thing lead to another and the guys talked me into shooting one stage. I walked onto the line wearing the clothes, gun and ammo I'd walked in off the street carrying.

I started the stage rocking and rolling pretty smoothly. Carry ammo was a bit more stout than I was used to shooting during a match but not enough to care. It just made me slow my shots down a few hundredths of a second and I was actually more accurate than normal. But things went stupid about 5 rounds into it when the magazine suddenly puked it's remaining contents all over the floor. Some how, the base plate had failed and all that was left in the gun was the magazine's shell.

LUCKILY, I had that one spare. So I quicky dumped the body, fed the beast and got back to work. I finished the stage and all was fine, no points down and the reload had cost me only about 1.5 seconds. But the fact that this happened with the gear I was wearing on the street that day hit home.

I bought two new magazines on the spot. I put them both through four complete cycles, charging them to 15 rounds and then firing 15 rounds, before leaving the range that evening. Glock replaced the failed magazine. The spare I had that day is still running fine. I realize the chances of that happening again are slim. Still, since that incident I've never carried anything less than two spare magazines unless it was impractical to do so.

Great post.....I vote sticky for both Flint's post and the follow up about cover. This is someone a new member might really enjoy!

Thanks for the information.
Jason

I carry my spare mag/s in my backpocket if I have a untucked shirt or in amy mag carrier that is also the same as my deep cover holster is tuckable .


I totally agree with Flint and Tx Investigator on both of there post as I have been in a REAL gunfight.


300 Shooter

2 spares on me at all times. I get some funny looks when my shirt rides up in class and people can see my mags and my empty holster.

I typically carry just one extra magazine. It sort of looks like a pez dispenser in my pocket.