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During the discussion of the mall shooting, GC and a few others talk about carrying extra magazines. Not wanting to hijack that thread, I thought I would start another one.

So the question is, how many mags do you carry, what caliber, and what’s your mag carrier, if you carry a spare(s). Since not everyone is familiar with all manufacturers magazine capacities, include what your total round count is. Talk about why you think your choice in round count is acceptable.

Do you have times when you carry less then your “Basic Load�? For me, there are times when I need “Deep Concealment�, and I cut down on the mag count.

I know there are folks out there that do not carry spare mags, and I hope those folks will respond too. It was many years ago ( we won’t talk about how many ) so it may not be applicable today, but the folks in some of the European Intel orgs didn’t care spare mags. Their basic load was what was in the pistol, and none of these professionals felt at risk. Personally, I feel safer with extras onboard, but some of those guys I worked with were very competent and can cover my six anytime. So if you carry no spares, jump in and state your opinion! I suspect a real count of CHL’s would show most don’t carry spares…

Do you modify your mags, or do you carry stock? If you modify, what do you use? Do you practice with your carry mags, or do you have practice mags and save the “good ones� for carry?

Longtooth gave me a real good deal on some 3rd party mags and carriers. I bought 2 15 round mags from him and have 2 15 round factory mags. I haven't been carrying extra mags much because I didn't have a good mag holster. I have one now.

I still don't carry extra ammo much though, only if I'm doing a road trip, or a large mall. 16 rounds is a lot of ammo for most situations. I do not carry the 3rd party mags. They are only for the range. I don't need them for protection, and I don't have full confidence in them like I do the factory mags.

Hey Txrancher , I carry 2 spare mags in my back pocket. they are the 8 rd
Wilson Combat 47D's and even in Deep conceal they just look like a memory stick cases .


when I am just out running around I use my double mag carrier the same one I use for my IDPA shoots.

300shooter

Daily carry is 1911 (who would guess) w/ 8 rd Wilson & one in the pipe. C&L. One extra 10 rd Wilson in a comp-tac belt holder.

Sunday carry is Taurus 85 w/ Bianchi speed strip in front pocket.

W/ elivated threat level I can go up to primary carry, quad pac of 10rd mags, & BUG w/ 2 speed strips.

Extra mags are not necessarily only for fire power. They are for, heaven forbid, equipment failure. I have been shooting a long time & have seen occasionally even quality equip fail.

Thank you Liberty. Glad you like the mags.

I normally don't carry extra ammo with me and it is probably because most of the time I don't dress to conceal. Usually its jeans and a Tee shirt or shorts and a Tee shirt. With the oversize shirt and an IWB holster the 1911 conceals quite well and with a nice knife in the off side pocket or belt.........away I go. I know people who carry an extra mag or two, a flashlight and a leatherman tool on their belt, but I just don't feel comfortable with that much gear. I will admit, when I get lazy and just stick a 642 in my pocket, I usually have a speedstrip in the other one. But at least I carry everyday, everywhere I can.

Thanks, George

As mentioned before, I typically carry two spare magazines. When practical, I might carry more but that's rare. More often than not, I work in an office setting that requires a deep concealment of my Glock 19. In the office setting, I typically retain a spare on my person but the second spare moves to my briefcase.

I do maintain seperate magazines for carry versus competiton/training. I shoot a lot. I typically will put 15-20K rounds through my Government Models annually. Magazines wear out and feed lips start spreading because of repeated reloads and impacts with concrete decks. So on average, I find myself buying new magazines every six months or whenever a magazine stops performing as expected. I also will immediately replace cracked magazines even if it appears to be working fine.

I carry one spare mag. That gives me a total of 17 rounds of .45.

I carry 15 rounds of 230 federal hydroshok in 45acp in my [this is for longtooth] Kimber Ultra RaptorII including 7+1 in gun and 7 more in spare mag holder made out of scrap carbon fiber from the hood of my vette. The mags are wilson 470xd with a chip mccomick 7 rd loaded with the evil black talons in my truck and 3more colt 7rd mags with black talons placed in my office at home .

longtooth wrote:Daily carry is 1911 (who would guess) w/ 8 rd Wilson & one in the pipe. C&L. One extra 10 rd Wilson in a comp-tac belt holder.

Sunday carry is Taurus 85 w/ Bianchi speed strip in front pocket.

W/ elivated threat level I can go up to primary carry, quad pac of 10rd mags, & BUG w/ 2 speed strips.

Extra mags are not necessarily only for fire power. They are for, heaven forbid, equipment failure. I have been shooting a long time & have seen occasionally even quality equip fail.

Thank you Liberty. Glad you like the mags.

Exactly!

I do not carry a spare mag. for the sake of round count only.

How many here have experienced (or witnessed) a “jam� or other type of failure due to a magazine?

Even though a magazine looks like a very simple piece of gear it has to perform some complex tasks at precise times in the pistol's cycle.

Consider the function of a magazine. It has to present a fresh cartridge in the right place (at the right time) to be pushed forward by the slide as it closes at the end of the firing cycle.

If the round doesn't get there in time, the slide will close on an empty chamber and you'll get click instead of bang. If the round gets there too soon it can interfere with the ejection of the fired case.

Magazine-related malfunctions seem to happen most often with either the first or last round. Both of these malfunctions are almost always spring-related. High-capacity magazines are especially prone to this problem (I had to tune every Para mag. I own).

The magazine spring actually has quite a bit of work to do... it has to lift a "Stack 'O Cartridges", (which can be quite weighty). A typical high-capacity magazine load of 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP might weigh nearly half a pound.

If the magazine spring is too strong you'll get a failure in which the first round is tipped nose down into the feed ramp. The reason is that the spring prevents the round from stripping freely from the magazine as the slide tries to close.

At the other end of the spectrum a magazine spring that's too weak can result in the last round being trapped with the nose pointing straight up because the cartridge isn't lifted fast enough to be picked up.

Most people don’t clean their magazines regularly, some over lubricate them. Others have magazines that incorporate some type of plastic base.

I have personally witnessed the extended grip on a magazine fall off and dump the remaining cartridges, spring and follower on the ground.

IMO, the most likely reason you will have a problem with a semi-auto pistol (besides poor lubrication, or limp wristing) lies with the possibility of having a mag. get “out of spec.�

Carry a spare for this reason alone.

I don't carry yet (other than on my property)...still waiting for the plastic.

But when the time comes I will be carrying at least one spare mag. I think it is highly unlikely that I could be in a situation that 17 rounds of +p 9mm wouldn't cover, but I've also experienced equipment failures at the worst possible time when I shot IDPA matches.

If it can happen during a match it can also happen when there is a lot more at stake than your match standings.

ETA: I'm still looking for the perfect mag carrier. Lots of choices...single, dual, vertical, horizontal, mag and flashlight, mag and OC, etc. This is worse than deciding on a carry holster!

It depends on the activity - if I am going to be driving around, or doing quick in and out trips - I tend not to carry extra mags. Reason being is that I'm never too far from my truck and fleeing would be an immediately accessible option(even if I have to briefly shoot my way to it).

When I am out all day, or will be without an immediate means of escape, I carry two extra mags in a Galco belt holster. I am about to start looking into an IWB holster carrier as the Galco sticks out too far for me to wear it under a t-shirt, where my Kimber 3" 1911 hides perfectly.

I am about to look into picking up a Sig P229, and will probably still carry an extra mag with that, however one less as the mag will inherently have more rounds.

If I carry 9mm, no extra mags. If carrying .40 or .45, one extra mag in a mag carrier.

That gives me 16 rounds of 9mm, 21 rounds of .40, or 17 rounds of .45 depending on the rig I'm wearing on any given day.

If I carry a wheelie, I bring one speedloader - 5 rounds of 135gr. Gold Dot +P in the cylinder, and 5 rounds of 158gr. +P Buffalo Bore in the pocket.

Very, very rarely I will carry .380 - one extra mag, 15 rounds total.

winter carry I have my glock 22 in an under arm rig with a spare mag in my jacket pocket for a total of 30 40cal rounds and for my summer gun I carry a springfield XD 9mm in the front pocket of my jeans with a spare mag in my back pocket for a total of 26 rounds. Like most people I carry a spare mag and sometimes with my winter rig a spare gun in anticipation of a mechanical failure at a time when I have too much at stake to lose the fight and not necessarly for round count.

Ruger P97DC (.45) and two spare mags (24 rounds total; I carry loaded, but not "+1").

I carry the mags in a Fobus paddle double carrier. I find the balance (offsetting the pistol on the opposite side) actually makes concealment easier and more comfortable.

Kevin

Most often, 13 rounds of .45 and a spare for a total of 26.

If I have the "wheel gun", 5 rounds of .357 plus 2 speed strips.

Always have a tactical flashlight as well.