carrying spare ammo?

[You'll shoot your eye out]

I generally don't carry extra ammunition. Under normal circumstances I just carry what the gun holds. The only exception is when I am packing that ridiculous .38 special derringer. There is no real good reason for this except that I don't really have an extra pocket for them. I do own several magazines for each semi-auto and even two speedloaders for each revolver, but I rarely carry them. What do you guys do, and why? How many bullets are enough? What would the fall-out be if someone had to shoot a guy and then was found to be carrying an unusual quantity of ammunition? Would that be like carrying Zombie bullets? What I mean is would it make the shooter look like a guy looking for trouble? I am just curious what everybody else is doing and haven't really found anyone discussing this.

 

[Tebow]

Only handgun I own is a G19. I carry the standard 15 round mag +1 in the chamber and a spare 15 rounder, sometimes 2 spares. Why? Magazine could fail. No matter how unlikely, if there's a worst case situation, I'd rather have more ammo. How many are enough? That's up to each person and what they feel comfortable with.

 

[Sylvain]

I never heard of any legal case where the shooter got in trouble for carrying extra ammo.If the shot is legal it's legal no matter if you carry a 33 rounds mag or just have one single round in the chamber and no mag.
For many people just carrying a gun, or even a knife is looking for trouble, but legally I dont think it matters at all.
You can even carry two guns if you want.Many cops do that, they carry 3 or 4 mags as well and it's not a problem when they need to use lethal force.
Not that as a "civilian" you need that many mags.
For a semi-auto I would just carry 1 extra mag, not to have more rounds but because most problems come from the magazine with a semi-auto.
For a revolver where the reliability is not connected to a magazine I would just carry one speed loader maybe.I dont plan on having to reload in a self defense situation anyway, that's very rare.

 

[You'll shoot your eye out]

There you go, tebo. You are carrying half a box of ammo, sometimes nearly a full box. I am not against that at all, I just wonder if it could become a factor if you had to shoot someone in self defense. would/could a prosecutor make an inference that you were aggressive because of this? I have been questioned by police as to why I felt I needed a .357 in my pocket. He thought that I was looking for trouble because I carried such a powerful gun. (loaded with 110 grain bullets, not so powerful). I just wonder what the general view is.

 

[Sylvain]

There you go, tebo. You are carrying half a box of ammo, sometimes nearly a full box. I am not against that at all, I just wonder if it could become a factor if you had to shoot someone in self defense. would/could a prosecutor make an inference that you were aggressive because of this? I have been questioned by police as to why I felt I needed a .357 in my pocket. He thought that I was looking for trouble because I carried such a powerful gun. (loaded with 110 grain bullets, not so powerful). I just wonder what the general view is.

You shouldn't worry about that and shouldn't worry about what you should carry based on what some LEOs that dont support the general public being armed think.

Like I said some people, police included, will think that you are looking for trouble just because you dont want to be a victim.
But if you are carrying something legal it wont be a problem in front of a court of law.
Some LEOs told some members that carrying openly was not legal, that doesn't make them stop OCing.
I even had a LEO told me one time that I had no business carrying a little pocket size OC spray in the street and that the police was all I needed to be safe.

 

[handgun]

I used to think the mag in the gun was enough. I am not certain anymore. With flash mob like crimes popping up. I think maybe prepairing for war may not be a bad idea.

 

[Sylvain]

I used to think the mag in the gun was enough. I am not certain anymore. With flash mob like crimes popping up. I think maybe prepairing for war may not be a bad idea.

I think it's more important to have a spare mag for the mag itself than just for having more ammo.
With most semi-auto it's very easy to lose your main magazine by accident while the gun is in the holster.
Especially with extended mag realese buttons and such.
If the mag falls down, breaks or you cant find it, then you will be glad you have a new one handy.

 

[BlueEagle]

As Handgun said, flash mobs. They're getting more and more prevalent. If you're going to go to the effort to carry a handgun, (especially in semi-auto,) why wouldn't you go ahead and carry a spare mag or two? Not only does it help balance the weight on your belt, but it provides a backup for one of the most common points of failure in a semi-automatic pistol; the magazines. In addition to the extra ammunition, of course.

 

[lawrra]

I carry at least one spare mag. A double feed (failure to extract) is cleared faster by stripping the mag in the gun, racking the slide and inserting a fresh mag. If I am involved in a gun fight, I've been trained to use F.A.S.T: fight, assess, scan, and top off. After scanning for additional threats, insert a fresh mag so you're ready to go.

 

[handgun]

I think it's more important to have a spare mag for the mag itself than just for having more ammo.
With most semi-auto it's very easy to lose your main magazine by accident while the gun is in the holster.
Especially with extended mag realese buttons and such.
If the mag falls down, breaks or you cant find it, then you will be glad you have a new one handy.

Good point. But one of the reasons i got rid of the keltec 3pat it tended to have that problem in a bad way.. so i no longer have it. Upgraded to kahr p380. Have yet to have that happen. But would much rather not be.caught with my pants down with that problem. I will be carrying a spare mag.

But i will agree semi autos the weak link is the mag. Typically.

 

[mrortega]

I generally don't carry extra ammunition. Under normal circumstances I just carry what the gun holds. The only exception is when I am packing that ridiculous .38 special derringer. There is no real good reason for this except that I don't really have an extra pocket for them. I do own several magazines for each semi-auto and even two speedloaders for each revolver, but I rarely carry them. What do you guys do, and why? How many bullets are enough? What would the fall-out be if someone had to shoot a guy and then was found to be carrying an unusual quantity of ammunition? Would that be like carrying Zombie bullets? What I mean is would it make the shooter look like a guy looking for trouble? I am just curious what everybody else is doing and haven't really found anyone discussing this.

If you are going to carry do it right. You don't limit your self defense strategy to what works with whatever clothes you want to wear. You wear clothing to suit the proper method of defense. If you carry a semi-auto wear something that will allow you to have an extra mag. If a revolver then you'll need room for 1 or 2 speed loaders. Your thinking is backward. Turn it 180 and you'll be alright.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I carry a .45 12+1 with 2 14's to follow up. Mags go stupid or drop out (I've had my mag release bumped in the holster; you get that using the wrong hand) and I'm better off grabbing one off my belt than scrounging on the ground for one that might now be dented beyond use.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Standard for me is 1 extra mag, plus 1 extra gun.

 

[cosermann]

If you're going to carry a gun, why NOT carry a spare mag? I mean, the marginal inconvenience is about zero once you've decided to carry a handgun in the first place.

And of course all of the above reasons are good ones; dealing with malfunctions, NEEDING the xtra rounds, etc.

 

[Excalibur]

I usually carry at least one spare 19 round mag for my XDM compact. Some days, I wear 2 at my side and I conceal it very well. Cop buddies of mine actually thought they were my cellphone sticking out.

 

[griffin]

I don't really have an extra pocket for them. What do you guys do, and why?

Safariland paddle mag pouch. Especially if you are carry a 1911 or something small that only holds 6 or 7 rounds.

 

[John Galt]

I carry a .45 (what else is there?) with 8+1 and two extra mags in Milt Sparks IWB rigs. I also keep extra mags in the vehicle along with some other stuff. If it's good enough for police officers to "load up", why not me?

 

[Westside]

I carry at least one spare mag. A double feed (failure to extract) is cleared faster by stripping the mag in the gun, racking the slide and inserting a fresh mag. If I am involved in a gun fight, I've been trained to use F.A.S.T: fight, assess, scan, and top off. After scanning for additional threats, insert a fresh mag so you're ready to go.

^^^^ This.

something can malfunction, (anything other than perfect operation is a malfunction), and the fast way to clear a problem is stated above.

also practice malfunction drills. change mags get used to the motion.

 

[The Keymaster]

I carry one spare mag. OP repped for having a name that reminded me of something my mom used to say.

 

[Ryno300]

As Handgun said, flash mobs. They're getting more and more prevalent. If you're going to go to the effort to carry a handgun, (especially in semi-auto,) why wouldn't you go ahead and carry a spare mag or two? Not only does it help balance the weight on your belt, but it provides a backup for one of the most common points of failure in a semi-automatic pistol; the magazines. In addition to the extra ammunition, of course.

Potential fail - that's 98% of why I carry a spare magazine.