To carry extra mags or not to carry extra mags?

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  • bwframe

    Loneranger
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    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
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    Btown Rural
    I guess the question is, does who keep stats? So much of this stuff is not studied from our POV, and the LE numbers don't always apply. I am pretty sure that ASP keeps those numbers from the videos they review, but that is just a sampling, though the largest one we have collected and available.

    That's a very good point.

    Same goes for how many "countable" stats never get seen due to little to no media coverage?

    Small town Joe has a "drawn pistol" ordeal that goes unreported. No shots fired due to gun malf and tweeker perp runs off. Local sheriff makes the executive decision that going unreported is best for everyone involved. Stays unreported, as long as no outside questions get asked?


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    snapping turtle

    Grandmaster
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    Dec 5, 2009
    6,462
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    Madison county
    I think that pistol is a fine choice if you use it well, but do you really think you would be able to reload it in a fight with that setup?
    The speed loaders work well for me. The loose rounds not so much. Been carrying since 1985 never had to pull or use one. Not LEO so never figured I would need to reload once so I bought the two speed loaders cause one is none and two is one. Guess I will pick up some others next time I see he 10’s used at a show.

    I shoot the sig very well even with the double single action but I shoot the smith better. I can hit a skunk at 20 yards with that smith one shot dead skunk.. Still having to work downtown Indy with a known protest going on the smith will get switched out for the sig.
     

    BugI02

    Grandmaster
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    Jul 4, 2013
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    Columbus, OH
    Well, I remember reading an account a few years back - might have posted it at the time

    Champion club shooter is driving home, he happens to drive a Crown Vic. He stops at a light behind a car that unknown to him is driven by an armed robber who just robbed a bank. Bad guy decides he's being followed by an undercover and steps out of his car shooting. Club shooter draws and begins returning fire, some shots through his own windshield. Both club shooter and bad guy reload and empty their second magazine but no one is hit

    Not what I would always think would happen, but if club shooter hadn't been carrying a spare he likely would be dead. I also have read that quite often even trained shooters such as police will fire all the rounds they have in the adrenaline overload of a true gunfight. I would hope that the brief interrupt of a reload would help settle me a little and maybe use the 2nd mag a bit more effectively if it is needed
     

    US1882

    Plinker
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    Nov 17, 2020
    79
    18
    Noblesville
    Carry a Glock 19. Carry a Glock 17 spare mag in my left front pocket and Glock 33 RND fun stick in the center console. That’s 66 RNDS. Should be good for most encounters.
     

    88E30M50

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    Dec 29, 2008
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    Greenwood, IN
    I generally carry a spare. What I tend to forget is a med kit and flashlight. When I do carry a flashlight, it’s a small utility type. I had never thought of specifying a couple of mags as carry only. I’ve tended to do it the other way around.
     

    thedreamer

    Plinker
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    1   0   0
    Mar 5, 2015
    55
    18
    Delaware County
    I generally carry a spare. What I tend to forget is a med kit and flashlight. When I do carry a flashlight, it’s a small utility type. I had never thought of specifying a couple of mags as carry only. I’ve tended to do it the other way around.
    Streamlight Microstream (the USB recharging model) is fantastic as a small everyday carry light. I keep in a pocket opposite of my knife. I barely notice is it even there. 250 lumens as well.
     

    tcecil88

    Master
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    Nov 18, 2013
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    @ the corner of IN, KY & OH.
    The one thing I don't carry that I know I should is any kind of Med kit. Pistol, spare mags, flashlights, knife, cell phone all covered. I need to incorporate at least a tourniquet. All I have experience with is the Cat-T. I would like to try the Swat-T or RATS type, just never have.
     

    Quiet Observer

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    Mar 10, 2022
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    St. John
    The one thing I don't carry that I know I should is any kind of Med kit. Pistol, spare mags, flashlights, knife, cell phone all covered. I need to incorporate at least a tourniquet. All I have experience with is the Cat-T. I would like to try the Swat-T or RATS type, just never have.
    I mean this as a question and not as a criticism. Where do you carry all of this? I carry an extra magazine on my belt. I see the practicality of each individual item. It seems like a fanny pack would be practical at times. I have fairly thin waist and a limited number of pockets. I know some people claim that a fanny pack yells GUN! But apparently only gun people believe this. I
     

    tcecil88

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    I mean this as a question and not as a criticism. Where do you carry all of this? I carry an extra magazine on my belt. I see the practicality of each individual item. It seems like a fanny pack would be practical at times. I have fairly thin waist and a limited number of pockets. I know some people claim that a fanny pack yells GUN! But apparently only gun people believe this. I
    No worries, Glock 43 @ 3 o'clock, 2 spare mags @ 9 o'clock, Streamlight Pro-Tac in it's little pouch behind the mag carrier, Spyderco knife clipped in the RF pocket, cell phone in a LH pocket, either rear or cargo. If I am carrying a my Glock 26, I typically just have one spare mag. I dress around the gun and the assorted crap. I am a larger guy so belt space is not an issue, but weight is as my back, hips and knees are not great anymore.
    That's the conundrum. Where do I put a small med kit without running around with more crap? I keep a trauma/first aid kit in the truck, which obviously does me no good if I can't get to it. I could put a tourniquet in a cargo pocket, but I don't always wear cargo shorts/pants. I see ankle carrying a trauma kit is popular, but not in the summer wearing shorts.
    I don't use a fanny pack, but can see it as a viable means to carry a backup gun, extra mags and small IFAK as part of a get home bag system.
     

    Refrigerator27

    Sharpshooter
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    17   0   0
    Feb 18, 2022
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    Noblesville
    I’m gonna throw a screw in the mix. I don’t carry a spare mag. If 15 rounds of JHP 9mm can’t get me out of a situation, I’m having a REALLY bad day and I’d rather meet my maker

    I’ll just steal my wife’s carry gun from her if I need more bullets
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    Oct 3, 2012
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    I guess the question is, does who keep stats?

    :wavey:

    And I'm in the position to add to my existing work again.

    The very short version is, as I've repeated many times, people run out of time before ammo in random encounters. If you have a stalker ex or ticked off the local dope gang, this isn't you, but it's most people. I've seen a few magazine malfunctions, including rounds impacting the gun and dumping the rounds, but none would have had time to strip it out and fix it before eating more rounds, and they were all targeted and high round count events. One was a felon being killed by a bystander, one was a gang hit, that sort of thing.

    I've talked to many people who topped off after a fight and many who stated they wished they had. In none of them did it make a difference in the outcome of the fight, but it made a difference to the shooter. There was a certain psychological satisfaction to reloading and having a full gun again, regardless of how many rounds that gun carried. I don't know if it's some sort of 'closure' thing or if it's a confidence you're ready again thing or what, but it's came up enough I believe it to be a real and widespread phenomenon.
     

    wcd

    Grandmaster
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    Dec 2, 2011
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    Off the Grid In Tennessee
    :wavey:

    And I'm in the position to add to my existing work again.

    The very short version is, as I've repeated many times, people run out of time before ammo in random encounters. If you have a stalker ex or ticked off the local dope gang, this isn't you, but it's most people. I've seen a few magazine malfunctions, including rounds impacting the gun and dumping the rounds, but none would have had time to strip it out and fix it before eating more rounds, and they were all targeted and high round count events. One was a felon being killed by a bystander, one was a gang hit, that sort of thing.

    I've talked to many people who topped off after a fight and many who stated they wished they had. In none of them did it make a difference in the outcome of the fight, but it made a difference to the shooter. There was a certain psychological satisfaction to reloading and having a full gun again, regardless of how many rounds that gun carried. I don't know if it's some sort of 'closure' thing or if it's a confidence you're ready again thing or what, but it's came up enough I believe it to be a real and widespread phenomenon.
    Hard cover? Kindle I think it would sell quite well.
     

    wcd

    Grandmaster
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    Dec 2, 2011
    6,274
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    Off the Grid In Tennessee
    I carry total of 4 Magazines. Regardless of whether the situation would dictate it or not. I also carry a flashlight, and most of all some basic training.

    While I do not carry it I have kind my going bag. In it Med supplies, water, snacks, etc. Truth is while I may not need my going bag every day there have been times when I have needed and it was a game changer for a roll over.

    At the end of the day are you likely to need all of the above? Who knows, But are you likely to have a sense of confidence and a feeling of general preparedness, absolutely.
     
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