How many rounds do you REALLY need.

I'm all for being prepared but don't you believe as civilians that we're 99% ahead of most any curve - we have a gun! Crime comes to us and ours, we don't go to it. One can contemplate any and all possible scenarios but I doubt that any of us are going to be under seige or have to engage multiple armed attackers.
I for one feel virtually no need to be encumbered with all that extra ammo in my everyday life - in 1970 I went into a combat situation with a 1911 and one extra magazine.
I'm not criticizing anyone and if you feel more comfortable with all that extra ammunition, so be it, but if you're in a situation where that much is truly needed, I doubt you're coming out among the living.
 
MI .45:235783 said:
I'm all for being prepared but don't you believe as civilians that we're 99% ahead of most any curve - we have a gun! Crime comes to us and ours, we don't go to it. One can contemplate any and all possible scenarios but I doubt that any of us are going to be under seige or have to engage multiple armed attackers.
I for one feel virtually no need to be encumbered with all that extra ammo in my everyday life - in 1970 I went into a combat situation with a 1911 and one extra magazine.
I'm not criticizing anyone and if you feel more comfortable with all that extra ammunition, so be it, but if you're in a situation where that much is truly needed, I doubt you're coming out among the living.
Click to expand...

Life's all about choices. Unfortunately, its the stupid ones that usually cut that life short. There's just no cure for it.
 
I keep reading that the average number of rounds fired is 2.6 per fire fight. As I am a proponent of the 9mm I load my pistol with two rounds of 147gr and one round of 115gr. That is about as close as I can get. I don't have to pack around any excess weight and my magazine springs last forever.
 
MI .45 said:
I'm not criticizing anyone and if you feel more comfortable with all that extra ammunition, so be it, but if you're in a situation where that much is truly needed, I doubt you're coming out among the living.
Click to expand...

I suspect you're right but just in case, I generally carry 10+1 in my Steyr S9 and a spare 14-rd magazine on my belt. Like you, I figure if I need that much ammo I probably won't have time to shoot it all but, OTOH, I've never heard of anyone who was involved in a gunfight who later complained of having too much ammo. Stories of those who died from not enough ammo are legion.
 
Nice thing about Glocks is the mag capacity. I carry a G23 (13+1) and back it up with a G22 mag (15). At 29 rounds I can serve 3 rounds to 3 BGs when they come to the party, and have expended only 30% of my ammo.

I have a cop buddy in Dallas who routinely carries 8 mags (120 rds). I asked him why and he said he didn't want to have to go back to the car and get more if he is hunkered down in a SWAT situation.

My M-4 case has holders for 4 30-round mags. I carry those and 2 20-round that came with the gun all loaded for a total of 160 rds of M855.

Too many? Can you have too many?
 
Just one extra mag or two "speedloaders" for the revolvers.

Ya pays your money and takes your chances. There ain't no such thing as a "sure deal".

GG
 
contrary to my previous, and rather flip answer, (I hope someone got a chuckle) I pack about 45 rounds. My goal is to survive. If that means that the bad guy doesn't, well, I can live with that. Now, if I can hunker down and keep the bad guy at bay, scare him off, or just keep his head down I have accomplished my goal. This may take more rounds than the Hollywood shot to the head. I hope that I never find myself in a firefight. I of course wish to survive such an encounter. If I have rounds left at the end of the fight I have a better chance than if my slide is in lock back and no spare mags. Are 45 rounds too many? I pray that it is.
If I was truly worried I would pack a long gun. I have been around long enough to know that I am not immune from the unlikely and unpleasant. I have chosen a level that I am comfortable with. Some will be comfortable without owning a gun, others will want far more hardware than I do. I am happy with your choice whatever it is.
 
I am new to usacarry but just would like to say thanks for the thread because I am looking for a new handgun for ccw and was thinking that same thing. Looking into either a Sig P239 or a Sig p229 and round count was one of the factors in buying one or the other. Good insight and thoughts.
 
It may take just 2.6, but what if the BG got friends or family near by, Personally?, for me, I carry a springfield 1911 ultra compact 45, holds 7 in the mag, 1 in the pipe, and two spare mags, In a stressfully situtation, If by chance, you miss the first coupke of shots, because your being shoot at, do you mreally want to be in a situtation that would make you say,"well they said all I needed was 3 rounds?, now what do I do?"
 
I think you should carry however many rounds you feel comfortable with. Me personally, I'd carry one mag in the pistol and 2 on standby.
 
atbdrummer said:
I think you should carry however many rounds you feel comfortable with.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I carry whatever's in my pistol. No matter how much you carry, there will always be someone who tells you you should carry more. If someone tells me that the 10 rnds I carry isn't enough and that they carry 20, then I'll say "well why not 21??". If somone tells me that 30 is the best number, I'll say "Why not 31??".

Bottom line: Carry what you feel comfortable carrying. Nobody can accurately tell you that you're carrying too little or too much.
 
First off...you need to carry extra pistols. I carry four. Ruger Super Redhawk, 500 S&W, Colt Combat Commander, Colt Python. AMERICAN STEEL ONLY...all else is junk.

I carry six speed loaders per revolver. ten spare mags for the auto. when going into bad areas of town i carry extra ammo in an extra large wheelbarrow. I like to have 500 rounds per weapon.

The wheelbarrow has a six-inch iron plate in the bottom. When i come under fire I prop the wheelbarrow up on one end and crouch behind it for cover. i don't like to be caught out in the open.

in addition to extra ammo, i like to have snacks and fluids along for lengthy gunfights. MANY IS THE TIME i have been crouched behind my wheelbarrow for a couple of days while battling street gangs. Luckily i keep several gallons of mountain dew and a case of Wolf Brand Chili with me at all times.

Cold Chili is not the best of foods...but i make sacrifices as i battle crime and immorality in my town.

I hope this strikes a spark in some of you out there...for most of you are woefully unprepared for the realities of modern gunfights.
 
aj's 40 cal...I think that you've got that logically backwards. The 12 round should be in the gun and the 9 round should be backup. I think that there's no reasonable rationale for doing it the other way around.
 
EastOkHotRod...KUDOS to you! Your sense of humor brilliantly highlights the absurdity of many of these arguments. Carry concealed means just that "concealed". I carry whatever I can conceal easily as dictated by whatever I'm wearing. I really don't worry much about the number of rounds in what I'm carrying. Like almost everybody in here, except for LEOs, the odds are overwhelming that I'll never have to use it. Also, that is my fervent hope that my gun will remain unfired for self-defense.
 
LOL! Even at that he blew it! He forgot the secret compartment in the wheelbarrow for his AR-15, 10 mags and his combat shotgun and reload belt. Ya NEVER know how it's gonna play out!

GG
 
EastOkHotRod - My question is: do you wear a badge, a sash, or do you have a sweet CCW paint job on the wheelbarrow?

Great post!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 235 (members: 0, guests: 235)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,531
Messages
610,695
Members
75,032
Latest member
BLACKROCK6

Share this page

Back
Top