How many spare rounds to carry?


How many spare rounds do you carry?


  • Total voters
    228

Firefighterchen

OC for Tactical Advantage
I've searched but couldn't find anything on this site about this topic.

The poll is designed to encompass revolvers and semi autos. So how many rounds, not how many magazines/loaders, do you carry? In your post you can describe how many magazines/speed loaders you have one your belt, what side, position, direction they are facing. Do you prefer single carriers or double carriers?

If the average gun fight is 3-5 seconds long, and around 8 rounds, what is your reason for carrying 20+ rounds?

I believe we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That being said I carry 1-2 13 round magazines in single carriers at my 9 oclock, and 10 oclock with bullets facing forward.
 

I voted for 20+...but it depends on a few factors:

With my M&P 45 I usually carry 10 in the pistol and 10 in a spare mag in warmer weather. (A leather single mag pouch on the belt is unobtrusive, looks like a pocket-knife case.) When I wear more layers in colder months, I generally stash magazines in a few pockets, carrying up to 60 rounds. I know if I ever have a self-defense situation that goes to court, this would reflect badly; but I like having the ability to fetch rounds from different pockets if need be.

Just an example - in a New England winter, I might have 10 in the gun + 20 on my belt (using a 2-mag carrier since I can get away with more bulk wearing layers) + 10 in the pocket of my fleece top + 20 in my outer coat pockets.

When I carry the GP100...6 in the cylinder, 6 more in a speed strip, and 12 more in a nice little flat cartridge wallet that mounts on my belt; total of 24 rounds. I just purchased the GP100 this summer, and am debating between speedloaders or more speed strips to stash in my pockets as the months get colder. (I'm leaning towards the speed strips right now.

When I carry the Charter Arms .38 as a backup, I usually just have the 5 rounds in the cylinder. If I carry it as my primary - I keep two speedloaders on my belt (5 each) and a speed strip in my pocket (6) for a total of 21 rounds. Sometimes I'll also load up the cartridge wallet and hang that on my belt in place of, or in addition to, the speedloaders.
 
I carry much more ammunition than I think I'll ever need because: in the event of a chemical spill, terrorist attack, storm or government overthrow: I may be away from home and be forced to evacuate with only the ammunition I'm carrying and may not be able to return for a good long time to get some more.

So I carry 6 spare 7-round mags with 2 more in the glove box that I can slip into my pocket if I have to abandon the car and walk.
 
I have one extra mag, I think if I'd be doing that much shooting I would probably get hit myself by then.
 
On a typical work day I carry one eight round mag and one extra 10 round mag for my 40cal mini cougar. I also keep a box of ammo in my locked briefcase in the car in case of natural didaster or so on. I look at it like a spare tire. You never know when you will need it, but when you need it it better be there or your stuck.

Crime is a random occurance.
 
If flash mob is really the current fad around here, then I should have another two extra mags to accompany the three I have for each of my carry and my BUG. Or maybe I should just buy those extended mags and just throw in or two in my bag?
 
1-extra Mag of 45ACP JHP. Any more and my pants be on the ground, looking like a fool wit my pants on the ground!
 
My daily carry is a Springfield XD9sc. Carry with 13+1 and two 16 round extended mags in cargo pockets or belt carrier.
 
Well, I currently haven't been carrying an extra mag, but plan on it as soon as I figure out where I want to carry it. When I do, I think I'll just carry one extra mag with 16 rounds.
 
Right now I only carry one extra mag, but when I can afford a double carrier, I'll carry two. Quickest immediate action drill on a semi-auto short of a BUG is a mag change.
 
15+1, and two spare mags with 15 each, for 46 total. Why more than eight? Because I have no interest in playing the law of averages. Sure, I may only fire a handful of shots, but the top reason most law enforcement gunfights go bad is, according to officer reports, running out of ammo. Granted our mission as armed citizens is not the same as LEOs. But i'm the type to veer toward overpreparedness. And that philosophy has never let me down.

I have no source for this, but I heard Ted Nugent one say that he carries no less than two pistols and ten spare mags. Something to think about.
 
1-extra Mag of 45ACP JHP. Any more and my pants be on the ground, looking like a fool wit my pants on the ground!

Haha - that was one factor I overlooked initially when upgrading to a .45 from a little 9mm Makarov. A double-stack 10 round .45 mag is like the size of a Milky Way bar - and heavy! Two of them on the gun belt do a pretty nice job of balancing out my pistol. But there's still the issue of the BULK.

(Add a Leatherman and a Blackberry...and it looks like I'm wearing a duty belt. And I'm still not sure where to put my CCW badge...)
 
Since I carry a single stack 1911, I carry at least 1-8 round magazine in the summer, more if I have concerns about the area I may be going into. In the winter I carry 2-8 round spare magazines. Mostly use 2 single mag pouches, but I do sometime use a double mag pouch. Same goes for when I carry either of my double stack 9mm pistols, which is rarely. When I travel in Illinois I will take a 9mm, cause it's a less expensive pistol than any of my 1911s. Why you may ask, my answer is because I don't trust an anti gun state not to try and confiscate my pistols.
 
It could be confusion concerning the question. If the average person has say an XD with a 10 rnd mag, that would be 20 rounds. So I carry one in the gun and the other has my backup. But I might answer 20 rounds cause that is what I would have.
 
It depends!

I have a CCW that I carry two different ways. If on my body it is 7 +1 - so 7. However most often I have my CCW in a 5 X 7 zippered case that looks like a "go to meeting" travel pad case. So, then 7 +1 plus a 7 round reload.

Why reload? As Yogi said - "It ain't over til it's over!"
 
I just ordered a double mag pouch capable of carrying mags for both my S & W 659 and my Ruger SR40. The mag pouch will be on my left side with magazines/bullets facing forward. My magazines can hold 15 rounds but, I will only load 10 rounds in each mag. That would give me a total of 35 rounds. I hope that I will never need any more than that in any shooting situation before I could get home. As the old saying goes "It is better to have it and not need it that to need it and not have it".
 
How many spare rounds

Depends on which weapon I am carrying and how I am dressed. With the sig 380 if it is holstered in a pocket there are 7 in the weapon and two clips of 6 each so 19 rounds. In the winter, sometimes 4 magazines in winter coat left pocket, weapon in right. In mid summer, 380 in crossbreed IWB with 7 rounds and one clip in left front pocket.
With the LC9 in right side crossbreed IWB there are 8 rounds in the weapon and in mid summer light clothing I might carry one extra magazine, so 15 rounds total, more magazines in the winter with bulky clothing. I would carry more, but my work and clothing related issues limit the amount that can be carried and still have the presence of the weapon completely unnoticed by observant onlookers.
 
My daily carry is a tauras 145 holds 10+1 and carry a spare mag with 10 rnds. I carry them in a Smart Carry. I'm buying a Keltec .380 for my ankle for winter time as a back up. I'll be buying two Kholster Holsters for winter carry, one for the Tauras & one for my Springfield XD service, depending on what I'm wearing on that cold day. I'm currently shopping for an ankle holster for the keltec that will hold and extra mag.
 

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