How many spare rounds to carry?


How many spare rounds do you carry?


  • Total voters
    228
At 62, I still live by the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared". :biggrin:
 

I carry enough +2 extra rounds.

What are we talking about here? Defend/evade/escape to safety or standing and fending off a zombie attack in Times Square?

At home I can understand strategic positining spare mags/ammo for every scenario, but lugging around 50 rounds???

You'd have to stand and defend until your pants are light enough for you to move!

Anyone advocating carrying a lot of ammo, IMHO, needs to bolster their confidence with some moving target practice at the local range. When you can hit 7 or 8 out of 10 targets while moving, you'll realize that the need to carry 30 or 40 rounds is less important than reading the situation and having an egress rout set in their mind for every location. IMHO of course.
 
What they said. Depends on what I'm carrying. I usually carry a single spare mag for the piece I'm carrying. Ranges from 6 to 13.
 
I normally carry a S&W 380 Bodyguard with 6+1. I've been wondering if I should carry an extra clip or so. After reading this thread I'm probably going to order a couple more clips.
 
I would advocate carrying one spare magazine over none just incase the magazine ever had a problem. If magazines never failed one high capacity mag would be good with me but I always carry one spare
 
I'm carrying two extra 7-round mags for my Kel-tec PF-9 & have 1 in the chamber, for a total carried of 22 rounds.

My mag pouch is weak side at 8:30 with one mag down (facing rearward) for an initial reload, & the second mag up with the rounds facing forward. This configuration is based on the space constraints of my pouch, which is designed for a single double-stack mag, but actually works well for my twin single-stacks & reloading of the same.
 
I carry enough +2 extra rounds.

What are we talking about here? Defend/evade/escape to safety or standing and fending off a zombie attack in Times Square?

At home I can understand strategic positining spare mags/ammo for every scenario, but lugging around 50 rounds???

You'd have to stand and defend until your pants are light enough for you to move!

Anyone advocating carrying a lot of ammo, IMHO, needs to bolster their confidence with some moving target practice at the local range. When you can hit 7 or 8 out of 10 targets while moving, you'll realize that the need to carry 30 or 40 rounds is less important than reading the situation and having an egress rout set in their mind for every location. IMHO of course.
"IMHO"? I really hate these things.
 
I carry enough +2 extra rounds.

What are we talking about here? Defend/evade/escape to safety or standing and fending off a zombie attack in Times Square?

At home I can understand strategic positining spare mags/ammo for every scenario, but lugging around 50 rounds???

You'd have to stand and defend until your pants are light enough for you to move!

Anyone advocating carrying a lot of ammo, IMHO, needs to bolster their confidence with some moving target practice at the local range. When you can hit 7 or 8 out of 10 targets while moving, you'll realize that the need to carry 30 or 40 rounds is less important than reading the situation and having an egress rout set in their mind for every location. IMHO of course.

Walt629 seems certain he knows what "his" fight will look like. I am not as proficient at predicting the future and I have to prepare in advance for as many situations as possible. The most likely one is multiple opponents and three on one is very difficult to survive while standing around.

I'm not going to stand around. I am going to shoot as I move to cover or an escape route.

If you take Roger Phillips' "Point Shooting Progressions" (or similar), which is a course about movement, you will learn that 15 rounds goes very, very quickly. You will also learn a variety of movement techniques designed to avoid being hit. He also covers the sight continuum and it is used extensively in the course. So, yeah, I'm going to carry three 15 or 17 round magazines for my semi-auto, or three full reloads for my revolver. I'll have an S&W J-Frame with the N-Frame revolver, so that's another five rounds with a spare speed strip.

That's what gets me: Walt's 629 with a couple of reloads weighs more than a
Glock 19 and two spare mags.

Glock 19: 20.99 ounces
3 x empty magazines: 5.84 ounces
46 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 124 grain JHP: 20.44 ounces
Total: 47.27 ounces

S&W 629: 41.5 ounces empty (add more if the gun has wood stocks)

I don't have a 240 grain JHP in 44 Magnum to weigh, but if we just calculate the
bullets alone:

240 grains = 0.548572 oz

18 240 grain bullets: 9.87 ounces

Total: 51.37 ounces

A Glock 19 with three full 15 round magazines and one in the chamber weighs less than a S&W 629 with 4" barrel with 18 rounds total.
 
Walt629 seems certain he knows what "his" fight will look like. I am not as proficient at predicting the future and I have to prepare in advance for as many situations as possible. The most likely one is multiple opponents and three on one is very difficult to survive while standing around.

I'm not going to stand around. I am going to shoot as I move to cover or an escape route.

If you take Roger Phillips' "Point Shooting Progressions" (or similar), which is a course about movement, you will learn that 15 rounds goes very, very quickly. You will also learn a variety of movement techniques designed to avoid being hit. He also covers the sight continuum and it is used extensively in the course. So, yeah, I'm going to carry three 15 or 17 round magazines for my semi-auto, or three full reloads for my revolver. I'll have an S&W J-Frame with the N-Frame revolver, so that's another five rounds with a spare speed strip.

That's what gets me: Walt's 629 with a couple of reloads weighs more than a
Glock 19 and two spare mags.

Glock 19: 20.99 ounces
3 x empty magazines: 5.84 ounces
46 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 124 grain JHP: 20.44 ounces
Total: 47.27 ounces

S&W 629: 41.5 ounces empty (add more if the gun has wood stocks)

I don't have a 240 grain JHP in 44 Magnum to weigh, but if we just calculate the
bullets alone:

240 grains = 0.548572 oz

18 240 grain bullets: 9.87 ounces

Total: 51.37 ounces

A Glock 19 with three full 15 round magazines and one in the chamber weighs less than a S&W 629 with 4" barrel with 18 rounds total.

230Therapy, you made some good points. I wanted to add that 47.27 ounces does not anchor me to the ground nor is leaving it behind worth my life. And no matter what you can hit at the range, you will NOT be hitting that accuracy when it is night, someone is firing at you constantly and you lose ALL of your fine motor reflexes and have to use only your gross motor reflexes. If you want a pale example of what your body will be like in a gunfight and you can get permission to do it, have a friend set up 7-10 mixed friendly/hostile targets at the end of a trail facing west. Run one (1) mile full tilt up the trail wearing at least a 30-50 lb pack, then drop the pack, face the targets (which is also into the setting sun to simulate gunfire) and engage ONLY hostile targets and avoid friendlies in under three (3) seconds. Repeat in full darkness after sun has set.

Wait...running? Heavy breathing stress? A pack that you then drop to throw off your body muscle memory? A time limit? Sun straight in your eyes? Time stress? And this STILL doesn't simulate bullets flying at you! "The Range" does NOT give you the self-esteem that actual training does. The range is where you start training, sight-in sights and scopes and determine where problems exist. If you want to simulate life-threatening situations, that is done on a training range and you better be thinking of ways to seriously tax your body like the military and professionals do to save the lives of their operators.

on April 11, 1986 in an unincorporated region of Miami-Dade County in south Florida, eight agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) engaged two serial bank robbers. Many of the eight agents didn't believe that they would need their body armor (besides, it was hot in Florida), the ones with larger weapons had not retrieved their shotguns or submachineguns from the trunk because their were so many agents and only two criminals. In the ensuing battle, two agents were killed and five were injured, one so badly he had to retire, although they did finally kill both criminals. Anyone that reads this piece of history realizes that if the FBI, whose job it is to handle criminals, can underestimate criminals, then we most certainly can make the same mistake. I will be the one to go home when it means carrying under 50 ounces of defense.
 
I prefer a full mag for my H&K P30 plus 2 spares in a double paddle-style carrier. We have a saying in flying: "The only time you can have too much fuel is if you're on fire."
 
I usually carry two speed strips with 5 rounds each in my left pocket for the 642 in my right pocket. Any more than two reloads means I have already screwed the pooch and I am in a situation where I am going to die.
 
Wow, reading through some of these responses has me kind of wondering myself....am I carrying too much or too little?

My daily turn-out kit is 2 1911's with the ability to reload each of them at least twice, an AMT .380, four or five knives of various utility (all of which will cut you to the bone in a blink) a simple first aid kit (might not be a trauma kit, but I can take out your splinters), and other various items including two flashlights.

Currently, I am in the process of building a truck shotgun. I am also working on some rather benign looking bags that can be left at work or in the car without raising eyebrows, that will have several items that might raise my status from "just paranoid" to "mall ninja extraordinaire".

I work nearly 20 miles from home. It is neither feasible, nor reasonable to take everything with me. Where I live is much less likely to suffer from a flash mob than where I work. So my plan is to get out of town, to the house where everything else is, then assess the situation to determine if getting out of my small town to somewhere else is either necessary or possible.

I figure you need to plan for what you feel is necessary. If a .22 derringer is all you need, by all means go for it. Personally, I want a .308, but walking around with an M14 on your back tends to draw much unwanted attention.

I'll brave the chances of being judged as "looking for something to happen" and still be breathing than not at all. I haven't read anywhere that I can only carry $10 worth of ammunition.
 
7 in the gun and an extra magazine with 7. More at home where I would head anyway in a disaster to make sure family is ok.
 
Me, too

I carry a 15-round mag and a spare, both loaded with Federal Self Defense hollow points (getting some Hornady Critical Defense rounds). Probably plenty for the average gunfight. That said, with the increasing risk of terrorist attacks (possibly with multiple shooters), flash mobs, and all the new risks that didn't previously exist, you make a good point - it may be time to start looking for extra mags, carrying more, and keeping more ready. Better to carry a little extra weight and live than to die because you ran out of ammo. Obviously, nothing in life is certain, but I prefer the odds to be in my favor. We have a saying in my flying club: "Plan every flight as if your life depends on it. It does!"
 
No matter where Im going, whether I am going to the grocery store or simply walking in my back yard, I carry at least 100 rounds of .40SW. With 15 round magazines, I carry 1 mag in my gun, 1 in my left pocket, 3 on my belt, 1 on my ankle, and 1 in my right pocket. When I open carry, I carry even more ammo because if I am going to deter crime, I need to really show that I am ready to defend myself with my 100+ rounds. If I conceal carry, I carry just a couple rounds less. I also keep a box of ammo in my back pocket just in case I need to reload. I also carry multiple speed loaders just in case I have to reload or if a speed loader breaks.
 
No matter where Im going, whether I am going to the grocery store or simply walking in my back yard, I carry at least 100 rounds of .40SW. With 15 round magazines, I carry 1 mag in my gun, 1 in my left pocket, 3 on my belt, 1 on my ankle, and 1 in my right pocket. When I open carry, I carry even more ammo because if I am going to deter crime, I need to really show that I am ready to defend myself with my 100+ rounds. If I conceal carry, I carry just a couple rounds less. I also keep a box of ammo in my back pocket just in case I need to reload. I also carry multiple speed loaders just in case I have to reload or if a speed loader breaks.

I could never carry that many magazines. I'd lose at least one or two everyday. Why not just duct tape them to your shirt? You can be all "tactical" and have "bullet slowing down" armor at the same time.
 
I use 1911's exclusively. Day-to-day, I carry two spare mags. In a SHTF situation, I would carry six spares (enough for 50 rounds, if you count the already loaded mag and the cartridge that's already in the pipe). I also have seven magazines for each of my AR 15's (210 rounds total, on hand at any given time).
 

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