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I don't think this topic has been covered recently.

Why to carry spare magazines:

1. Magazines can fail.

I've read about incidents where the bottom and all the rounds fell out.

It's also possible for the follower to hang up inside the magazine.

2. It's possible to fumble and release the magazine unintentionally. (I actually did this in the presence of another member of this forum ).

It's much easier to reload a spare magazine that you've trained with than to retrieve one from the ground, possibly in the dark, or in mud.

3. Sometimes people discharge the entire magazine under stress. It's impossible to know whether you will do this until it happens. In that case, you need a reload.

If you want a taste of this, try the Texas Star at the Texas CHL Forum day. I was amazed how fast I emptied a magazine, to little effect the first time.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:I don't think this topic has been covered recently.

Why to carry spare magazines:

1. Magazines can fail.

I've read about incidents where the bottom and all the rounds fell out.

It's also possible for the follower to hang up inside the magazine.

2. It's possible to fumble and release the magazine unintentionally. (I actually did this in the presence of another member of this forum ).

It's much easier to reload a spare magazine that you've trained with than to retrieve one from the ground, possibly in the dark, or in mud.

3. Sometimes people discharge the entire magazine under stress. It's impossible to know whether you will do this until it happens. In that case, you need a reload.

If you want a taste of this, try the Texas Star at the Texas CHL Forum day. I was amazed how fast I emptied a magazine, to little effect the first time.

- Jim

Affirmative, Dude.

Plan for the worst hope for the best,I hope I never need one mag but if I ever do need one I may need two so why not carry it.

Saw a great sign in a off the path store near Tyler the othe day that kind of fits here:

Trespassers will be shot!! survivors will be shot again!!

Why to carry spare magazines:

Number 1 reason:
You might need NEW RUNNING SHOES. (See Video attached) ====> http://www.nothingtoxic.com/media/11748 ... ce_Officer

Molon_labe wrote:So you are saying you haven't practiced enough to know which magazines work best in your firearm, you don't know if your firearm is 110% ready to defend your life in a moments notice?

You can have 10K rounds...its the very 1st one that counts

If it's mechanical it can fail usually at the worst time. A spare mag is life insurance. A New York Reload is a super policy. Expect the worst hope for the best.

MoJo wrote:

Molon_labe wrote:So you are saying you haven't practiced enough to know which magazines work best in your firearm, you don't know if your firearm is 110% ready to defend your life in a moments notice?

You can have 10K rounds...its the very 1st one that counts

If it's mechanical it can fail usually at the worst time. A spare mag is life insurance. A New York Reload is a super policy. Expect the worst hope for the best.

So I need to carry spare firing pins, springs, hammer, extractors, punch tools so I can repair on the fly

I can understand ONE spare mag..ok I give you that hands down, but some of these guys carry almost a full box of ammo on their person..don't you think if the media (that hate gun owners by the way) would LOVE to way this guy had 40 rounds on him just to rub it in a bit further?

I think having enough on the initial attack you will win the fight, if you have to reload in that situation you are in more trouble than I care to fathom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sECV2MVYEWI
oh yah...this hotel clerk was really couragous..he was stupid (lady and her kid were RIGHT THERE) but at least the badguy got served

I'm more of a revolver man. Six for Sure. So magazines don't apply to me. I do carry 4 speedloaders with one of them loaded with Buffalo Bore .38+P for extra power in case I need to low end magnumize my gun in an emergency. I also have a 6 cartridge loop snap on slide on my belt. A total of 36 rounds on my person. Why?

Well the better question is, why not?

People say "why do you carry a gun?"

I say "why not?"

Same thing with extra ammunition.

Probably never going to need the gun or the extra ammo. But it's not inconvienent to carry, but if you or somebody else ever does need the gun...then you have the solution on your belt to address that need.

Some people are forgetting the most important reason to carry a spare mag or two and/or a flashlight... counter balance. Having all of the weight on one side is more difficult (for me anyway) than having additional weight that evens things out.

Molon_labe wrote: I think having enough on the initial attack you will win the fight, if you have to reload in that situation you are in more trouble than I care to fathom

In a SD situation involving deadly force you shoot/fight to stop the BG.

Molon_labe wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sECV2MVYEWI
oh yah...this hotel clerk was really couragous..he was stupid (lady and her kid were RIGHT THERE) but at least the badguy got served

I watched the video, the parent with the child was acting stupid. She knew that she was in the middle of an armed robbery and moved about 4 inches away? She kept the child between her and the BG? The BG was within arms reach of the child. It looked like she wasn't going to let a robbery interupt her task.

The clerk took a covert draw, had a clear shot line and took the shots. It looks like he made them as well. What's it look like 6 shots? Then a lull in the action, maybe reload if you have a spare mag. or speed strip?

Molon_labe wrote: I can understand ONE spare mag..ok I give you that hands down, but some of these guys carry almost a full box of ammo on their person..don't you think if the media (that hate gun owners by the way) would LOVE to way this guy had 40 rounds on him just to rub it in a bit further?

If I'm carrying both my normal sidearm and my BUG, I've got 50 rounds of ammo on me. This may seem overkill to you, but here's how it breaks down for me:

I don't find it unreasonable to have a spare mag for my normal carry gun - a Hi-Power in 9mm. With the extra mag, that's 28 rounds.

I sometimes carry my BUG on its own when dress dictates. It's an FEG PA-63 in 9mm Makarov. Its magazines have a capacity of 7 rounds. I carry 2 spare mags for it when I carry it. That's a total of 22 rounds.

Some may say that it's excessive to carry the 2 extra mags for the BUG when I'm carrying both guns. I thought about this for a while and my thinking was this: If my main gun fails or jams on or after the first round and I have to switch to my BUG and don't carry spares for it... I've got 8 shots and that's it. That may be adequate for most defense situations, but certainly not all.

Given your argument, I can:

1) worry about what the media may think about how many rounds I'm carrying if I have to defend myself

or

2) worry whether I have enough ammo to survive a fight if the need arises

I think I'll take the first option, personally.

fm2 wrote: I watched the video, the parent with the child was acting stupid. She knew that she was in the middle of an armed robbery and moved about 4 inches away? She kept the child between her and the BG? The BG was within arms reach of the child. It looked like she wasn't going to let a robbery interupt her task.

I agree.

fm2 wrote: The clerk took a covert draw, had a clear shot line and took the shots. It looks like he made them as well. What's it look like 6 shots? Then a lull in the action, maybe reload if you have a spare mag. or speed strip?

It was actually 3 shots, and he made them all. I believe he was carrying a glock of some sort, in .40 S&W. There was a discussion on this here about a month and a half ago, and the guy actually posted to another forum about it when it happened. I believe the BG was weilding a shotgun. The BG lived to go to prison. Charges were not pressed on the shooter.

Regarding the video:

1. Was he using pocket carry? It's hard to tell.

2. I sure wish the video included the entrance of the robber.

I usually carry two spare mags and a j frame in my back pocket..
Better safe than sorry.........

Molon_labe wrote:oh yah...this hotel clerk was really couragous..he was stupid (lady and her kid were RIGHT THERE) but at least the badguy got served

Im going to have to disagree you about him being stupid. Had he been stupid enough no to practice with the firearm and hit the little girl (Or anyone else for that matter) that would have been stuipd. This is where practice comes into place. The guy shot 3 times. All 3 shots hit the BG. And if you notice the BG shot first.

Would you rather the BG gotten away to do it again with some one else. Or worse not take any chances on his next hit and go in gun blazing casue hes aware that his victims might actually be armed?

We all have different levels of preparedness that makes us feel comfortable.

For some folks that is no gun, for some its a gun with no reloads, for others its 3 guns with 2 backup mags for each.

As long as you feel comfortable and confident to be able to handle the situations you find yourself in, why should others care what is or is not in your pockets?