How much ammo is enough

[okie john]

IMO, the sandbox vets are our best hope in continuing and passing along the things that made America great.

Exactly.

I carry a G19L plus a G17 mag (31 rounds total) plus a flashlight and a knife. On the rare occasion that I'm in an NPE, it's a G43 and a spare mag mag plus the blade.


Okie John

[disseminator]

I carry my M&P40 with at least one spare magazine, sometimes two.

.02

[fixer]

I have to admit I hate carrying even one extra mag. I do it but I have to force myself.

I recently started carrying an extra mag because I am convinced 'Westgate style' attacks will increase in popularity with organized terrorist attacks and grievance-bound mass shooter jackasses. It will happen here. Garland was a preview.

The extra mag is there in the increasingly high probability of a protracted gun fight in the process of trying to escape to safety.

[vandal]

G19 15+1 plus aiwb reload of a G19+5 Arredondo mag. If I know I'm headed somewhere with lots of people and long sight lines I take the RMR G19 instead of the one with HDs. I shoot the RMR on steel silhouette torso targets out to 200y and can hit pretty regularly but my hits with the HDs start to drop off after 150y or so.

[olstyn]

I have to admit I hate carrying even one extra mag. I do it but I have to force myself.

Out of curiosity, what do you find onerous about carrying an extra mag? I personally find it no harder than carrying the gun itself, so it strikes me as a "why not?" That said, I could understand a longer mag like one for a G17 being a bit more likely to poke you in the ribs than the 10-rounder for my P99c. Is it something like that?

[Luke]

Not to answer for fixer, but I can conceal a full size gun no problem, put a spare mag anywhere on the belt and the 14 year
Old girl at the restaurant will put down her phone just to figure out what that giant bulge around my belt is. If I carry a spare it goes in the front pocket with nothing else in it.

[olstyn]

That makes sense; I guess it must be one of those things where different body types vary in how well certain things conceal. A spare mag in a CCC BMC is nigh invisible on me unless something pushes my shirt tight against my side, but my chest is wider than my waist, and I have no love handles to speak of, so that probably helps. To be honest, I find that the weight of a spare mag helps somewhat to balance out the weight of the gun on the other side. It's *almost* beneficial in my case.

[Rex G]

Any amount is enough, until it isn't. Personally, to walk the dog, in my relatively safe neighborhood, I usually carry the handgun, and one reload. (Perhaps two if the handgun is a revolver or single-column auto, but I am too lazy to switch much, and usually tote Glocks.) Depending upon the model of pistol, that is usually 15 to 17 rounds, with 17 in the spare magazine.

It is not unusual for me to add another 17-round magazine, and/or a second handgun, when going into nearby Houston. In parts of Houston, I will be toting the second Glock, period. This could even be in a "nice" part of town; the nearest cinema happens to be across the street from the Israeli consulate. That could be an interesting location for a "perfect storm" event.

I will add spare magazines as deemed, well, comforting. There is no set number.

FWIW, I swore an oath over thirty-one years ago that compels me to move toward trouble, rather than away from it. It remains to be seen whether retirement will prompt any changes in the load-out.

[JodyH]

7+1 (PPS) or 10+1 (P2kSK) no spares, sometimes just a 5 shot J frame. I guess im a walking dead man.

[xmanhockey7]

My minimum is my Shield 7+1 with an 8 round spare magazine.

What I carry the most is my G19 15+1 with a 17 round reload. I don't add extra mags or anything if I'm going somewhere like a mall. I feel well armed with my G19 and a reload. Heck, my Shield I can still shoot well and have 16 rounds on my person. Obviously more is better, but I feel comfortable with what I have based on training and what we see in self defense shootings.