Target1911 wrote:seamusTX wrote:Texas law has no restrictions on ammunition, magazines, or speed loaders. You can hang them from your ears. Furthermore, most mag pouches look like a cell phone holster or similar common item.
- Jim
The only exception to the above would be a "quick-access" clip-type "pouch" that shows the mag for what it is, and even then like Jim said it's not considered "printing" by law. However, it's not hard to make the leap that when someone's carrying spare ammo they have a gun on them even when you can't see it, so if your pouch allows bystanders to easily see and identify the mag, you might as well be OCing for the attention you will get. Your average velcro pouch would look like a cell phone pouch or a pouch for a folding knife or Leatherman tool and nobody would think twice about it.
About carrying extra ammo; it's always a good idea to have at least one spare mag of defense rounds, but not for your stated purpose. If your gun FTFs in a defense situation, in all likelihood you're dead or otherwise incapacitated before you can fix it, certainly before you can load a fresh mag. Therefore, buying quality mags (I personally don't buy anything other than factory anymore after some bad experiences with Pro-Mag) and maintaining them is key in a defense weapon. Make sure you rotate stock on your defense rounds (keep the mag with your newest rounds in the gun; fire off your oldest rounds at the range every month or so) and when you unload a magazine, tear it down and clean/re-lube it (use a moly grease or Chap-Stick instead of gun oil). If a mag spring starts getting weak and causing FTFs, you can stretch it out to buy some time but it's best to replace it.