extra mag

[2up1down]

Two is one, and one is none.

Which is why you should carry two pistols.

Many of us do.

Reminds me of an old Soldier I knew who was stopped out on the desolate
Interstate by a fine State Trooper. The Trooper approached and the old
First Sergeant presented his TDL, Insurance, and CHL.

"Our you carrying any weapons with you TOP?" the Trooper asked.
"Yes Sir, I am" TOP replied,
"I have my 1911A1 at 3'oclock on my hip and a .357 revolver in my right boot."

"Is that it"? the Trooper inquired.

"Well no Sir, I have a K-Bar in my left boot,,
a Remington 870 with slugs behind the seat,,
and an Armalite scoped with a bi-pod in the trunk"
TOP concluded with "And plenty of magazines and ammo."

The Trooper was a bit confounded by TOP's carry choices
and he knew that the old soldier from the nearby base
had served his Country well in several conflicts and was
sure he could take care of himself.

So he asked,
"TOP what in the world could an Old Soldier like you be afraid of"?

"Well Sir,,,,, absolutely nothing."

----------------------------------------
In my families world, even my eight, ten, twelve and fourteen year old daughters
will proudly tell you, "We live PREPARED NOT SCARED."

We are aware that none of us are omniscient and that "Murphy" invites himself
into situations at exactly the most importune times.


Redundancy is not paranoia it is simply how thoughtful people plan.
(NASA, Military, Engineers, .................)


My primary is XDm .45 + 1 spare (27 rounds total)

BUG PF -9, just in case I run out of .45 and
the ZOMBIES are shooting 9mm I can shoot
them with their own ammo.

[srothstein]

Many posters have explained that it is a matter of preparation, but I don't think any have explained exactly why a second magazine or pistol is really recommended.

You have to remember that a weapon is a mechanical device, and any mechanical device will fail eventually. You have probably seen this without thinking about it as a lot of devices have a specification for mean time between failures (MTBF). The key word in that spec is "mean" which means average. If the first failure happens after 10,000 rounds, but the second failure happens on the very next round, the two failures have a MBTF of 5,000 rounds. But, as you can see from this over simplified example, the MBTF does not truly predict when you will experience your next failure.

When your gun fails, it will fail at one of two times. Either on the range while practicing or in a real gun fight. You really want it to fail while on the practice range so you can learn how to handle the failure. As a police officer, we even force practice by setting up failures just for the training. And one of the things the police have learned on this is that there is immediate action drills (like tap-rack-bang) that clear 90% of all failures. But with the remaining 10%, these drills don't work. In a large percentage of these, the quickest repair is to drop the magazine and replace it with a new one as if you had run dry. The more you practice tactical reloads, the quicker this option becomes for you.

And of course, the logic of this extends even further to a backup gun. The quickest reload in the middle of a gunfight is to grab a new fully loaded gun. So cops generally recommend carrying a backup gun and spare magazines on duty, and trying to ensure that the same magazines will fit both guns (like Glock full size and compact guns, or some 1911 full size and compacts).

But in all honesty, you probably will not ever need the firepower an officer is likely to need. You might be comfortable with less backup. After all, you probably only carry one spare tire in your car, despite the fact that you know you could have two flats at one time. So you may not feel the need for a backup gun. You might not feel the need for a spare magazine. And that is fine, if you have examined your threat level and gear and feel comfortable that way.

Along the lines of that honesty, I would admit that I very rarely carry two guns now that I am not an active police officer. And I generally really carry the spare magazine out of years of habit more than a real threat analysis performed. But I developed the habit for good reasons and really don't see any reason to change yet. But I do encourage you to make up your own mind on your needs.

[74novaman]

Many posters have explained that it is a matter of preparation, but I don't think any have explained exactly why a second magazine or pistol is really recommended.

You have to remember that a weapon is a mechanical device, and any mechanical device will fail eventually..

I did on page one. And you're right, failure of the first mag is the best reason to carry a second.

[tboesche]

See my sig line!

Joe has it right!

[hirundo82]

But in all honesty, you probably will not ever need the firepower an officer is likely to need. You might be comfortable with less backup.

I'm far less likely to get into a dangerous situation than an officer. But if I do, I don't have the advantage of lots of heavily armed friends ready to run to my aid with just a radio call.

[Millerk420]

If i ran out of ammo, reloaded , and ran out again, I would throw the empty mags at them too just for good measure.

[speedsix]

...we live in a different world today...back in the 70s, I knew cops who'd worked for 25 years carrying a 5-shot J or a Model 10 and no extra ammo...most citizens had a .38 around...a few had an old 1911 laying around...it was common for country boys to trust their .22 revolver...
...today...any criminal you encounter may be better armed than any cop on the street...or at least heavier...AKs are commonly used in drive-bys, home invasions, and hicap 9s are the usual...and the thugs' mindset is to shoot for little or no reason, where in the old days "Don't make me hurt you" meant just that...they didn't want to pull the trigger...just wanted the money...
...I've lived till 62 and never fired a shot in anger...most of you have, too...but we need to realize that if we run afoul of Murphy out there...or in our homes, Murphy may be extremely well armed, and he may have 3 or 4 of his cousins with him... and we should dress accordingly...I want the aces in my deck, not theirs...once you make up your mind to carry a BUG and plenty of ammo...in substantial calibers...it's not hard to do at all...a pair of shorts and a polo shirt will hide a lot...and it's no more uncomfortable than writing the check for your homeowners' insurance...
...to those of you who choose to carry light...this is the land of the free...your choice...hope it never bites you in the butt...but I read last year of one off-duty cop who was at a mall and afraid to engage because there were more than one heavily armed perps...and he only had 8 rounds on him...and his wife with him...his mind changed that day...we're not looking for trouble...but trouble's out there...just give it serious thought before deciding what you're willing to carry...good men are gettin' scarce...we want you all amongst us!!!

[G.A. Heath]

I typically carry at the very least 1 extra mag and 1 backup gun, often more than that, because things can go wrong. If you find yourself needing a firearm you need to evaluate the situation PRIOR to engaging the threat. You need to consider the following thoughts at a minimum:
Where is the rest of my party?
Where are the identified threats?
Who is potentially a threat I have not identified?
What/Who is the greatest threat?
Who is the greatest potential threat?
What cover is available?
What concealment is available?
Where are my exit points?
How can I get me and my party to those exit points, cover, and/or concealment without being injured or killed?

Ideally you will already have the majority of these questions answered before the actors become a threat. Extra ammo might be nice, but it may not be needed if you can extricate yourself cleanly. I don't carry a gun to use it, I carry a gun in case I have no other choice and if I need to use it then I want to ensure that if it fails I can back into the fight.

[speedsix]

...pretty good answer to the OP's question...pretty good reminder to carry and carry enough...I remembered wrong in my post above...wonder what the lad would have paid for two "extra" rounds that day....

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[Reloader]

It's your life and your choice... I always carry 2 reloads and a BUG with reloads.

[RPB]

oh, i just meant what kind of situation do you think you'll ever be in where you'll need to reload...

and those of you on here that do carry an extra mag, have you ever had to use it?

Any type of Magazine malfunction
Bent feed lip
broken follower
weak spring

doing a tap-rack-bang to clear a jam and dropping the mag to perform it

all sorts of situations.


I carry 1 spare mag, but I prefer to grab a second or third gun, because for me that's faster.

[speedsix]

oh, i just meant what kind of situation do you think you'll ever be in where you'll need to reload...

and those of you on here that do carry an extra mag, have you ever had to use it?

...not knocking ANYTHING, I witnessed a guy carrying a Glock run past a steps railing and bump his M21 on it...he sprayed .45 rounds all over the ground...from the bottom of his mag....and a spring...and a follower...the best of mags can come apart...(at least it was a .45)...

[RPB]

oh, i just meant what kind of situation do you think you'll ever be in where you'll need to reload...

and those of you on here that do carry an extra mag, have you ever had to use it?

...not knocking ANYTHING, I witnessed a guy carrying a Glock run past a steps railing and bump his M21 on it...he sprayed .45 rounds all over the ground...from the bottom of his mag....and a spring...and a follower...the best of mags can come apart...(at least it was a .45)...

Good point, in this forum I think I recall reading about a movie theater balcony where a baseplate popped off a mag...

[speedsix]

...at least it weren't the opry!!!