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So a guy I know suggested I should have one magazine that is designated as my "carry" magazine. I have a new Glock 19 Gen 4 that will be my EDC and it comes with 3 mags. I am new to the firearm/CHL world and would appreciate any thoughts on if you do this and if so, why?

No, I test and use all magazines. If one hiccups I find the problem or don't carry it.

Get more and test them all. One might malfunction or wear out. I have several, don't have favorites, carry any two as spares, and shoot them all several times a year. They get rotated around in no particular order. I'm even thinking about getting more just because.

I already rotate the 2 mags that came with my S&W M&P full size 9mm when I go to the range. I also rotate all three PMags on my Colt 6920. I just thought it was interesting that someone suggested I have a dedicated carry mag.

I have four mags for my Sig, but only one of them has a +2 extender on it, so that is my primary carry mag. That gives me 17+1 in the gun, and two additional 15-round mags as backup. One of the 15-rounders is unloaded in my range bag. I rotate my backup mags.

I pray that I'll never need to use one in a self defense situation, but if I do, I hope I'm carrying enough ammo!

And yes, I shoot all of them at the range on a regular basis. If I start having issues with one, then it gets removed from use.

yes and no.

for the glock, no - because they are all factory mags
1911 - yes, only because I have a variety of brands, but I restrict carry to certain brands.

Vol Texan wrote:I have four mags for my Sig, but only one of them has a +2 extender on it, so that is my primary carry mag. That gives me 17+1 in the gun, and two additional 15-round mags as backup. One of the 15-rounders is unloaded in my range bag. I rotate my backup mags.

I pray that I'll never need to use one in a self defense situation, but if I do, I hope I'm carrying enough ammo!

And yes, I shoot all of them at the range on a regular basis. If I start having issues with one, then it gets removed from use.

Agreed. I think that this is the meat of the issue. Test what you use, use what you test. Increasing or decreasing the number of tested items doesn't change or alter which specific one might fail during EDC. More feels better because it appears that we're spreading the possibility of a failure across multiple magazines. But that isn't how it works. Each magazine has its own probability of failure. That probability is not shared with the other magazines tested.

To me, it doesn't matter if you use one or five but put all of them through the pistol from time to time at the range. My only thought about having more than one, if possible, is to ward off fatigue within the parts from use. (Because shooting is fun and we should be using our stuff all the time for the joy of it.) But for a quality firearm and magazine metal fatigue (or tactical plastic these days) should be years down the road anyway.

I number ID all my mag bottoms with Dremel Engraver so that if it presents a problem I can isolate that mag until I can get problem resolved or trash it. Actually had one go south on me that had performed well in the past this last week at range. In any case, I have multiple mags for all my pistols and they all get some workout when that pistol goes to range, so to answer OP's question - Yes, it is a specific working mag. However, as in life there are no guarantees - the last time your pistol or revolver worked correctly may be the last time it worked correctly - and you'll not know until you fire it again - odds are in your favor it will be fine, but no guarantees. I also carry one to two spare mags on weak side just incase.

No..I carry all 3 at work. When I work my side job I carry one spare and just grab one out of the magazine holder.

I usually run about 200-400 rounds before including a magazine in my edc rig. After that I don't give it much thought. If I have a hiccup at the range, I'll set that mag aside & look at it later.

The one in my gun!

Bang4Buck wrote:So a guy I know suggested I should have one magazine that is designated as my "carry" magazine. I have a new Glock 19 Gen 4 that will be my EDC and it comes with 3 mags. I am new to the firearm/CHL world and would appreciate any thoughts on if you do this and if so, why?

I think his thoughts on it were that some that shoot a lot, especially at outdoor ranges, end up dropping their mags on the ground a lot and getting them dirty with grit, etc. The thought goes that you can run a few rounds through a mag to test it out and then don't subject it to the same abuse / dirty process as other mags used during practice. Some will say that is the way to go, others will say that as long as you clean your mags if they get dirty it doesn't matter...

Anyway, that is probably the thought process behind the recommendation. I agree with the above posters who suggested you need to buy more than the three mags you now have. They are a perishable item if you practice with any consistency.

I test all my mags until I’ve weeded out any that don’t perform flawlessly. Those that are known to cause malfunctions get permanently marked and used for practicing magazine changes. Out of the good ones, I choose three dedicated carry mags and use the others for range practice. My carry mags stay loaded with good defense ammo and every three months or so I take them to the range, burn through the old defensive ammo and replace with new.

I do it this way based on advice I either heard or read many years ago. To be honest, I shoot a lot and I’ve never actually worn out a magazine. I guess I lose them or give them away before they give up the ghost.

I don't keep magazines that don't work, so no.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. My glock 19 gen 4 came with 3 factory mags. Getting all 15 rounds in each mag was a tight fit. I'm leaving them full for a few days to help break them in. I'll go to the range on Saturday or Sunday to break in my new gun and see how it and the mags works. I'm ready to see how my glock shoots compared to my full size S&W M&P 9mm which is in a gun vault right next to my bed.