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How many rounds are needed when carrying?

JustaShooter

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
728
Location
NE Ohio
As has been pointed out, this is a "How long is a piece of string?" question, to which the correct answer is "One more than you needed to stop the threat."

My personal approach is to carry a spare magazine or speed loader. For my usual EDC that means 5+1 plus a 7 round spare. For other occasions, it could mean 15+1 plus a 15 round spare, or even 6 plus 6 in a speed loader. I'm not as hung up on the number as I am concerned about having a spare mag for clearing malfunctions.
 

dmatting

Regular Member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
445
Location
Durham, NC
I carry a full mag of 13 in the gun. I don't both with the +1, so it's one in the pipe and 12 on deck. I also carry an extra full mag of 13. I load the rounds in both mags so that I start with a JHP and then alternate between FMJ and JHP.

BTW, how do you guys load your +1 round? Do you put your mag in, cycle the slide, release the mag, top off the mag, and then load the mag again? That sounds like such a PITA.
 

ron73440

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
474
Location
Suffolk VA
I carry 10+1 in my pistol, and it stays loaded so it's not a PITA to add the +1, I usually do what you said, but if I have the rounds loose, I'll throw one in the chamber and then put a full mag in the gun.
 

SD40VE

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2013
Messages
91
Location
North Macomb CO, MI
BTW, how do you guys load your +1 round? Do you put your mag in, cycle the slide, release the mag, top off the mag, and then load the mag again? That sounds like such a PITA.

thats how i do it. load mag. chamber a round. release mag. add one more round to it. reholster. takes about 10 seconds. really not as much of a pita as one would imagine
 

WalkingWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
11,930
Location
North Carolina
I do it a tad more complicated. I unload the mag all but the last round, and then rack that round. Then load the mag keeping in mind to rotate the rounds. Helps spread bullet setback out among all the bullets in the gun.

But my semi autos are hardly ever unloaded, so this is not done very often.
 

Rusty Young Man

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Messages
1,548
Location
Árida Zona
I do it a tad more complicated. I unload the mag all but the last round, and then rack that round. Then load the mag keeping in mind to rotate the rounds. Helps spread bullet setback out among all the bullets in the gun.

But my semi autos are hardly ever unloaded, so this is not done very often.

I'm going to have to try that. Currently, I just loaded whichever round was up top in the mag (racking slide), then released the mag, grabbed a loose bullet and topped it off (always stored it with a full mag and an empty chamber).

I was essentially swapping between only two rounds until I decided one day to measure for setback. Guess what I found? Those two bullets were ~1/16" shorter than two different bullets I pulled from the mag and the box.:eek:
Had to set those aside, and I've now done that 6 times. 6 shots I never got to take...:cry:
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
....

But my semi autos are hardly ever unloaded, so this is not done very often.

This.

I've shot magazines that were loaded and in semiautos for decades - no problems. What causes springs to deteriorate is cycling between compression and expansion. That's why you need to replace recoil springs after X rounds.

Although it may not work for everybody, my handguns remain in the holster even when I get undressed. Paddle holsters make the occassional trip to the public facilities easier and safer, although I've been known to take my belt part-way off if not using a paddle holster.

And for all you OCD clean freaks - periodic maintenance and cleaning generally does not mean tearing it down every day (unless you are shooting every day). As a matter of fact, lots of pistoleros let cleaning go for several hundred rounds or several months - whichever occurs last - ever since they invented non-corrosive primers.:p

stay safe.
 

MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
BTW, how do you guys load your +1 round? Do you put your mag in, cycle the slide, release the mag, top off the mag, and then load the mag again? That sounds like such a PITA.

Many guns are designed to load from the magazine. When done that way, the round slips under the extractor before chambering. If you chamber the round first, then drop the slide on it, the extractor has to snap over it. This can cause premature wear on the extractor, depending on the design, but especially if it uses an internal extractor.

I always load from the magazine, then drop the magazine and top it off.

This shouldn't be a PITA because how often are you loading/unloading the sidearm?
 
Last edited:

mobiushky

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
830
Location
Alaska (ex-Colorado)
And for all you OCD clean freaks - periodic maintenance and cleaning generally does not mean tearing it down every day (unless you are shooting every day). As a matter of fact, lots of pistoleros let cleaning go for several hundred rounds or several months - whichever occurs last - ever since they invented non-corrosive primers.:p

You're supposed to clean these things? LOL. I been known to go 6 mos or more between cleaning. And that's with shooting 400+ rounds a month in competitions and practice. I hate cleaning... But that's cause I'm lazy. I think the longest I went was bout 9 mos on my main shooter.

More on topic? I will always have a full mag +1 in the chamber no matter what firearm I have. And my bag will always have at least 2 extra mags. Not because I anticipate needing 50 rounds to stop a BG, but because if I'm trying to be prepared, I should keep extra near by in case the Zombie Werewolf Vampires rise up. ;)
 

BrianB

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
223
Location
Florida
Only time you can have too much ammo is when swimming.

I'm in the bad habit of carrying just the 13+1 in the gun with no spare magazine. When in NV and open carrying I carry two spare mags. Carrying spare mags concealed just feels clunky. I probably need to get over that.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
Only time you can have too much ammo is when swimming.

I'm in the bad habit of carrying just the 13+1 in the gun with no spare magazine. When in NV and open carrying I carry two spare mags. Carrying spare mags concealed just feels clunky. I probably need to get over that.

If you are OCing, why are you carrying spare mags CC?

There seem to be many schools of thought on carrying extra ammo - they seem to generally fall into
1- the cops carry 2 extra reloads & I'm not gonna do less than them
2 - it takes the cops a loooong time to get here and I may need to continue the fight till the cavalry arrives
3 - I need the weight to balance my carry piece or I'll fall over. (I actually used that on some tourists from NJ. Took them some time to get the joke.)
4 - that's what they taught me/made me do in the .mil, and if it was good then it's good now
5 - (my all-time favorite) blocking both pockets keeps me from stuffing my hands in them

stay safe.
 

MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
Correct. Not necessarily smart on my part, but you read it right.

I usually don't carry extra mags either time. I don't consider it not smart. Not smart is being unarmed.

If more than a dozen rounds is the only "smart" way to carry, than I'd be advocating long gun carry instead.
 

BrianB

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Messages
223
Location
Florida
I usually don't carry extra mags either time. I don't consider it not smart. Not smart is being unarmed.

If more than a dozen rounds is the only "smart" way to carry, than I'd be advocating long gun carry instead.

True. I think the chances of needing more than 14 rounds in a handgun fight are pretty damn slim, and it's a Glock so I don't expect I'd need spare mags for any horrible malfunction clearances. If you need more than 14 rounds you're probably in a situation where you should have either stayed home or brought a rifle. :)

That said, when OC'ing I like having those two mags on my left side. I don't know why, but when CC'ing they just feel so damn bulky. Odd.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
True. I think the chances of needing more than 14 rounds in a handgun fight are pretty damn slim, and it's a Glock so I don't expect I'd need spare mags for any horrible malfunction clearances. If you need more than 14 rounds you're probably in a situation where you should have either stayed home or brought a rifle. :)
.

If life was always so simple. If one knew one wouldn't go or bring friends.

As stated before some times I carry extra ammo some times I don't. Most of the times I do personal choice.

As I have told all by hunting friends ammo becomes really expensive when the birds are flying.

Other wise meaning bring enough.
 
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