Carry an extra mag?

I'm with many of you, if I carry my 19 or 23, I usually don't carry a spare, but with my 238 or wheel gun I do carry a extra mag or speed strip.
I'm not sure that there is one answer that is the best for everyone.
 
So @Studentofthegun showed me a cool little extra mag holder last night, with that, I could see having an extra in the pocket. Can't remember who made it, but maybe he'll chime in and let is know.
 
If I'm carrying my by 380 I ALWAYS carry a spare. If I carry my shield its single stackish and small enough that I throw the 8rd mag in my wallet pocket 85% of the time. If I'm carrying my mp 2.0c double stack or g19 I usually do not carry a mag only because I really do notice the weight and fatness of the mag, unless I really have reason to. Just my .02 like everyone else.
 
I always carry a spare mag when i carry a semi auto. To my mind its part of the gun. If i have my jframe i throw a speed strip in a pocket. I like to always have a good blade, a light and a gun on me, and first aid supplies and a bigger gun close by. If your belt and holster and magpouch are all quality items that work well together its barely noticable.
 
BurnedOutGeek said:
So @Studentofthegun showed me a cool little extra mag holder last night, with that, I could see having an extra in the pocket. Can't remember who made it, but maybe he'll chime in and let is know.
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'Twas a SnagMag but credit goes to DeFeo (I can't recall his forum handle) for being the first to show it to me.

Can find them on Amazon.
 
I use this horizontal mag carrier since I frequently have to remove and replace.

DG_SAF__123_MagPouch_Horizontal.jpg


It's a safariland and you can get it for less than $20.00.

I find that the vertical mag carriers are just way to uncomfortable for me.
 
I had a snagmag for my Glock 19, and I really liked it. I need to see if they make CZ ones.
 
Depending on the day, my CCW is either a 10+1 semi auto, or a 5 round j-frame Smith. I keep an extra mag in the truck, but don't carry one on me.

The likelihood of me needing to use my handgun to defend myself is low. The likelihood of me needing to reload and continue a firefight is even lower.
 
I always laughed at the idea of carrying a spare mag, but I started carrying the snagmag instead of a pocket knife. I like the idea of being able to just drop the mag if needed and the extra 8 rounds for a glock 42 doesn't hurt.

The downside is now I walk around asking to borrow a knife, but it's easier than asking to borrow a spare glock 42 mag. :D
 
MichaelHK said:
I always laughed at the idea of carrying a spare mag, but I started carrying the snagmag instead of a pocket knife. I like the idea of being able to just drop the mag if needed and the extra 8 rounds for a glock 42 doesn't hurt.

The downside is now I walk around asking to borrow a knife, but it's easier than asking to borrow a spare glock 42 mag. :D
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They need to make a snagmagpocketknife.
 
I generally carry one spare simply because I have seen magazines break a floor plate and spit the contents of said magazine onto the ground at the shootesh feet a couple of times. The last thing I want is for that to happen on the street.
 
I have a belt pouch that has several pockets in it. I use them for a spare mag, flashlight, cell phone, biz cards, multi-t00l and a pen.

What I don't like about the pouch is that it's not durable and has to be replaced every couple of months, and the fact that it sticks out about 3" from the side of my belt. A streamlined leather version would be more desirable, but so far I have not found a commercial source or leathersmith to make one.
 
Scsmith42 said:
I have a belt pouch that has several pockets in it. I use them for a spare mag, flashlight, cell phone, biz cards, multi-t00l and a pen.

What I don't like about the pouch is that it's not durable and has to be replaced every couple of months, and the fact that it sticks out about 3" from the side of my belt. A streamlined leather version would be more desirable, but so far I have not found a commercial source or leathersmith to make one.
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@gunbelt ?
 
Scsmith42 said:
I reached out to Curt about this last year, but did not get a response so I figured that it was not of interest to him.
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Try Jason. He's made some new and different things for me in the past at my request.
 
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Scsmith42 said:
I reached out to Curt about this last year, but did not get a response so I figured that it was not of interest to him.
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It was probably that I just forgot it. I’m so damn busy I don’t have time to do anything but belts & holsters. But with my new sewing machine coming on line I will have more time in the near future.
 
gunbelt said:
It was probably that I just forgot it. I’m so damn busy I don’t have time to do anything but belts & holsters. But with my new sewing machine coming on line I will have more time in the near future.
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Curt, I figured that you were swamped and did not have time for a special project, so no big deal.

Sure like my belt from you; wear it every day here on the farm.
 
I think one of the best reasons to carry extra mags, at least in your vehicle, is for malfunctions of other kinds. How many of us have get-home bags? If we wind up having to hoof it for some reason, extra mags will be a great comfort.

But, what if you can’t reach your vehicle or the challenge is getting to it? An extra mag will be a great comfort then, too, and it would need to be on your person.

As someone already said, though, do what you think best and let others do what they think best. We can learn from each other and pick and choose what works best for us. ‘Murica.
 
You can "what if" all day. Yes, mags fail. But if you want to be totally prepared for anything you might run into, you need to be wearing a helmet and rifle plates, extra mags, trauma kit, etc. All that stuff tends to turn people off when you walk in to make a sales call though.
 
SPST said:
You can "what if" all day. Yes, mags fail. But if you want to be totally prepared for anything you might run into, you need to be wearing a helmet and rifle plates, extra mags, trauma kit, etc. All that stuff tends to turn people off when you walk in to make a sales call though.
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The point is that dropping an extra magazine into a pocket, a snagmag, or a belt pouch really isn’t that difficult of a thing to do for a little more security. It is an easy way to mitigate a risk that may never happen in the first place, but does no harm at all in performing.


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B00ger said:
The point is that dropping an extra magazine into a pocket, a snagmag, or a belt pouch really isn’t that difficult of a thing to do for a little more security. It is an easy way to mitigate a risk that may never happen in the first place, but does no harm at all in performing.


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Better drop in 2, in case your second mag fails too?
 
SPST said:
You can "what if" all day. Yes, mags fail. But if you want to be totally prepared for anything you might run into, you need to be wearing a helmet and rifle plates, extra mags, trauma kit, etc. All that stuff tends to turn people off when you walk in to make a sales call though.
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I agree 100% it is a balancing act. I personally hate too much stuff in my pockets. I do pocket carry sometimes in the summer but other wise it is on the belt because when I pocket carry between keys, knife, cell phone etc... the pockets are so full I can't get anything out of them. I cannot walk around in cargo pants 24/7. I have been playing with carrying a extra mag on the belt as a result of this thread. I believe it will be fine for the winter but will be tough in the summer. in the summer I might look into a snagamag.

I have discovered one advantage of putting it on the belt; it seems to balance be out a bit. As others have said do what you feel comfortable with and be safe.
 
People who don't carry spare magazines don't care for the safety of their families because they aren't mitigating the easiest of possible failures of their primary carry.
 
Blueridge said:
Actually that was not a double feed. That was a stove pipe. He would have had to drop the magazine to relieve tension/pressure on the "jammed" bullets had it been a double feed.
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In the video Mr. Smith simulates multiple types of semi-auto pistol malfunctions. I believe in the video at 3:00 he produces a double feed malfunction. Then at 3:57 he "removes" the mag. He rips it from the gun places it in his strong hand clears the weapon reinserts the mag and gets back into the fight. My point was that he does not let the mag "drop" on the ground. I think we have a misunderstanding based on how I was using the term"drop". He "drop" or "remove" the magwell but at no time does he "drop" it on the ground making it unavailable for use necessitating the use of a second mag.

I mentioned this because one of the big arguments for carrying the spare mag is clearing a malfunction where you will need insert a second mag to get back into the fight. At no time in the video while clearing the most common semi-auto malfunctions does he let his mag fall to the ground. I is able to get the gun back into the fight each time with the same mag he started with.

I think this shows that with proper training you the only time you will really need to use another mag to clear a malfunction is if mag itself is damaged beyond function or you drop it. This statistically reduces the "need" for a second mag significantly. All that said I believe if you asked Mr. Smith if you should carry an extra mag he would tell you YES!
 
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Slosolo2 said:
I'm surprised no one said carry a revolver to prevent mag failures. Maybe I missed it.

Any comments on Snagmag vs Neomag?
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Because revolvers are for old people and old people don’t care whether they live or die or not because they have had to watch their prized smoke wagons get replaced by new fangled bottom feeding nazi guns.


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I mu
wvsig said:
In the video Mr. Smith simulates multiple types of semi-auto pistol malfunctions. I believe in the video at 3:00 he produces a double feed malfunction. Then at 3:57 he "removes" the mag. He rips it from the gun places it in his strong hand clears the weapon reinserts the mag and gets back into the fight. My point was that he does not let the mag "drop" on the ground. I think we have a misunderstanding based on how I was using the term"drop". He "drop" or "remove" the magwell but at no time does he "drop" it on the ground making it unavailable for use necessitating the use of a second mag.

I mentioned this because one of the big arguments for carrying the spare mag is clearing a malfunction where you will need insert a second mag to get back into the fight. At no time in the video while clearing the most common semi-auto malfunctions does he let his mag fall to the ground. I is able to get the gun back into the fight each time with the same mag he started with.

I think this shows that with proper training you the only time you will really need to use another mag to clear a malfunction is if mag itself is damaged beyond function or you drop it. This statistically reduces the "need" for a second mag significantly. All that said I believe if you asked Mr. Smith if you should carry an extra mag he would tell you YES!
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I must not have watched the video all the way through (my oversight). I was talking to some LE firearms instructors some time ago, and their talk on dropping the magazine from a handgun and going to another was because it removes everything that could be part of the problem (other than the handgun itself) and you replace with a new magazine and ammunition. Remove/drop the magazine from the handgun and you remove several possible problems. The ammunition and/or the magazine could be part of the malfunction problem, therefore removing both and replacing them with another loaded magazine can deal with both possible problems. It was the standard response to any malfunction/failure do to it covering the vast majority of malfunctions with a handgun for tactical officers.

Just another point of view. I understand that tactical officers carry more magazines than most patrol officers, so dropping a magazine to the ground is less of an issue. Even so the viewpoint has some merits I think.
 
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B00ger said:
Because revolvers are for old people and old people don’t care whether they live or die or not because they have had to watch their prized smoke wagons get replaced by new fangled bottom feeding nazi guns.
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People have to carry/use what they feel most confident/comfortable with. A revolver can deal with situations as well as a semi-auto. If a revolver has a malfunction that cannot be remedied by simply pulling the trigger again, then it is pretty much out of the fight altogether. The generally larger number of moving parts of a semi-auto allows for more things to be negatively affected. The higher capacity and greater ease of concealment often leads people to prefer semi-auto handguns. That said either could handle the average number of rounds fired in a self defense incident.
 
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Blueridge said:
People have to carry/use what they feel most confident/comfortable with. A revolver can deal with situations as well as a semi-auto. If a revolver has a malfunction that cannot be remedied by simply pulling the trigger again, then it is pretty much out of the fight altogether. The generally larger number of moving parts of a semi-auto allows for more things to be negatively affected. The higher capacity and greater ease of concealment often leads people to prefer semi-auto handguns. That said either could handle the average number of rounds fired in a self defense incident.
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Someone missed the joke...


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On a recent Triangle Tactical podcast, @FlatFender mentioned a podcast he listened to where the guest was John Correia - he's the guy who runs the Active Self Protection youtube channel (great way to get a sense of what real-life self-defense situations tend to look like). Anyway, John has watched thousands of self-defense shootings and I think he said he'd never seen someone who wasn't LEO go for a spare mag (Luke, pls correct me if I'm misquoting, and it was "very rarely" instead of "never").

I carry a spare for reasons others have already articulated in this thread (plus it's a G42, so I'm not working with a lot of rounds to begin with), but I thought that was an interesting data point from someone who is an expert on how self-defense shootings go down.

Also, I don't think John has any video of a terrorist in action. I think we'd all want to make sure that someone who is planning on suiciding themselves and murdering everyone around them is incapable of further movement (including reaching for a detonator).
 
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