How Much Extra Ammo?

[Helen Keller]

whatever my carry is... i have another 100+ in the truck. + a special 12ga surprise with it's own 100 rounds.

[Aggressive Perfector]

I just carry my Glock 19. 15 rounds in the mag and 1 in the pipe. I don't keep an extra mag on my person, but I do keep one in the truck.

[Hummer]

Well it kind of depends on if I am going to have wheels with me or not. On longer trips I have a 16" AR in back in the small tool compartment or a 7615 which is mandatory to comply with the Three Great Truths:

1. Never tug on Superman's Cape.

2. Never take a knife to gun fight.

3. NEVER EVER carry and handgun to a rifle match.

I developed rule three based on a shooting buddy who was a homicide dick at that time and he said when he left town on a trip he carried a long gun and 1500 rounds because if it hits the fan when he is away he wanted to make sure he had enough to get back to Alabama. Sounded like a good plan to me. He surmised that 99% of the trouble he was going to encounter had knives or handguns and he like me feels a handgun in a real emergency can be trumped by a rifle. Thusly a long gun should be considered.

Heard of a couple driving one night in a rural area and rounded a curve and spotted what at first looked like a wreck down the road and he stopped well back from the scene and looked it over and determined it was a staged wreck to sucker him in. He started turning around and noticed the guys at the scene were getting in their cars and they chased him and his girl back up the road and broke it off when they got into a populated area. It could be beneficial to think outside the box.

In the home you are perhaps facing burglars or worst case home invasion. You cannot count on a handgun to do the job. Col Martin Fackler MD chief of the Army Wound Ballistics Lab determined this back in the 80s/90s when he completely changed the way wound ballistics was looked it. Download a copy of the NATO Handbook on War Surgery and go to I think it is chapter II Missile Caused Wounds. The author of that chapter is Fackler and it is a excellent work on wound ballistics.

Fackler basically determined several things, first is the absolute best indoor weapon is the 12 Ga w/ buckshot. Outdoors it is a center fire rifle above the 5.56MM. The 5.56 has highest wound lethality within the first 95 yards and from then on it drops off quickly. Personally I would not want to depend on a rifle less than 6.5MM.

In older libraries you will find a book which I think was entitled "Wound Ballistics- Surgeon General's Report to the Dept of the Army written after WW2 and take a look at the wound cavitation photographed by our medical personnel prior to burying our guys in the South Pacific that were shot with the Jap 6.5 and you will have no doubts you don't want to get tagged with a 6.5. That is one reason I recommend the 260 Rem. Outstanding wound lethality, low recoil, flat trajectory, excellent accuracy to 1000 yards.

[Oswald Bastable]

So, I know this is an ancient thread, but I took a safety course today (required for my state's CCW certification) and the instructor gave the best reason I've ever heard for having at least one extra mag when carrying...

They say most defensive situations will never require a 2nd mag, but what if that first one is faulty? You believe it's fine when you leave the house, you're sure the mag in your carry piece is fine and fully functional, then on the 2nd or 3rd shot you get an FTF. Do you rack the slide and try again, perhaps getting another FTF...or do you just drop that mag and slap the spare in? It made sense to me. An FTF when you really need functionality is a worst case scenario...don't trust the mag that may be the cause, use your spare.

[alismith]

So, I know this is an ancient thread, but I took a safety course today (required for my state's CCW certification) and the instructor gave the best reason I've ever heard for having at least one extra mag when carrying...

They say most defensive situations will never require a 2nd mag, but what if that first one is faulty? You believe it's fine when you leave the house, you're sure the mag in your carry piece is fine and fully functional, then on the 2nd or 3rd shot you get an FTF. Do you rack the slide and try again, perhaps getting another FTF...or do you just drop that mag and slap the spare in? It made sense to me. An FTF when you really need functionality is a worst case scenario...don't trust the mag that may be the cause, use your spare.

That's why I prefer to carry a small revolver. Not as many shots, but no worries about a any mag, at all. A speed loader for backup and I'm good to go.