How much ammo should you carry?

[popper]

Yup, you will probably get one chance to get off x number of shots. Any failure and yup - you done. For LEGAL SD event.

 

[General Zod]

Yup, you will probably get one chance to get off x number of shots. Any failure and yup - you done. For LEGAL SD event.

I personally try not to plan for the minimum. And I definitely don't intend to say "oh well" and take my bullet like a good boy should a malfunction happen.

 

[Darkpriest667]

Can anyone cite any example of a defensive shooting that required more than one mag by the civilian involved? I thought Ayoob had looked into that at one time and found it had never happened.

Paul Harrell has said it is either never occurred or so extremely rare that it's not even something that can be found through research, and I'd trust Paul on this.

 

[seeker_two]

Paul Harrell has said it is either never occurred or so extremely rare that it's not even something that can be found through research, and I'd trust Paul on this.

Watch the videos on the Active Self-Protection YT Channel. You'll see enough malfunction issues there to make carrying a spare mag as a spare part a necessary component....

 

[leVieux]

It depends on the environment. Double the load, if in Houston, Austin, Atlanta or Memphis.

<>

There is never enough for Chicago or New Orleans.

I want a Roy Rogers revolver. . . . . . . Never needs re-loading.

<>

 

[General Zod]

So statistically, it's incredibly unlikely that I'd need more than one magazine in a self defense scenario. So some would tell me I don't need a spare mag on me.

Statistically, it's even more unlikely that I'd have a malfunction, or be able to clear one and still defend myself in a self defense scenario. So some would tell me I don't need a spare mag on me.

Statistically, though, it's extremely unlikely I'll ever find myself in a self-defense scenario where I need to draw my pistol, much less pull the trigger. So would you tell me I don't need to carry a pistol as well?

I'll go armed and with at least one spare mag, thanks. And I'll advocate for others to be prepared for the unlikely as well. Because I'm not willing to place my well-being in the hands of statistics.

 

[thescoutranch]

Glock 23 with 13+1 & a spare G22 mag with 15.

If I can’t protect myself, and my loved ones with that, then anymore will not make a difference.

 

[bbbass]

If the .22 bullet doesn't get their attention, the burn from the gunpowder escaping the barrel will.

Esp if it's .22-250

 

[benenglish]

Watch the videos on the Active Self-Protection YT Channel. You'll see enough malfunction issues there to make carrying a spare mag as a spare part a necessary component....

Yet Active Self Protection is clear about the fact that civilian shootings are over almost instantly. The bad guys run away. It's not your job to stick around, etc.

Their bottom line advice is that no one who isn't required to carry a gun for their job needs to carry any spare ammo. They claim to have reviewed over 10,000 videos of self-defense shootings and have never seen one where a "civilian" needed a reload. Never.

 

[General Zod]

Yet Active Self Protection is clear about the fact that civilian shootings are over almost instantly. The bad guys run away. It's not your job to stick around, etc.

Their bottom line advice is that no one who isn't required to carry a gun for their job needs to carry any spare ammo. They claim to have reviewed over 10,000 videos of self-defense shootings and have never seen one where a "civilian" needed a reload. Never.

So, maybe it has never happened, maybe it's just never been caught on video or had a video made about it. I know of a few instances where an armed citizen defending themselves ran out of ammo, though. And assuming their assertion is true, it just means it hasn't happened yet. I'd rather not be the first one to need a reload, but if I am, I'm damn sure going to have one on me.

Plus, a full mag on the opposite side of my belt helps distribute the weight of the pistol better.

 

[bbbass]

Yet Active Self Protection is clear about the fact that civilian shootings are over almost instantly. The bad guys run away. It's not your job to stick around, etc.

Their bottom line advice is that no one who isn't required to carry a gun for their job needs to carry any spare ammo. They claim to have reviewed over 10,000 videos of self-defense shootings and have never seen one where a "civilian" needed a reload. Never.

And yet... Murphy's law applies. To me anyway. Otherwise I agree with the history, but I carry a gun just in case, it don't hurt me to carry a spare mag or two.

All in all, the best protection is not to violate the laws of stupid, don't get involved if you don't have to, and run away if you can.

 

[Wudidiz]

P365 loaded with 11 rounds Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. JHP.

 

[cav2108541]

This is a commonly asked question, how much is ammo is enough? Springfield Amory wrote up an article on this and even featured Magholder, let us know what you think below.

How Much Ammo Should I Carry? - The Armory Life

Whenever I see a news headline detailing the “arsenal” police found when making an arrest, I tend to cringe. As someone who works with guns for a living, I go through my fair share of ammo. I’ve got more random mismatched rounds in half-empty boxes — ammo I don’t even own guns for anymore — Read...

www.thearmorylife.com

I carry one backup mag on me, and there are four more in my vehicle in my get-home bag. If I am more than 50 miles from home, there's going to be a rifle and ammo in the vehicle as well as seasonal get-home stuff & boots.

 

[seeker_two]

Yet Active Self Protection is clear about the fact that civilian shootings are over almost instantly. The bad guys run away. It's not your job to stick around, etc.

Their bottom line advice is that no one who isn't required to carry a gun for their job needs to carry any spare ammo. They claim to have reviewed over 10,000 videos of self-defense shootings and have never seen one where a "civilian" needed a reload. Never.

Not as a reload....but a spare part. Plenty of videos on ASP (good guys or perps) where a malfunction was bad enough or a mag fell out of the gun. A spare mag is the quickest way to remedy that.

In the days of magazine safeties, a lot of LEOs would drop the mag on their duty pistol during a struggle with a perp to prevent the perp from using the gun against them. When the LEO got the gun back, the spare mag was easier to find than the one jettisoned.

 

[benenglish]

Plenty of videos on ASP (good guys or perps) where a malfunction was bad enough or a mag fell out of the gun

True. Yet that doesn't change their observation. (They don't really advise not carrying spare ammo; they just say it's not needed.) Even if it's the good guy who loses his magazine, just getting the gun out and firing one shot always causes the bad guys to scatter like roaches when the light comes on.

I can think of cases they've shown where a reload could have been necessary if the fight had continued, e.g. the vehicle-to-vehicle shooting that happened with the victim in the new Ford Lightning. The good guy was stuck because the active safety systems in the truck shut down the truck rather than allow him to ram the vehicle in front or jump a curb to escape the incoming bullets. He was stuck and couldn't move. He might have conceivably needed a great volume of continuing fire if the bad guys had gotten out of their vehicle to finish the job. But that didn't happen. The bad guys emptied their guns, hitting nothing that they wanted to hit, and then peeled outta there.

In civilian street shootings, no one ever wants to stick around long enough for anyone to reload.

Big caveat - If the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel ever manages to gain a foothold in Texas, their modus operandi will cause me to reject my current way of thinking. We'll see long firefights because they really, really love sticking around and killing lots of people. If that happens, I'll stop carrying zero reloads and start carrying more than one.

 

[General Zod]

"Nobody has ever needed a reload in a self-defense situation..." sounds a lot like "We have plenty of lifeboats! Besides, no ship this size has ever needed lifeboats anyway..."

 

[thescoutranch]

“The good guy was stuck because the active safety systems in the truck shut down the truck rather than allow him to ram the vehicle in front or jump a curb to escape the incoming bullets. He was stuck and couldn't move.”



Wow, enough reason not to buy any new vehicle, ever!

 

[msharley]

Yet Active Self Protection is clear about the fact that civilian shootings are over almost instantly. The bad guys run away. It's not your job to stick around, etc.

Their bottom line advice is that no one who isn't required to carry a gun for their job needs to carry any spare ammo. They claim to have reviewed over 10,000 videos of self-defense shootings and have never seen one where a "civilian" needed a reload. Never.

FBI states that 2.4 shots per shoot out is the average....

 

[msharley]

True. Yet that doesn't change their observation. (They don't really advise not carrying spare ammo; they just say it's not needed.) Even if it's the good guy who loses his magazine, just getting the gun out and firing one shot always causes the bad guys to scatter like roaches when the light comes on.

I can think of cases they've shown where a reload could have been necessary if the fight had continued, e.g. the vehicle-to-vehicle shooting that happened with the victim in the new Ford Lightning. The good guy was stuck because the active safety systems in the truck shut down the truck rather than allow him to ram the vehicle in front or jump a curb to escape the incoming bullets. He was stuck and couldn't move. He might have conceivably needed a great volume of continuing fire if the bad guys had gotten out of their vehicle to finish the job. But that didn't happen. The bad guys emptied their guns, hitting nothing that they wanted to hit, and then peeled outta there.

In civilian street shootings, no one ever wants to stick around long enough for anyone to reload.

Big caveat - If the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel ever manages to gain a foothold in Texas, their modus operandi will cause me to reject my current way of thinking. We'll see long firefights because they really, really love sticking around and killing lots of people. If that happens, I'll stop carrying zero reloads and start carrying more than one.

 

[General Zod]

Big caveat - If the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel ever manages to gain a foothold in Texas, their modus operandi will cause me to reject my current way of thinking. We'll see long firefights because they really, really love sticking around and killing lots of people. If that happens, I'll stop carrying zero reloads and start carrying more than one.

See, I'd rather not be the guy who gets flat-footed when someone finally goes apeshit like that.