ammunition, defenseI have a friend who carries a subcompact Glock as his carry gun (I don’t know whether it’s the 26 or the 27 - for clarity, I’ll assume it’s the 26) with a spare magazine from one of the fullsize Glock models. This gives him the usual 10 rounds in the pistol, but when he runs dry, he can reload with a 33 round magazine, giving him a total of 43 rounds in two magazines.
This seems ridiculous to me for a few reasons. First, it seems to me that if you are in a situation that allows you the opportunity to safely reload and reengage, you have the opportunity to break contact and run - unless you’re law enforcement / military and are getting paid to be there, this should be your first choice anyway.
Second, it seems that members of the military / police (who might actually find themselves in a situation where they might need that much firepower) would also have access to other firearms better suited to that situation (such as a rifle or submachine gun).
My friend’s response is simple and very difficult to argue with: “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”
So, what should I take into consideration when trying to decide what constitutes “enough” ammunition?
P.S. I would love an answer that could support its claims with statistical information on the average number of rounds fired in self-defense engagements
I’ve made jokes about carrying the 33-rounders, but never thought anyone actually did it, just because their size makes them fairly impractical. Having two or three spares, providing a similar total round count, seems to be relatively common though. Many people recommend having at least one spare magazine (regardless of capacity) just in case your first magazine develops feeding problems. Might only take a couple seconds to clear up normally, but it’s not something you want to do under stress.
By carrying a gun in the first place, you’re already preparing for something which is fairly unlikely. Fortunately most of us will never need to use a gun to defend ourselves. So you have to decide how unlikely a scenario you want to be prepared for. Keep in mind though that shooting under stress is extremely difficult. Even the police have been in shootouts where 100+ rounds were fired yet no one was hit.
it seems to me that if you are in a situation that allows you the opportunity to safely reload and reengage, you have the opportunity to break contact and run - unless you’re law enforcement / military and are getting paid to be there, this should be your first choice anyway.
Getting out of a gunfight while you’re ahead would always the best choice (after avoiding it in the first place), but it may not always be possible. The threat may be between you and the exit preventing your escape. Or retreating might require you to leave a position where you have relatively good cover, putting you in greater danger. Or there may be other people with you such as elderly parents or small children that aren’t able to retreat quickly.
Ultimately, there is no right amount. There are practical limits to what you can carry, and you can never be prepared for every imaginable scenario. Having 2-3 spare normal-capacity magazines is about as much as most people can reasonably manage, and just having a 6+1 with no spares will take care of a lot of possible situations.
IIRC, when Jeff Cooper was alive he said that most fights were over in three rounds. A major reason to carry a spare magazine is because handgun faults are frequently magazine-related. You change magazines, not because you need more ammo, but because it’s the quickest way to bring your pistol back in service. You’re in pretty dire straights if you need 30+ rounds. While it boils down to opinion “How much is enough” - I carry 8+1 in the gun and a single (8-round) spare magazine.
It’s also worth noting that the high capacity (not to be confused with standard capacity) magazines are not usually as reliable as standard capacity, and are therefore a poor choice for carry.
You will never get a straight answer to what constitutes “enough.” As lawful citizens, we don’t get to the choose the number of adversaries, the adversaries’ weapon(s) or the time and place where will have to resort to deadly force. All we can do is be prepared and bring our skills and tools to the fight that we react to. Bring a gun and bring ammo.
With that being said, I have had the pleasure of speaking to a number of people who have had to use firearms in defense of self and others. They span all walks of life, military, law enforcement and private citizens. Not a single one during the debrief every mentioned that they “carried too much ammo,” or the ammo slowed them down. A few did, however, mention that during or immediately following the confrontation that they had a concern about the amount of ammunition in the gun or if they went to their last and only reload. I don’t want to be concerned about the ammunition I bring to the fight, so I choose to carry at least one reload and while prepared for “is today the day?” I hope it never comes and I come home with the same amount of ammunition I left the house with.
With all the stuff that we private citizens carry on a daily basis, gun, keys, cell phone, wallet, flashlight, knife, etc… spare magazine(s) will be the least intrusive.
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