Having more bullets than needed is better than needing bullets you don’t have
www.51bullets.com

Do you change your vehicle oil at 7000 miles, instead of the recommended 10,000 miles? Do you keep a Fire Extinguisher on hand? How about filling your gas tank when it hits a quarter tank? These are all preventive measures to ensure long life of our vehicles, safety in our home, the ability to get out of dodge in a hurry if needed.

With preventive measures in mind, if you conceal carry, how many spare magazines do you carry & why? Do you carry extra mags because you expect a lot of trouble, the possibility of mechanical issues such as a weak mag spring, the possibility of dropping your spare mag in the mud, rendering it inoperative? The answer to all three for me would be yes. Let me elaborate.

Does expecting a lot of trouble sound a little hyperbolic to you? Perhaps it is, but in real life, we don’t know what to expect. You could be faced with a single assailant or multiple assailants. What we do know is that when the adrenaline is pumping, your shooting accuracy dramatically goes down. Couple that with multiple assailants, and you have a recipe for disaster if you don’t have loaded spare mags on hand.

The possibility of a weak mag spring is very real. Good quality mags have tempered springs, making the likelihood of this occurring very remote. However, if you conceal carry daily, your magazines are loaded for weeks on end. Being pragmatic, you may have extra mags, enabling you to rotate them out, giving the unloaded mag springs some time to relax. However, due to costs, not everyone has this option.

Is it possible for you to drop your spare mag into the mud? It certainly is. When the adrenaline is pumping, in a hurry to get our spare mag out of its carrier (typically attached to a belt carrier), we can get our hand caught up in clothing, resulting in a dropped or thrown spare mag. Extensive training, developing muscle memory in mag change-outs, can help you overcome this issue.

There are those who justify not needing extra mags by saying, “I only need 1 shot per perp”, or “the average defensive gun use only requires 3-5 bullets”. Good for you!

Personally, I am not willing to bet my life on bravado or averages. My philosophy is having more bullets than needed is better than needing bullets you don’t have.