Chris over at The Anarchangel has a good post up about reloads and back-up guns (commonly abbreviated BUG).
It got me to thinking about what I carry. My routine is roughly decided by the season - in late fall/winter/early spring, I'm wearing heavier clothes offering better concealment, so my choices aren't as limited. Mainly, I carry either my SW99 compact 9mm (10+1 rounds) with one backup magazine (13 rounds) or the full sized .40 S&W SW99 (10+1) with one backup magazine (10). I hope to add a Commander-sized 1911, probably a S&W SW1911 with the scandium frame, in the future for 8+1 and 8 rounds backup. So we're talking a minimum of 17 rounds of .45 ACP and a maximum of 24 rounds of 9mm +P.
In late spring/summer/early fall, concealment is more problematic. Wearing a long sweater in July is going to attract attention, and not the kind you want. So it's either the S&W 360 PD .357 Magnum (5 rounds) with one Bianchi speed strip (6), the S&W model 38 .38 special (5 rounds) and one Bianchi speed strip (6), or the Kel Tec P3AT .380 ACP (6+1) with one backup mag (7). Minimum of 11 rounds of .38 special, maximum of 14 rounds of .380 ACP.
Which, of course, leads to an interesting conundrum: If 11 rounds of .38 special is sufficient ammunition for my personal protection in the summer time, why isn't 11 rounds of 9mm +P sufficient in the winter? Or 11 rounds of .40 S&W, for that matter? Why do I carry a backup magazine in the winter, when my winter carry gun holds more than my summer carry gun?
Partly it's for consistency's sake - I don't want to get out of the habit of carrying a spare magazine or reloads. The surest way to make sure I've got everything I need is to carry it all the time. Mostly, though, it's a compromise for the summer - I'd prefer to carry more rounds in the summer, but it's just not practical.
And, for the record, cargo pants completely and totally rock for carrying extra gear. Here's hoping they never go out of style... :)
What's the "ideal" setup? What you're most comfortable with, and what you will reliably carry with you the majority of the time. An old S&W j-frame tossed into a pocket holster with no extra ammo beats having a high-end shoulder holster for a 1911 and two extra magazines that you don't bring with you. Obey rule #1 of gunfighting - have a gun. Sure, rule #2 is important as well (bring enough gun), but you can't follow rule 2 without following rule 1.
I won't get into the whole "a .22 in the pocket beats a .44 in the safe" argument, though. It's been done enough... ;)
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3 comments:
With a semi, I always carry a spare mag. Partly for 'just-in-case' extra ammo, partly because with some malfunctions the best thing is to drop the mag and replace it.
Mind you, been a few times I did carry a backup as well.
"partly because with some malfunctions the best thing is to drop the mag and replace it."
That's an excellent point. Hadn't considered that - of course, given the superlative reliability of the SW99 series, I haven't had much experience with malfunctions.
Like the other two said: always carry a spare mag, in-case of mal-function.
Personally, I carry a full sized 1911 (Kimber) in an IWB year round. Some times I'll drop a SW642 in a cargo pocket for a)short trips or b) really hot days. But when I do that I've got 3 speed strips with me.
Honestly though, I think your situational awareness, and attitude are probably more important then what gun/how much ammo you have. But I've also never needed to draw my pistol in anger.
AE
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