Why carry spare ammo?

[JAG45]

Yesterday I was getting ready to leave the house and started to run a check on my little Colt carry pistol. I hit the mag release and buddy the mag released. As the mag started out of the pistol the floor plate came loose and it spilled it guts out very forcefully. The floor plate put a nice little gash in my off hand. So if I had not done this and had needed help from my friend, the very next bump and I would be standing there with gun in my hand that, could of, or just fired one round and a big pile of shells, spring, follower, and floor plate at my feet.

Carry a spare mag. Oh, by the way the magazine was a colt and all four of the little tack welds said goodbye.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[goldshellback]

Ouch. A good reason to check 'things' out from time to time as well.

[shooterX]

Excellent advice, I have believed for sometime that a spare magazine is as much about extra ammunition as it is about having back up in case of a failure.

[bladenbullet]

because the only time you can have too much ammo is when youre swimming or on fire...

[pgrass101]

because the only time you can have too much ammo is when youre swimming or on fire...

+1

Most of my FTF's have been mag related, changing that mag quickly fixed most malfunctions

[nosights]

Glad things turned out the way they did...otherwise we may have never heard about it...from YOU.

[64zebra]

because the only time you can have too much ammo is when youre swimming or on fire...

I generally carry 2 spares, the "inconvenience" (which its not) is worth it if I'll ever need it

thankfully JAG45's mag failed when he was safe instead of when the fecal matter hit the oscillator

[retsupt99]

If that happened during a confrontation it would certainly get the adrenaline pump going. That's why one should carry extra mags and practice.

[scott314]

If that happened during a confrontation it would certainly get the adrenaline pump going. That's why one should carry extra mags and practice.

That point probably gets overlooked much of the time. I recently started participating in IDPA, and prior to that the only mag changes I had done were from slide lock at the indoor range.

Mag changes under stress, even the greatly reduced stress of competition, require fine motor skills which require practice. It's simply not enough to carry the gear. You have to practice with it regularly.

[QKShooter]

I have seen a steel tack welded magazine floor plate blow off during shooting.
Always carry an extra mag.

[ASHTXSNIPER]

I always carry 2 spare mags for my G22 when out and about.

[JoJoGunn]

Wow, I have never had the floor plate of a magazine do that. I have an S&W 39-2 in 9mm ( see avitar) with the two original mags that came with it. Have had it since 1982 and both magazines have never given me any trouble, but.....

I always carry the spare fully loaded, just in case because of the aforementioned catastrophic failure.

Now you got me thinking of buying extra mags.

[Ram Rod]

I have definitely gone to carrying a spare magazine more often now than ever before. I had a 19 round Glock 17 magazine explode on me during the first stage of the last match I attended. Granted it's one of my competition only magazines, but it cost me about ten seconds more than if it had stayed in one piece. An exploding magazine in a real life and death situation could end up costing way more than that.

[OD*]

Oh, by the way the magazine was a colt and all four of the little tack welds said goodbye.

Colt, like most all 1911 manufacturers, do not make their own magazines, but, if you contact them, they'll probably replace it. 1-800-962-2658

Check the base plate for the makers initial.
M = Metalform - https://www.metalformmagazines.com/style.asp
C = Checkmate Industries - http://www.checkmateindustries.com/dynamic/p_arms.htm
O = OKAY Industries Inc.

[searcher 45]

I carry a spare mag because my P3AT mag only holds 6 +1 of 380 so extra mag is needed. Extra mag is small so not much of a problem.