How Many Extra Magazines Per Handgun?

How many extra magazines per handgun?

  • Total voters
    158
Honestly, it depends on the gun. My 1917 Erfurt Luger has five mags. The original one to it and four Mec-Gar made ones. My Beretta 92s have a bazillion mags since I've gotten them over the decades for free. My GLOCK 17s have somewhere in the 30 range. While my Beretta 21A in .25 ACP just has two.

Some guys gave more, some have less.
 
tarosean said:
10 at minimum.

Its not a "collection problem" rather they are wear items and can end up vaporwear or paying absurd prices, if you can find them. Orrrr you end up with a nice single shot paperweight.

caveat being, if your going to shoot 50rds over the next 50yrs. A couple will probably suffice.
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My HK VP70Z has four 18rd mags. Each mag is about $80-$120 right now. I will never shoot all four mags in one sitting, back to back with that gun. 😅🤣😂 Trust me.... the 18lbs trigger makes it a chore to just go through one magazine.
 
I probably average at least 10 per pistol; I'm another who doesn't like loading mags at the range. Over 50 (maybe 60 or 75 or so) 1911 mags between... several... 1911s.

I mark the mags R (with a number, e.g., R1, R2, etc.) for range use, unmarked mags are for carry (have at least three to five for each carry pistol).
 
As a general rule, I like to have a minimum of six magazines (plus the magazine in it) for each pistol.

For high use guns, the necessary amount is determined by the circumstances requiring additional magazines.
 
The Night Rider said:
What's this aversion to loading magazines at the range?

Maybe it's a retirement thing but I'm never that pressed for time.

I usually load 5 rounds in my magazines so I can practice reloads.
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Most places the range charges by the hour.
So the question is...
Would you rather spend your money shooting
Or spend your money loading mags
 
I am afraid to answer this question....just incase my wife reads this.
 
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PWC said:
Lotta comments but no answers in the pollat the top...
Click to expand...

If you only have the two magazines that probably came with a pistol, you are distinctly in the minority, although how many more magazines you should get is still unclear. :)
 
One spare is nice as a backup in case one gets damaged or lost. A short mag is nice for practice or use on the bench. Cool down and loading different types of ammo doesn't require more than one mag for me.

For CC its a chief spl w/ 5 rnds in it and no extras. It's a last option only and I don't plan on getting into a shootout.

Home defense is different but in all practicallity I can't invision ever needing more than one for that. A shotgun or something stronger will always be within stepping distance anyway plus more ammo.
 
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I personally like to have 3 or 1+2 extra. The only exceptions are my Kimber R7 9mm that came with 5 magazines, one 11 round and four 13 round. I purchased an additional 10 round. The 10 round was in case I traveled to a magazine restricted state.
I also have 9 magazines for my XDM compact 45acp. Five 9 round and four 13 round. (I ran into a sale on magazines). The extra magazines were nice when I qualified for my CWP in Illinois while living there.
I like that the gen 5 Glocks that I purchased last year. All came with 3 magazines. The Springfield Arms only came with 2 magazines so I added an additional magazine.
 
5-6 for guns that I would/could take to a training class, my Walther or Glock. Just a couple for my Ruger LCP.
 
Minimum is a box of ammo divided by magazine capacity, both rounded as required to achieve full-box loading.

Because I don't like partial boxes of ammo.

For my Colt 1991A1 with 7 round magazines, one 50 round box works out to 7 magazines.

For my M&P-15 with 30 round magazines, that equates to 2 magazines. (With three 20 round boxes.)

All these are minimums, and ratioable.
 
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I have too many handguns to have 5-10 magazines for each one. That would be a huge waste of money and storage space.

I don't do shooting sports, though, and I like taking my time to load them at the range.

The board members who plan on pushing an armored wheelbarrow full of loaded handgun magazines through a post-apocalyptic action movie never cease to amuse me. :)
 
Tallball said:
The board members who plan on pushing an armored wheelbarrow full of loaded handgun magazines through a post-apocalyptic action movie never cease to amuse me. :)
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Because you haven't lived some of our lives. I have seen even anti-gun feminist liberals become ardent gun rights supporters after being victims of robbery/rape and having family/friends/neighbors raped/killed and buying guns/getting carry permits.

I have personally experienced far reaching effects of LA Rodney King riot all the way to my parents' house in sleepy Alta Dena, CA north of Pasadena above smog layer in the mountains (Why they moved there which is near NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

While Downtown/Korea Town was looted and burning, various gangs decided they could join in the fun and loot/rob/burn Pasadena area also as police resources were redirected/stretched and it was a wild west free for all.

I get a call from my parents that they held an emergency neighborhood block meeting as gang bangers in lowriders were going around town robbing and ransacking houses freely and wanted me to help guard/protect their street. With Army medic training kicking in, I pack my gear and drive to my parents' house.

On the way, I see some houses ransacked and burning and I am having, "I get a bad feeling about this" notion. Street after street, I see more and more evidence of ransacked houses and by the time I get to my parents' street, they have barricaded entry to both ends of the street with two cars so you could barely squeeze through with big signs that said, "Home owners in this street are armed and you will be shot!".

After I squeeze through the barricade, I see neighbors with guns patrolling/guarding both ends of the street. I am wondering, "Wow, is this for real? Is this really happening?" Then my Vietnam vet stepfather armed with pistols tells me several gang bangers in lowriders tried to enter the street through barricade and neighbors had to wave them off with guns/rifles and even a warning shot that paused the gang bangers giving them dirty looks before they drove off. He said two adjoining streets were already hit and ransacked.

When I asked if they called police/911, he tells me they were told police are doing what they can and they are essentially on their own.

I saw several more lowriders passing by and imagine what could have happened if the street was not barricaded and armed neighbors posted.

Yes, this actually happened.

And driving through LA after the riots seeing all the burnt out buildings was a shocking realization as to what could happen, even in the USA.

And people looting/robbing/raping/killing others don't even need a rare once-in-a-lifetime events. Hurricanes happen annually and just because the media stopped coverage of crimes/lootings that happen doesn't mean people all of a sudden decided to act nice.

At 1:00 minute of video "How families were separated, raped ... sheer anarchy"
www.youtube.com

What New Orleans Was Like After Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast of the U.S. Following the hurricane, Inside Edition visited New Orleans hospitals that authorities w...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

There were looting and crimes committed
www.youtube.com

NOPD Officer Says They Were Ordered To Shoot Looters After Katrina

A New Orleans police officer says he and other officers were ordered to shoot looters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, raising questions about several ...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Anti-Looting Unit formed after Katrina looting/crime spree
www.youtube.com

Anti-looting unit on patrol to facilitate rebuilding

(15 Oct 2005) 1. Police cars pulling into shopping centre2. Police officers outside storefront3. Police looking in broken windows4. Piles of clothes inside s...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
There are many more but graphic videos showing crime (Lady and her mother crying holding .357 Mag revolver and shotgun on remains of their house because neighborhood thugs went around raping/robbing people and they were able to fend them off but not their unarmed neighbors) have mostly been removed from YouTube over the years and harder and harder to find.
 
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Tallball said:
I have too many handguns to have 5-10 magazines for each one. That would be a huge waste of money and storage space.

I don't do shooting sports, though, and I like taking my time to load them at the range.

The board members who plan on pushing an armored wheelbarrow full of loaded handgun magazines through a post-apocalyptic action movie never cease to amuse me. :)
Click to expand...
Like I said, I made sure I have 5+ magazines for each "high capacity" pistol I have, because that door is shut and locked to me now.
Those mags have to last me a lifetime.
 
LiveLife said:
Because you haven't lived some of our lives. I have seen anti gun feminist liberals become ardent gun rights supporters after being victims of robbery/rape and having family/friends/neighbors raped/killed and buying guns/getting carry permits.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry you had a rough time 32 years ago.

That doesn't mean everyone needs 20 loaded magazines for every handgun they own.
 
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