How Many Extra Magazines Per Handgun?

[GBExpat]

How many extra magazines do you like to have per pistol?

I require a bare minimum of 2 and like to have at least 4. Lazy at the Range, dontchaknow? When at the shooting bench I much prefer shooting to recharging mags.

O'course, over time and serendipitous discoveries of great Sales and Opportunities I have, in some cases, accumulated MANY more than that for a few oft-used pistols.

Those $5($4?) Korean Glock 19 mags from several years ago come to mind. I've a small sack of those.

 

[CZ-75BD]

I prefer at least 3-5 for each gun. It saves time on the range. I load before I go, and do not spend time when shooting.

 

[Smokin Gator]

I have lots of 1911 Wilson mags. When shooting competition I can swap out a really dirty mag with a clean one with no to clean during the match. But if the squads are big I'll just go ahead and clean them so I don't need to clean a bunch later. My CZ mags that hold more rounds need cleaning more often then the 1911 mags.

 

[25-5]

Just one extra for Series 70 1911 carry.
When I was competing, at least 20.

 

[Mark_Mark]

1-3 is a good number for me

but some guns have 10+

but then, i have countless Glock 9mm mags?!?!?

 

[S.Crockett]

The rule of thumb for ’operator’ types is to have a minimum of six (6) factory magazines per pistol.

Three are dedicated practice mags. The other three are dedicated carry mags, … and as always mo’ mags for either purpose being better.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

1-3 is a good number for me

but some guns have 10+

buy then, i have countless Glock 9mm mags?!?!?

Hope you're a good little resident of WA and turn in those hi cap death machines

 

[Mark_Mark]

Hope you're a good little resident of WA and turn in those hi cap death machines

me and the rest of the Law Abiding citizens bought our Mags; locally, legally, and with recipes before the cut off date.

I’m buying more 1911 mags now, they are under 10rds

 

[Targa]

I like at least 3.

 

[Balrog]

Certain magazines are more of a commodity than others. Buy them cheap and stack them deep. Glock 9mm magazines are one example.

During the Clinton assault weapon ban years, new pre ban Glock magazines sold for $100 or more each. I won't be going through that again.

 

[golden]

Back in the 1990's, I worked for the INS and when we transitioned to the BERETTA 96D Brigadier pistol, we were issued a total of 6 magazines with each gun. It may seem like a lot, but if you carried 1 in the gun and 2 spares, you wanted to unload those magazines every one in a while and use the extras so that the springs did not weaken. Some, however, just loaded up with 1 in the gun and 4 spares in case the world ended on their shift.

I got tired of carrying more than 2 spares and just went with 2 spare mags., Now my agency, only issues us 2 spare mags. We can carry more, but I do not. There just has not been an incident where we have needed that many rounds.

Jim

 

[Mosin77]

If it’s a recreational range gun then, in a perfect world I like to have at least 1 spare, both because mags sometimes break and because it’s more fun to not have to load mags as much.

If it’s a gun I expect to actually use for carry/practice/etc then I want at least 2 spares. I can always buy more if necessary. In my experience modern mags are a lot more reliable than older designs. Old 1911 mags in particular seem to be kind of a crap shoot.

 

[alfsauve]

10 minimum. But depending on the gun this can get expensive, very expensive. Glock 17 rounders are available at $10ea at GSSF matches.

If you’re a competitor it means less reloading during the match. The ultimate goal would not have to load mags during a match. And no I’m not quite there, though i can do 4 stage locals. And I’m close to the 10 mags per division for GSSF.

For practice and plinking it means more time shooting and less
loading at the range.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Some, however, just loaded up with 1 in the gun and 4 spares in case the world ended on their shift.

That was fairly common due to the low magazine capacity of the 96. While 92 mags would hold at least 15, most 96 mags held 10 unless you wanted to hunt down the 11-round ones