Carrying Extra Ammo

There are some things that you should likely be carrying if you carry a gun for self-protection. One of those things is a medical kit of some kind, just in case you ever need to defend yourself and have holes that need to be plugged or if you come up to an accident and someone needs help.

The other, is extra ammunition.

The case for carrying extra ammunition shouldn't have to be made, and yet, we hear a lot concealed carriers say things like: “if I have to shoot more than my gun's worth of ammo, I'm screwed anyway.”

While it may be true that you could be screwed, you'll definitely be screwed if you've only got a few rounds of ammo on you and need to engage more than one target. One of the reasons why this is true is because bad guys and attackers generally tend to travel in packs of more than one person.

If you end up in a gun fight with a few baddies and only have 7 rounds of ammo on you, when you run out of ammunition, you'll find yourself up that proverbial creek, really quick.

When it comes to carrying extra ammunition, there are a lot of different options you've got at your disposal. There are accessories like the Snag Mag and Neo Mag that go in your pocket and look like nothing more than a pocket knife.

There are also Kydex (polymer) belt mounted inside and outside the waist mag pouches, leather mag pouches, and some folks just drop an extra magazine loosely in their pocket (which we don't recommend if you intend to be quick on the reload).

No matter which product you choose, there are a few methodologies we recommend to help in your magazine change.

First, we recommend that you place the magazine in the pouch or carrier in such a way that it points toward the front of your body. Therefore, if it's on the strong side hip it points to your front. Or it points towards your belly button if you're carrying it appendix.

Another way of looking at it, is bullet first. When you orient the mag this way, all you have to do is rotate it so it's pointing up, and you don't have to fiddle with it at all. It's already pointing in the right direction.

Then, when you grab your magazine from the pouch, do so in a way that your index finger is oriented on the front of the magazine, with the pad of your finger touching the first round. This does a couple of things for you.

It enables you to know that you're actually inserting your mag correctly because you feel it with your finger. As a bonus, it allows you to ensure that your first round is, in fact, properly seated inside the magazine. If it's not, you can push on it to make sure.

Riley goes much further into depth on concealed carry magazine pouches, as well as the indexing of your finger, in this Facebook Live Video, here:

For the rest of this week only, you can take 15% off any of the magazine pouches we carry in our online store by using the code MAGS19 at checkout. Make sure you take advantage of that before it ends.

Do you carry a spare magazine? If so, which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

About Joshua Gillem

Josh is a lifelong practitioner and student of the gun. He grew up shooting/hunting with his dad, and was given his first gun, a 12 gauge shotgun, when just a small boy. After high school, he joined the Marines where his love for firearms blossomed as he qualified with an M16A2, an M9, and a 240G. Josh has been writing about firearms and tactics for several years, owns the blog Gunners Den, is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, and believes that each individual person has the right to self-defense by any means necessary. Currently residing in gun-friendly NC, he carries a concealed gun on a daily basis, even in his own house.

9 Comments

  1. John on October 15, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    Always carry 2 reloads for whichever weapon I’m carrying!

  2. Rick Davis on October 16, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    I carry a spare mag more as a magazine backup than extra ammo. I have seen magazines not inserted fall out, double feeds that require the magazine to be removed and magazine spring or feeding failures. A spare mag is cheap insurance. My favorite pouches are the Comp-Tac single magazine carriers.

  3. Butch on October 16, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Ditto

  4. GomeznSA on October 16, 2019 at 2:32 pm

    The bad guys traveling in packs is a valid reason to not only carry reloads but for those of us that are unable to defend ourselves – due to age, disability or whatever other physical limitations – to ALWAYS be adequately armed. End of both discussions 😉

  5. jgunning on October 16, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    I use a Neo Mag to carry my extra mag

  6. I Love Liberty on October 17, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    I sometimes carry an extra magazine. Twelve plus one rounds of .40 Smith & Wesson and another twelve extra rounds. I hope I never need it.

  7. TotalNewb123 on October 20, 2019 at 11:56 am

    If I’m going to the store than no. But if I’m going somewhere there’s a lot of people than I’ll carry an extra magazine. But to be honest people will carry what they want which could be just be a gun no magazines or no gun at all.

  8. littleleach on October 21, 2019 at 10:24 pm

    Not sure if this is the right place to reach out, please let me know if it’s not.

    I currently carry two speed strips in a Velcro pouch in the pocket. As such it’s cumbersome to access quickly. Does anyone have recommendations for easily carrying speed strips/speedloaders in a concealed manner that’s quickly accessible? (Preferably with a tucked shirt)

    Loadout: Ruger lcrx chambered one .357 carried iwb appendix.

  9. StratRider on October 23, 2019 at 8:26 am

    Some just carry an extra gun instead. Instead of changing mags you then also have the option of handing it to someone else that knows how to shoot.

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