Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Should you carry a backup magazine?

Yeah pretty sure what you wrote earlier, if true would of got your nephew in a whole lot of trouble.. I did enjoy the part about his partner tossing you the 870 saying use if needed..

No. My well used G19 with 16rds is plenty.

I have no idea what you're speaking of, LOL.

Locally, that would of gotten the Nephew fired. I have no idea how different things are in Phoenix.

On duty we're required to carry three.

Off duty I usually don't carry a back up if I'm carrying my G17.

If I'm carrying something with a smaller capacity then I do.

-Jake

I admit to owning one myself.

But don't tell nobody.

I carry a pocket gun so, yes I carry a spare mag, but that is not as many rounds as some carry in the mag in their gun.
There is that old sayin, . . . . "Ain't gonna die for lack of shootin!!!"

Mine only holds 6+1. 18.5" bbl. Runs smooth.

.45-70? Nice elephant gun.

Yes, 45-70. I don't load it to redline though.

The downside of carrying and extra mag and not needing it is about zero.

The downside of not having one and needing it is high.

It’s all about risk management and risk avoidance.

Can’t imagine any gunfight where too much available ammo is bad.

I've got the Winchester 1886 short rifle in .45-70 (Made by Miroku, in Japan). Front sight is too low. With the rear sight all the way down, it still hits like six inches high at 100 yards. I guess the solution is going to be to install a taller front sight.

Of Course I can only use standard pressure .45-70, unlike your Marlin.

In defending my reason for carrying 2 extra magazines is that ....with all 3 mags, I only have a total of 19 rounds. Dumping a magazine and doing a reload, helps keep track of “exactly” how much ammo I have left! memtb

When your mag only holds 6, it makes perfect sense to carry an extra mag or two.

I've got one. I'm sure it works on 2-legged elephants, too.

I thought the modern 1886 was reputed to be stronger than the modern Marlin 1895?


Buffalo Bore gives it the green light for their "45-70 Magnum" loads:

"…...all Winchester 1886 iterations made since 1915....."

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=154

What would of made this even more believable was when your nephew partner went to hand you the shotgun. You replied no need for that and you showed him a pair of nickel plated 1911 with ivory grips chambered in 38 supers. Every time they responded to an incident you yell let's go deliver some justice!

This is sound tactics.

I'm not sure where "they" get "their" statics, but I trust Clint Smith's data more, and fully believe a person is predisposed to empty the mag just because the threat will still be standing even when hit.

My training is to shoot until the threat (or threats) drops from my sight picture, cover while making a tactical reload. Sweep the area for additional threats.

Not having the back up mag makes a tactical reload problematic.

Also, as memtb states, after the reload, I know I have one in the pipe and a full mag, in case of additional surprises.

No need. I shot a bull elk with a .45-70. I think the MV of the 400gr bullet was something like 1650. The bullet went through his spine and the offside shoulder blade. It was kind of cool.

Yours is a beautiful gun! Especially the bluing. The checkering on the plywood stock looks nice too!

🤣😂😎