Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How much spare carry ammo is enough?

Jimmy. I carry an extra magazine. But not necessarily because I think I may need more rounds. I carry the extra because I am very concerned that a stoppage may occur. Murphy is a traveling fellow as we all know. I fully intend to put the first round on target as well. But have you been in many gun fights? I'm not going to depend on my range accuracy levels to place the bet of my life during a high stress, incredibly intense situation. Also, I carry a reload precisely because I am reasonable person

Today I took a number of handguns to the range - Walther .380 PPKS in .380, Browning BDM in 9mm, Kimber .45, and wife's Ruger LCR in .38 Special. Also had a short-barrel 12 gauge H&R '1871 Pardner Pump', which appears to be a Remington 870 knockoff made in China. (I got it for my wife to supplement her Ruger SP101 in .327 Federal for home defense and wanted to check it for function.) I also had a Rock River .223/5.56 I had cobbled together from a Rock River 'Coyote' upper, Rock River lower, R-Guns BCG and charging handle and UTC iron sights.

While at the range I tried some "shoot and scoot" practice (more like "shuffle and shoot" for me) with the handguns. The targets were clay pigeons on the berm at about 7-8 yards. Not surprisingly, while I was doing a good job of hitting the clays from a stationary position, accuracy suffered substantially when I was moving. Most of my hits would have been torso hits but quite a few would have been more peripheral than desirable.

My wife has had both shoulders replaced and cannot work the slides on most semis, the Sig P238 (which we don't have) being an exception. The 12 gauge H&R seemed to be reliable (25 rounds of bird shot and 4 rounds of 00 buck) but would be too much for my wife to shoulder. Shooting from the hip, as I anticipate she would have to do, I found I consistently shot high. At close range (again 7-8 yards) a torso shot would hit the head but at longer ranges might miss completely.

On the bright side, I found that Hornady FTX 'Critical Defense' loads from the .38 were much more destructive to small water bottles than Winchester FMJs. No surprise there but the confirmation was nice.

After sighting the .223 in at 100 yards using the iron peep sights and clays on the berm, I headed to the long range to shoot steel. The steel stand was shot to pieces and laying on the ground and no steel plates were anywhere to be found. Instead I found a 6" high piece of concrete that I placed on the berm, painted fluorescent orange with marking paint and then painted a circle around to make sure I could see it from 500 yards out. I really wasn't expecting much and wasn't surprised that with the naked eye couldn't even see where the first sighter shot impacted. Another gentleman offered to spot for me (with a scope mounted on a really nice '03-A4 .30-06). He called the first shot 4' high but I got 2 hits with the next 5 shots. It is amazing what you can do when you have time, but had I been rushed torso hits would have been iffy.

BTW, I like the idea of a 10mm too. The .380 just doesn't impress like the .38 or 9mm or .45 and none are nearly as impressive as my .357 or .44 Mags. A .357 Sig may be my next choice as it seems to offer a nice balance of concealability, shot count, easily manageable recoil and power.

But I think I'd still carry a spare mag.

Whatever "Doc" you're referring to, it sure as hell ain't me! And it ain't "Doc" Gary Roberts, and it ain't "Doc" Duncan MacPherson, and it ain't "Doc" Martin Fackler. I have no faith in the voodoo mojo of the 10mm that so many folks seem to have... no more than I do in the "mighty" 357 Magnum (although I have a lot of 357 Mags, and use them well!).

"Full Power" 10mm is still a pretty anemic cartridge by objective GSW standards. ALL practical carry handgun rounds are anemic compared to any rifle rounds, even black-powder-level carbine rounds. Read Chris Kyle's book, or any of a couple dozen other books written by operators out of the Sandbox written in the past 10 years if you want first-hand experience.

Handguns suck as fight-stoppers, compared to long arms. Unless you really, really know how to use them well. And even then, long arms are an order of magnitude more effective. John Wesley Hardin was demonstrably a pistoleer of exceptional talent, but he still did most of his killing with shotguns if he had any chance to do so. Ditto James Butler Hickok.

I don't care if it's 357 Magnum, 357 SIG, 10mm, or 45 ACP, they all perform on basically the same level in terms of wounding capacity and fight-stopping capability. That being said, I have to admit I do lean toward carrying guns chambered in calibers that start with the numeral "4", but I can't give you any empirical evidence to back up that bias. It's probably because I'm a Texan. I know, I wasn't born here, but believe me, I got here as fast as I could.

When you're fighting for your life with a handgun, as long as your firearm makes the basic performance minimum which has been clearly established by multiple ballistics labs, it really doesn't matter a rat's ass what caliber you're carrying. 9mm, 10mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, I'm content to carry any of them. It's not the caliber of the bullet that counts... it's where you put that bullet that counts. (Please note I do NOT include 380 ACP as a caliber that meets basic performance minimum.)

Caliber and bullet is not meaningless, by any means. But in real gunfights, you have to finish the fight as quickly and efficiently as possible, which means repeated applications of subcutaneous lead until the job is done. You don't keep shooting your enemy until you think he's dead. You keep shooting him until he thinks he's dead.

AMEN that Doc, right on the money!

Subcutaneous lead?

Well played sir, well played.

anyone that thinks a handgun is a fight stopper needs to come on the pig hunt.....saw pigs that weight less then most men absorb a 10 mill at close range and take off like a bat out of hell....short of an excellent first hit handguns dont tend to put 150 pound plus critters down on the first shot and high stress situations dont lend to precise aiming....and if you doubt this come on the pig hunt next year and hunt with your carry guns, guys did it this year....and i was backing some of them up with a rifle....

My mistake, it was another member that advocated the 10mm. I guess I can hunt with a 45 ACP then just as effectively as the 10 mm. In that they are so close in power, and all rather anemic.

jimmyp, I've seen deer drop stone-DRT from a 9mm and run 100 yards after being shot with a 44 mag. If your shot placement is good--or lucky--10mm or 45 ACP will do the job equally well, or equally poorly.

I have hunted with handguns much less than guys like jwp475 and John Burns and jjhack, but I've hunted with them enough to know I am much more confident with a rifle than a pistol for anything bigger than a whitetail.

Lots of good replies. I teach shooting & work as an armed guard so my 9MM has 2 extra mags. My backup .380 is fully loaded but carry no spare mags. Possibly being in a shoot out even working in high security is remote & totally different from a private citizen carrying a gun. Around town I frequently carry a .357 revolver with a spare speed loader or a 9MM fully loaded with no spare mag. In the summer I carry my tiny .380 with no spare mag since Northern Virginia is not gun friendly. Around my home area I do not expect to participate in an extended shoot out so why carry a lot of spare ammo. If on a road trip I always have two handguns & spare mags plus ammo. The primary might be a .44, .357, or 9MM & the little .380 again as back up. My wife also carries a .38 with a spare speed loader. Despite being old I would not be a good target for someone to rob or try & car jack.

That about sums it up.

I struggle with why people would want to hunt with the 10mm, with it being not much more than a 9mm. I have killed a deer or two myself, lately with a 5.56 and 62 grain bullets. I suspect I might kill one this year with a pistol.

the shots were usually really close and they did work but DRT without a perfect hit didnt happen which makes me believe it wont happen to a person....

I do not disagree with you. My 5.56 with a 75 grain swift thru the shoulder at 50 or so yards dropped a 160 or so pound sow on the spot. I could not have made that same shot with a pistol, but I would have "hit" the pig, probably in the chest somewhere. Every deer I have hit in the chest has run a bit, none more than 100 yards however. I am warming up more to the idea of the 45 super in the glock. It makes a bigger hole anyway. I guess if your a good enough shot you can shoot for the control center. I have found in my hunting that one thru the brain pan ends the discussion, one accurate shot beats 30 in the general direction. Something to think about.

with the pigs that were shot with handguns while i was with the guys i was hiking with, the initial shot with the handgun was at real close range, more than close enough to justify using a handgun and in each case, the pig was gonna die after the first shot, the first shot just didnt stop them.....most the rest of the shots were just trying to keep the pigs from going very far....Bobby got close enough to kill one with a spear and we walked up on numerous ones sleeping....at the place we were at if you were picky you coulda shot one and left powder burns on it....

i shot mine with a rifle at 80 yards cause i was being picky bout which pig i wanted.....coulda shot any number much closer with a handgun...

The only time I needed one was at home with a prowler just outside - I went outside - and would have been better off with a shotgun - much more impressive. What I had instead was a Smith Model 66 in my belt, and he didn't ask to see the 125 grain loads.

This was back in the 1980s and I've since upped my game to a Browning HP. When I investigate a "bump in the night" these days I have the Browning in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and an AA flashlight looped around my off wrist. There's no room for another magazine, and I don't feel the lack.

This.