Spare Magazine or not Backcountry Sidearm

[cuttingedge]

Yes

 

[ldmay375]

You’re a press of a butting away from losing your mag and it happens. Mags can have issues too. I don’t care if the mag holds a hundred rounds, there’s reasons to carry a spare mag beyond just how many rounds you think you might need in a gun fight.

Agree 100 % !!

 

[crgchck]

I never really feel I need to prepare for a gun fight while hunting… I’m not in Grizz country but I am black bear.. if and only if I feel I may be in the vicinity of a mama and cubs.. basically in bear country during spring. And during our winter season. “Our season is 2weeks mid November and again in December” I carry a 1911 10mm with (8) rounds. Maybe I’m a goober.. idk but prepping for a gunfight is not a concern for me

 

[grfox92]

Ambidextrous mag release?

No, right handed. One time it actually did happen while hunting with the pistol in my hip belt in an IWB. Not the ideal set up but it's what I had at the time. I heard something hit the ground and looked behind me and my magazine was laying in the trail. I know it was seated because I chambered a round before leaving the truck in the morning.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Thebigbaby]

This thread has encouraged me to carry an extra mag. Thanks everyone.

 

[mcseal2]

I carry a spare mag mostly due to the chance of losing the one in the gun if things go wrong.

I'm in the camp that doesn't carry a pistol when rifle hunting most of the time. The exception for me is if I'm in big bear country and likely to have my rifle strapped to my pack a reasonable amount of the time. An example would be walking the tundra along the river in AK using 2 trekking poles. I do like to have a handgun at camp tucked away in a vehicle or somewhere discreet while I'm gone unless I'm backpacking.

Scouting, fishing, really any time I don't have a rifle along I'll carry a handgun. What depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

 

[f16jack]

I rifle hunt with a bolt action 30-06 in places around the United States holding hogs, black and grizzly bears, cougars, and in the unlikely event a person decides they like my stuff I’d like to defend myself. I appreciate your response. I am leaning towards no, but was curious what other individuals like myself thought.

I carry the pistol lest I get bucked off the horse and my rifle is in the scabbard.

 

[tkhuntsman]

Hey everyone and thank you for your time. This is my first post since I am new to backcountry hunting and online forums.

My current debate is how much sidearm ammo do you carry with you. I’ve seen a lot of posts on whether or not you should or shouldn’t carry a sidearm and what the sidearm should or shouldn’t be. What I want to ask is how many rounds do you bring IF you choose to carry a sidearm. What sparked this thought is a recent article from Georgia where a guy was attacked by three dogs. He was not carrying a sidearm and had almost 300 puncture wounds. Putting myself in that situation with a Glock 20 and 15 rounds I would assume I could eliminate the threat to my life. However what would I have left after the encounter? In a situation a few miles from a road could I safely navigate my way back and continue to defend myself if the rest of the “pack” showed up? I choose to carry a Glock 20 with an rmr as my sidearm. I conceal carry a Glock 19 and used a 19 during my time in the Army. I’m very familiar with the platform hence why I carry it over an arguable more ballistically superior revolver round.

The question to answer is, if you decided to carry a Glock 20 would the 15 round magazine be enough or would you carry a second magazine bringing the total to 30 rounds.

I choose to stick with stock magazines in order to avoid potential reliability issues from aftermarket magazines.

Thank you all!
Markus

Well in my rifle I carry the mag full which is 3 and I carry 5 extra rounds usually. In my side arm I carry a 10 mm with 16 rounds in it and I have a spare mag with 15 on my belt. I usually always keep 20 rounds of ammo in my truck for the rifle in case I need it and 31 rounds in my side arm is more than adequate because I don't ever see the need for more than that in the Backcountry. In any bear or self defense situation short of a military fire fight you'll only get a few rounds off when the chit hits the fan.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Bowhunting off-grid I'll carry a 10mm XD-M with a 12 round mag of 200 gr Hardcast Underwood bullets. Just a little insurance in the event of bumping into moose, cat, or black bear poking around camp. No sidearm during rifle season, although I'll keep one in camp and tent while sleeping.

 

[MTElkChaser]

I do carry a 2nd magazine for my Glock 20 in my pack.

A buddy that I hunt with and I both have Glock 20’s loaded with Buffalo Bore hard cast. He dropped a magazine a few years ago - we think by going through some thick brush that we got tangled up in. We got to the spot we wanted to camp at and when we unloaded our packs and gear - the magazine was gone from his pistol.

It‘s probably a 1:1,000,000 chance this would happen, but I am a believer now that 2 is 1 and 1 is none in that scenario. Ymmv.

 

[Boarmaster]

If I was going to carry spare ammo for a pistol I would store it in a mag.

 

[Stalker69]

I don't always carry an extra magazine, but 99% of the time I have a stach of extra shells on me.

 

[Ishisube]

If you've got the room for it there's nothing wrong with having additional insurance on you. A pocketful of spare rounds or an additional magazine don't weigh much.

 

[SquatchHunter]

Better to have it and not need it than….


You never know what you will run into out in the backcountry. Not even counting mag/firearm failures. An extra mag or two doesn’t weight that much.

Never understood the ultralight brigade. Lift some weights, eat some protein, train, and carry that extra mag….

 

[Karlburns]

If I’m in bear country I carry a spare mag. If I’m not then it’s a couple spare bullets in the gun bag that way if I empty a mag I know I’ve got a couple left and make ‘em count.

 

[Tl15]

I usually carry my FNX 45 Tac with me when I’m out in the brush, and never bring an extra mag. If I can’t deal with what I need to with 15 rounds of .45 AARP, it’s just my time to go.