Should You Carry a Spare Magazine Holster Every Day?

A frequently asked question in the concealed carrying world is whether you should carry spare magazines in your everyday carry (EDC) setup. There are many legitimate questions regarding the potential usefulness of such a practice, but you’ll likely get varying responses if you ask gun owners.

Discover whether there are any advantages or drawbacks to carrying an extra magazine and whether you should have one, multiples, or none at all.

How to Carry Extra Magazines

When carrying a concealed firearm, you have two methods at your disposal to carry a spare mag: Magazine carriers and pocket carrying.

Pocket carrying is the act of carrying your extra pistol magazines in a pocket. It requires little to no investment, but it presents potential risks, mainly if the pocket also contains other items.

Mags carried this way can gather dirt and lint, and objects may snag onto the magazine or the exposed top round, causing malfunctions. The best way to carry an extra magazine is to use spare magazine carriers (also called magazine holsters or mag pouches).

IWB magazine holsters are designed to carry spare magazines upside down, protecting the ammunition and the feed lips from exposure to the elements. They are also very lightweight; you will barely feel more than the weight of your loaded magazines.

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Benefits of Extra Magazines

The most convincing reason to carry extra magazines in your concealed carrying setup is simply to have more ammunition at your disposal.

You’ve probably heard variants of the expression, “Nobody has complained about having too much ammo.” There is a grain of truth to this statement; running out of ammunition in a self-defense scenario is a possibility a gun owner can’t discount.

There are many good arguments purely in favor of the more ammo argument:

• There may be more than one attacker.
  
• Handguns don’t reliably stop assailants in one shot like rifles and shotguns; therefore, multiple shots per attacker may be necessary.
  
• Handguns (compact models in particular) are more challenging to shoot than long guns, and the stress of a self-defense situation reduces your accuracy.
  
• If you carry a gun with a limited capacity (e.g., subcompact pistols, most 1911s), extra magazines ensure you don’t run out of ammunition too quickly.

Another reason to carry extra magazines is to mitigate the risks if your gun malfunctions. Although today’s handguns are exceptionally reliable and dependable, experienced concealed carriers know even when minimizing the risks as much as possible (modern gun, good magazines, quality ammunition, good maintenance routines), sometimes malfunctions just occur.

Experiencing a malfunction at the range or in a controlled environment is, at most, an annoyance. Experiencing a malfunction in a self-defense situation where your life is in danger puts you at great risk. Having a spare magazine at your disposal theoretically allows you to “return into the fight,” provided you can  diagnose your pistol’s malfunction type and swap magazines while under stress.

Additionally, carrying spare magazines on your weak side acts as a counterweight to your defensive gun on your strong side. A typical setup for a right-handed shooter is a double-stack pistol on the right side and two mag carriers on the left side of the belt.

Drawbacks of Extra Magazines

Concealed carrying a firearm already introduces a certain level of inconvenience. After all, you have to adapt your dress, habits, and demeanor to ensure safety and proper concealment.

Adding spare magazines and  requisite mag carriers to your EDC may be more trouble than it’s worth for many gun owners, particularly if carrying a handgun already means compromises and sacrifices for you in the first place.

There is no denying that loaded magazines add weight to your belt, and you must be willing to carry this extra weight. While those in favor of carrying extra magazines will (correctly) point out that the counterweight effect can be helpful, this benefit is moot if it renders their EDC uncomfortable.

Remember that an everyday carry setup isn’t solely composed of a gun belt, a pistol, and magazines; there are other things you may want to carry, such as a mobile phone, your keys, a knife, a tool pouch, a small first aid kit, and more. All those things take up space and add weight. Ultimately, the inconvenience factor varies from person to person. The only way to be sure of what works for you is to try it.

Assess Your Needs

While it’s  statistically unlikely for concealed carriers to have to fire their weapon in a defensive scenario (let alone more than three shots), statistics can blind you to the reality of your situation. The needs of a person in a safe area with a low crime rate are not the same as those who live in a dangerous neighborhood with known gang activity.

Whether you should carry spare magazines depends mainly on correctly assessing the risks and dangers you’re most likely to face and adapting your carry setup in consequence.

At Incognito Concealment, our mission is to provide you with the highest-quality  Kydex holsters and magazine carriers. Enhance your EDC and carry confidently with our 100% hand-crafted products, designed for perfect retention of your favorite handguns and magazines.

For guidance, or if you have questions regarding an everyday carry setup, give us a call at  (586) 999-5820.