And why that many?
A couple weeks ago
MandaFern took her CCW course (provided free through
Wisconsin Carry, Inc.) and I tagged along, both for morale support, and because (generally) any training is good training and I treasure gathering viewpoints and training techniques from any source I can.
At a few points throughout the course, the instructor (an avid 1911 fan) voiced his negative feelings towards people carrying wonder-nines with super-high capacity magazines. One of my typical carry guns is my M&P9, fully stoked with 17 rounds in the mag, and a spare 17 round magazine on my support side. Amanda knows this and nudged me a little when he mentioned it the first time.
I grabbed my pen from my pocket and scribbled down on her notes "'Coyotes' travel in packs" semi jokingly. While this is a valid point, my other standard carry piece as of late has been my Smith & Wesson 442 J-frame revolver. Typically with a speed strip of five rounds in my watch-pocket of my jeans and a speed-loader in my coat pocket. That loadout has less rounds
total than one magazine in my M&P.
Do I feel undergunned carrying that few rounds? No, not really. Despite my coyote comment, we live in a small enough town that large gangs of thugs are not really a threat. .38spc+P is a proven round, and the most likely threat I'll ever face around here is an overzealous convenience store robber or the like. I don't ever see myself being sucked into a running gunfight through downtown Stevens Point.
So why carry 34 rounds of 9mm when I carry the M&P? Why not save some strain on my belt and leave the spare at home? I should be able to deal with any likely threat with 17 rounds, right?
Simple. The biggest Achilles's Heal of any semi-auto weapon system is the magazine. Add to that the fact that just about any malfunction drill on a semi-auto pistol involves stripping the magazine out to relieve pressure on the action. If something goes south inside my gun, it's much easier to grab that spare mag, where I
know it is, than look all over for the half a mag I tossed in the dirt while fixing my gun. And since I'm going to carry that second magazine, I may as well fill it up to capacity.
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